The Dragon Slayer (Dragon Prince Series Book 1)

by Marie Daye

  “You are like her. Like Brenna, a strong warrior. But you are more like a dragon than a mortal, more than you realize. With each dragon’s life you take, even one you didn’t take, you take in all their pain. I saw it just now. You are not a normal slayer, Libelle. You do not find enjoyment from taking a dragons life do you?”

  Libelle shook her head, “I hate it. I hate every moment of it, the fighting and the killing.” She spoke honestly, looking straight into his eyes. Her shoulders were stiff and her arms straight by her sides when a flood of tears formed into her eyes. “I wish I didn't have to!” She raised her hands to her face, hiding herself as uncontrolled tears and cries escaped her.

  In that moment, Eskil saw her; he saw Brenna but he also saw Libelle. His memory flashed back to her, to his ‘adopted daughter and best friend.’ Stuck in a similar situation with Brenna years ago, when his slayer came to him and pleaded, begging for a full out war not to break out.

  How he had failed her. He shook his head and clenched his eyes shut, knowing he couldn't go back there: not now. He opened his eyes and stared at Libelle, she still stood shaking and wiping away the strong current of tears. Her long and thick hair loose around her waist and blowing back and forth in the wind, her big eyes hooded with her tears, her petite frame shivering. When he stared at her now, he saw his Brenna: but this wasn't her. Perhaps it was once her spirit, reincarnated into this slayer. Perhaps this was the old god’s way of testing him, allowing him to right his past failures.

  Eskil looked down at his hands, and did something he had never been able to do with Brenna. But he could try it here and now, with Libelle. He took long steps, stopping just inches from her. She wiped away more tears and looked up at him, a gasp escaping her when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her snugly to his chest. One hand gently nestled on the back of her head, the other on the small of her back. He held her gently, but firmly with her hands against his chest and her head turned to the side. She was holding her breath, and he stroked her blonde hair.

  “I am sorry slayer, Libelle. You understand more than I could have hoped for.”

  Eskil closed his eyes and held her close while she cried, while she fought through the pain and terror that the young dragon had felt. While she relived his final moments, and when he felt his life fade: she felt like hers did too. Brenna experienced this only twice in her thirty years, and he was with her for both. She would cry so hard, clinging to his scales she would shake and wail until she would exhaust herself. But then her nightmares would start, and those were worse than when she would absorb the soul. Nightmares would last for weeks, haunting her sleep and waking her in the night. Waking him.

  He had been such a fool, he had been cruel to her. Eskil gently led Libelle to the ground, the slayer, cursed dragon, the elf was breaking in ways he never would have been able to break her. Her heart was shattering into pieces. He stroked her hair as he positioned her comfortably between his bent knees, hugging her like this warmed him more than the sun beating on them as it slowly set past the mountains.

  How he wish he could have held Brenna like this…

  “I found Brenna when she was a small child, she was no more than twelve in mortal years. She had stumbled her way into the dragons nesting ground, which was forbidden at that time. Heh, for many reasons. Females are aggressive, they are strong and ill-tempered, and above all are territorial of land and protective of their hatchlings.

  “Somehow that little brat wandered into the middle of the nesting ground and found herself being taunted by several hatchlings, she was scrawny and wore tattered cloth. Yet she wasn't scared, she didn't back down from them. It wasn't until one of them tried to use bite her that she snarled back at them, showing them that she wasn’t scared of them. Sent the young flying away but drew in a few of the females. Curious, I investigated and took her out of there before one of the females made her dinner.”

  Eskil pleasantly chuckled at the memory, leaning back on the stump behind him and pulling Libelle with him. Her sobs were slowing as she listened to his memory. “Brenna was born in a time that the slayers were just becoming more familiar to hear about, the souls of dragon being in mortal? At first it was just a few here and there, but the numbers grew and many blindly followed the rule of the Kings who wanted the dragons eliminated. Brenna was not like the others, she was defiant of their rule. She challenged their authority, and asked questions that actually challenged both the mortals and my own opinion on certain matters.

