A Dawn of Dragonfire

SOLINA



She stood upon the Tower of Akartum, a spire of sandstone and platinum. The wind billowed her hair, tasting of sand and palm oil. Tiranor rolled before her: the lush palms of her oasis, fluttering with cranes and ibises and falcons; the ships that sailed along the River Pallan, laden with spice and gems and treasures of distant lands; the towers of her city, shards of white capped with gold; and beyond them dunes kissed golden with her lord's light, rolling to distant yellow mountains.

"It is my realm," she whispered into the wind. "My magical world of secrets." She shook her head, hair billowing. "You could have been here with me. You could have stood here too."

She looked north past oasis, dune, and mountain. Did he stand there too upon a tower, looking south toward her? She caressed her shoulder where she bore a scar his sword had given her. And yet she loved him, even now.

She could have killed him, she knew. She had wanted to. In the tunnels of Requiem, the bloody dagger in hand, she could have plunged it into his heart. But no. Not yet. He had not suffered enough in life to escape her torment.

"I will bring you here, El," she said and licked the sand from her lips. "But first… first you will watch me slay your sister, and your betrothed Lyana, and all the people of your realm. You will stand and watch them die, and I will make you drink their blood." She nodded, a soft smile on her lips. "And then, El, then I will bring you here, a broken man. I will chain you to this tower, and let the vultures feed upon your living flesh and eyes. And then, El… then maybe I will grant you mercy. Then maybe I will kiss you and let you die."

Upon her tower, she turned around and faced south.

Her army spread across the desert.

A hundred thousand men stood in burnished breastplates, bearing spears, bows, and arrows tipped with poison. Ten thousand horses stood in armor, tethered to chariots of wood and iron. The sun fell upon them, and the golden suns upon her men's breastplates blazed. And behind her men…

Solina's smile widened.

Beyond the army, the dunes undulated, and grumbles rose from beneath. Something was buried there, something ancient and cruel. Beneath the sand waited her greatest champions, like the eggs of snakes waiting to hatch. Soon the desert was trembling, and a crack opened, a womb ready for birth. Sand fell into the crevice. The grumbles turned to roars that shook the city.

Solina raised her arms. Her heart thrashed and her blood thrummed in her ears.

"Arise, my children!" she cried. "Arise from the desert and serve your queen!"

As the beasts hatched from the sand, Solina snarled, tossed her head back, and howled at the sun and its glory.