Page 213 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Graeson snarled in the king’s direction. His eyes darkened with malice, turning pitch black.
Domitius wouldn’t kill her. He couldn’t. They might not have been blood, but he had raised her. Perhaps first as a weapon, but as a daughter, too.
Still, Domitius increased the pressure, and Kallie sucked in a sharp breath.
Graeson snapped his teeth at the other dragon, who glared at Graeson, his lip curling.
Kallie noted the piles of ash across the field. If this was the result of her being captured, what would Graeson do if Domitius killed her?
Kallie wished she could see Graeson’s true form one more time. She wished she had listened to Dani and waited to accept the bond until after the war had passed. Now all it would take was one movement, one slice, and Domitius would kill both of them—one in body and one in spirit. Their bond might have been new, but Graeson had accepted it a long time ago.
"Do it now!" Domitius barked.
A flurry of guards poured from the castle, but Kallie’s attention went straight to the young man in the epicenter. She squinted, trying to figure out what he was holding. When he hit the bottom of the steps, the fading sunlight beamed on him, and thin metal sparkled in the light.
Kallie gasped just as Graeson released a heart-wrenching screech. The man was holding a syringe, and she could only guess what was in it.
Her power became a hurricane inside her. It flooded her system and poured down her limbs.
Domitius could take away her memories.
He could take away her voice.
He could even copy her power and steal it for himself.
But Kallie was done letting Kage Domitius hurt the people she loved.
She dug, scouring for her power. With one tug, it flooded her body, flowing into her bloodstream. Her power blossomed inside her like never before. It was stronger, steadier, fiercer. A prickle of sweat dripped down her spine as her senses sharpened. She focused on the pressure of the blade, on Domitius’ arm holding her in place. She could hear his heartbeat thundering, its rhythm thrumming across her skin. Kallie latched onto it and poured the command through her body and into his.
She kept pouring it, letting her words seep into his skin.
She was Kalisandre Helene Nadarean, and only she controlled her fate.
With a snap, she released the command.
In a breath that seemed to span time, the metal left her throat, and a soft thump echoed.
But Kallie didn’t let herself sit in her relief for long. Grabbing Domitius’ arm, she ducked and bent it behind him.
"But you shouldn’t be able to—h-how did you—" Domitius sputtered, realizing too late what was happening. "You’re too weak!"
Kallie wanted to spit Kage’s words back at him. That he was the one who had trained her and made her a force to be reckoned with. But the mask still prohibited her from speaking. Instead, she kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling.
His body went limp on impact, yet his chest still rose and fell. He was still alive.
Kallie grabbed him by the collar and rolled him onto his back.
Her power, a tangible wave of heat, flowed through her skin and spilled into him. With his limbs cemented to the earth, bound by her command, Kallie frantically searched his body.
Quickly locating a key in his chest pocket, she snatched it and fiddled with the metal lock on the back of her mask.
She heard Graeson’s panic roar behind her. She had to hurry. She had to help him.
The mask dug into her flesh, pinching her skin. Her chest rose frantically, her panic sending her spiraling and causing sweat to bead on her palms. Frustration tainted her movements as she struggled with the lock.
Graeson’s roar continued to ring in her ears.
A pair of calloused hands were suddenly on hers, clamping over the key.
