A Birthright of Blood (The Dragon War, Book 2) Read Free

The
place the two soldiers we mimic served.
    She glanced around. Thousands
of troops marched, clockwork demons of fire and steel. Boots thudded
in unison. Eyes stared ahead, never moving, never straying. The
fortress loomed above, and Kaelyn swallowed. She could not enter
those dark halls, the place where bones were broken, where souls were
forged, where the wrath of Requiem simmered. In there she and Rune
would have to remove their helms, unveiling their deception. If she
entered that darkness, they would not emerge.
    "Come on," she
whispered under her breath. "Where are you, Lana?"
    She looked up at the rooftops
along the streets, seeking movement. She kept marching with the
troops. The fortress grew closer, rising like a tombstone for a god.
Soon they were only a hundred yards away. Kaelyn bit her lip and
cursed under her breath. She sneaked another few glances to the
roofs of surrounding homes and shops.
    Hurry
up, Lana, she thought,
chewing her lip. At her side, she saw Rune too searching the
rooftops, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
    What if soldiers had found the
woman, friend to the Resistance? What if Lana now languished in a
prison or lay dead?
    Kaelyn stared ahead. The gates
of Castra Draco rose only yards away.
    We'll
have to escape on our own, Kaelyn decided and sucked in her breath. Yet how could she? She
marched among thousands. She and Rune moved in flawless formation,
their boots thumping with the others in a perfect beat. If they fled
now, they would be seen. They would be caught. They—
    There!
    A shadow appeared upon a roof.
    Kaelyn sucked in her breath, and
hope sprang in her chest.
    The silhouette of a woman stood
above, clad in leggings, tall boots, and a fluttering cloak. In one
hand, she held a banner; her other hand rested on the pommel of a
saber. The clouds parted, and moonlight caught her standard,
illuminating a two-headed dragon, sigil of House Aeternum. The pale
light shone upon the woman too, revealing mocking lips, a mask with
only one eye-hole, and long black hair with a single white streak.
    Lady
Lana Cain, Kaelyn
thought. My dearest
friend.
    "Soldiers of Cadigus!"
the lady shouted from the roof and raised her banner high. "King
Relesar Aeternum returns! See his banner. Hear his call.
Requiem—may our wings forever find your sky!"
    Chaos erupted.
    The troops below spun toward the
roof. Officers shouted orders. Soldiers shifted into dragons, armor
morphing into scales, swords into claws.
    "Death to the tyrant!"
Lady Lana cried above, laughing and waving her flag. "Death to
Cadigus!"
    With that, the masked woman
shifted and soared. A black dragon with a white stripe across her
back, she vanished into shadows.
    All around Kaelyn, officers
shouted and pointed at the roofs. Dragons took flight. Fire spewed
from maws, lighting the night. Cries and roars rang.
    Rune stood staring, frozen in
place. Kaelyn grabbed his arm and tugged him.
    "Come on, you woolhead!"
she said.
    She pulled him away from the
chaos and into shadows, praying no eyes were watching. But it seemed
everyone was busy shouting, flying after Lana in dragon form, or
watching the commotion—including Rune, who was still sneaking
glances toward the rooftops.
    "Come on !"
Kaelyn said, tugging him.
    They slunk into an alley,
leaving the brigade and disappearing into shadows. Kaelyn began to
scurry deeper into the darkness, her boots now silent upon the
cobblestones. She pulled Rune with her. The sounds of the boulevard
faded into a muffled storm.
    A hundred yards into the alley,
Kaelyn found a moldy barrel. She drew her dagger, loosened the
barrel's lid with her blade, and pulled it free. She stood on
tiptoes and gazed inside. Rotten turnips festered there, rustling
with bugs.
    "Bloody stars," Rune
muttered and lifted his helm's visor. "Did she have to use
rotten turnips? Why not a barrel of strong ale, or— Ow!"
    Kaelyn kicked his leg hard.
"Quiet, Rune, and help me dig."
    Standing on her toes, she
reached into