With that threat gone, our Sky Legion regrouped behind Braxton, flanking him, though it still unnerved me that he was just floating in the bubble. Levitating, like a star.
More sentries rushed out of the mountains, joining the carnage below, but Harrison and the land riders successfully pushed through the ranks, finally reaching the lava moat. Now we needed to lower the drawbridge for them, so they could cross into the courtyard and caves to rescue the slaves.
With Raithian still there, I found it difficult.
“Harper, Arlo, Quinn, go!” I ordered and saw the next part of our plan set into motion.
Spike, Fulgur, and Knight descended to the curtail wall, their fire breaths immediately targeting the opening mechanism. The blasts rippled against a swaying barrier of green light.
Another ward.
Gods!
With Braxton currently engaging Raithian, there was no one to take out the ward for our land riders to cross the sweltering moat.
Raithian’s laughter returned, and I glanced at him to find him levitating across from Braxton, a sphere of green energy engulfing him too. “Did you really think I was going to make it so easy for you?”
“I don’t need you to make it easy,” Braxton assured, “I know your power is depleted, and I’m not going to stop until I take you down.”
Raithian shrugged as though my mate might be right, but he seemed far too comfortable for that to be the case.
Unable to contain her contempt, Star fired a stream straight at the Warlock, yet the flames dispersed around his sphere, unable to reach him. Raithian’s side glance reached Star and me next to Braxton, seemingly amused that we thought we could take him.
With a bored sigh, his attention returned to my mate. “Perhaps we should make things more interesting… Though, I must admit, I find the sight of me quite fascinating.” His gaze swept over the Elevated Warriors dressed like him, and sick delight stretched his lips. “You are far more clever than I gave you credit for, Braxton. That certainly did a number on my sentries… imbeciles.”
Slipping something onto his hand, he regarded my mate.
“Alas, war you chose, and war you shall have.”
A massive wave of green energy blasted out of him suddenly, sweeping over all of us in the sky. Our Dragons jerked from the influence at first, but thanks to the Truth Teller’s talismans we wore, they successfully evaded his hold. Somehow, the Warlock King had just tried to command them all at once, just as he did Azazel.
Wrath transformed his expression the instant he realized his control was futile on our Dragons. His infuriated gaze swept over us when we lined up on either side of Braxton again, then snapped to him.
“I do not know how you have managed this, but you will regret it!” Extending both arms to his side, he grinned like a maniac. “I do not need your Dragons after all. I have my own.”
With the words, something glowed brightly on his finger, and raw fear gripped my soul.
The Dragon ring.
35
BRAXTON
Every single muscle in my body went rigid at the sight of my Dragon ring on the Warlock King’s hand.
At that moment, I understood the warnings the Truth Teller had given me. The four-headed Dragon I needed but failed to reclaim. The urgency for me to master my magic and become a true Devenish Wizard. The river of blood it would take to finally end this war…
It all came down to this. Aelia had seen this moment. She witnessed the Warlock King become so powerful, by merely possessing my ring, that I would die fighting him.
Fuck…
The pieces of the Anima Crystallum on his hand glowed brightly as Raithian once again stole from their power, and a fleet of twenty Dragons slowly rose from behind the volcano, a green glow capturing every set of eyes that stared back at us, even their riders’.
All riders except for one… Lachlan.
Saithar’s eyes glowed green too, and phantom flames of pain and regret licked my skin with the sight. If I’d only stopped her and the other Dragons from leaving… but I couldn’t force them to do something they didn’t want to do. I was not Raithian.
I immediately summoned our family tree, seeing its lights glow around us, forming branches and recognizing each Dragon in its rightful place. Unfortunately, some leaves had a green glow severing them from our tree, the ones the Warlock had recently possessed. Energy flowed from my branch, directed at every single one of them, but no matter how much I sent, trying to free them from his manipulation, they didn’t respond.
The rips taking them away from the family became greater and greater with each passing second, and loss gripped my being.
“What have you done?!” Evanna shouted at Lachlan, disgust and horror dripping from each word.
“Something you refuse to do… I’m saving our people!” the asshole barked at her.
The fucking nerve.
Ire travelled through my entire being, magic swirling with the need to fire, but I tried to stop myself from killing him where he stood. My magic had to be reserved for Raithian, now more than ever, because only the Celestials knew how powerful he had just become.
“You have betrayed your kingdom, Lachlan. You betrayed us all!” Nikau bellowed from my other side, hurt and disbelief distorting his features.
“I did what I had to, Cousin!” Lachlan replied, desperate to defend his actions. “Someone had to save us!”
“They don’t look saved to me,” I declared, fists trembling at my sides from indignation and the surge of power begging me to let it go. How dare he do this to our people? To Evanna. To my Dragons? “There are too many green eyes among them, for anyone to have agreed to this.”
The hatred he felt for me exuded from his pores, and he bared his teeth at me threateningly.
“They don’t know what’s best for them yet. Once this is over, they will thank me.” When his attention returned to Evie, his demeanor softened. “We made a deal that will benefit us all,” he urged, trying to make her understand. “Raithian will give Caelisium to me, to us, Evanna. You can rule beside me. He will let us free our people and rule this world however we want. The war would finally be over. All of this would—”
“Let me guess,” I interrupted, not entirely surprised that Raithian had offered the same deal to Lachlan, and he’d accepted. “The only thing you have to do is tell him where the Eye of the World is… Oh, and kill us all to get us out of his way.”
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I should feel pity or be repulsed by Lachlan. I settled for being repulsed.
My gaze shifted to Raithian, who regarded me with a wild but pleased expression.
Fucking psychopath.
“He is using you, Lachlan! Can’t you see that?” Evie demanded. “You are just a means to an end.”
“The saddest part is you thought offering Caelisium like this to Evanna would make her run into your arms,” I added, floating forwards until I paused between the two Dragon armies.
“I am doing what needs to be done to reclaim our world!” he snapped.
“No. You are doing what needs to be done for you to be powerful. For you to be the king and get the woman you want as a prize,” I seethed, sickened by him. “What you fail to understand is that Evanna isn’t a prize you can win. She is the queen, and you are not worthy of her. Never were, and never will be.”