The dragon raised a curious head as they approached, and Erich felt the invisible tethers that bound them together pulling him closer to her. Liane was waiting for him. Had she seen him in the crowd? Her elaborate veil was pulled back, and her face was glowing. She looked like a goddess. The golden light seemed to illuminate her from within.
“I didn’t believe it when I saw you in the crowd. You really came. Do you have no respect for your own life?” she scolded him.
Erich approached her before falling onto his knees in front of her. Her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open as she looked at her companions. Erich inhaled raggedly.
“I lied to you about myself and my intentions when we first met. I’m a monster who doesn’t deserve to be standing in front of you.”
She shook her head, hands hovering as if she were debating grabbing hold of him. And if he was honest, if she touched him, he might unravel. He was barely controlling the dragon around her as it was. And he hated how much her scent intoxicated him, how desperately he wanted to be close to her, and each day chipped away at his already threadbare control.
“Don’t say that?—”
“Please,” he croaked.
Her lips pulled into a thin line, and she nodded for him to continue.
“I came looking for a cure for this dragon curse, and to do that, I intended to steal the sword I now know is in your back.”
She inhaled sharply. “I see.”
“My reasons don’t justify my actions, but you could be my salvation or my damnation.”
She grabbed hold of her robe, bunching it in front of her. “What makes you so certain?”
“I saw it in a vision,” Fritz said as he stepped forward.
Liane noticed him, and her eyes grew wide. “You were there that night... You’re an elf.” The last word she whispered.
Ludwig’s and Luzie’s heads swiveled in Fritz’s direction, who, for his part, didn’t seem scared, despite being very vulnerable in that moment. Either one of them could call the Midnight Guards and have them both thrown into the dungeon. No one moved. In fact, everyone seemed to be poised and ready but frozen in time.
“I am, and I came here with an important message for you. Do not let them seal the sword’s power within you.”
Liane looked at Fritz as if he’d spoken in another tongue. “What does that mean?”
“It means exactly as it sounds. The Avatheos has plans to bring about the apocalypse and with it another cataclysm, the likes of which we haven’t seen in centuries. And to begin that, he needs to ensure the power the goddess has entrusted in you never reaches its full potential.”
Liane wrapped her arms around her torso and took a step back. “You’re wrong. He’s trying to draw the sword from me.”
“He’s trying to control your power. Tell me, did he try to draw the sword from you himself, or did he guide you on how to?”
Liane’s eyes widened as she looked at Fritz, but she didn’t answer. Erich knew he’d struck a chord.
Erich stood. “Did he hurt you? I’ll?—”
She placed a hand against his chest, and the dragon purred.
She smiled at it, and it took all his self-control not to pull her into his arms.
“No one can draw the sword but the avatar. Only you can pull it from your flesh. What the Avatheos is trying to do is take the blade for himself. Ask him about the Dark Blade. And if he will not answer, find the books about it. I think you’ll learn more from that than you will from me.”
She looked at Fritz and then at Erich and took a step back.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. More than you could ever know. But I’ve made my choice. I am dedicated to the church. And I will not be swayed by the dark.”
She turned her back on Erich, and on impulse, he reached for her, grasping onto the hem of her robe.
“Liane, don’t. I came here to rescue you.”
She smiled softly. “I don’t need rescuing. I’m where I’m meant to be. And for us, this is the end.” She grasped a fistful of his tunic and placed a quick, light kiss on his lips. At least that’s what she’d intended until he wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. Her eyes widened as he kissed her. Her lips parted, and the taste of her, was agonizing, the feel of her soft mouth, her tongue brushing against his. Erich groaned against her as his hand snaked up her back to hold her by the nape of her neck. He could get drunk on the taste of her, the feeling of her breasts against him, the way her body shifted slightly to fit more firmly against him.
