The Unhappy Heart (Book 1 of The Wolfheart Trilogy)

32. Monsters

Lord Rane must have sensed it coming, for he swung about to face it. It was his undoing. The knife slashed into his stomach, causing Lord Rane to drop to his knees. His sword clattered to the ground as his hands crept to the object embedded in his flesh. With a stunned look, Lord Rane gazed up at Andrea. 

Dagen swiftly kicked the fallen sword into the far corner. He moved to stand beside Andrea, both looking down at their fallen enemy.

Lord Rane shook his head with unmasked wonder.

"A girl, " he whispered. "Just a child."

Dagen leaned forward, crouching over him. "Was it worth it?" he asked. "Surely, you knew you could never succeed."

Lord Rane smiled, and Andrea's stomach twisted as she saw his mouth was filling with blood. It trickled down his chin, splattering on the earthen floor. When he spoke, his voice sounded strange and wet.

"All our lives, we Shaiths had been known as the most powerful beings to walk the earth. We were feared and revered by all. Why then did we suddenly allow ourselves to be walked over and treated like scum. What did we owe the humans, who cast us out and drove us beyond the mountains and into the dying plains? It didn't make sense to me." 

He glanced at Dagen. "I too know the pain of losing a loved one. My parents were slain in the battle of the Runens. I was forced to sit in a bloodied field by the bodies of my people, as my sister was dragged away screaming my name. The memory of my mother clinging to my baby brother, and my father crawling to her as his life ebbed away, never left me. Just as the humans tried to wipe my race from the earth, I swore to do the same. But to do so I was forced to lie and wait. Knowing I didn't have the time needed, I learned to make time slow for me, to draw out my life. When I went to share this with my kinsmen, they drove me out and called me a monster. I didn't understand it at first. But then it came to me. The land of Runen breeds monsters and for anyone to have peace, the mother monster had to be destroyed. So, I came to the decision. Force the Erlenian king to try and massacre the mages only to have the mages fight back. That way they would just kill each other. Those who were left would be weak and finished off easily. Once that was done, there would be no one to try and stop me from releasing the dragons, captured in the mountains. Hungry and fierce, Runen would be no match for them.
Once the Runens were dead, the Exelian dragon-tamers would come forward and tame the beasts and the world would have peace. Even if my life was sacrificed in the process, it would be worth it. We are both monsters, Dagen Mortenson. We both must rid ourselves of our curses. Don't you understand? It is for their good, for their sakes."

To Andrea's horror, she saw Dagen falter. She knew he had always seen his ability as a curse but had never thought he had taken it so far. He feared himself, she realised. Feared what he could do or rather, what he could become. And she realised now, how alike Dagen and Lord Rane were. Both had lost their families and let their anger possess them. Both had seen themselves as monsters and feared it. Dagen saw himself in Lord Rane and believed him.

"Dagen, don't listen to him. You are not a monster."

Dagen looked at her and for once, she could see the fear clearly. "But I am. I killed that boy. I killed Prince Cole. I can't control it, Andrea. It controls me. Don't you understand, I am a monster."

"No, it's because you are letting it control you, because you fear it. If you fight it, you will be able to overpower it. Please, Dagen. Don't you see he's lying to you. He never thought of others. It was all for the power and revenge. He killed the prince."

Dagen hesitated. 

Lord Rane saw it and spoke up again. "Dagen, it is for all their good. Let me go. I must finish this." His voice was mesmerising and his pale eyes stared deeply into Dagen's begging him to understand.