“I will take this city from you,” I tell the man on the dirt at my feet, “but not as a usurper nor as an avenging heir.” The sky is open, and though I still stand on the ground, I feel I’m already on a dragon’s back. “I will take it out from under you as you name me your successor from your knees because your people want it and your head. Then I will let death be a mercy to you, just as it was for my father.”
