Free A Birthright of Blood (The Dragon War, Book 2) by Daniel Arenson

Whether he listened, I cannot tell; he will not speak
to me of this. Maybe he will speak to you. He once greatly admired
you."
    Valien nodded and sighed. "He
was a good man, years ago. He was a friend. I pray that I find this
same man today."
    "You will not," Lana
said, "but I will take you to him. Follow." She turned
and began walking between the Stone Guardians. "Do not fear
them! They will not harm my guests. Just walk close to me."
    As they followed Lady Lana, Rune
glanced up nervously at the stone statues, ready to leap back should
they move again. Yet they remained frozen, stone heads raised, fists
still clutched to their chests. Lana led them between the statues,
up a wide staircase, and toward the gates of the Castle-in-the-Cliff.
    Shadows loomed before them. The
gateway rose taller than dragons, carved into the living rock of the
cliff. More than a gateway, this was an ornate cave. Cold air blew
from within, chilling Rune, and mist swirled. As he stepped through
the archway, the sound of wind and distant birds faded. He entered a
realm of shadows and fog.
    When he blinked, he saw a great
hall, larger than any he'd ever seen. Rows of columns stretched into
the shadows. Upon each burned an oil lamp, the light barely piercing
the darkness. A mosaic of dragons battling griffins covered the
floor. Shadows hid the ceiling. Rune had walked a hundred yards
before he even realized that guards stood between the columns,
cloaked in gray and armed with sabers; the shadows nearly drowned
them.
    "Father!" Lana called
out, and her voice echoed across the chamber. "Guests are here
to see you. Will you speak with them, Father?"
    As they walked deeper down the
hall, Rune saw a throne ahead; it too seemed carved from the raw
stone of the cliff. When they walked closer, Rune saw that a man sat
there.
    "Stars," he whispered.
    Rune had always thought
Valien—with his shaggy hair, leathery face, and grizzled
stubble—looked rough and weathered. Yet the man upon this throne
made Valien seem as well-groomed as a prince.
    Lord Cain wore shaggy gray robes
lined with fur. His walrus mustache bristled beneath a bulbous,
veined nose. His face was as red and wrinkled as a dried apple. His
hair was even redder, wild and tangled and streaked with white. Yet
despite the snow invading his hair and the grooves lining his skin,
he did not seem frail. His shoulders were still wide, his body
stocky beneath his robes. His hands were large and strong, clutching
the armrests of his throne. A curved blade hung at his side, its
pommel shaped as a roaring dragon's head. When he looked up, his
eyes blazed under bushy brows—black, deep, and shrewd.
    "So, Lord Valien Eleison!"
he called out, voice booming; it pealed across the hall. "You've
come at last to grovel and beg for my aid."
    The haggard lord rose from his
throne. He was a large man, as tall and wide as Valien. He drew his
sword and held it aloft. His forearms were wide and crisscrossed
with scars. In his youth, he must have been a great warrior; he
still stood with the pride of one.
    Valien kept walking forward, not
slowing down. Rune and Lana walked at his sides.
    "I've not come here to
grovel," he rasped. "Nor to beg. I come to see a man who
was once great. I come to see if greatness can still be found within
him, or whether he's become but a ghost, a withered puppet for a
stronger lord."
    Lord Cain cackled; it sounded
less like a laugh and more like a man gagging. Spittle flew from
beneath his bushy mustache.
    "Aye, you've still got a
way with words, you bastard!" Lord Cain said. He barked a
laugh. "You always were the poetic one, weren't you? Reading
your books like a woman." He snorted. "True men have no
use for books, Valien, nor for your fancy words. We deal with blood,
blades, and dragonfire."
    "You will have the glory of
all three," Valien said, "if you join our cause."
    They reached the throne. Lana
went to stand by her father's side. Rune and Valien remained
standing before him. All around,