Page 15 of Kiss of Death
But could they have come this quickly?
I—I don’t know. But it must be them.
The vampires are about to take the village, Lily. Their aid at sea won’t help us.
Zehemoth appeared from the sky then landed with a tremble beside me.
I continued my conversation with Khazmuda.Send the dragons to the village. Stop them from breaking through. I’ll fly to their ships to make sure they’re our allies. If they are, then we’ll sink the Barbarians’ fleetto the bottom of the ocean with no contest. I’ll have their ships shoot down the vampiric dragons.I moved to Zehemoth and climbed up his saddle.Take me to the ships that come from the west.
“Lily, what are you doing?” Hawk asked as he approached Zehemoth.
“I sent the dragons to help with the village. We’ll sink their ships at sea. Bring the army to the village and hold them off until I return with reinforcements.” Without waiting for him to ask questions or agree to my orders, Zehemoth shot for the sky, and we flew high into the darkness.
Are you sure they’re allies?
No. But I think they are.
Zehemoth sprinted across the sky, careful to avoid the deviled dragons that attacked the ships of the allies that had come to our rescue. When we got close enough, I could see the symbols on their sails.
And the images of kingsnakes.
Viper.
“They’re allies,” I said. “Get me to that ship in the middle. The biggest one with the three sails.” It was more regal than the others, with bigger sails, a large galleon with more expansive quarters on the ship. Either the king would be there or Viper.
Zehemoth brought himself to a glide just over the surface of the water, and he straightened his wings like a smooth slab of marble. I left my saddle and ran across his wing, timing the jump perfectly to land on the ship and roll across the deck until I sprang back to my feet.
I immediately searched the faces of the men who stared at me, with slitted yellow eyes from the snake venom in their dead hearts. One pair of eyes stood out from all the rest, not because they were different from the others, but because the intensity was in a whole new category.
It was Viper, in armor with the crest of the snake in the center of his chest, his enormous sword across his back, ready to fight in a battle so far away from his home. His eyes looked me over with a flash of concern and longing before they became authoritative and dispassionate.
I walked up to him, so emotional and grateful that he had just saved my father’s life, I crashed into him and hugged him hard. I sucked in a breath that made my eyes water painfully. I clung to him like he was about to shake me off.
He stood still for a moment before he reciprocated the affection.
“Thank you,” I said through my tears. “Thank you, thank you.” I pulled away to look him in the face, to show my gratitude with my heart on my sleeve. “I’ll be eternally grateful to you and the Kingsnake Vampires for as long as I live. The Southern Isles will always heed your call for aid. Anything you ever need, we will be there for you.”
Perhaps it was because he was in the presence of an audience of men who stared at us, but he regarded me with a stoic look. “What are your orders, Queen Rothschild?”
He’d come to save my people, but he still deferred to me as the leader, a generosity I didn’t deserve. “They have an army of vampires on the other side of the cliffs. They’re about to take my village. I had my dragons turn their attention there to hold them back as long as possible before your men can get there. They’revampires like you…but different. They’re killing our dragons and turning them into one of them.” I looked to the left, seeing one of the dragons attacking a ship in the distance. “And those are the ones that attack you.”
“How many on land?” he asked.
“Five thousand. They’ve obliterated most of my army because they’re too strong?—”
“A vampire is equivalent to three or four men, depending on the type. What kind are they?”
“I—I don’t know. But they’re fucking strong—even for me.”
“Even for you?” he asked.
There wasn’t time to explain my powers right now. “Divert half your army to the cliffs and the other half to sea. Can that be done?”
Viper immediately turned to one of his commanders who stood at attention. “Separate the fleet. Prepare the soldiers for battle on foot.”
“Yes, General.” He immediately stepped aside to carry out those orders.
“What’s the quickest way to land?”
