Broadsword

The faint tapping at the oak doorway slowly roused Jaden from the depths of the deep sleep he had fallen into. With a quick glance at the sleeping form in the bed beside him he carefully eased out from beneath the blankets and pulled on his robe from the foot of the bed. Grimacing at the coldness of the stone floor he walked over to the door and slowly opened it.

“Sorry to wake you, Jaden, but I thought you might want to know that Corless has been sighted along with his army at the edge of the territory.” The young warrior stood in the shadowy corridor, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.

Jaden came instantly alert at the news. He stepped further out into the corridor and closed the door behind him. “How many men?”

“Mateo estimated about a hundred, hundred and fifty foot soldiers with 25 dragon riders marching with them. He says that they should be nearing the castle later this afternoon.”

“Are the men awake?”

“Getting ready as we speak. Kale thought that we should be prepared in case Corless sends the dragon riders on ahead.”

Jaden nodded in agreement. “Good work, Tomas. Tell Kale that I’ll be down as soon as I’m dressed. Make sure that the dragons are ready but don’t saddle them up yet. I don’t want them getting to edgy whilst we wait.”

Tomas nodded and hurried back down the corridor to the stairwell. Jaden watched him disappear before slowly re-entering the chamber. Leaning back against the door he looked at the woman sleeping in the four poster. Everything that he had worked towards, created with his bare hands, focused his emotions on was now facing its greatest threat. Corless had almost succeeded in taking everything from him years before. He wasn’t going to let him do that again. This was going to be the final showdown between them.

Pushing off from the door he walked over towards the bed, his step light and graceful despite his size. Unlike other Taloreans, Jaden was a tall man with broad, muscular shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist. His mother had been the High Priestess of the Eternal Chapel, a sacred religious order based in the mountains whilst his father had been the leader of the Talorean Dragon Riders who protected the country. Both had been murdered by Corless in his quest to take control of the country.

Reaching out a hand, he gently stroked the blond hair back off the sleeping woman’s face, his touch a light caress against her face.

“Jaden?” the woman’s voice was husky with sleep as she turned her head into his hand, her eyes opening to stare up at him.

“Corless is at the edge of the territory,” Jaden replied softly. “I need to get ready and lead our people against him.”

She came instantly awake and sat up in bed to look at him. She knew that he was hiding more inside him that what he was revealing to her. Jaden was a man who kept his emotions to himself. Even now, after all that they had been through together, he was reluctant to share everything with her.

“I’ll get ready,” she said, pushing the blankets back of the bed and reaching for her robe.

“Keira…”

“Jaden, it is no use trying to argue with me to get me to stay here because we both know that you won’t win. My place is at your side, whether it is addressing our people or standing up to tyrants like Corless. I am your soul mate and we face whatever comes before us together.”

Jaden looked down at the woman standing before him. She just reached his shoulder yet she had enough spirit within her to make her appear even taller at times. He had lived so much of his life alone that he found it hard sharing things with Keira. Especially when things involve Corless. A part of him wanted to shield her from all the bad things in his life and keep her safe yet he knew that as his soul mate she would not allow him to do that. Soul mates shared everything as they were seen to be the two halves of a whole.

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Keira. I couldn’t …” his voice faltered at the thought of a life without her. He couldn’t bear a life without her in it.

Keira placed her hands over his, so pale against his bronzed skin. “You won’t lose me. I’m not going to do anything that would jeopardise what we have between us but I will not let you face him alone.”

Jaden sighed and relaxed slightly. He could spend all day arguing with her but he knew that she would stand firm against him all the way. It was much easier to have her standing by his side than against him. “You’d better get ready, then,” he said with a slight smile before turning and reaching for his own clothing.


The sun was starting to burn through the clouds as Jaden led Keira up onto the platform to stand before the warriors and their families. He looked over the crowd of people standing before them. All dressed in protective clothing of one form or another with weapons attached to their belts. On the edge of the of the gathering, standing on large wooden perches, were the dragons. Their muscular bodies were covered in the light armour that had been made to protect the dragons in combat.

“Corless is leading his army against us to kill us all as he has tried to many times before. It is my intention to make this the last fight against him. Today we will decide this battle once and for and hopefully secure our freedom!”

A cheer rose from the crowd at his words. The fight against Corless had cost many of them the lives of loved ones and friends and they were eager to bring it to an end. Jaden watched as some of them went over to the dragons and climbed into the saddles. The dragon riders would be their strongest element in the forthcoming battle. He could only hope that the enemy dragon riders were not as skilled they were.

“Time to go,” Jaden said to Keira as two dragons flew down from their perches and came to rest before them.

“One moment,” Keira replied and crossed over to where her silver dragon stood waiting. She reached onto the saddle and pulled down something long and wrapped in a cloth. “I think you’ll do better with this.”

Jaden took the object from her and slowly unwrapped it, puzzled as to what it could be. His throat tightened as the huge broadsword was revealed. The sword had belonged to his father and had been believed to have been lost when his father had been murdered. He didn’t know how Keira had gotten hold of it but having it in his arms filled him with powerful emotions that aided his resolve for the forthcoming battle.

Climbing on the back of the black dragon he raised the sword high above his end. “Today, we end it!!!” he called out before urging the dragon into the skies with other riders following closely behind whilst the foot soldiers began their march towards the final battle.