The Dragon's Pledge

by K.N. Lee

  The panic took over, and Elle lost all sight of her goal as desperation crept into her very soul. Her hands flailed, and she gripped her throat. Water filled her nose, and seeped into her mouth despite her tightly pursed lips.

  Not like this.

  Not after everything she’d been through.

  Hands wrapped around her body, but she couldn’t see.

  Drevah.

  He held onto her and carried her to salvation.

  Once they reached the surface, her mouth gasped open and she took in as much air as she possibly could.

  Her eyes opened to see the bright sky.

  And, an army of fae soldiers flying above toward the palace, blotting out the light of the sun.

  27

  Drevah held a finger to his lips, urging her to keep silent. They swam through the river, away from the army.

  The beating of her heart thumped in her ears, as they climbed the rocks and pulled themselves up onto the bank of the river.

  “Hurry,” Drevah said, waiting for her to climb up. He reached for her, and helped her the rest of the way.

  Exhausted and disoriented, she sat on her hands and knees and tried to catch her breath.

  “Come on,” he said. “We have to hurry.”

  Elle nodded, swallowing back the dryness in her throat. “Just a moment,” she said.

  Growling, Drevah did something that sent her scrambling backward until her back was pressed against the stones.

  In a blink of an eye, he shifted. He shed his human flesh and transformed into the biggest wolf she’d ever seen.

  She gasped, staring into his bright eyes as he walked over on all fours, his large, black paws pounding on the ground. It shook beneath his steps, and she trembled as he stood before her, as tall as a horse.

  He knelt before her.

  “Get on,” he said, speaking directly into her mind.

  She nearly fainted, but kept her sense about her. She reached for him, and touched the top of his head as he bent his head toward her feet.

  “We do not have much time,” he said, and she pursed her lips, and stood.

  Once she climbed onto his back, he stood to his full height.

  “Hold on,” he said, and she leaned down to wrap her arms around his neck.

  Euphoria filled her body as she pressed her chest to his back. As he took off into the woods at full speed, their heart beats became one, and despite her initial fear, she realized this was more natural than anything she’d experienced.

  They ran through the woods and meadows for what felt like hours, and Elle fought the urge to sleep.

  Once they reached their destination, Drevah slowed enough for her to sit up.

  A temple stood before them, just off to the left of the village. It was enclosed by a wall that was merely as tall as a man, but stretched around the entire perimeter, like the Castilan Palace. The grass and grounds were perfectly manicured, and monks clothes in drab, brown robes littered the paths and gardens, executing their tasks.

  Trees with white leaves lined the paths on either side, and Elle almost wondered if what she witnessed was real.

  Memories of the monastery returned. There were some aspects that she missed. Then, there were others she cringed at remembering.

  Father Lewis was just one of the awful gifts the monastery had to give.

  “Right,” Drevah said through their mental link as they approached the temple. “Welcome to Craven Monastery.”

  From his back, her eyes widened as she gazed at its impressive architecture.

  Two monks pushed it open and stepped back so that they could enter.

  They stopped just inside the main courtyard, where the stables were located.

  “Hop off,” he said, and she did as she was told.

  Once she stood at his side, he shifted back into his human form and towered over her. For a moment, she missed him in his wolf form. Dizzy, she nearly toppled over.

  Drevah caught her in his arms, and held her steady.

  “Stay with me,” he said, softly, holding her close.

  Together, they waited before a tall, stone building with a large, red door.

  “This is it,” he said, and Elle looked upward to the gray, stone towers.

  As he said those words, the red door was opened and there stood an older man with a staff. Long, golden hair hung over his shoulders.

  With a clean-shaven face and bright, blue eyes, he had a striking resemblance to her father—so much so that she almost couldn’t breathe, and tears burned her eyes as she stared at him.

  Then, as he stepped forward, her entire body shook with disbelief.

  “Elle,” he said, smiling with tears in his eyes.

  She clasped her hand over her mouth.

  “Father?”

  Thanks for reading The Dragon’s Pledge! I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please consider leaving an honest review. It really helps us indie authors out. The next book, The Heir’s Return will be released November 2019. Until then, please enjoy the samples from a few of my new and upcoming novels!

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  A Look at Academy of Lost Souls

  I was supposed to be sleeping.

  Gwynn and Mckenna snored softly on the pile of blankets that covered the creaky wooden floor of our living room fireplace, while I sat up staring out the window at the odd, red sky.

  In all of my eighteen years, I’d never seen the sky that shade before; crimson, with trails of white that resembled lightning. But, there wasn’t a storm, or thunder, and the moon was brighter than ever.

