CONTENT ADVISORY / TRIGGER WARNING
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DEPICTIONS/STRONG IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING:
~ PROFANITY
~ NUDITY
They all waited in silence as the fog slowly faded. Each gust of wind seemed to do no more than blow away a tiny fragment of the dark mist, and in the fading light of the early night sky it was even harder to see through. Libelle looked up at Vegeir as the elder inhaled sharply and sat up taller from his perch with wide yellow eyes.
"Vegeir, what is it?" Libelle called out as she pulled her arm from Davyn's grasp and stepped forward into the courtyard, leaving the priests to stand on the steps of Uppsala. The courtyard was now clear of all snow, exposing large stone slabs carved with intricate patterns. Despite all the heat it took to clear the courtyard, snow began to fall again and was already trying to cover the ground. Each individual flake having its own identity that melted away on the cooling slabs. She slowly approached the clearing haze, waiting for any signs or sounds of danger. There was nothing, and there was no movement from Eskil. Even the light from the fires heating the courtyard did not reflect off his ebony scales, nor did his wings move in an attempt to take flight.
Libelle drew her sword again when the haze cleared from around Eskil, but Eskil was not in sight. The black dragon had escaped. Where? When had he even had an opportunity to flee? The fog suddenly vanished, and the sight that remained took away her breath. Vegeir spread his wings and once again returned to her side, his gaze curious as they both stared at the newly formed crater in the ground.
The priests left the safety of their steps and joined by the sides of the slayer and her dragon ally, and they all went silent for a moment. The crater was not empty, but the ebony dragon was not there either. At the bottom of the crater lay the body of a man. He was struggling to slowly push himself upwards, but it seemed all his strength had fled his body as he collapsed back to the soil.
"Vegeir," Libelle whispered, "is that...is that Eskil?"
The old dragon made a rumbling noise, his yellow eyes darting about as he considered the thought that this situation might be over. "You may be right. I believe it may be him." He peered down into crater at the nude man who was still struggling to stand. He motioned Libelle forward, and the slayer cautiously took her first step towards him.
Libelle unconsciously flinched when the man's deep voice hollered, "Curse you, slayer!"
His head lifted, but as she swallowed hard in reaction to the sight before them, her feet suddenly slipped out from underneath her, she fell onto the soil and slid down the steep slope on her bottom. She kicked her feet out in front of her body to try to slow herself down and eventually skidded to a stop only a few feet in front of the naked man.
Libelle flinched again when he reached forward and grabbed her leg in a strong and tight grip, constricting like a snake around her thin ankle. The dark aura emanating from the man in the crater matched the dark aura of Eskil exactly; this man had to be him.
The man lifted his head, his gaze locking with hers. "Pray for your soul," he growled. His pearly white teeth clenched together with long, fang-like canines glimmering. "For I will devour it," he snarled again and pulled harder on her leg.
Libelle couldn't help but find herself looking at his stunning features. The nude man-beast had to be Eskil. His eyes were glimmering like polished gold with black, snake-like pupils, and his skin was a lovely shade of bronze, the tanned tissue stretched over large and well-defined muscles. Despite his deep frown, he had deep colored lips, a sturdy jawline with a slightly pointed chin and angular cheekbones.
His eyes were narrowed and spaced evenly apart, and his thick, arched brows were separated by his broad nose. Dark hair hung straight down past his shoulders, sloppily kept as stray strands fell down over his face. From the top of his head, at the beginning of his thick hairline, protruded two thick, black layered and scaled horns.
Her gaze trailed down his chin to his sturdy neck. His body being as tense as it was caused his tendons and muscles to stretch tightly beneath his skin. His Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, and as her eyes traveled further down past his collar bones, she noted his broad chest and his chiseled abdomen bulging with taught muscles.
As he grabbed her leg and pulled her further down again, his arm flexed, and all the veins in his forearm and bicep looked like they were about to burst. Eskil in this form was incredibly handsome, and he was incredibly fit and muscular. He was sexy, but he was still very, very dangerous.
"Slayer," he growled. "Die."
Eskil opened his human mouth, trying even now to build up the strength to form a flame to spew at her. Libelle saw a few sparks building up at the back of his throat and she panicked, quickly jerking back and using her free booted foot to kick him hard, making full contact with his nose and chin. Eskil's head snapped back, and his eyes rolled back in his head. His grip around her ankle loosened as he collapsed back to the ground beneath him.
Libelle exhaled whenEskil went limp and completely unconscious. "Vegeir, it really is him."