“It’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, placing it in the pouch once more, and into my back pocket. “The mindscape,” I offered, returning to our original conversation. “We could train in the mindscape. Both Raithian and I have equal ground there. Especially now that I know I was able to fight back because we share the same power.”
“If you are not with him in person, it will certainly reduce the risks. Can he drain you in there?”
“He can hurt me, but only superficially, otherwise he would have probably done it already. He isn’t exactly known for his patience,” I admitted, remembering when he threw me against the wall. “I can hurt him too, though, while we are connected. Now that I have a better idea about how the mindscape works, and know I have control there too; it definitely gives me an advantage.”
“It’s decided then. He will train you in the mindscape while your body is safe under my vigilance.” The tone in her words said there would be no arguing, but I agreed. “What’s next?”
“There will be no freezing or knocking anyone unconscious. Tharion should be present too, but he will only behave as long as Raithian behaves, and he has to leave the Hidden Kingdom alone. No more threats. I don’t even want to smell him close. Not him, and not Azazel.”
“Good. When the time comes, you know what to do. Now, let’s focus on finding the crown, darling.” Her gaze shifted towards the entrance to my room. “And introducing yourself to your new guard. They are waiting outside.”
Right.
Turning, I opened my drawer in the dresser, taking out the one thing I hoped might guide me to the crown. The Dragon ring. Exchanging a brief glance with Imogen, I slid it onto my finger, and a sharp breath left me.
A rush of power coursed through my veins instantly, unlike anything I’d experienced before with the ring. The now familiar feeling of magic danced within my being, but it was stronger than I’d ever felt it. The golden hue engulfed my irises, connecting with my Dragon essence, and I took a slow breath, trying to control the feeling.
It wasn’t lost on me that the ring’s crystal glowed a bright gold now, and not blue like the prior times I’d worn it.
“Are you alright?”
My mentor’s voice reached me, and I blinked, forcing the connection to ebb.
“I am,” I assured when the glow left my eyes and I glanced at her, offering her a smile, but the current of power remained.
“It’s never done that before, has it?”
“Not like this, no. But my Devenish magic was dormant before.”
“How does it feel?”
“Well, if I force myself not to think about the fact that the power streaming into me comes from the stolen magic, and captured souls, of my ancestors within the crystal on this ring, it’s totally fine.”
“Is it done?” Kingston’s voice reverberated through the room, clearly expecting only one answer.
Making a face, Imogen glanced behind me. “Oh, it is done, alright. But you are not going to like the outcome.”
“It was my decision to make,” I declared, turning to face him and Asher. “And it is my decision to share, so not a word to Evanna.”
“You cannot—”
“It is not a request,” I clarified. “It’s an order from your prince, and I expect it to be followed.”
The chief’s eyes widened a second before they turned murderous, but he shut his mouth, swallowing even the grunting we all knew would follow.
I had to admit I was kind of shocked that had worked, but I was taking the win.
“You wanted him to start acting like the prince…” Imogen patted his arm as she walked by him, her words lingering like an I told you so behind her.
It took everything in Asher not to smirk, which made me want to laugh too, forcing me to clear my throat. It didn’t help; Kingston clearly saw through us. Grumbling something under his breath, he turned, following Imogen out of the room.
Was I going to tell Evie about deciding to train with Raithian? Of course, we were partners in this fight. She deserved to know what the Truth Teller shared with me about the future… Not all of it though. What she didn’t deserve was to live with the torment of knowing how it would all end for me. I couldn’t do that to her, but I could make the most of the time we had left together.
I was going to love her with every cell in my being until there was nothing else left for me to give. That was what she deserved, and I was going to take the happiness I was owed, even if it was temporary.
“Hey, don’t forget you still have to talk to the chief,” Asher reminded me before stepping out, making me grunt too.
Damn it.
I was never going to find a chance to ask Kingston for Evanna’s hand.
11
EVANNA
The session with our people took a few hours longer than it normally did, but a lot had happened, and our people needed far more than their usual needs met. They needed to feel safe again. They needed reassurance that the home they had created here, within this mountain, was safe and they would not need to be dragged into the fray yet again.
For the past several months, they had found peace here, if only temporarily, and Braxton was right; we had to do whatever necessary to preserve that for them.
With each family, couple, child, or elderly man and woman who came to me for relief, the duty to make my words true for them weighed heavier on my shoulders. Mine were not empty promises. Braxton and I would give it all to protect them and give them some semblance of life where they didn’t need to hide any longer… even if it was the last thing we did.
As the young brother and sister bowed to me, grateful I had heard their trepidations and offered them security, my gaze drifted towards the entrance to the courtyard to find Braxton, Asher, and my guardian arriving. Relief swept over me to see he was back from the Icelands unscathed after seeking the Truth Teller. It wasn’t that I thought his meeting with her would yield any dangers, but I couldn’t help the knot in my throat that formed every time he was out there.
I hated feeling this way, yet knowing the Warlock King had set his sight on the man I loved brought every buried fear to the surface. I couldn’t lose Braxton. Now that I knew what real, unbridled happiness felt like, I couldn’t let him go. He was everything I never knew I was missing; everything I never thought to deserve but desperately needed in my life. He was the other side of me, my partner, my love.
Braxton was mine, and I was his, and I wanted it to remain like that forever. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel alone in this fight, and that meant the world.
“Thank you, Princess. Hallowed be the king and queen,” Harold, one of the cooks from the kitchen offered as he approached with his wife and their two kids.
“Of course,” I offered, smiling reassuringly at them. “We are in this together, and I will always do everything in my power to protect you all, just like my parents did. You and your family are still safe here. You have my word.”
“May the Celestials bless you, Princess,” Annika, his wife, prayed, bowing her head to me before carrying their wee babe against her hip. Jacob was the youngest at only two years old.
For some reason, the image brought emotion to rest on my throat, imagining a time when Braxton and I might be like them. Never before had I dared to think that far into the future. When one grew up among war and loss it was futile to dream of anything else but making it through the next day, or the next moon cycle…