Page 87 of Dream Reaper

His dark, angry eyes raked over her. “And where would I go? That stupid dune elf ruined everything. I have nowhere to go.”

“These woods are massive. Just disappear.”

He snorted and shook his head. “That’s not for me. I won’t live like a dog in a hole.”

“You may not have a choice,” Ava said, easing another foot forward, wondering when he would make his move. “You made your bed, and now you’re going to have to lie in it. You should have considered your future living arrangements when you cursed your own cousin. Betrayed your people.”

“Committed treason,” Jerrid muttered around a wince of pain. “That’s a death sentence if I ever saw one.”

Talos glowered at him, shoulders taut. “Death sentences aren’t for me either.”

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too, you know. There are consequences for bad choices.”

“And what makes you think I made bad choices? Things may not have turned out the way I had planned because of that stupid dune whore, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t right. Haryk isn’t fit to rule this kingdom.”

“So you say,” she snapped, heat rising in her belly. “He’s twice the elf you’ll ever be. He cares for his people and will lead us to better things. You would have just led us into war.”

“And who’s to say that war isn’t exactly what we need?” Talos snarled. “We never should have signed that ridiculous treaty. We limited ourselves, confined ourselves.”

Blah, blah. Dragon yawned dramatically. Kick him in the knees…

Ava’s right leg twitched, but she dug her foot into the ground to resist the temptation. She wanted to defuse the situation, not exacerbate it.

“Can we just kill him and be done with it?” Brynja called, her knuckles white against the handle of her shovel.

I agree.

“He needs to be given the opportunity to surrender,” Ava insisted as another urge to kick out her leg made her grind her teeth together in protest.

“He has been given this opportunity,” Jerrid said, slanting a look in her direction. “And he refused. Now can we kill him?”

Ava startled and glared at him. “When did you get so fond of killing? Normally you’re the one holding back You Know Who.”

He shrugged. “I’ve changed my mind about him.”

Talos’s posture grew even tenser as he jerked his head back and forth to keep an eye on them all, blue fire igniting around his fists as he spread his legs and braced for an attack. Ava opened her mouth to argue, not wanting it to come to another battle.

But Brynja moved without warning, her shovel swinging back to prepare for a blow. Jerrid launched forward at the same time, and Dragon roared excitedly as he tried to drive her forward.

Fireballs exploded in all directions. Brynja knocked into a nearby tent, eliciting screams from its occupants. Jerrid ducked as he sprinted into the woods. Ava dove for Talos’s legs, hoping to end this as quickly as possible.

The sooner they put an end to it, whatever the outcome, the less chance one of the girls or children would be hurt.

Talos kneed her in the chest as she tried to drag him down, her clawed hand digging into his thigh as she forced the knee back. Jerrid and Brynja came from above. They each latched onto an arm and dragged them away from Ava. Talos fell onto his back with a foul curse.

“He’s starting another fireball!” Ava warned.

Jerrid stomped onto Talos’s hand and tried to shove it into the dirt to smother the flames, while Brynja smacked his other hand with her shovel. Screaming curses, Talos writhed beneath their combined weight.

“Rope!” Ava yelled as she struggled to keep his legs secured. “We need rope!”

Jerrid shook his head and stomped down on the elf’s hand again to smother another desperate burst of fire. “He’ll just burn through it.”

“Chains,” Brynja grunted. “Someone get me the chains from the shed!”

A few moments later, Finnr skidded alongside them with his son at his heels, holding out a length of rusty chain. Ava could only hope it was strong enough to hold him.

“Get him on his belly!” Jerrid shouted as Talos began to writhe with renewed panic.