A Knight's Calling Page 6

  He looked toward the young dragør. “Is Gkk—” He stumbled and choked on the name he’d thought he’d heard the hatchling called in the void, but his vocal cords would never be up to the task. Oddly, he realized, his mind had automatically translated his sensory experience into something fit for human tongues, and he tried that. “Is Heart of Violet Might going to be all right?”

  “Heart of Violet Might will recover, and neither he nor I, Magnificence of Oceans Tempests, will forget. Not what the Knight speck did,” the beast growled, “and not what you did.”

  Griggory bowed his head, accepting that he may have proved not all humans were treacherous wastrels, but one human had still shown others could be. The scales were balanced at the moment, the dragør was telling him, but if they tilted the wrong way, dragørkind would know.

  The dragør continued, “We’ll return to the forest now, speck, and you shall go back to your speck home. Tell them they are safe because Vaka Aster deems it be so. For now.”

  “I will, but I don’t know if they’ll believe me.”

  “Perhaps doubting a Knight wouldn’t be foolish of them, but not this Knight.”

  The dragør lowered its massive head until it was level with Griggory, then turned it to the side, staring at him through one eye. Griggory’s body was reflected in the fiery-red orb, and he realized there was something different about him.

  On his chin, in deep indigo, a nine-pointed star was visible through his blond beard stubble. “A Knight…” he said, his voice trailing away.

  “As Vaka Aster promised.” The dragør straightened and got to its feet. “Goodbye, Knight Griggory Dondrin. Return to your Order and give them back the Fenestros. Quell the fears of the specks while you’re at it before they hurt themselves.”

  The hatchling dropped its snack, now barely more than a stick of white bone, and loped toward Griggory. Before he could react, it stood at his side and licked his face, its long, hot tongue covering him with dragør saliva from jaw to hairline. It was rough like a cat’s and smelled of burnt meat and something even less pleasant. Griggory contained the need to wretch, barely, not wanting to offend either the hatchling or its parent. Then Heart of Violet Might bounded back, and it and Magnificence of Oceans Tempests both stretched their wings, leaped skyward, and lifted off. The hatchling’s first few flaps were awkward, but it had mastered the art before Griggory lost sight of them.

  In the emptiness of the glade, he stood still and alone, filled with more feelings than he could sift through anytime soon, from awe and excitement to a not entirely welcome sense of obligation. He reached down and collected the Fenestros, noting the movement caused no pain. Marveling both at the celestial stone’s surprising lightness and at the fact his crossbow wound was completely healed, he pulled back the collar of his shirt. He bore only a small scar, round and still red like an ember burn.

  What next? he thought, but the answer was clear. His duty now was to Vaka Aster, Verity of Vinnr, and to the others in the Knights Corporealis Order. His companions now, he supposed. He would return the Fenestros to them and explain to the people of Umborough what had occurred, hopefully calming their terror at seeing a dragør so close. They might even celebrate him, call him something silly and overblown, and completely untrue, like Dragør Tamer.

  And what about the disgraced no-longer-Knight Gwinifeve? Perhaps the people of Umborough or her former companions would find her and bring her to justice. Or perhaps not. Something told him her role in this world would quickly fade and be forgotten, lasting not much longer than a typical human life span. Sadly unremarkable, in a way, after she’d already lived so long.

  He, however, had a great deal of time left. A great deal. He turned away from Umborough and looked out into the depths of the Howling Weald. Out there in the ancient, timeless forest, a vast world of discoveries awaited him, as did new friends and companions of a different sort. And he would go find them, he would, once he’d undergone the training into the Knighthood that he’d missed, and taken the Knighthood’s oath to Vaka Aster—which, he suddenly noted, he hadn’t been asked to do before being ordained.

  Odd, he thought. An oath unsworn…did that mean he had a bit of wiggle room, a bit of latitude perhaps, in how he chose to serve their creator?

  His eyes bounced from the forest to Umborough’s walls, then back again, and he smiled broadly. For most, a calling to the Knighthood was strong, but for him, the calling to the Weald was stronger. And soon, much sooner than his new Order was probably going to like, he would heed it.

  Afterword

  Thanks for reading! Follow Griggory and the Knights Corporealis on their millennia-long quest to protect the realm of Vinnr, and the entirety of the Cosmos, in the next book in the Shackled Verities series, KNIGHT CHOSEN.

  * * *

  You can find it here: Knight Chosen.

  * * *

  Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this story and like to sing the praises of authors who entertained you, you would have my boundless gratitude if you were to write a review on the retailer of your choice.

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  Want more books from me? You’re in luck! I occasionally send newsletters with details on new releases, special offers and other bits of news. If you’d like to be informed, please join my Reading Group at www.tammysalyer.com and you’ll immediately receive FOR FREE:

  1. CONVICTION, prequel to the Spectras Arise Military SciFi series

  2. A SCORPION’S HEART: FOUR TWISTED TALES OF LOVE AND LUST, a four-story collection of quirky and fun tales

  Now and always, happy reading!

  Also by Tammy Salyer

  NOVELS

  Spectras Arise Series

  Contract of Defiance, Spectras Arise, Book 1

  Contract of Betrayal, Spectras Arise, Book 2

  Contract of War, Spectras Arise, Book 3

  Conviction: A Spectras Arise Novella

  Spectras Arise Omnibus

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  The Shackled Verities Series

  Knight Chosen: The Shackled Verities (Book One)

  Knight Redeemed: The Shackled Verities (Book Two)

  Knight Exiled: The Shackled Verities (Book Three)

  Knight Awoken: The Shackled Verities (Book Four)

  A Knight’s Calling: A Shackled Verities Story

  The Shackled Verities Collection Box Set

  COLLECTIONS

  Forged From The Stars with G. S. Jennsen and E. J. Fisch

  A Scorpion’s Heart: Four Twisted Tales of Love and Lust

  SHORT STORIES

  Artificial Fate * Creepers * No Suede Soles in Hell

  Visit my website to see if anything new has been released since this publication.

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  About the Author

  Tammy is an inveterate verbarian, who spends her days surrounded by the written word, both hers and others’. As an ex-paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, her stories are often as gritty as a grunt’s pile of three-week-old field gear. Her military science fiction Spectras Arise series debuted to acclaim in 2012, and her epic fantasy adventure series The Shackled Verities was launched in 2020. When not hunched like a Morlock over her writing desk, Tammy runs and bikes silly miles with her super-cool weirdo partner in the playground of Southern California and spends an inappropriate amount of time watching Henry Rollins videos on YouTube. Contrary to whatever ideas her last name might conjure, she’s never really been much of a Slayer fan.

  Fantasy, space opera, satire, and snark fans will feel right at home with Tammy. Learn more about her and her books by visiting www.tammysalyer.com. She hopes you enjoy reading her works and welcomes your reviews.

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