by Sarah Hawke
“Zor kalah,” Kaseya breathed. “How is this possible?”
Selvhara slowly shook her head as the dragon looped around Vel’shannar and eventually perched atop the largest, widest spire at the center of the city. Its scales shimmered just like adamantine in the dim light, and when it unfurled its wings and roared it felt like the entire Underworld trembled.
“This is what she wanted us to see down here,” Jorem whispered. “Son of a bitch…”
Selvhara slowly dragged her eyes away from the giant beast. “What?”
“Varassa,” Kaseya reasoned. “She wanted us to see the dragon. She wanted us to know what’s really going on beneath Highwind.”
“Exactly,” Jorem said, nodding. “She knew were searching for information and probably guessed we would end up in the Spire of Sorcery. That’s why those books were sitting out in the library—not because she knew I had the dragon blood, but because someone else had been reading them recently.”
“But that’s…” Selvhara paused and shook her head. She still didn’t quite believe what she was seeing. First there were rumors of another Conduit, and now there is another dragon? How is this possible? How could the One God have been so thoroughly mistaken?
“It’s insane is what it is,” Jorem whispered. “But it’s also the truth. Think about it: the rows and rows of burned bodies outside the city, the fact that most of the drow seem to have been driven off while all their slaves were set free… Vel’shannar wasn’t abandoned and sealed—it was conquered.”
“By a sorcerer,” Kaseya whispered. “One powerful enough to transform himself into a dragon like the Wyrm Lords of old.”
Selvhara felt the blood drain from her face as the crowd’s chanting became louder and louder. “I don’t understand,” she whispered. “You were meant to become the first true dragon on this land in an age. You were meant to destroy the Conduit!”
“Yeah, well, prophecies are funny that way,” he muttered. “A few months ago we were convinced that Kaseya was the ‘Daughter of Destiny’ and her sister was the ‘Betrayer’ of Nol Krovos. Well, it turns out we had that one pretty damn wrong too.”
“You don’t understand,” Selvhara said. “These were not mere mortal portents. They were delivered by—”
Jorem frowned when she abruptly cut herself off. “Delivered by…?”
Selvhara’s throat nearly closed off. “The Vin Aetheri mystics are rarely wrong about such things,” she rasped. “They should have sensed the presence of another dragon.”
“Yeah, well, maybe what they were sensing is right over there,” Jorem said.
A dragon will destroy the new Conduit, the One God’s words echoed through Selvhara’s head. And once I have reclaimed her stolen Godsoul, I will have more than enough strength to eradicate the sorcerer and all his cursed kin myself. The blood that was stolen shall finally be returned…and this wretched, broken world will once again know the glory of my rule.
“We have to get out of here,” Kaseya said. “We have to warn the Council.”
“If they can’t stop Marcella, what hope do they have against this?” Jorem asked. “Highwind doesn’t even have an army of its own!”
“An army cannot win this fight,” Selvhara whispered as the enormous, winged beast once again took flight. “Only another dragon can.”
To Be Continued
The adventure will continue in The Amazon’s Vengeance 3!
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Also by Sarah Hawke
Wings of the Seraph
Wings of the Seraph
Outcast
Spider Zero
Spectre
The Last Blade
The Elf Slave Series
Slave to the Empire
Unbound
Unchained
Unbroken
Unleashed
The Spider Queen Collection
Web of the Spider Queen
Slaves of the Spider Queen
Bound to the Spider Queen
Vengeance of the Spider Queen
The Dragon Bride Chronicles
The Dragon Bride
Dirty, Filthy Fantasies
The Priestess’s Gratitude
The Headmistress’s Punishment
The Ranger-General’s Submission
The Ranger-General’s Submission
Knightfall
About the Author
Sarah Hawke lives in New England with her two cats, a horse, and a car that actually functions now thanks to the generosity of her readers!