His use of the word companions instead of riders when referring to his Dragon family’s wishes took me aback. Yet, slowly, it helped me realize something important. We had spent so many years using the Dragons to help us that somewhere along the line we forgot they weren’t our weapons, or our rides. We didn’t get to use them… they were our allies in this fight.
This cause was theirs too, and it had taken Braxton and his legacy to remind me of that.
“Sounds perfect. I have trainees to traumatize.”
“Could you hold the reading lessons before dinner tonight?” Kingston suddenly asked, surprising us all with his interest. Until now, he had only attended while grunting and complaining the entire time.
“I can totally do that, Chief.” Brax grinned, pleasantly surprised like I was. “You guys up for it?”
“Let’s go, darling. I need to see Kingston writing his name with my own eyes.”
13
BRAXTON
The next morning, Evanna, Kingston, Asher, and I headed for the Lost Kingdom with Tharion and Star. I honestly had no idea which Dragons from the honeycombs Tharion sent to meet my mentor, but I supposed I had to trust him. As long as it didn’t mess up the four Dragons I needed for the battle, whatever they decided was fine by me.
Ripples of love and appreciation swept over me as we flew, calling my gaze towards Evanna the moment we began to descend. She sat on her soulmate’s neck, gently caressing her like she’d been doing since we left the mountain, and Star was soaking it all in unashamedly.
The sight brought a smile to my face. It seemed like Evie experienced some sort of enlightenment because she appeared far more grateful for Star today than other times. She’d even made a point to ask Star if she wanted to come with us. I loved seeing it, because it felt like the love and respect that I held for my Dragon family was growing inside her too.
Evie was beginning to appreciate them as something more than rides, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Kingston’s lips stretched into a smile too while he sat behind her on Star’s back.
“Let’s go,” Asher urged, seeing me a bit distracted. “Are you alright?” he added before we jumped off Tharion.
“Yeah, I just…” My eyes connected with Evie’s, who walked towards us alongside the chief. “I need your advice on something, but I’ll ask you later.”
“Anything you need,” he assured, slapping my back as we all crossed the gate.
“Where do you want to start?” Evanna asked, glancing around the ruins of the grand hall.
“Kingston and I agreed we might find a clue in the Hall of the Forgotten.”
With a nod, we all extended our retractable spears, using them as walking sticks while we climbed the dilapidated stairs to the second floor.
My father’s trunk was the first place I looked since that was where we got his journal, but the pages didn’t hold any clues. Asher, Evanna, and the chief spread through the hall to cover more ground; hopefully that would help us accomplish the impossible.
We spent hours inspecting every drawer, every box and scroll, looking along every bookcase to look for hidden compartments, under every table, and even sweeping all corners. To my dismay, we didn’t find anything remotely close to showing us where the Dragon Crown could be. We had wasted the entire morning.
“Nothing here either,” Evanna informed, closing a chest with dresses and jewelry that belonged to one of the queens of our past.
“It is not here, but we will find it. We just need to think of other options,” Asher offered, remaining positive.
“Where should we go next?” Evanna asked, joining us in the middle of the hall.
“Well, that depends,” I admitted. “Is there any other place that might have been important to my father?”
Evanna and Asher shook their heads, lost because they hadn’t even met the Harbinger. Yet, it was Kingston’s fallen face that called my attention.
“The Forsaken Valley.” The weight in his voice was hard to miss; so was the way his hands fisted, the disfigured skin of his palms tightening with the stress.
His thumb rubbed against one of the scars as the pressure increased. I’ve seen him do that many times, whenever something brought him unwanted memories.
“The Forsaken Valley?” I asked, recognizing how dreadful the name was, and he nodded. That didn’t exactly sound like a place anyone wanted to or should visit.
“I’ve never heard of it before,” Evanna confessed, glancing up at her guardian like we all did.
“That’s because it belonged to the old kingdom. One I’ve only heard stories of.”
Exchanging a heavy glance with me, Asher stepped closer to him. “Where is it located?”
It seemed impossible, but the tension in the chief’s clenched fists increased. “The Outlands.”
The distress growing in him immediately spread onto Evie and Asher, and their gazes darkened as they connected.
“Where exactly are the Outlands?” I asked, reaching for Evanna when her ache became mine. “I haven’t been there yet.”
“It is at the edge of the Lost Kingdom,” Evie admitted. “The in between that separates Raithian’s kingdom from ours. The land devastated by war.”
There seemed to be far more to the story, but it was clear I wasn’t going to learn it from her, or from the chief. My gaze shifted to Asher.
“It was the battlefield used to fight Raithian through the years… where the Great Battle occurred, and where our great queen and king eventually perished.”
Fuck. Of course it had to be there. The one place where our people had lost it all, even Evie and Willow.
“You don’t have to come with me,” I immediately assured them. “I can do this by myself.”
“I’m your commander, and I’m going with you,” Asher argued, facing the chief. “If you tell me how to find the valley, I’ll take him.”
“There is no need,” I pressed. “I’m sure Tharion will know, or—”
“No.” Kingston shook his head. “If there is a chance we can find the crown, or at the very least a clue to where it is, then I must take you.”
“I’m going with you,’ Evie declared, her hand squeezing mine for strength until our fingers intertwined.
“Better we take one Dragon.”
Nodding to the chief, we all exited the castle.
Star returned to the Hidden Kingdom while the rest of us headed with Tharion towards the Outlands. As he flew around the castle ruins, my eyes widened, noticing the beginning of the devastation that would follow this realm for many lifetimes.
The entire rear of the structure was scorched. The towers melted from the force of Dragon fire. Giant trees were diminished to burnt sticks, large gardens, plazas, stone fountains, and what seemed to have been a city once were completely destroyed, the wreckage covered by a blanket of ash, as though it were snow.
I wasn’t entirely sure if this had occurred when the Warlock King first took power, or if he returned once he took Azazel to make sure that everyone who came upon this place knew without a shadow of a doubt what he was capable of. Either way, it worked. His message spoke loud and clear—no one went against the most powerful wizard to exist and came out alive.