Dragon Blessed (The Dragonwalker Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Indra raced over to him and threw her arms around him in a hug. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

  “I have a feeling we’ll see each other again,” Fes said. He nodded to Adoran and the Toulen warriors streamed off, Adoran and Ulesn at the head, Indra between them. They made good time, the horses’ hooves clattering off the stones as they raced along the mountain. Fes would stay here, waiting until Alison and the rebellion appeared. How long would it be before they showed up? How long could he delay?

  Fes glanced at Jayell as he took a seat while holding onto the reins of his horse. “You don’t have to do this. If this goes awry…”

  “I am going to stay with you,” she said. “You promised to find Griffin.”

  “I will help you with that. After.”

  And he needed to have enough time that not only could Indra and the rest of the Toulen warriors escape, but he needed to have a chance to escape. If the sculpture changed, losing its blessing while he was still with the rebels, then he would fail.

  Fes was determined not to fail. He looked over at Jayell. “While we’re waiting, why don’t you tell me more about the fire mages?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The journey back to the capital took quite a bit longer than the journey out had taken him. He rode the Dragon Guard stallion, and Jayell rode alongside him. Fes felt a growing trepidation as they approached Anuhr, and it had almost as much to do with the fact that he feared what might come of the Dragon Guard as it did anything else.

  “Do you regret anything?” Jayell asked as they approached the city.

  “I regret that I had to betray Alison,” he said.

  “There was something between the two of you, wasn’t there?”

  “A long time ago,” Fes said.

  “It seems as if it were more recent.”

  Fes shook his head. “Anything that seemed recent with Alison was…”

  He squeezed his eyes closed. When he had traveled with her the last time, he had been reminded of the connection they shared, and he had come to know her better than he ever had when they had more romance between them. A part of him wished that there could be something more, but he knew better. Anything that could have been would have required he align himself with the rebellion. Fes preferred his neutrality—as much neutrality as he could manage.

  “I will help you find Griffin, and after that, you can return to the Priests of the Flame if you want.”

  “I’m not sure what I want. Not anymore,” she said.

  They had been through so much over the last few weeks, and he had forced her to use her fire mage abilities much more often than she had wanted. Now that she had, what did that mean for her? Could she ever return to the Priests of the Flame, or was she always going to remain a fire mage?

  “Will Azithan meet with you?” she asked.

  “I’m not so worried about whether Azithan will meet with me. I more concerned about what will happen when I appear in the palace.”

  “That Dragon Guard captain?”

  “Jaken.” Fes worried more about Jaken than he did about confronting Azithan. He didn’t think that he could easily overpower Azithan, but he also didn’t think that Azithan intended him any harm. It might be a misguided belief, and he had made that mistake before, but this was something that he needed to do.

  “What if he’s not there?”

  “He’ll be there,” Fes said.

  “And if he’s not?”

  “Then we wait,” Fes said.

  He doubted that Azithan would be anywhere other than in the city. If he had managed to get into the Draconis Pass, he would have needed to bring the dragon relics back to the city for the emperor. Unless Azithan had kept them for himself. If that were the case, where would he have stored them?

  As they approached the city, Fes motioned for Jayell to dismount. “It wouldn’t do for us to come riding in on Dragon Guard horses,” he said. He patted the flank of the horse and sent it running off. He wasn’t certain whether the horse would return to the city or whether it would run somewhere else. Either way, he doubted it mattered.

  They walked the rest the way into the city, passing through some of the outer sections before heading into the heart of the city. As they approached, Jayell became increasingly quiet and more somber. “What is it?” Fes asked.

  “I was here, once. When I was training with the fire mages, I came here. Everyone who trains needs to come to the capital at least once,” she said.

  “I don’t think it’s changed much,” Fes said.

  “But I have,” Jayell said.

  They took back streets as they meandered through the city, heading toward the palace in the distance. Eventually, he made his way to it, sneaking through one of the back entrances and winding his way up toward Azithan’s rooms.

  When he reached the landing outside Azithan’s rooms, he froze.

  Dragon Guards were stationed outside the entrance.

  “We should go,” he whispered.

  He didn’t say it fast enough, and one of the Dragon Guards turned toward him.

  He recognized the soldier. He was one of the soldiers who had been with Jaken when Fes had first been captured.

  The man lunged toward him.

  Fes grabbed his daggers, unsheathing them quickly. He didn’t want to harm the Dragon Guard, but there wasn’t much choice to it.

  Heat began to build behind him.

  The soldiers were pushed back, a barrier forcing them away.

  Fes glanced over his shoulder to see Jayell holding a dragon relic. It was the same relic that she had stared at near the fire, the same one with the odd black coloring to it.

  “Do what you need to do,” she whispered.

  Fes quickly made his way around the Dragon Guard and knocked each man in the side of the head, dropping them unconscious. They wouldn’t have much time now that the Dragon Guard had been attacked.

  He reached the door to Azithan’s chambers and knocked before pushing it open.

  When he stepped inside, he wasn’t surprised to see Azithan sitting near the hearth, a book open on his lap. The fact that there had been Dragon Guard outside his door had suggested to Fes that he was here. Otherwise, why would the emperor have placed men outside it?

  Azithan looked over, seemingly unsurprised to see Fes bursting into his room. He closed the book. “Fezarn. And his fire mage friend.”

  “Where is the boy?” Fes asked.

  “Close the door, Fezarn.”

  Fes shook his head. “Where is the boy, Azithan?”

  Azithan raised his hand and a surge of heat burst from his palm. There were no flames, just the heat, and the door slammed closed.

