Read Old Dark (The Last Dragon Lord Book 1) for Free Online Page B

elves working together? Buzzing filled Dark’s head, and the raw wound on his face blinded him with pain.  
    “I’m sorry it had to come to this, My Lord,” Fenroot said. “But this will be the last time I call you My Lord.”
    Fenroot’s claws glowed as he cast a spell that healed his sword wound.  
    Dark’s mind reeled. He tried to move, but one of his legs was broken. He tried to flap his wings, but the elves surrounded him and drove metal stakes through them, pinning him to the dirt. Dark roared as they drove each stake in.  
    “You betrayed me,” Dark said. “For what? Power?”
    Fenroot laughed. “This has been in the making for a hundred years.”
    “A hundred—you would be nothing without me. I favored you—”
    Fenroot’s face was blank.  
    Dark stopped. No more talking. He had to figure out a plan.  
    His bones constricted, as if someone were tying a rope around his body and pulling it with all their might. His jaws buckled as he braced against the pain. His entire body was shaking.
    “A little longer yet,” Fenroot said.  
    A shape emerged from the forest and slammed into Fenroot, knocking the dragon across the clearing.  
    Norwyn.  
    The white dragon stood in front of Dark, and the elven men retreated.  
    “I would have never suspected you of treason, Fenroot,” Norwyn said.  
    The elves drew their swords at the white dragon, but Norwyn cast a wave of plasma from his claws that ripped them in half. Then he landed on Fenroot and tore into his leg, drawing blood.
    Dark watched them fight. He struggled to rise, but the magic holding him down was too powerful.
    Fenroot slashed Norwyn with his tail, but Norwyn dodged and sank his teeth into Fenroot’s shoulder.
    Moss flew out of the forest and circled them.  
    “Moss, help Norwyn,” Dark said. His voice was surprisingly weak, and he hated himself for it.  
    Moss watched the two dragons duel, not moving.  
    “Moss, strike!” Dark screamed.
    But Moss slashed his tail and struck Norwyn in the back. The force knocked the white dragon to the side, stunned. Moss coiled around him, then launched Norwyn into the air, sending him into the woods.  
    The ground shook when Norwyn landed. Dark heard footsteps through the brush as Norwyn tried to run back to the fight, then a thump. And silence.  
    “You okay, Fenroot?” Moss asked.
    “Let’s finish him,” Fenroot said. The two dragons approached Dark. “The spell might not have worked as intended, but we’ll end this.”
    Dark struggled, but he couldn’t break free from the stakes. He was shaking so violently that he couldn’t see straight.  
    Fenroot and Moss laughed. They raised their claws to slash.  
    A weary fatigue spread through Dark’s body and his eyelids felt heavy, heavier than they’d ever felt before.  
    Was this how it felt to die? Was this how his father and mother would feel when it was their time, that moment he had always been so terrified of?
      He fought the urge to close his eyes, but he couldn’t fight it for long.  
    He sank into the dirt, resigned himself to the earth. The last thing he saw was the two dragons backing away from him, fearful looks on their faces.  
    They hadn’t struck him. They were far, far away now.  
    The ground shook again, as if someone was running toward them. The rocking vibrations made Dark drift closer toward sleep.  
    That’s a curious turn of events, Dark thought as his eyelids slid over his eyes.

Intermezzo

    It was a moment between two ages, a gasp in history when the world didn’t know what to do next.  
    One moment was the reign of the dragon lord; the next, a dawn that had no name. Yet the sun still rose all the same on the coast of the fishing village, the huts charred by dragon fire, the lines of fish laid out like beads of a broken necklace. The waters still ebbed and flowed over the bodies lying facedown in the sand, their hands clutched around rocks and swords and what was left of their children. The wind