  Frowning at it, my stomach grumbled so loudly that I feared it would awaken them. I drank some water, hoping it would quench the ever-nagging hunger that plagued me every single day of the five miserable years since the gods had returned left the world absent of every great invention it had once developed.

  I remembered great power; electricity, cars, airplanes, cell phones, and every possible luxury and convenience. I also remembered the weapons, and those who owned them—how their hate and greed nearly destroyed the entire world.

  Perhaps the gods were right in sending us back to the Dark Ages.

  I knew I should sleep, and drown out the hunger with dreams of Chinese buffets and cute pizza delivery guys bringing hot pies to my front door. It had been so long since our table had been filled with food. After Darren and our parents died, I was left as the protector of my small family. As farmers, we were better off than most after the lights went out, and grocery stores became looted graveyards of past memories.

  I was only a child back then, but a smart one—a resilient one. In the beginning of the aftermath, I sold everything we could afford to lose for the essentials we needed to survive, but it was never enough and there were still a few weeks of winter left before the land would grant us with fresh food again.

  “Skylar, where are you going?” Mckenna asked, big blue eyes staring at me from the darkness.

  Stark white hair shone from over her pale shoulders in waves—hair like mine. The three of us could have been twins, if I hadn’t been born two years earlier than them. It was the most recognizable traits of our muddled line of extraterrestrial blood.

  Starseed was the title humans gave to those who had bloodlines from distant planets and galaxies. We were rare, and feared. Perhaps that’s why my sisters and I hadn’t been bothered at all by the full-blooded humans, even when we were here all alone on a rural farm.

  “Out,” I said, simply, and she narrowed her eyes.

  As she began to stand, I sighed.

  “I’m coming with you,” she said.

  I crossed the room and took her narrow face into my hands. How I hated to see the effects of near-starvation on my sister’s face and frame.

  With a broken heart, I kissed her on the forehead and let my lips linger on her dry skin for a moment as I fought tears.

  “No, you must stay here with Gwynn. I’ll be fine. I’ll even call Orion to joi
n me,” I said, hoping to soothe her worries.

  “Okay,” she said, nodding. “As long as you take Orion with you.”

  As a fifteen-year old, she acted as though she was the oldest—like she was the mother of the three of us.

  I loved them both fiercely.

  That’s why I ventured out that fateful night.

  I smoothed her hair, forcing a smile. “Of course. He’s always a call away. Just like the old days.”

  She returned the smile, and settled back onto the makeshift bed where we all felt safe and secure by the crackling fire.

  “I’ll be back before you awaken. Hopefully, with fresh meat for breakfast.”

  That made Mckenna’s smile widen. “Be safe, Skylar,” she said, and closed her eyes.

  I breathed in a heavy sigh and turned to leave the house.

  I tensed at the sound of branches breaking in the distance outside our window. Stifling a startled gasp that would surely frighten Mckenna, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I shot a frightened look in its direction.

  Slowly standing, I slipped on my boots and tugged on a heavy coat.

  Food.

  Whatever animal made that noise and those tracks in the snow would feed us for days.

  I tip-toed over the sleeping bodies of what was left of my family and grabbed my father’s old crossbow. He’d taught me how to use it when I was as young as eight, and I’d become quite good at it. Now that he was gone, it seemed I was the only one brave enough to take chances and do what needed to be done for survival. War had destroyed our lives and the world around us. It had taken my father, mother, and brother, but that didn’t mean we should stop trying.

  That’s not what they would have wanted.

  Armed with only a crossbow and the ancient powers passed down from a galaxy far away, I slipped out the door and into the frigid air.

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  A Look at Fate of the Goddess

  From inside a cage, the world seemed bleak.

  Especially for the children of a god who had been sent to his eternal slumber. Even if their father was one of the lesser gods, the twins were meant to rule them all.

  They had been chosen through an act of sacrifice. None of that mattered now.

  Their beautiful manor was the scene of a massacre. Mother and father were dead.

  Now, the Vault was their home with all of its dark and dismal glory.

  They couldn’t even grieve the loss of their parents in peace. Every minute of every day was plagued by cold and darkness, with the occasional act of torture.

  This was to be their lives until the day Litha decided it fit to have them executed.

  Preeti could barely lift her head from resting on her brother, Vineet’s lap when the guard, Pavvi entered the dungeons.

  Dressed in leather armor made in Pollos by the Dreamweavers, he was too skinny to even be considered for any occupation in the army other than a prison guard.

  With wild red hair and freckles scattered all over his cheekbones, Pavvi reminded Preeti of a ragdoll she used to have as a child.

  Vineet smoothed Preeti’s hair. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “It’s time.”

  Pavvi pressed his smug face to the bars as he looked down at them.

