Chapter Thirty-Seven

Levi

T he sovereign paused, halfway up the quartet of stairs that elevated her throne above the rest of the room. With all the regality of one born into her position, she managed to make the cessation of motion and subsequent turn into a planned, purposeful event.

Platinum-blonde hair swirled softly around her rich robes of state, the yellows and bright blues mixed with the orange of her bloodline and the red of most dragons, creating an artfully designed blending of the various colors. Above it all, the brilliant green eyes of the ruler of all dragonkind stared back at me, twin emeralds that were not happy.

"This is a closed session of the Council. Get out."

My eyes swiveled to the speaker, who spoke from his spot at the head of a grand table arrayed at the base of the sovereign's throne.

"I mean, I could go," I said lightly, shrugging off all the eyes focused on me. "Then she can sit down, and five seconds after that, the sovereign and all of you will be blown to pieces. Or you can stop for a second and try to think why I might just barge in here to warn you. And also, why none of her guards were at the doors to stop me."

The sovereign looked past me in consternation just as the guards on either side of her throne stepped forward, flanking her. Other guards from various positions inside the hall reacted to that, hurrying closer to her person, forming around her protectively.

"Speak," the sovereign said calmly. "Explain yourself."

"Have one of your guards look under your throne. Around it. Some of you look at your chairs. Carefully . I don't know how he did it, but they're filled with explosives."

One of the guards, at a nod from the sovereign, moved toward her chair. I held my breath. If I were wrong, if Malakai had something else planned, then I was about to lose all credibility.

The wait crept on as the guard very carefully inspected the throne. My heart rate inched upward. My palms grew clammy, my mouth dry. I was wrong. He was planning something else. But the men in the hallway, the attack, it couldn't all be—

"He's right! Get her out of here!" the guard cried suddenly, shattering the silence.

The room sprang into action. Guards closed up firmly around the sovereign, ushering her toward her exit, a small door to the left of her throne, which led to a private tunnel to her chamber, while the council members all scattered away from the large table.

"Careful, he has men in the palace!" I called as they went for the doors. "It's not safe out there. I don't know what he has planned."

The sovereign paused halfway through the door. "Who?" she asked, her voice easily carrying over everything. "Who did this?"

"His name is Malakai," I said. "And until recently, I considered him a friend. He intends to usurp you."

The main doors to the throne room were suddenly flung open, admitting a wave of dragons in navy-blue and black outfits. They charged in behind shouts of liberty and freedom and cries for a new leader.

But instead of the injured and shocked remains of the council, they found the entire body waiting for them. A very pissed-off body of experienced dragons, who had very nearly seen themselves and their leader killed in a cowardly plot.

"Come on," a guard shouted, motioning for the three of us to follow him. "The sovereign says to come with her."

The guards ushered Sarah, Jakub, and me into the tight hallway, barring the door behind us. Two of the guards stayed behind, while the rest urged us onward, hurrying through the dimly lit passageway.

I kept Sarah close, the two of us keeping our son sandwiched between us as we jogged. The sounds of combat behind us faded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Other guards would be called now. The threat was over. They would organize, and Malakai would be defeated.

"We did it," I said to Sarah, giving voice to my relief. "We stopped him."

"You stopped him," she said, giving my shoulder a squeeze as we reached the sovereign's quarters. "You stood up to him, and now, he's paying the price."

"And what price is that, exactly?" a coldly familiar voice asked as we emerged from the tunnel.

A dozen stern shifters waited for us, arrayed in a half-circle around the exit chamber. The guards didn't hesitate, charging forward with cries for their sovereign.

"Stay in here!" I shouted at Sarah and went to join them.

We were outnumbered. Badly. Though Malakai and his men were raw and unused to working together, they were confident as they fought the sovereign's personal guards, who worked as a team, covering one another's flanks as they fought to protect her.

But it wasn't enough. One of them went down. I slotted into his position, driving back the guard's killer before he could take down another guard. My fist caught him across the jaw, mailed as it was with dragon scales. The sharp edges sliced through his skin, spraying blood across his face, momentarily blinding him.

Even as he reeled back, another took his place. I blocked an attack and tried to lash out, but I missed, exposing my right flank. The navy-blue clad attacker tried to drive home a blow, but the palace guard extended a leg, hitting just hard enough to throw the traitor off-balance.

It nearly cost him his life, as the attacker nearest him drove in for a killing blow.

Out of nowhere, a dragon entirely in black swept in. He moved like death, faster and stronger than the attackers. First one, then another of Malakai's men dropped, dead or horribly injured.

In the space that opened, I found myself momentarily without a foe. It was time to change that.

"Stop this!" I shouted, lunging for Malakai, who had hung back, letting his men do the fighting. "It's over, Malakai. It's over. Nobody else has to die."

"Her rule is over!" he spat in return as we grappled.

I swept his ankle out, and we hit the ground, bouncing over a corpse. Malakai's elbow caught me above my eye, splitting the skin. Blood poured down my face and splattered his as pain erupted.

"You've lost," I said, slamming my head into his nose. Cartilage gave way, ruining his face in a mangled mess of blood. "Give it up, Mal. Please."

A knee took me in the stomach, tossing me to the side with incredible force. I gasped, my mouth open wide as air left my lungs. Malakai was on me in a second, slamming fists into my ribcage before I could get my arms up in defense. Huge hammer fists drilled down with incredible force. The face of my former best friend was twisted into something dark and driven, in the ugliest of ways.

"I knew you wanted it for yourself," he spat, blood going everywhere as it poured from his destroyed nose. "You always thought you were better than me!"

Grabbing one of his upraised arms, I twisted, tossing him off me. Getting to my feet, I finally was able to draw in a breath.

"I never thought that," I said as we faced off again. "You're imagining it."

"No, I'm not. I see clearer than ever!" he cried. "None of you can see. She needs to go. Only I can guide our people and stop them from losing ourselves. She wants to dilute us with humans. We mustn't allow it to happen. We are better!"

Having had enough, I charged at him once more, watching his right arm. There was no one who knew him better than I, and that included his tendencies. Such as always starting with his dominant hand.

It came up, and I ducked low underneath the counterpunch. My straight arm hit his stomach, clotheslining him in half. Not letting go, I swept up and around, using both arms to grab his stomach in a reverse bear hug. Then I whipped myself back, driving Malakai up and over, then down into the floor with vicious force.

While he lay there stunned, I swarmed over him, arms snaking around his neck and locking themselves in. Malakai went rigid as I cut off his blood and oxygen.

"Give up," I growled, my legs wrapping around his midsection, preventing him from twisting away. "It's over , Mal."

"Fuck … you," he spat, reaching up with both arms, clawing for my eyes.

I leaned back, avoiding his searching grip.

"You won't kill me," he laughed, blood burbling from his mouth. "I'm your best friend."

"No," I snarled without missing a beat. "Not anymore."

"Who then? The sovereign?" Malakai was struggling to breathe now.

I laughed. "Someone even better. Someone who doesn't try to use me or who lies to me for years about being friends. And for your information, his name is Jake."

Then I snapped his neck.