| It was Beatrix again. I snarled at her. � This time you will die, Human!� She frowned, then gave me a strange look. � �Human�? Is that supposed to be an insult?� � It is no insult! It is a warning!� Then, just when I thought things couldn�t possibly get more complicated, I saw Tiovex land silently behind Beatrix. He stepped up beside her, scaring her so she almost attacked him. � Oh. Come to help me?� � No. I have a score to settle with her.� He pointed a talon at me, then waved his hand. I found myself with my own body. [All right, Kitiane Dranoc. You have your true form back now. Show me how good a fighter you are. Show me how you killed my father. I want you to feel the same fear when I kill you.] I dropped to all fours. [You beat a dead bandersnatch, Tiovex. Killing me will not bring your father back. Nothing could come of this except our deaths. We are evenly matched. A true battle between you and I, with no interferences, would only lead to us fighting until our hearts burst.] He snarled. [I don�t care! You forced me to grow up without a father!] I dodged. [Is that your only reason for hunting me? By the August Dragon, Tiovex! How dare you seek to kill me for something like that! You have been blinded so much by your hate and sorrow that you didn�t even think! You should be thankful you have your mother; I had no one! For twenty-two d-age I survived by my own skill without help from anyone! I had no parents! I never even saw them! I don�t know what they looked like, I don�t know their names! All I know is that my father was King!] He flamed at my feet, forcing me into the air. I zipped around the roof of the room, finding a small hole that I easily slipped through. Tiovex followed, getting stuck momentarily, but then squeezing in. I came out into a large, sealed room. It obviously hadn�t been used for quite a while. I ducked into a crawlspace and huddled in the shadows, praying that my black color would hide me. I tried to slow my breathing, but the exertion of flying where there was no moving air took its toll and kept me panting. Tiovex entered and glanced around, then walked right to my hiding spot. He jammed his head into the crawlspace and grabbed the underside of my neck, dragging me out like I was a corpse. Maybe in his mind I already was. He rolled me onto my back and then laid on me. I could only submit now. He had me at his mercy. [Beg for your worthless life,] he ordered. [Never.] Well, I meant submit physically. [Beg!] [No!] He arched his neck, prepared to deliver the finishing blow, but then laid his head beside mine. [I can�t do it. Ever since I first saw you, I was mystified by your spirit. I was jealous. I still am, I think.] Now was my chance. [I know it hurts, Tiovex. I�m very sorry. Let me help. I can help heal your hurt.] He closed his eyes, but didn�t acknowledge what I said. [The world is a cold and cruel place. Mother didn�t last long after your disappearance. She feared that her only reminder of the king was dead and died herself a month after you left. I somehow knew for sure it was your fault. You killed my father, so it was only logical to me that you killed my mother too.] [Do you rule Swiftwing now?] [They immediately appointed me king, being the only live heir known. I wonder what they would�ve done if you had been around still . . .] He humphed. [They want me to choose a lifemate already. As if I have only so long to live.] He shook his head, scraping his neck plates along the stone floor. [I don�t think I�ll ever find the empress I�m looking for.] I actually felt sorry for him. [No empress will be good enough for you. She would never understand your pain. Everyone�s pain is unique and she would never be able to fully perceive what you feel.] He stood. [Get up.] I obeyed. [If I told you to kill that human boy of yours, would you do it?] [No.] [But I am your king.] [I don�t care who you are. I will never betray Ziaden freely.] [If I told you to walk off a cliff and break your neck, would you do it?] [Let�s put it this way: I�d do that before I�d kill Ziaden, which is never going to happen. So in that case, no.] He stepped over to me and brushed his side along mine as he passed. I shivered helplessly; it was difficult to keep from running to him and rubbing all over him like any other empress would, but I did it. With a slightly surprised air, he gazed at me thoughtfully. [You control yourself so easily.] [You have no idea what you�re saying.] He caught the strained note in my voice. [Let me amend that statement. You control yourself very well.] [I do hope that�s a compliment.] [Quite.] [Then thank you.] He came back over and twined his neck around mine. I held very still. [You timed this meeting, didn�t you?] [I won�t deny it, but I won�t admit it.] He moved away and looked me in the eye. [Kitiane, you are better than what you allow yourself to be. Stop holding back. You�re only hurting yourself, but I don�t like to see hurt even in my enemies. Here. Take this.] He handed me a well-crafted bow made specifically for dragons. [I had this made for myself initially, but you could do more with it. Take it and use it while you travel. Maybe it will bring out powers you didn�t know you had.] I accepted the weapon with a bowed head. [I shall take care of it as though it were my own.] He turned and left without acknowledging me. <--Part 11 Part 13--> |
| Never give up, no matter what the circumstances. It is better to die fighting than to live knowing that you could have saved so many others. ~Dragon's Teachings, pg. 42 Part 12 |