  “Supper time!”

  Preeti winced as he poured their soup onto the already damp stone floor. As she watched the thin liquid splash and trail though the floor’s creases, her stomach grumbled.

  Neither of the twins had eaten in days. Pavvi only fed them their meals once a week, and that cycle had gone on for months.

  “Just leave us alone, Pavvi,” Preeti said, her bright gray eyes glaring at him.

  “Why? You’re so fun to watch suffer. Come now. Just lick it off the floor. I won’t tell anyone the infamous Latari twins eat just like dogs.”

  Preeti’s face heated. If only she could get her hands on her swords. She imagined grabbing his lips with her fist and slicing them off with her sharpened blade.

  Closing her eyes, she imagined his cries of agony. One day.

  Maybe today.

  Preeti had trained in every form of combat. Killing a lowly guard would be nothing to her.

  She’d never killed anyone and had never wanted to until she and Vineet were charged with treason and imprisoned by the Goddess of Law.

  How could Litha convince anyone that Preeti and her brother were frauds when everyone in attendance saw them get sacrificed, and come back from the Cliffs of Ranoun alive?

  It had been a life-changing day.

  To face certain death and be spared. Preeti and Vineet never had dreams of ruling the gods, but their shared experience proved to them as well as to the citizens of Aden that they were chosen.

  Destined.

  Now, she wished they could simply return to when life was simple and there were no responsibilities outside of their daily studies and training. To rest in bed with a book until breakfast was prepared was a common dream for Preeti now. How she wished she hadn’t taken her good life for granted.

  Preeti coughed, the back of her throat dry. She and Vineet would have to conserve their energy if they wanted to escape.

  “Bastard,” Preeti said under her breath.

  Pavvi kicked the bars with his thick boot. “What was that?”

  Preeti sighed. It took everything in her to stand, even more, to hobble over to the bars of her cell. She wrapped her hands around the bars, standing right before him.

  Pavvi jumped back, fear in his eyes.

  “Get back!”

  “Why do you have to be so hateful? What have we ever done to you?”

  He grabbed a long, silver pole and stabbed her through the bars with it.

  Hope filled her body even faster than the intense heat that entered her belly.

  Despite the pain from harnessed lightning, Preeti grabbed the sharp end of it and ripped it away from Pavvi’s grasp.

  A triumphant grin came to her face as she flipped the pole to point its end at Pavvi.

  It worked.

  His face turned ashen as he looked down at the sharp end, sparks of lightning racing up and down the steel like blue and silver cords of light. The heat radiated off the steel and warmed Preeti’s chilled cheeks.

  “Good job, Pavvi,” Preeti purred. “There is one thing I can honestly say that I truly love about you.”

  “What’s that?” He asked, sweat beading on his forehead.

  Preeti leaned forward. “You can be so predictable.”

  Vineet came to his feet. He stood a half-foot taller than Preeti. They shared the same straight black hair, large gray eyes, and matching intricate black tattoos on their light bronze-colored flesh.

  Vineet was built much more muscular, but Preeti had a slim, athletic build that made her a formidable opponent even to men.

  Nonetheless, Pavvi looked ready to soil his pants at the sight of them not looking half as downtrodden as he’d been led to believe.

  They were gods after all.

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  About the Author

  K.N. Lee is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she is not writing twisted tales, fantasy novels, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling and promotes other authors. Wannabe rockstar, foreign language enthusiast, and anime geek, K.N. Lee also enjoys helping others reach their writing and publishing goals. She is a winner of the Elevate Lifestyle Top 30 Under 30 "Future Leaders of Charlotte" award.

  She is signed with Captive Quill Press and Patchwork Press.

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  Also by K.N. Lee

  The Wicked Crown:

  Throne of Deceit

  Throne of Malice

  Throne of Peril

  Throne of Envy

  Dawn of the Seraphim:

  The Blood Lottery

  The
Fallen Wall

  The Ashen City

  The Dragon Born Saga:

  Half-Blood Dragon

  Magic-Born Dragon

  Queen of the Dragons

  War of the Dragons

  Fate of the Dragons

  Curse of the Dragons

  Wrath of the Dragons

  The Chronicles of Koa Series:

  Netherworld

  Dark Prophet

  Blood Princess

  Crimson King

  The Eura Chronicles:

  Rise of the Flame

  Night of the Storm

  Dawn of the Forgotten

  Prophecy of the Seer (Coming Soon)

  Empire of Dragons Chronicles:

  Fallen Empire

  Reign of Magic

  Fire and Fury

  Realms of Ruin

  Guardians of the Five Worlds:

  Fate of the Goddess

  Fall of the Gods