  “She was this tiny thing at first, playing in the fields with the hatchlings and being closely watched by the females. But she grew fast, she grew into a tall and beautiful nord. She had dark brown hair and always kept it short, the young ones fire had singed it off one too many times. Her eyes with an earthy green, and they held this level of intelligence that you wouldn’t expect to find in a mortal. She was not thin like you, she was larger and wider than you. But she was not, ahem, as curved as you are.”

  He saw the pink flush on Libelle’s cheeks and he wiped away one of her tears. “Brenna grew up with the dragon, she was raised and taught by us. She learned our language, our history, and our culture. Yes, despite what you may think we do have culture. She became a peace-keeper between the two races, standing alongside many of the slayers who did not want the war to continue. She was special to me, and she knew it; she was always close by my side.

  “She was in her early twenties when I learned she was not only special to me, but also special to the dragon and a problem to man. One of the hatchlings had wandered too far from the nesting grounds and she went to retrieve it, the little one did not want to return and found itself in the middle of the pending war in a farmer's field. It burnt a few of his sheep and the fool killed it before Brenna could stop him.

  “That was the first time I had ever seen her cry, and when I learned of her… unfortunate curse. The hatchlings death went into her, but she felt the infant’s terror and its pain while the farmer beat and stabbed it with a pitch fork. It wasn't too long after that, when our strength began to be questioned by man. Suddenly they were starting uprisings against their kings, these slayers began leading them and killing our kind. Our young were slain in their nests, sometimes before they even hatched.

  “Despite those who wanted peace, more wanted war. This is when I learned of the traitors within my ranks, dragons who wanted bloodshed. They wanted war. They even began fighting between one another, wounding the loser but not killing unless necessary. However, there were the few who killed just for the fun of it. Brenna had stepped in between a battle one evening, between myself and two young dragon. I told her not to, but she didn't listen. I told you she was stubborn didn't I?

  “It was a mess, it shouldn't have happened but it did. The young dragon would not back off, one lost its life by her hands. For weeks, I would find her curled up under my wing crying or waking from nightmares. The pain of taking the dragon’s life was too great for her gentle nature. I see her kind spirit in you, but you're stronger than she is. You may cry, you may show your pain: but you're stronger. Perhaps if she were stronger she would not have died.”

  Libelle’s tears had stopped while she listened to him, her head resting on his chest listening to his strong heartbeat. “What happened to her?”

  Eskil paused, staring at the sun as it slipped behind a mountain peak. “She was murdered, by one of my nephews. He had sworn allegiance to a mortal who had sworn to win the war between man and dragon, he had been promised petty things. I don’t know exactly why he chose to kill her, but he thought that her death would lead me to break the truce. He was right, her death sparked the beginning of the true war.”

  He closed his eyes and the memory was still vivid in his mind, he could remember everything clearly. Man had gathered with the dragons, peace was meant to be spoken. Arguments broke out and the traitorous bastard…

  It was a long time ago, the land was beginning to be cultivated but there were few settlements. Nordic men built small towns at first,
but their cities grew in size and their numbers grew in power. Farmers moved their herds without care, warriors practiced their skills in the open, and dragons flew all over in the skies. It was a time where dragons and mankind originally worked together. They were friends and allies who were experiencing a very rough time in their relationship.

  Eskil sat above a man-made pillar, the ground beneath him was well polished stone with intricate shapes carved into the slabs. It formed a large and open room, one without walls and without a roof. A place where man and dragon could meet and speak calmly.

  “Eskil! These battles cannot continue, too many men and women have already died!” Shouted an elderly man, stepping up from his chair to speak to the five men around him and the three dragons. Two of the priests from Uppsala paced back and forth behind them. Only leaving the sanctity of their temple to discuss this foolish war, they knew the Gods had created man and dragon so they could co-exist. However, they fought for control of the islands instead. Eskil stared down at them from his perch, his three most trusted dragons sitting behind him. Brenna stood on the ground in front of him, arguing with the mortal men.

