between him and General Demos.
“Rika, wait,” he said.
“No,” Rika said. “I don’t trust him. He could dump you off the draco and leave you for dead in the middle of nowhere.”
General Demos’s expression remained neutral. “Doing so would serve to hasten my own death. I’m certain the king can defend himself.”
“Rika, help me up,” he said.
“You can’t walk with that wound,” Rika said. “You’ll make it worse.”
“It’s not bad, and I need to speak with this…creature eye to eye,” he said.
“I’m a person, not an animal,” General Demos said. “Though my appearance might frighten you, I’ll assure you that I’m a man of honor.”
Rika helped him to his feet. “Lean on me.”
He wrapped his arm around Rika’s shoulder. He hobbled from the draco’s stable and perched himself on a double stack of hay in the corridor. He would’ve sworn Rika mumbled something about ‘stubborn’ and ‘mule headed’ under her breath.
General Demos stood at the detention shield’s edge and waited for him to speak.
“Why?” He winced. Sharp pain flared along his thigh.
“Because this creature wants to kill you,” Rika said. “Why do you think?”
He ignored Rika’s chiding and kept his gaze locked on General Demos. “Is she right? You want to leave me for dead?”
“As tempting as that sounds, it’s not my primary motivation,” General Demos said.
“I’m listening,” he said.
“I don’t wish to see any more of my people die by your hand,” General Demos said. “Your actions today cost thousands of baerinese lives.”
The answer caught him off-guard. “So your reasons are purely altruistic?”
General Demos paused before speaking. “I’m not a man accustomed to lying King Latimer. My reasons are not purely altruistic as you might imagine.”
He smiled. “If I’m away from here, your kind has a greater chance of conquering Meranthia with fewer lives lost. Am I right?”
General Demos nodded in acknowledgment.
Rika’s eyes flashed with anger. “Ronan, you can’t be considering this.”
“Do you have a better idea?” He raised his hand stopping her from answering. “That doesn’t involve you or Connal flying me away.”
Rika bit her lower lip and shook her head.
“How do I know you won’t try to kill me once I drop the shield?” He said.
General Demos glanced between him and Rika. “I don’t think the lady would allow any harm to come to you.”
Rika nodded and glared at General Demos. “Finally, we agree on something.”
He lifted his wounded leg and straightened it letting the blood flow through to his toes. His leg throbbed. “If I were in your situation, and given the opportunity, I would do the same.” His breathing came hard and labored. “But make no mistake. I won’t allow the slaughter or enslavement of humanity.”
General Demos stared ahead stone-faced, but anger ticked behind the general’s eyes. “Of course.”
“And, if you make the trip with me, don’t expect to ever return to your people.” He held the general’s gaze letting his works sink home. “You’re as dangerous to humanity as I am to the baerinese.”
“As much as your words might bolster my ego, I can’t make entire mountainsides collapse,” General Demos said.
The words stung. Images of Devery Tyrell begging him to cut off the energy flows flashed through his mind. “There’s more than one way to bring down a mountain.”
General Demos held his gaze for several long seconds as if considering the proposal. “I accept your conditions.”
Rika folded her arms and smiled. “You’ve forgotten one important part Ronan Latimer.”
He raised his eyebrow. “That would be?”
“He can’t command the draco from inside the shield, and you can’t release the shield without channeling magic,” Rika said.
He sighed and nodded. “You’re right, and I won’t drop the shield until you’re far away.”
General Demos turned away and returned to the