Alison Goodman - Eona - The Last Dragoneye

My eyes were drawn to the pale luminescence at the base of Kygo’s throat — the Imperial Pearl, as big as a duck egg. Along with the hum in my head came a flash of sensual memory: my fingers stroking a man’s throat, stroking the pearl, its smooth beauty sewn into the hollow between his collarbones. I heard him moan with pleasure. Any minute now I would have my chance to rip the pearl from its moorings of skin and flesh. To rend its power from him.

I gasped, breaking the thrall. They were not my fingers stroking the pearl, and not my emperor. Whose memory was this? Whose treason?

There could be only one answer: Kinra. My ancestress.

She had tried to steal the Imperial Pearl. The shock loosened my grip on the swords. For a moment, I considered dropping them — the weapons of a traitor! — but the impulse was lost in the hum of their power, and the certainty that I could not disarm Kygo without them.

Behind me, Dela and Ryko burst from the lodging house. Their arrival caught the attention of the nearest guard, who was fighting off three soldiers. I remembered the man’s lean, deeply lined face from the palace: Ryko’s friend, the Captain of the Imperial Guard. He parried a vicious slice with one sword, swinging the other to meet a low sweep from his right. He outclassed his opponents, but he was tiring fast.

“Ryko!” he yelled. A sword connected with his metal breastplate. He staggered backward.

Ryko charged at the closest attacker and swung his heavy blade down like an ax on the soldier’s helmet. The man buckled to the ground, his sword skittering across the cobblestones toward us. With frightening speed, Ryko jumped over the slumped body and slammed his hilt into the face of the next fighter.

Dela cursed under her breath and grabbed the fallen soldier’s sword.

“Eona, get back inside,” she ordered, and ran after Ryko.

But I did not move; Kinra’s ancient energy was pounding through me. My eyes found Kygo again and tracked the pearl at his throat as he ducked and swung at the men on the ground. Kinra wanted the pearl. It was her calling. Her destiny. Her right.

We had to take the pearl.

We? I gritted my teeth, fighting for control. I was here to disarm Kygo and save him, not steal the Imperial Pearl! I was no traitor, nor would I be an ancient traitor’s slave. My will had been wrested from me once by Ido. It would never happen again.

I flung the swords away. They hit the cobblestones, the clang breaking Kinra’s battle cry in my head. But the sharp sound stopped a soldier running toward Dela. He turned and saw an easier target. Raising his blade, he came at me.

Better to have treasonous thoughts than dying ones. I launched myself at the discarded swords, landing heavily on hands and knees. My fingers closed around one hilt; the other was too far away. Still on my knees, I twisted around to face the soldier. In three steps, he’d be on top of me.

First step — he swung his sword.

Second — his blade sliced the air.

Third — I was ready, weapon raised, thighs braced. As steel met steel, the hum of my sword rose through me.

Drop your shoulder and roll .

The instruction was like a half-heard whisper, but I obeyed. The soldier’s blade clanged against the stones where I had knelt just a moment before. His surprise held him over his sword. Through Kinra’s eyes I saw the opportunity and swung at his knees, connecting in a messy crunch of bone and blood. Screaming, he crashed to the ground.

I scrabbled across the blood-spattered stones and snatched the second sword. Again, the hum intensified, burning Kinra’s mission into my mind. It was clear I could not survive without her knowledge — but I had to find a way to resist her hunger for the pearl.

I backed up against the lodging house wall. Before me, the battle shifted and twirled like a court dance, counted to the beat of shrieks and cries. My eyes found the white-robed emperor again, still on his horse, still hacking wildly. Kinra’s energy quickened, her warrior knowledge reading the patterns of combat. We both wanted to reach Kygo, but only she had the skill to carve a passage through the fray. I had to let Kinra lead me through the battle. It was a dangerous gamble: I just hoped that when we reached Kygo, he would be facing Eona, his ally, not an ancient traitor intent on slashing the pearl from his throat.

Kinra found the entry point. It was on the emperor’s right flank: a young imperial guard had cut down three attackers, and a wary space had opened up around him. Still, we needed someone to protect our back. I clamped down on the thought; I needed someone to protect my back.

“Ryko!” I yelled. “With me!”

At my call, he broke away from the clumsy thrust of the soldier in front of him.

“Go,” Dela shouted at him. “I’ve got this covered.” She feinted at Ryko’s opponent, drawing his attack. Nearby, the captain had forced a soldier against the lodging house wall, his blade opening up the man’s belly. Hurriedly, I looked away from the spill of entrails.

“My lady, get back inside,” Ryko yelled, running to me. “I’ll help the emperor.”

“No! Disarm him!” Another image — my hand closing around a man’s throat, around the pearl — broke through my defenses. Gathering my will, I focused on Ryko and resisted the humming treachery of the swords.

“My lady,” he pleaded. “I cannot engage the emperor.”

“Then help me stop him.”

Our eyes locked. I felt Ryko’s massive energy like a second pulse through my body — then it melded with the beat of my own heart as though we were one.

“What is that?” he gasped. “Are you doing it?”

“I don’t know.”

An animal scream cut through the cries and clash of metal. The emperor’s horse reared, its forelegs barely touching the cobblestones before it bucked and staggered. The emperor jumped from the animal and landed awkwardly, folding into a tangled heap of white silk.

“Now!” I yelled.

I ran, propelled by Kinra’s exhilaration. From the corner of my eye I saw Ryko stoop and grab a second sword from the ground. The emperor was already clambering to his feet. His terrified horse kicked at dodging men and flickering shadows. I felt Kinra focus on the Imperial Pearl at the emperor’s throat.

I could feel her fixation on the gem, her need to possess it.

A soldier in unfastened body armor turned to meet me, his swords raised in a classic block. Even before I saw his face, I knew it was Lieutenant Haddo. His startled gaze took in my shape under the thin robe. Then his eyes found mine and I saw shock flare into anger. He lowered his blades.

“Put those swords down, woman,” he shouted. “Get back inside. You’ll be hurt.”

I faltered; the man still thought I was defenseless. In my head, I heard a command: Strike him now .

“Stay close to me,” he added. “I’ll get you to the house.”

Before I could collect myself, Ryko ran past me, swords swinging at the lieutenant’s head. Haddo raised a hasty block, but the force of the attack drove him back toward the horse. The animal reared at the sudden movement, its plunging hooves grazing the lieutenant’s shoulder. Ryko leaped away as Haddo stumbled and fell, tucking into a roll to escape the horse’s stamping frenzy. The maneuver twisted off the man’s unsecured armor and sent it sliding across the stones. Nearby, a soldier saw his lieutenant go down and lunged at Ryko. The islander whirled around and deflected the strike.

I tightened my grip on Kinra’s swords and felt her battle experience flow into me. Give no quarter , her voice whispered. Take Haddo now. I readied my blades. But the man was still on his hands and knees.