Scourge of the Dragons Read Free Page A

safer than your
castle?” Hadrin asked.
    “The Citadel of the Night. I do hope that
none of you are afraid of dragons.”
    *
    Empress Melisandre sighed as she looked down
at the sun dragon. The once majestic beast had lost the ability to
fly. She had hoped to find the cure well before things progressed
to this state. Unfortunately, none of her magicians could seem to
find the source of the scourge. There was only one clue. The
scourge originated in the evening realms. Corin was taking care of
things on that end. There was always the slight chance that killing
the night dragons would rid the world of the scourge, but she
needed to be prepared in case that wasn’t enough. She felt a pang
of guilt when she thought of Erlkan. He truly was a good man and an
excellent commander. It wasn’t his fault that his cousin was
aligned with those that caused the scourge.
    “Not all men thrive off doing things for
their lover, Empress,” Fenzik, the head of the elven schools of
magic, said.
    “Corin is no lover of mine, mage,” she
said.
    “What is he?”
    “Nothing more than a pawn who jumped at a
suggestion. Alluding to something is not the same as actually
promising it.”
    “You are as cunning as you are
beautiful.”
    “Not you too,”
    “Flattery has its uses.”
    “Have we learned anything more about the
scourge?” Melisandre asked.
    “I do not believe it is natural. Nor is it
any form of magic I’ve ever seen. My recommendation would be to
seek out the opinion of the fairies,” Fenzik answered.
    “Why would I seek their assistance, I very
much hate them.”
    “They are born of magic or so the legends
say. Truth be told, we may be chasing ghosts.”
    “Fine then, devote some of our resources
into finding if they even exist.”
    *
    Wrotan knelt down and picked up a small bit
of dirt as they exited the castle. He rubbed it between his fingers
before letting it fall to the ground. The others looked to him, but
he shrugged. There was something different about the soil, but he
couldn’t tell what it was. The little specks of violet were
somewhat off-putting, but they seemed to have little effect on
grass or trees. He wiped his hand off and followed the others. The
elves that they met on their way out of the castle seemed as
surprised to see the two Kings as they were to see a human. One of
the Captains stepped forward as they approached the outer gate. She
held up her hand so that they would stop. Hadrin looked first to
his father and then to Erlkan.
    “The Empress said not to let the royal
family leave the castle for their own safety, sir,” the Captain
said.
    “They are under my protection, Alandra,”
Erlkan said.
    “No disrespect, your majesty, but I would be
happier to see you with an escort. It will only take me a moment to
gather the troops.”
    “We should be fine. The lands are not that
dangerous and we won’t be going far,” Hadrin said.
    “I am coming with you and that is that,” she
said.
    The hunter looked to the others for an
explanation, but none offered one. He knew that some of the elves
were on their side and others weren’t, but he had no way of knowing
which ones were friendly. His companions seemed to share his
skepticism, but they weren’t letting that change their actions. The
Captain returned with a handful of elven soldiers and escorted them
outside of town. Everyone remained quiet as they continued out away
from the castle. Wrotan tapped Hadrin on the arm, but the elven
shook his head. He looked to Erlkan and saw that the elf was warily
eying the guards. Alandra motioned toward the closest patch of
forest. She waited for the others to enter before looking back at
the castle.
    “Corin seeks your head,” the Captain said as
she turned to Erlkan.
    “If only it were that simple,” the sun King
replied.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Melisandre sent him here. It was her wish
that I die, not his. Not that he seemed to mind.”
    “Your wife? Why would the Empress want