Steel flashed.
His head tore free from his shoulders.
The sound was wet. Final.
Time slowed to a crawl.
White hair lifted into the air as if caught in a breeze that did not exist. Blood erupted in a scalding arc, droplets striking my cheek, my lips. Where Fallione had been, Egath stood grinning, teeth slick with red.
A dragon’s roar shattered the mountain.
The walls trembled. Dust sifted from the ceiling.
I lurched toward the receiving room, clutching the corner of the wall for balance. Fallione’s headless body crashed into me from behind. The weight knocked me flat. Heat soaked through my back, thick and sticky.
Greaves vaulted the table in a blur of steel and fury just as sunlight vanished from the doorway.
A massive green paw shot inward.
It caught him midair.
His body jerked, ripped backward through the door as if he weighed nothing. Tsunami’s golden eye filled the opening, blazing with molten rage.
Hands seized my ankles.
I kicked wildly, heel connecting with bone. Greaves’ dagger skidded across the floor. I lunged and caught the hilt. Leather bit into my palm.
“Now!” Egath barked.
My back dragged through Fallione’s blood. It coated my shoulders, slid into my hair. My thrashing sent his severed head rolling, white strands streaked crimson.
Tsunami screamed again. The sound ripped through my skull, high and furious.
Egath flinched but did not release me. He hauled me around the corner, boots slipping on the slick stone.
Tallon waited.
He smiled.
I twisted with a snarl and drove my blade through his boot, punching through leather into flesh.
He screamed, then slammed his other boot into my temple.
Stars exploded across my vision.
My body rolled with the blow. Pain shot through my head and down my neck in a blinding wave. I clutched my skull, gasping, wrenching away from him.
“That dragon will bring the mountain down!” Egath shouted, dragging me along the floor. My shoulders scraped stone. Blood streaked beneath me.
Pebbles rained from above. The Andeluith groaned, trembling under Tsunami’s fury.
Tallon snatched a canteen from his belt and tipped it back. His throat worked as he chugged.
That canteen.
Recognition flickered through the haze. I had seen it before. Metal dented along one side. A dark leather strap.
He wiped his lips with his sleeve and limped toward the doorway to face Tsunami.
