‘I am NOT a beast of burden to be joyridden on!’ Azulthaël complained, his mandibles clicking loudly in anger. ‘I can still feel a part of us connected from the beast mastery spell I used earlier to subdue it, you could pull on that string to make him more…compliant’ Fafnir snarled, ‘He IS, after all, a servant.’ “Due to our time constraints, I am sorry Azulthaël, but you can either help willingly, or I will be forced to make you, which I would prefer not to do, I would rather be appreciating your help, rather than cause you more grief,” Rex said with a loud sigh, making everyone look at him confused. ‘You cannot make me do anything...’ “KNEEL!!” Rex boomed, copying what Fafnir did earlier by allowing magic to flow through his voice, projecting it onto Azulthaël, who grudgingly yielded and kneeled before Rex, “I said I would rather have you help willingly, you are a valuable member of this team, please do not force my hand.” ‘What has been done to me!? I am a slave once more!?’ Az
‘What the f**k just happened there?’ Rex asked himself, instinctively reaching out, grabbing the cooked and still warm scorpion leg, biting the smallest piece off, in case it tasted bad. ‘Do not be scared, have a good bite, I want to be able to taste it!’ Fafnir demanded. ‘You are very determined just to eat a pest animal’ Rex said with a sigh, cracking some of the outer hard shell of the leg, exposing the cooked flesh under it. ‘Does that not smell like a heavenly meal?’ Fafnir said, using Rex’s senses to take in the scent. ‘Well, I’ll admit it doesn’t smell too bad’ Rex said with a shrug, truth be told, he had eaten worse, tearing off a small piece, throwing it into his mouth while he exited the cave, he had to agree, it was actually quite good. “You aren’t actually eating that are you?” “Huh? It’s actually not too bad” Rex replied with a shrug. ‘Is that one of this body's missing back appendages?’ Azulthaël said, seeing Rex holding a scorpion leg piece and chewing. “Well…yes
Once Fafnir had inspected the aftermath of Ipes escaping his prison, he returned to his place within Rex, ‘If we are heading into battle, rest must be taken.’ ‘I was already planning on resting up, at this pace we will be back in Dracones just after mid-morning if we leave before daybreak’ Rex surmised. ‘I have a feeling the moment you are alone, you will be ambushed once more, before that happens, I will be shutting myself out, I find your kind's mating rituals to be a disturbing sight’ Fafnir replied, a hint of disgust in his voice. ‘You don’t know that's what will happen for sure’ Rex replied, gazing over to where Lacey and Minet were helping Lizz pitch a tent, the moment they saw him looking, they both turned to each other, said something, laughed and turned away from him. ‘I have no desire to find out or see it, I will be resting and preparing myself for what is coming tomorrow’ Fafnir growled, going quiet a short time after speaking. ‘Getting ahead of yourself I think’ Rex s
The sound of screams and metal hitting metal echoed out soon after the soldiers reached Rex and his companion’s position as they cut through their first wave. Lacey and Minet had teamed up on Rex’s right side and were diving, dashing, stabbing and blocking each other’s weak spots, many dead and dying fae laying around them. Raz and Lizz were on the left front, Lizz was throwing fireballs at their enemies furiously, scorching two, sometimes three at a time, Raz was standing fast between her and the front line, cutting down any that made it through to ensure Lizz could focus on what she was doing. “Looks like we underestimated a group of children,” Douve said with a sigh and smile, “Looks like it is up to us to settle this.” “Seems like it” Rex replied with a shrug, he was a little curious, everyone knew the royal family had power stemming from dragons, yet Douve did not seem phased. Bowing to Rex, Douve took a ready stance, so out of courtesy, Rex nodded his head, not a second afte
“So, you’re saying we can be released from the deal to suicide, to serve under you instead?” one of the soldiers asked. “Correct” Rex replied, “Instead of your life being a waste, why not use it for something better?” “We cannot accept that” the soldier replied, saddened, “When we swore our oath to serve, we were branded, if we break our deal, the brand kills us, so either way, we are doomed.” “Who would make you do such a thing?” Lacey asked, she was not the only one who was shocked, the entire group was as well. “Our new leader ensured our allegiance with spells” the soldier replied, lining up his sword, ready to pierce the heart, the rest of the group following suit, “We thank you for the offer, you are not like they say you are,” he took one last deep breath to ready himself, closed his eyes and slid the sword into his chest with a groan, after a few gasps he fell lifeless to the ground, followed shortly after by the remainder of the soldiers. “I did not think they would have
“So whoever has brought this army has one hell of a grudge against Dracones, or father” Rex guessed, seeing how much dust over such a large area was being kicked up, “What was the scout's estimate?” “In excess of 30 thousand strong” Marcia replied, “That’s three times as many as Ean’s last army.” “Holy shit, how many defend Hale?” Rex asked. “About 10 thousand,” Marcia said, doing some quick math in her head, “Would be 18 thousand if we could rely on general Chris’s forces, but word is, he is currently under assault as well, it is almost like this attack has been co-ordinated from both sides of the realm at the same time.” “Three to one odds, battles have been won with a lot worse before” Rex replied. “Yes, but human battles did not have magic and monsters in their ranks either,” Raz said with a grin. “Holy shit!” Looking over to Lizz, who had cursed, which was rare for her, she was now pointing out toward the field outside of Dracone’s southern gate, to where a massive force, a
Rex, Minet, and Lacey followed Rector into the palace, turning away from the throne room and traveling down a hallway Rex had never been before, “I don’t remember seeing this here” he stated, looking back, then back toward a large wooden door at the end. “That is because I do not allow this area to be accessed unless necessary, the war room has not been used since the Blood War, it saddens me to even have to use it again,” Rector sighed, walking toward the door, it opening as he approached. As they all entered the room, there was already a handful of older men present in the room who were pointing to places on a table that was in the center of the room, it showed the walls of the city and the fields beyond, many black figures stood in the southern fields showing the invading troops and their positioning, the old men were all yelling at each other for what plan they thought would be best, Marcia, Ley, and Markus were all at one end, Marcia was scowling at the men yelling, Ley was smil
“Well, my place is the closest to everywhere we need to be tomorrow and is away from prying eyes, and I have half a bottle of yarak spirits, we can share that, you can tell me all about your trip in a shortened version and we can have some fun, get a little sleep and then head out to our posts in the morning,” Marcia said with a smile. “I’m sold,” Marcia said, clapping her hands together. “I just had a thought” Lacey started to say. “Yes or no?” Minet interjected. “Yes, sounds good” Lacey nodded, walking with the women, “We weren’t told who we are serving with tomorrow.” “I don’t know about you, but I’m sticking with Rex” Minet shrugged. “That was what I was hoping to do, what do you think? Where is Rex?” Lacey asked, looking around for him. “Odd he would sneak out on us, this was supposed to be our night together” Minet scowled, putting her hands on her hips. “Sorry, I’m here, was just trying out a bit of magic I was shown earlier, good to know it still works, it gave me an id