The Destroyer Book 4 by Michael-Scott Earle Read Free Book Online Page A

would you choose that Elven over me? You hated them. Your whole life was about hating them!” Her voice cracked between painful wheezes. “You meant to kill me, didn’t you? You were not fleeing; you were chasing her.”
    She let go of my hair and turned to walk away toward the table. The four generals had not bothered to sit. There was an absolute change in the room. Before, my five friends were partners, and while Shlara had been the most capable, their opinions all carried equal weight. Now Shlara controlled the group. I saw her power in the fear each of my friends tried to hide when the burnt woman faced them.
    “I told you he would come if we caught the bitch.” She made a hacking sound, like she was clearing phlegm from her throat. It sounded as if her throat was grinding pebbles together. The four nodded enthusiastically. She paced in front of the table and tapped an armored finger on the plate that hid her mouth. The gesture was so familiar, my mind spun through countless memories of her. My heart beat erratically and I shivered with cold sweat.
    “Who decided not to inform me that he was here?” She pointed a finger back at me while her eyes remained on my generals, searching them for weakness.
    The four stood silent for a few moments. Then Malek raised his hand slightly, like a child that knew he was about to be disciplined. Thayer and Gorbanni looked relieved that Malek had made the small movement.
    “Of course, there are no coincidences are there my sweet Malek? You were always coming between Kaiyer and me. Why should that change now?”
    “I just — ” Suddenly Malek was pinned against the wall with Shlara’s sword sticking out of the right side of his chest. He gasped and blood dribbled from his open lips. I hadn’t even seen her draw the weapon, or move to impale him.
    “I’ve found that when a person says ‘I just,’ something incredibly stupid is about to come out of their mouth.” He coughed up another mouthful of blood and reached his hand to the hilt of her blade.
    “Leave that there. Think of it as your reward for insolence. You always wanted to put your sword into me, but now I’ve put mine into you. Isn’t that funny?” She laughed, a maniacal twisted sonata that made my stomach churn. Malek nodded slightly and moved his hand down away from the weapon. Thayer, Alexia, and Gorbanni looked at him in pity but they seemed too terrified of Shlara to make any sort of move to help their friend.
    “I said: 'Isn’t that funny?' Why aren’t you laughing?” Shlara turned her helmet to regard the other three. They promptly forced smiles to their faces and small laughs out of their throats.
    She turned her gaze back to me and I repressed a shudder of nausea. How in the fuck had this happened?
    “Now.” Her clawed gloves stroked my face again. I tried not to cringe, but she didn’t seem to notice me shy away from her talons. Or she did not care. “What to do with you?”
    She turned my head around in her hands to inspect my face. The terror hadn’t faded, even as the seconds ticked by, and I realized that I would have fought a dozen dragons again rather than remain trapped here with her.
    “Torture? It would be fitting of course. Execution? Probably a given.” She bent down so that her eyes were even with mine. I could smell more of her rancid breath now and I was thankful I hadn’t eaten in a long time.
    “The problem is that I am still so in love with you, Kaiyer.” Her voice softened slightly and I saw the faintest flash of humanity in her eyes before they hardened again. “Nothing I could do to you would repay the betrayal you have inflicted on me. Instead, I will just take what I’ve always wanted from you.” She stood up and laughed again.
    “I may not be able to bear children. I have to peel this armor off in bloody pieces just to shit and piss. Without it, the pain is even more intense. The friction from even a breeze sears my skin with agony. I am relieved to put my