  “I take it that you took out the guard,” he said.

  Fes nodded. “I won’t have much time. All I want is the boy.”

  “What is he to you, Fezarn?”

  “A promise,” Fes said.

  “And does a promise mean so much to you?”

  “It means more than it should,” Fes said. As much as he wished otherwise, too often he was tied to his promises and felt compelled to follow through on them. It would be easier if it weren’t that case, but…

  “The boy is safe,” Azithan said.

  “You used him. You used him to get the dragon relics from the heart of the pass.”

  Azithan smiled. “An interesting choice of words, I think.”

  “What?”

  “Heart. I believe the last task you were assigned was to bring the heart to me.”

  “I brought you the heart.” Fes resisted the urge to look over at it, knowing that it was a replica. He had thought that Azithan had not known, that he was content with the fact that even if it were a replica, it was a good one.

  “You brought me a copy. I am surprised that you would ally yourself with the rebels.”

  “I didn’t do anything with the rebels,” Fes said.

  “Ah, But that is not quite true,” Azithan said. Heat continued to radiate from him, a steady pressure.
“You allowed to the rebellion to keep the heart. I admit that I was surprised by that turn of events, and… pleased.”

  “Why were you pleased?” Fes asked.

  “I hadn’t realized that she would have such a predilection toward the rebellion.”

  Fes tensed. Was Azithan intending to use him against the rebellion? If he did, Fes wouldn’t allow that. He couldn’t allow that.

  “Why?”

  Azithan stared at him for a moment. “Why? I thought you would have figured it out by now.”

  “Assume that I haven’t,” Fes said.

  Azithan snorted. “I will go along with this charade,” he said. “You have worried about what my role is. You have worried about this boy, a young Deshazl.” He looked over at Jayell and smiled tightly. “And you have continually attempted to deceive me, thinking that my ties to the emperor and the empire are a reason for you to do so.”

  “I haven’t deceived you,” Fes said.

  “You have. I understand the reason that you have. You have allowed your connections and your commitment to others to draw you. And I cannot blame you for what you’ve done.”

  “Azithan?”

  Azithan clasped his hands together. “You worry about how I might react, but you needn’t.” He cocked his head to the side, listening. Heat blossomed from him. “I think… I think that it is time for you to depart, Fezarn. Your Dragon Guard Captain has returned, and I fear that you won’t have much time.”

  Azithan stood and swept toward the door, grabbing Jayell and Fes by the arm. When he pushed open the door, he shuffled Jayell in front of him, but then Azithan pushed out with a heat barrier, sweeping it out from him.

  Fes had only a moment to notice that Jaken was slammed against the wall by the barrier. His eyes went wide but he looked to Jayell, assuming that she was the one placing the heat barrier.

  “Azithan?” He was confused as to what Azithan was doing.

  “Go, Fezarn.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  When Azithan answered, he did so in a whisper that carried only to Fes’s ears. And Fes could barely believe what he heard.

  “Because it’s not your time to remain here. Not yet, at least. And I have need of the Deshazl.”

  Grab book 3 of The Dragonwalker: Dragon Rise

  Dragons will return, but who will control them?

  After betraying both the empire and the rebellion, Fes and Jayell travel alone, struggling to remain safe when a daring break-in that might provide the needed leverage goes awry. Searching for help requires he go to those who want nothing more than to raise the dragons but it’s where he might finally begin to understand just what it means for him to be Deshazl.

  Facing a fight for his life, he discovers he’s not as alone as he thought. With new allies, he might finally be able to save Jayell, but he needs to do so before a new threat attempts to use him for his connection to the long lost dragons—and destroy the empire.

  A decision forces him to come to terms with what he really wants. Does he want the protection of the empire, the rebellion, or does he serve only himself?

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading Dragon Blessed. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.

  I’m also always happy to hear from readers! Email me at dkh@dkholmberg.com. I try to respond to each message. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook as well!

  Review link HERE.

  All my best,

  D.K. Holmberg

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  Also by D.K. Holmberg

  The Dragonwalker

  Dragon Bones

  Dragon Blessed

  Dragon Rise

  The Teralin Sword

  Soldier Son

  Soldier Sword

  Soldier Sworn

  Soldier Saved

  Soldier Scarred

  The Lost Prophecy

  The Threat of Madness

  The Warrior Mage

  Tower of the Gods

  Twist of the Fibers

  The Lost City

  The Last Conclave

  The Gift of Madness

  The Great Betrayal

  The Cloud Warrior Saga

  Chased by Fire

  Bound by Fire

  Changed by Fire

  Fortress of Fire

  Forged in Fire

  Serpent of Fire

  Servant of Fire

  Born of Fire

  Broken of Fire

  Light of Fire

  Cycle of Fire

  The Endless War

  Journey of Fire and Night

  Darkness Rising

  Endless Night

  Summoner’s Bond

  Seal of Light

  The Book of Maladies

  Wasting

  Broken

  Poisoned

  Tormina

  Comatose

  Amnesia

  Exsanguinated

  The Shadow Accords

  Shadow Blessed

  Shadow Cursed

  Shadow Born

  Shadow Lost

  Shadow Cross

  Shadow Found

  The Collector Chronicles

  Shadow Hunted

  Shadow Games

  Shadow Trapped

  The Dark Ability

  The Dark Ability

  The Heartstone Blade

  The Tower of Venass

  Blood of the Watcher

  The Shadowsteel Forge

  The Guild Secret

  Rise of the Elder

  The Sighted Assassin

  The Binders Game

  The Forgotten

  Assassin’s End