There were no words.
No words could describe how much I loathed Raithian in that moment.
No words for the storm raging inside me. So, I didn’t even try.
“Princess Keira, where is the Crystal of Souls now?” Evie asked gently, a hand soothingly caressing my mom’s arm.
“We tried to destroy it,” Mom admitted, whipping the wetness from her cheeks. “I believed that if I broke it, it would release my family, and all its power.” Shaking her head, she took a moment to compose herself. “It didn’t work. The stone shattered, but the souls remained inside it. Devenish magic helped trap them, and only Devenish magic can release them.”
“What happened to the pieces?” Imogen inquired from behind me, offering my mom a glass of juice.
“It was an impossible decision, but Khayden and I decided that if we couldn’t eradicate it, we would use it against my father.”
A chill coursed through my bones, but my mother’s gaze made no apologies for the decision they had made. She took a sip of the juice to help calm her nerves, yet even as she did, her hand trembled, letting me know this visit had been too taxing for her.
“With the help of our swordsmith woman, we fashioned the small parts into something completely different, hiding them in plain sight,” she continued, wrapping both hands around the glass to overcome the tremors. “The first thing we forged was your father’s ring.”
Holy shit.
The Dragon ring.
“Its magic enhanced the connection Khayden somehow formed to the Dragons,” Imogen confirmed.
“And mine,” I added, the words carrying my dread.
Everything I’d been able to do since I arrived was possible because of the ring. I realized then that I couldn’t even remember the last time I wore it. Thankfully, I knew exactly where it was. And still…
“The magical souls of my ancestors enhanced my Dragon essence, allowing me to use some of my abilities even when my Devenish magic was still blocked from me. My Dragon sight, my healing, seeing their thoughts, and channeling their strength.” I swallowed, the realization becoming sour on my tongue. “I used them just like Raithian—”
“No!” Evanna, Imogen, and my mother protested at once.
“Never say that again,” Mom warned in a tone that promised bodily harm. “You are nothing like him, Braxton. You didn’t steal their magic as my father did. You merely channeled that which was your legacy to begin with, even if you didn’t know it. If they were alive, they would have gladly helped you, so don’t for one second think that any assistance the ring provided was taken against their will. This is your heritage, Braxton. Do you understand?”
I nodded, for her sake, but I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about the whole thing. Not yet.
“The second part was fashioned into your father’s sword,” my mother continued.
Oh God. I’d wielded his sword too. “I have both, Mom. They are safe with me.”
Relieved, she nodded. “The last two pieces were added to the Dragon Crown, which I also took with me that day.”
“You took everything from him, Princess Keira,” Evie whispered, admiration once more glimmering in her eyes.
“Everything that mattered most,” Mom agreed, the hint of a dark but mischievous smirk curving her lips. “I’m the reason he isn’t as strong today as he was back then, and we need to keep it that way, Braxton. You hear me?” Her gaze bored into mine. “The Warlock King cannot find any of the pieces. Not even a single one. You need to protect them. Bring the Anima Crystallum back together if you must and use it against him. It will help you channel your powers if nothing else can… It will make you invincible.”
“Where is the crown now,” I asked, watching my mom’s face transform from wicked genius to worried mother in a split second.
“I don’t know. Your father was the one to hide it. I feared that if Raithian captured me again, he would torture me for the information, so I forbade Khayden from telling me where he put it… He never told anyone about it. The crown has the two biggest and most powerful of all the pieces. You have to find it, Son.”
“And now Dad isn’t here to tell us.”
Fuck.
I was happy he’d finally found peace after his name was cleared, but this was just my luck, wasn’t it? Rubbing both hands over my face, something else occurred to me. My hopeful gaze snapped to Imogen, who’d been his right hand and commander.
Unfortunately, she shook her head, dejected.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I offered when her hands trembled around the glass again, her soul was exhausted from all the emotion and disturbing memories our discoveries had stirred. “I’ll find the Dragon Crown. I promise.”
“Maybe she should rest for a while,” Evie suggested, noticing the same thing I had.
“Yes, she should.” Standing, I gently pulled my mother to her feet, handing her glass to the chief and guiding her to the bed. “We will come back to see you soon,” I promised with a smile, before placing a kiss on her cheek.
I moved back to stand with Kingston while Evie and Imogen helped her get under the sheets, removing her sandals then fixing her gown and hair so she was comfortable. They had no idea how much it meant to me to see them show such reverence to my mother, the same care I would give her.
“Where do you propose we start looking for the crown?” Kingston asked, bringing my attention back to the matter at hand.
“I’m thinking the Hall of the Forgotten might be a good place to begin. Everything else of my father’s has been found there. We could get lucky.”
Thoughtful, the chief nodded. “The scroll depicting the drawings and measurements of his ring were there. If we can’t find it, perhaps we might at least discover a clue.”
“Braxton,” Mom called before I could step out of the bungalow with the others, and my gaze found her half lifting from the bed. “Talk to the Truth Teller. Find her. She could tell you where the crown lies, or, if nothing else, she might guide you on how to defeat the Warlock King.”
7
Night gave way to morning in Caelisium during our visit to the Lake of Tranquility, and the first rays of the wakening sun were now painting the horizon. Gleaming oranges and yellows broke through the otherwise purple sky while Evie dozed off in my arms, under the soothing sway of Tharion’s flight back to our Hidden Kingdom.
The last few days felt like the longest I’d ever lived, and rest had been scarce for most of us… I couldn’t explain why, but something told me the days to come were not going to get any easier.
Cradling Evie fully on my lap, I noticed Kingston move closer to me while Imogen retired to her thoughts behind us. Something seemed to be troubling her about our conversation with my mother, so I made a mental note to ask her about it later—though I doubted she was the kind of person to hold things in for long.
The chief looked at me like there were a million things he wanted to say but wasn’t sure how to begin.
“Chief, I still owe you that talk,” I began, believing that to be the reason tension captured his shoulders and features as he crouched beside me.
A sliver of appreciation entered his gaze when he took in the shielding way in which I embraced the woman who’d been his charge for so many years. A breath left him once he nodded, but it was more of a dismissing gesture, like that was the last thing on his mind.