‘They are not yours now,’ Valkia replied. She pushed Slaupnir harder, seconds away from driving it into the Witch King’s body. ‘I will take them from you, as I will take your head for my lord and master.’
‘No.’
The single word was spoken with the conviction of the ages. Malekith snarled, sheathing his sword and thrusting his hands towards Valkia’s face. A blast of night-dark energy smashed into her, hurling her from the dragon’s back and into the path of his jaws. Seraphon immediately exhaled a huge, stinking cloud that entirely engulfed Valkia’s form.
Darkhand caught his breath and everything around him seemed to slow until it paused... just for a heartbeat. When time resumed, a crimson-clad figure with tattered wings plunged from the dark cloud, trailing ribbons of black smoke. It descended, twisting and spinning from the skies above Naggarond. With a resounding crunch, it struck one of the wall towers with enough impact to shatter the stone before finally tumbling into teeming hordes and trampling feet of the Chaos army beneath.
‘That was...’ Kouran Darkhand continued. The retelling of the siege had taken most of the day, during which they had marched north at a punishing pace. Now, however, the Witch King halted, his armoured hand held up for silence.
‘You led my people well, Captain Darkhand,’ he said in his quiet tone. ‘We prevailed. Valkia the Bloody is no more. Our city stands firm. In time, we will sweep the invaders from our lands.’ He turned his head away from Darkhand to stare out across the horizon. ‘We will rid ourselves of them, or Naggaroth will claim them once and for all.’
Darkhand opened his mouth to respond, but Malekith shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, pre-empting the question. ‘No.’
Lightning flickered in the sky and Malekith’s gaze moved up to the heavens. ‘Our trials are just beginning.’
About The Author
S P Cawkwell is a freelance writer based in north-east England. Her work for Black Library includes the Silver Skulls novels The Gildar Rift and Portents, and the Architect of Fate novella, Accursed Eternity. For Warhammer, she is best known for her stories featuring the daemon princess of Khorne, Valkia the Bloody.