Dawn of Cobalt Shadows (Burning Empire Book 2) by Emma Hamm (best e ink reader for manga .txt) 📕

entirely truthful with you. The leader of the Alqatara, she’s more interested in Nadir because he’s a dragon than anything else.”

“What does she want with that beast?”

“In the old legends, dragons could fly into battle and end it immediately. But… that’s not what she wants.”

Raheem watched as the man’s eyes darted to the side. He was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. But why?

Narrowing his eyes, he watched as Solomon continued to fidget. Finally, Raheem pressed him. “What does she want with Nadir?”

His halting words sent a chill down Raheem’s spine.

“In the ancient legends, humans worshipped dragons as gods. It is her belief that if we bring back all the old ways, that the humans will stop fighting and look to the Beastkin for all their needs.”

“She wants to make him… what? A legend? A myth?” he asked, the words falling from his lips like stones. They dropped into his lap and weighed him down into the floor.

“She wants to make him divine.”

They’d all lost their minds. That was the only thing Raheem could think. Completely mad. There was no way to make a man a god. Nadir was nothing more than a boy, a child who had yet to learn who or what he wanted to be.

“I was too late,” he muttered. “I should have been here only a week sooner, and I might have stopped you all from this madness.”

“It’s not madness. This would work.” Solomon leaned forward, his eyes gleaming brightly. “I know it seems insane and that you might not believe me when I say this, but the leader of the Alqatara has weighed all the possibilities. She knows this is the only way to save the kingdom from itself.”

“You’ve all turned into zealots. You want more than just the kingdom, more than the empire itself. A god?” He shook his head. “He’s just a boy.”

“He’s more than a boy, now. Dragons shouldn’t exist anymore, but they do. Haven’t you ever wondered why they’ve never died out? And now there are two people out there capable of so much power, you and I can’t even fathom what they can do.”

“No,” Raheem said, swallowing hard. “I never wondered what he could do. I always just looked at him as a child, a lonely child who wanted a family. You were supposed to give him a family, a mother and a brother who could show him what good there is in the world. All you’ve done is make him a monster.”

The sadness in Solomon's gaze was all Raheem needed to see. It didn’t matter that Nadir was a person. It hardly mattered that he existed at all. The Alqatara meant to see him become something far more than the Sultan of Bymere.

This would end poorly.

He waited until the other man cleared his throat and pushed a tumbler of whiskey toward him.

“Drink up, General,” Solomon said. “As little as we both wish to see it happen, war is coming. And I need you with our men.”

Raheem drank deeply of the amber liquid and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. If there were gods, he sent a prayer that they assist him. He would need all the help he could get to stay alive in this one.

----

They’d moved the army with remarkable speed, but he supposed that was understandable when it was a group of men who wanted nothing more than bloodshed. Raheem sat on his horse at the End of the World. The giant cliff dropped off into open air below them.

Green spread out in front of him. Hadn’t he just been here? He’d swear only moments ago he’d been climbing up this mountain in secret, hoping to find the boy king who he’d come to care very much about.

Now, they were lowering the army down into the lush greenery beyond. An elephant beside him trumpeted its distress. They’d have to tie the beast down to the lift just to make sure it didn’t tumble off the side of the mountain.

He’d argued not to bring them. They wouldn’t do well in the forests. He knew what was beyond this swamp. The underbrush grew so dense even a child had a hard time slipping through it.

Abdul had disagreed. He’d argued that Raheem couldn’t be trusted since he’d run away with the one person who had destroyed the city. That they couldn’t take his word for more than a grain of salt because, of course, he could still be working with Sigrid. What if he lied? What if he brought them to certain death?

If he could have, Raheem would have strangled the man once and for all. Let the vipers nest burn for all he cared. The advisors were finished in this kingdom the moment Nadir returned.

Raheem would rot in the cells of the palace for the rest of his life if the boy would just let him slit their throats. He could do it in their sleep and no one would be the wiser.

Another horse joined his. The red coat shuddered with the beast’s anticipation of a fight. Everyone knew the moment they touched the ground, the Earthen folk would be prepared for them.

“General,” Solomon said, his eyes staring down at the land beyond. “What awaits us?”

“Death.”

“Surely our soldiers have been trained better than that. What can we expect as we descend? Will the Earthen folk’s armies be prepared for us? Give me more information than your distrust for how we have chosen to go about this, General.”

Raheem blew out a breath. The man wanted him to reassure him? Now? There weren’t any reassurances to be had.

He pointed at the trees beyond. “Wildewyn always has defenses watching the walls. Considering how long it takes us to get down into their kingdom, there will already be people waiting for us. They favor bows and they favor hiding. We won’t be able to see them. Likely won’t even hear the arrows as they fly through the trees for our throats.”

“Shields then.”

“They’ll find a way through them. There’s a reason we