d before the king's chest viole

ffocating wave, like opening

hrough the fine fabric of his black clothes, dark and iridescent,

ommanding voice shouted from t

dn't he

n wide, fixed entirely on

s throat, deep enough to make the s

her voice barked. "Befo

chamber. Armed guards in armor surged forward,

p red robes stepped forward, his hands w

from his fingertips, spinning into a shimm

read struck my

ng into my skin, the magic flickered once an

armless sparks agai

warder was already casting another spell at Vyrn, missing t

t. A hand as broad as a dinner

ar-like shoulders surging as he pu

lean off my feet. I gasped, my fi

ke, Vyrn lost whatever fragile thre

s lanterns hanging high above the council table explode

the back of Vyrn's cloak with

nocking two armed guards straight off their feet

om the back of the hall. "He'

amber collapse

form expanded, dark scales armor-plating his chest an

behind his huge body, but Vyrn's golden e

that was no longer human, but a

other inch, a scale arm shot

idn't strike or t

y waist, his long black talons carefully tucking

out of Torin's grip and pulled me f

axe, his eyes wide with

but he didn't atta

yrn folded his black wing

an iron curtain, wrapping around us

r of steel, and the flickering light of t

rane, trying to cut through to reach the king, but Vyrn didn't flinch. He didn't move an inch.

my hands pressed back aga

ft. The stories whispered in the streets swore that when the dragon took over,

s against his own skin just to keep

from the ozone-heavy air trapped insi

t answer w

s ribs-a sound almost like a feline p

. My head throbbed with a vicious, dull ache from the drop through the

es gav

inst him. His chest heaved in rhythmic cycles, the sound of two distinct heartbeats ec

my head. His voice was ragged, torn be

swimming with dark, creeping spots. My fingers clutched

d was sp

st a far-off cliff. The heat, the exhaustion of the past three months, and

grew heav

hest, my chin dropping

d echoed deep behind my ears. It wasn't a voice spoken

ring directly inside the cavern

u

swallowed me whole, silently blami