  “Men and women have died, but what of the dragons?” She asked. “This whole situation occurred only because men killed dragon! Man has rebelled against the gods! Búri created dragons to be our allies, and they fulfilled that duty! They have dedicated themselves to mankind, they have been our friends; and instead of respecting that, man sought power over them! They killed them to prove what? Their worth? What does that mean?”

  “The dragons swore to protect us!” Another man shouted.

  “Dragons never swore that! Man abused their words, interpreting what they said for something else. They heard what they wanted to hear.” Brenna countered. “Agreements go both ways, you cannot have loyalty without both sides showing that they are in an agreement. Men broke that loyalty and that trust.”

  All of the men burst from their seat, shouting all at once and their voices blocking each other’s out. The peace-talk was not going as well as all had hoped. Men wanted to rule their lands and to rule the dragons, and dragons refused to be ruled by such weak creatures. Dragons we're proud creatures, they would not bow to the weakness of man.

  Eskil’s kin were becoming more and more intolerant of their behavior, their murderous acts on their young was the last straw they could break and now they retaliated. They burned the nord’s homes, stole from the flocks, and for each dragon slain, a mortals home burned.

  The slayer’s who had once joined his force, promising to work with his kin to stop the war from progressing further. Instead, they rebelled. Using their strength to slay the dragons for coin and worthless titles. If they did not come to an agreement soon, this would escalate to a full out war, one he wasn’t sure he could stop.

  Dragons versus both mankind and the slayers. His arrogant self would smile, and embrace the fields of burnt corpses his kin would leave behind their flame. However, it would never be truly worth it. The gods did not want this war to continue. His mind had slipped from the argument but quickly returned when Brenna was face-to-face with one of the mortal men.

  “You whore to a dragon! You speak lies!” One of the elder’s sons stood mere inches from her, threatening and insulting her with his words.

  Eskil growled a deep rumbling threat of his own at the young nord whose eyes widened, but he did not step away. He swallowed hard, “I am right! She is your whore Eskil, you’re a disgrace to all dragon kind!”

  Eskil stood on his perch, the growl in his throat becoming more threatening. Brenna turned around to face him and raised her hands, “It’s alright, battle-brother.”

  She called him that often when they were not alone. Her friend and her ally. He snorted and she smiled at him when he returned to resting on his wings. Before he could blink one of the nord’s pulled a knife and rushed Brenna, shouting something he could not understand.

  Brenna turned and grabbed his arm when another man charged her side, the other three men turning to fight with the priests. Eskil’s throat widened with his roar, with it the clouds darkened and the air thickened. He left his perch and landed on the ground a few feet away from Brenna, one of the men assaulting her turned and rushed him. He turned his body and slapped the man with his tail, the mortal’s body slamming into a stone wall.

  “Eskil!”

  He turned his head quickly to her voice, she was on her knees trying to stand when another man rushed at him: a broad sword raised above his head and ready to strike down across his neck. He evaded the man's first attack, but froze when he heard one of the dragons snarl. In a moment the dragon was behind Brenna, she was unable to react in time as was he. The dragon’s fangs ripped through her chest, piercing her lungs.

  The dragon fled and one of the dragons launched after him, the second landed on the ground in front of Eskil and showered the mortal men with his fiery blaze. Eskil moved towards Brenna who lay on the ground, blood pooling from her wounds. He nudged her with his rough nose and slowly she reached towards him; a bloody hand rested near his nostril, forever staining his skin with her blood. She coughed, trying to form words to speak to him but her failing ability of retrieving air hindered her speech. She gasped and coughed more, blood dripping from her lip.

  “My child.” He whispered to her while examining her wound. It was fatal, his little child would not recover from this injury. The remaining priest quickly retreated to a safe distance, mounting his horse and leaving the scene. The two surviving dragons now looked at him, nodded and returned to the sky, leaving him alone with his mortal child. He curled himself around her, gently tucking her under his wing and her head resting against his neck.

