“Bring her,” Menelaus ordered. Someone scuttled outside the door. Bring who? Foreboding bloomed in my heart.
“I know you’re awake, my love. I have a present for you.” He was so close to me his breath stirred my hair.
I dropped the act and turned my gaze on him. He was a mix of triumph and lust. His eyes were bottomless, and he was still the monster of my nightmares. The air shimmered, my powers on the edge of a knife.
“Not so fast. Wait until your present arrives.” He tsked at me.
Voices in the hallway pulled his gaze away from me. Laughter and banter rose to a cacophony outside the door. There was a woman’s voice telling a dirty joke. The voice and the joke were both familiar. I stared at the door, praying that it wasn’t who I thought.
At the sound of more raucous laughter, Menelaus drew a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“For the love of Hades,” he cursed.
A knock. “My lord, she’s here.”
I held my breath as my stomach roiled.
“Enter!”
The door swung open, and in walked two shirtless guards followed by two more fully clothed soldiers. Behind them was a woman, fried pork skins in one hand and a set of cards in the other. “What’s up, Uncle? We were just playing strip poker—”
My heart sank. “Iphi!”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Paris
The Darkwood was steeped in twilight. Mist roiled as my men and I sped toward the destroyed watchtower. Arachne accompanied us, her spiders trailing behind her.
“How do you intend to tame him?” she asked.
I hadn’t the faintest clue. “I’m just going to play it by ear.”
“That’ll be a short tune, my lord,” Faren said.
“May I suggest something?” Arachne asked.
“I am definitely taking any helpful input at the moment.” I ducked, avoiding a low-hanging branch.
“What moved me to spare both you and Helen was her thirst for vengeance, her desire for justice. It answered my own thirst that I’d hidden deep within my breast.” The spiders tittered. “To hear the echo of trust betrayed or love shattered in another is the only thing that moves wild things who do wicked deeds to assuage their own anguish.”
“Well said, Lady of the Wood,” Faren agreed. “But I’m not entirely sure Farnkelan will listen to reason.”
“I’ll do anything to get her back. Anything.” Every second lost was a dagger to my soul.
The ruined tower finally came into view. The dragon was not perched atop it, but a rustle in the trees above alerted us to the winged terror overhead.
I slid from my amaranth and shouldered my massive shield. I only hoped the swirl pattern would awaken fond memories of Priam in the creature’s breast. If nothing else, it would bear the brunt of the dragon’s fire…at least for a time.
Turning to Faren, I said, “Stay in the woods. If I fall here, find a way to get her back. I don’t care what you have to do, just get her away from Menelaus.”
“Aye, my lord. Askenith.” Faren took a knee, as did all his men.
“Shakorah.” I hoped it wouldn’t be my last word.
I turned to the clearing and picked my way over the blasted hunks of stone and twisted roots.
The first shot came fast, a blur of flame in my vision. I hefted the shield and felt my skin singe where the orange flames licked around the metal. Farnkelan seemed to be in no mood for visitors.
A whoosh of wings and the dragon was off again, soaring into the starlit sky. Its ridged tail lashed the air, and its green scales glinted in the light. It was easily one of the largest creatures I had ever seen as it moved through the air with the swooping, powerful strokes of its wings.
“Farnkelan,” I cried, “I have come here as a supplicant—”
Another blast rocked me off my feet. I landed on my back and drew the shield over me as fire rained down. The dragon screeched a terrible roar and took off again.
I would not be quieted, even as the flesh on my arms began to sizzle against the overheated metal.
I rose back to my feet. “I am the son of Priam, the true king of the Bloodkeep.”
A black shadow blotted out the swirling stars as Farnkelan made another pass, the fire burning even hotter against me, taking me back to my knees. My hair was singed and the flesh on my hands was blackened. The onslaught was rapid and furious. The dragon’s wrath was impatient. Still, I would not retreat.
“Farnkelan!” My voice cracked. “Menelaus has taken my queen. She who defeated Desmerada at the Bloodkeep. I come to you to beg for your help. If you want my life, it is yours. But I beg of you to bring back the one who has given this kingdom, our kingdom, a new future. I beg you to help me exact vengeance on the ones who dared take her from us.”