Rise of the Dragons (24 page)
Kyra and Dierdre ran for their lives
across the snowy plains, gasping for breath, as they slipped and slid on the
ice. They sprinted through the icy morning, steam rising from their mouths, the
cold burning Kyra’s lungs, her hands numb as she gripped her staff. The rumble
of a thousand horses filled the air, and she looked back and wished she hadn’t:
on the horizon charged the Lord’s Men, thousands of them bearing down. She knew
there was no point in running. With no shelter on the horizon, nothing but open
plains before them, they were finished.
Yet still they ran, driven on by some instinct
to survive.
Kyra slipped, falling face first in the
snow, winded, and she immediately felt a hand under her arm, pulling her up;
she looked over to see Dierdre yanking her back to her feet.
“You can’t stop now!” Dierdre said. “You
didn’t leave me—and I won’t leave you. Let’s go!”
Kyra was surprised by the authority and
confidence in Dierdre’s voice, as if she had been reborn since she had left
prison, her voice filled with hope, despite their circumstances.
Kyra broke back into a run, both of them
heaving, as they finally began to crest a hill. She tried not to think of what
would happen when this army caught up with them, when they reached Volis and
slaughtered her people. And yet, Kyra had been trained not to give up—however
bleak.
They crested the hill and as they did,
Kyra stopped in her tracks, stunned at the sight before her. From up here she
had a view of the countryside, a huge plateau stretching before her, and her
heart leapt with ecstasy as she saw, riding toward them, her father, leading a
hundred men. She could not believe it: he had come for her. All of these men
had come all this way, had risked their lives in a suicide mission, just for
her.
Kyra burst into tears, overwhelmed with
love and gratitude for her people. They had not forgotten her.
Kyra ran for them, and as she neared,
she saw Maltren’s severed head tied to his horse, and realized at once what had
happened: they had discovered his treachery and had come for her. Her father
seemed equally surprised to see her, running out here in the open; he had
probably expected to free her from the fort, she realized.
They all stopped as they met in the
middle, her father dismounting, rushing to her and meeting her in a strong
embrace. As she felt his strong arms around her she was overwhelmed with
relief, felt that everything would be well in the world, despite their
overwhelming odds. She had never felt so proud of her father as she did in that
moment.
Her father’s expression suddenly
changed, his face growing serious as he looked over her shoulder, and she knew
he had seen it: the vast army of the Lord’s Men, cresting the hill.
He gestured to a waiting horse, and
another vacant one for Dierdre.
“Your horse is waiting for you,” he
said, pointing to a beautiful white stallion. “You will fight with us now.”
With no time left for words, Kyra
immediately mounted her horse as her father did his, and she fell in line with
all his men, all of them facing the horizon. Before her, on the horizon, she
saw the Lord’s Men, spread out before them, thousands of men against their mere
hundred. Yet her father’s men sat proudly, and not one backed away.
“MEN!” her father yelled, his voice
strong, booming. “WE FIGHT FOR ETERNITY!”
They let out a huge battle cry, sounded
their horns, and as one, they all charged forward, rushing to meet the enemy.
Kyra knew this was suicide. Behind the
thousand Lord’s Men lay another thousand, and another thousand behind them. Her
father knew that; all his men knew that. But no one hesitated. For they were
not fighting for their land, but for something even more precious: their very
existence. Their right to live as free men. Freedom meant more to these men
than life, and while they could all be killed, they would all, at least, die by
choice, die as free men.
As Kyra rode beside her father, beside
Anvin, Vidar and Arthfael, she was exhilarated, overcome with a rush of
adrenaline. In her haze, she felt her life pass before her eyes. She saw all
the people she had known and loved, the places she had been, the life she had
led, knowing it was all about to end. As the two armies neared, she saw the
Lord Governor’s ugly face, leading the way, and she felt a fresh sense of anger
at Pandesia. Her veins burned for vengeance.
Kyra closed her eyes and made one last
wish.
If I am truly prophesied to become a
great warrior, let the time be now. If I truly have a special power, show me.
Let it come out now. Allow me to crush my enemies. Just this one time, on this
one day. Allow justice to be done.
