They’d been freed from their oppression and celebrating a return of an arach to the throne.
“Let’s go,” Orin said gruffly.
Below them, the giants turned and strode toward the portal that would take them home. Most of them vanished within, but the final giant, the one with an eye patch, stomped on the last three wendigos before gazing at the palace and dragons once more.
Though the giant was too far away for him to be certain, Brokk swore the colossal being smiled. Then, Eye Patch stepped through the portal and disappeared.
Brokk’s elation over this turn of events dwindled as the shadows returned to seep over the land and the brightness dimmed. He had no doubt they wouldn’t release his older brother so easily.
Cole.
Yearning speared him; Cole would never be the same after this. Brokk had no idea what he would find of his older brother when they entered the palace; a part of him dreaded doing so, but he couldn’t avoid the inevitable. It was time to discover the answers he was sure he didn’t want.
Brokk entered the portal and strode swiftly through it toward the palace. When they emerged near the main throne room, butchery greeted them. Blood splattered the walls, body parts littered the floor, and swords clashed as Del’s group worked on finishing what remained of the Lord’s army.
Not much remained as Brokk’s side leapt into action to take down their enemy. When they finished, Brokk wiped the sweat and blood from his brow; he planted the tip of his sword on the ground and leaned against it.
He met Del’s red-eyed gaze as he spoke. “My brother?”
“I don’t know,” Del said. “I don’t know about Lexi either. Once they entered the throne room, the doors closed, and we were locked out. We tried to break the doors down, but it was useless.”
“We’re going to make them open,” Orin snarled and winced as he pressed a hand against his still bleeding abdomen.
“You have to take care of that,” Brokk told him.
Orin scowled at him, but when Sahira pulled off her bloody shirt to stand before them in her ruined bra, Orin didn’t protest as she tied it around his wound and cinched it.
“Let’s go,” Sahira said when she finished.
They strode past the bloodstained golden dragon and arach statues lining the hall. When they stopped outside the double doors, Brokk grasped one of the handles. As he pulled on it, Brokk braced himself for it not to budge, but the door swung silently open.
He realized too late that while he’d prepared for almost anything, he wasn’t ready for the bloodbath beyond. It made what lay on the battlefield and in the hallway look like nothing happened.
Unable to stop himself, he recoiled from the massacre. He’d never seen anything so horrific as the body parts scattered across the floor and the blood coating the floor and walls.
Many of the bodies were torn apart or scorched to the bone. Smoke leisurely coiled up from some of those bodies, and the stench permeating the room nearly made him regurgitate the blood he’d consumed before going to war.
The dragons turned to look at them, and a few lowered their heads in a defensive posture, but Lexi’s voice halted them before they attacked. “They’re not a danger. Let them pass.”
Brokk didn’t want to pass. He’d prefer not to step one foot inside the hideous room, but he would see this through. He strode down the steps and across the hall with a confidence he didn’t feel.
Finally tearing his gaze from the wreckage, he lifted his head and met Lexi’s gaze across the cavernous room. Blood covered her naked body and soaked her auburn hair, but she sat with her chin high, her shoulders back, and the regal bearing of a queen overseeing her land.
However, she couldn’t hide the sadness in her eyes, and it was like a knife to his heart. Without having to ask, he knew that he didn’t see Cole anywhere because his brother was gone.
CHAPTEREIGHTY-TWO
As the othersentered the room, the power of the throne and all Dragonia continued to thrum through Lexi. The amazing feeling did nothing to ease her grief.
Judging by the numbers in the room, they’d lost many, but a fair amount survived. Happy tears filled her eyes, and she almost launched herself off the throne to run and greet Sahira and her father.
Afraid it would seem undignified and unroyal, Lexi restrained herself from going to them. But sitting naked on a throne covered in blood probably wasn’t all that dignified either.
Still, she didn’t move. They all needed to see her here; it’s what they’d all sacrificed for.
A smile curved her mouth as Brokk, Kaylia, and Varo approached. She was even happy to see Orin. Pixies and imps darted around the room.
The dwarves carried their battle-axes proudly against their shoulders, while the sirens walked solely in their women form amid the dragons. Lexi suspected they didn’t want to give the dragons something to chase.