  She tried inhaling which only resulted in her coughing again, her trembling hand reached up and pulled down on one of his horns and he turned so he could see into her eyes. She mouthed her words to him, and he felt his heart ache. If dragons could cry, he would cry.

  ‘Eskil, I love you. I always have, I always will.’ She paused to smile at him with tears in her eyes. ‘It’s not your fault.’

  Brenna slipped away from life moments after, and Eskil’s heart break slowly grew to rage. Her death led to the beginnings of a full outbreak of war, to the death of his kin and many mortals. Even to this exact moment.

  Eskil hated but cherished that memory, it was the last one he had of Brenna: he missed his little child. He stared down at Libelle who was now looking up at him, her eyes were red and slightly puffy. Her cheeks were flush and her lower lip was bright red, the droplet of blood still there. He lightly rubbed her cheek and she pulled away from him.

  The sun was nearly set, hidden behind the mountains and casting them in shadows with a crisp breeze flowing over the lake in their direction. He felt the cool air flow over them, and Libelle shivered; her skin prickling from the chill and she seemed to unconsciously curl up closer to him.

  I never would have been able to do this with Brenna. He thought, a crooked smile forming. He rested his hand on Libelle’s neck and bent down over her, capturing her mouth in a hot kiss. His tongue flicked over her sore lip, erasing the small amount blood before his lips locked to hers. He heard her inhale sharply when his tongue pushed past her lips and into her mouth, tangling with hers and savoring the sweet taste of her mouth. His kiss lasted only for a moment, but it thrilled him and he opened his eyes to see her reaction. It was what he expected. Her brows were narrowed together and her teeth were clenched, her fist was pulled back and in an instant she landed a blow to his chin.

  He growled and tightened his grip around her when she tried to stand up, “Sit down Bren- Libelle.”

  He heard her frustrated inhale and yelped when she bit down onto his arm, the pain causing him to jerk his arm away allowing her to she stand up, “I am not Brenna, you bastard!” Her exasperated sigh was long and deep, and her sore eyes looked like she wanted to cry again. She cursed at him and shook her head before turning on her heels. She rushed to her stallion, grabbing his reins and stretchi
ng upwards to grab onto the saddle horn; she was raising her foot into the stirrup when Eskil grabbed her wrists and spun her around. His eyes were still gold, but the shade was hotter and brighter.

  “You're right, you're not Brenna. You are...” His sentence trailed off as he smiled at her, the curve of his lips were gentle. She was angry with him, biting her lip again to stop herself from screaming at him. She was showing great restraint with him and it was impressive.

  “I am what?” She growled at him, trying to pull herself free from him again.

  Eskil chuckled, Gods curse you for this. This is cruel even for you to do. “My lifemate.”

  Chapter Twelve

  You’re what? Lifemate? What is that? Libelle was confused, it felt like her head was beginning to spin. Lifemate? Like a soulmate? No way!

  Her eyes narrowed again in confusion, “You’re what? Have you lost your mind?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I know I hit your head, but I didn't realize it was that hard.”

  “Libelle,” He lightly kissed her, taking the moment to silence her cursing. “You are different than all other slayers.”

  “You’ve explained that.” She interrupted.

  “I cannot believe it either, I always knew there was something different about you; despite all my efforts, and I’ve never been able to take your life.” She glared at him again. “The Gods have their own plans, and somehow they have made this decision: as strange as it is. You are my lifemate.”

  “You're mistaken, you are crazy.”

  He chuckled again, and wrapped his arms around her despite her struggling, his grip did not hurt her and he did not intend to harm her: so no pain came to him for his actions. He picked her up and carried her back towards the grassy spot they were just sitting on and dropped her. She fell on her back and let out a hiss when her elbow landed on a rock, she reached for it when Eskil knelt down over her and grabbed her forearm.