Chapter 36
When the sky finally opened up, the rain was torrential. The Dragonkin had no problem seeing through the curtain of rain, but the Dark Elves weren’t as lucky.
“Don’t worry.” Morgan assured Asa, “It’ll lessen in a few minutes.”
“We’ll be there in a few minutes.” Asa said worriedly.
“It’s covering our approach. If you can’t see anything, neither can the thralls.”
Asa’s unit was up front with the Dragonkin, and Asa had stuck himself to Morgan’s side. Sure, whatever makes him feel important, Morgan thought. She looked up at the gray sky, breathing the smell of the rain. Her stomach hurt. It was a mix of anxiety and simple fear, and Morgan didn’t like it. Semele was the only thing here she was afraid of, but it was the fact that she knew so little of his abilities that scared her. What all was he capable of?
As they neared the palace, the rain slowed as Morgan promised. Though it still poured down with a vengeance, the Dark Elves could see at least ten feet in front of them. It still wasn’t good, but it would do. Morgan shouted orders in the First Dragon Tongue.
“Any familiars you have, summon them now. Remember what I told you. Dragons, in the air.”
There was a great commotion as the dragons ran, jumped or scurried up trees to gain a take off point. Both Bane and Marine launched themselves off the ground, their wings beating hard to pull them clear of the ground. One more word in the First Tongue rang out over the field.
“Go.”
The minds of the dragons and their elves linked, and each could hear the intentions of the whole. For the dragons, their irises lit up with an inner fire. For the elves, their eyes sharpened, their ears and noses grew keener to match the senses of their reptilian siblings. Silver magic pulsed around them in halos. This power was the Kinship, and it was the reason why the Dragonkin were the greatest army in any known world. The Dark Elves were awestruck.
“Prepare yourselves!” Asa cried out, breaking the trance. He turned to his troops and raised his sword. Raven discreetly cast a spell to enhance his voice, so he could be heard by every one in the amassed army. “Today we take back our kingdom! Today we throw down the usurper and avenge our king! Today we avenge the deaths of all the usurper has taken from us! TODAY WE WILL TAKE VICTORY!”
Morgan thought it was an extremely average speech, but the roars of the Dark Elves said it was effective. She smiled to herself. Nothing was better for morale than a few dragons and a show of silver light, so at that point he really could have said anything. Morgan raised Trinity high and let out a dragon’s roar. All of her Dragonkin answered with their own roar, and Nightshade bolted forward. The Merax’s body changed to something closer to her true form, a coat like the starry night sky and her mane and tail of phantasmal smoke, trailing out behind her.
Anything that happened after this moment would be unpredictable. Morgan knew this, as did all the other Dragonkin. But no matter what happened next, they were going to win. The name Markus burned angrily at the forefront of their mind. They were out for blood, and they were going to get it.