Page 12 of Kiss of Death
If I hadn’t had the reflexes of a dragon, I wouldn’t have been able to sidestep it and avoid the mortal wound. But I escaped unscathed and grabbed his extended arm before I slammed it down on my raised knee, making him scream when I snapped the elbow through his armor.
I slammed the hilt of my blade into the back of his head and sent him to the ground, where he landed with a thud on his stomach. He immediately crawled away to get to his feet, but I jumped on his back and pressed the tip of my blade to the back of his neck.
“Listen to me?—”
Slowly, I pressed my blade into his flesh and inched it farther down to his spine.
He started to scream when he felt the blade dig deeper.
When I hit bone, I lifted the sword slightly and then slammed it down again—cutting the bone in two.
His body was instantly lifeless under me. I withdrew my blade then stepped off his back, immediately looking at the castle to see it standing tall despite the battle that raged on both fronts.
I barely had a moment to enjoy the sight when Khazmuda’s voice entered my mind.We’ve killed the vampiric dragons, but there are more. They’re destroying the fleet, and Hawk says they’ve been forced to retreat.
All the pride at my victory deflated from my lungs.
There are too many of them.What do we do, Lily?
I moved to the edge of the courtyard and looked down below, seeing ships on fire as they continued to fire cannons at one another.Our dragons can’t defeat the vampires?
Not when they’re fighting the vampiric dragons. And the other dragons can’t help without compromising your father.
My father wouldn’t want us to lose the battle because of him.
You’re right, he wouldn’t. So we have to find another solution quickly.
At that moment, Movack appeared in the sky above me and came in for a hard landing. Hawk was visible in the saddle, his armor scuffed, with a cut on his brow.
“Hawk, are you okay?”
He slid down Movack’s body and staggered to my side. “The Brigandine Empire and the Northern Kingdoms have joined the battle, but their impact is dwarfed by the vampiric dragons. And the army of vampires will break through the barrier and run through the village. Even if we defeat them at sea, we won’t defeat them on land.” He took several heavy breaths, visibly coated in sweat from the last few hours of battle. “I’m out ofideas, Lily.” He turned to the castle and then back to me. “What do we do?”
Frozen in place with an erratic heart, I felt my brother’s stare pierce my cheek. Desperate for direction when there seemed to be no answer in sight, I stepped closer to the edge of the courtyard and looked at the battle at sea. Many of our ships had been set ablaze by the vampiric dragons. It was hard to see the dragons above, but their engaged silhouettes showed they were at war with each other, clawing and fighting in the skies before they tumbled toward the sea. In the chaos, the Barbarians shot their golden spears at more of our dragons, claiming their lives so they could hit the surface of the water and then be turned into demonic creatures like them.
It was so horrible, I didn’t want to look at it, but it was my burden to do so.
“Lily.”
I continued to pant and breathe, watching my kingdom fall on two fronts, having underestimated my enemy.
“Lily.”
“We have to let our father go.” It was a decision I’d never wanted to make, but our harsh reality made it for me.
“What do you mean?”
“Half of the dragon fleet is keeping him alive. We need them right now…for both fronts.”
When Hawk understood, he gave a shaky breath, his eyes suddenly winced in despair. “No?—”
“I don’t want to do it either, but he wouldn’t want this. Wouldn’t want so many dragons to focus on him when they could turn the tide of the battle. Wouldn’t want to lose his kingdom just for the chance he might live.”
Hawk’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine in horror.
“Our enemies wouldn’t expect fifty more dragons to appear out of nowhere. It might be enough.”
“This is Dad we’re talking about?—”