Kyra opened her eyes, and she suddenly
heard a horrific screech cut through the air. It raised the hair on the back of
her neck, and she searched the skies and saw something that took her breath
away.
Theos.
The immense dragon flew, swooping down
right for her, staring at her with his large, glowing yellow eyes, the eyes she
had seen in her dreams, and in her waking moments. They were the eyes she could
not shake from her mind, the eyes that she had always known she would one day
see again.
His wing healed, Theos lowered his claws
and dove down, right for her head, as if to kill her.
Kyra watched as all of her father’s men
looked up, mouths agape with fear, crouching, preparing to die. But she herself
felt unafraid. She felt the strength within the dragon, and she knew this time
that she and the dragon were one.
Kyra watched in awe as Theos came right
for her, his wings so wide they blocked the sun, and screeched a mighty
screech, enough to terrify the men. He came so close, then rose back up at the
last second, his claws nearly grazing their heads.
Kyra turned and watched Theos fly
straight up, then turn around and circle back. This time he flew behind her
men, rushing forward as if to fight with them, right for the Lord’s Men.
It opened its great jaws and flew over
them until finally it led the way, out in front of her father’s men, racing
single-handedly to meet the Lord’s Men in battle first.
Kyra watched, awestruck, as the dragon
approach and the Lord Governor’s face morphed from arrogance to fear; indeed,
she saw the terror in all their faces, all of them, finally, afraid, all
realizing what was to come. Vengeance.
Theos opened its mouth overhead and with
a great hissing and crackling noise breathed fire, a stream of flame lighting
up the snowy morning. The shrieks of men filled the air, as a great conflagration
spread through the army’s ranks, killing row after row of men.
The dragon continued, flying again,
circling, breathing fire, killing every enemy in sight until finally, there was
no one left. Nothing but endless piles of ash where men and horses once stood.
Kyra watched it unfold with a surreal
feeling. It was like watching her destiny unfold before her. At that moment she
knew that she was different, she was special. The dragon had come just for her.
There was no turning back now: the
Lord’s Men were dead. Pandesia had been attacked, and Escalon had struck the
first blow.
The dragon landed before them, in the
fields of ash, as she and all of the men stopped, staring back, in awe. But
Theos looked only at Kyra, with his glowing yellow eyes, transfixed on hers. He
raised his wings, stretching forever, and shrieked, and awful shriek of rage
that seemed to fill the entire universe.
The dragon knew.
It was time for the Great War to begin.
COMING SOON!
Book #2 in Kings and Sorcerers
Books by Morgan Rice
KINGS AND SORCERERS
RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Book #1)
THE SORCERER’S RING
A
QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1)
A MARCH OF KINGS (Book #2)
A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3)
A CRY OF HONOR (Book #4)
A VOW OF GLORY (Book #5)
A CHARGE OF VALOR (Book #6)
A RITE OF SWORDS (Book #7)
A GRANT OF ARMS (Book #8)
A SKY OF SPELLS (Book #9)
A SEA OF SHIELDS (Book #10)
A REIGN OF STEEL (Book #11)
A LAND OF FIRE (Book #12)
A RULE OF QUEENS (Book #13)
AN OATH OF BROTHERS (Book #14)
A DREAM OF MORTALS (Book #15)
A JOUST OF KNIGHTS (Book #16)
THE GIFT OF BATTLE (Book #17)
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1)
ARENA TWO (Book #2)
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS
TURNED (Book #1)
LOVED (Book #2)
BETRAYED (Book #3)
DESTINED (Book #4)
DESIRED (Book #5)
BETROTHED (Book #6)
VOWED (Book #7)
FOUND (Book #8)
RESURRECTED (Book #9)
CRAVED (Book #10)
FATED (Book #11)
About Morgan Rice
Morgan
Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy
series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling
series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the #1
bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising
two books (and counting); and of the new epic fantasy series KINGS AND
SORCERERS. Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and
translations are available in over 25 languages.
TURNED
(Book #1 in the
Vampire Journals),
ARENA ONE
(Book #1 of the
Survival Trilogy), and
A QUEST OF
HEROES
(Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring) are each available as a free download on
Amazon!
Morgan
loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit
www.morganricebooks.com
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