Fifteen sky riders had left with Lachlan, already having chosen the Battlesky clan after his fall out with Evanna, but five more joined him after learning I was Raithian’s grandson. I couldn’t blame them because they had fought against Raithian their entire lives, but it dangerously diminished our numbers.
Only ten more sky riders remained in the Sky Legion, but they would stay behind to protect the Hidden Kingdom and our people. If we lost this battle, they would take everyone to the Mirror World, and start a new life there, protecting them.
Four Dragons. Four Dragons. Four Dragons. Four Dragons…
The Truth Teller’s warning returned. I needed four Dragons to defeat Raithian, except I had failed to reclaim Azazel, and she clearly hadn’t meant the ones we already had. What did she see that demanded more power? It was hard to imagine, but right now I couldn’t focus on the what ifs. I had to trust the people risking their lives to fight beside me, the Dragons following me blindingly because I was their king, and the man and warrior I had become through this journey of revelations and magic.
Evanna believed in us, so I did too. Together, we would win this.
The soulful notes of a tribal song danced through the Hidden Kingdom that night, accentuated by the faithful pounding of steel. It was the song of creation for the fet’arī sēti, Skylar’s lineage of women swordsmiths, and the tool through which their magic was imbued onto the objects they forged.
Their voices had power, and it was a privilege to hear them sing.
Sadly, an eerie tension also engulfed our kingdom, accompanying their voices, and filtering through every nook. Evie and I had announced the battle to our people after dinner, and now the reality of what was to come weighed heavily on all of us. Yet, it was decided. Nothing stood between us and the Warlock King anymore.
Before the sun rose tomorrow, we would be on our way to take the Hollow.
My arms wrapped around Evanna’s waist from behind, and I held her close, glancing out to our hidden city over her shoulder.
“Did I make a mistake?” she asked, her gaze lost in the dimmed city. “Do you think I should have chosen to leave this world and give our people a new life now.”
Inhaling slowly, I shook my head and turned her around to face me. “No. You did the right thing. Leaving now wouldn’t feel like moving on or letting go, it would feel like running away, and I know neither of us wants that.”
A small smile curved her lips, and she briefly nodded, holding on to my neck before she stood on her tiptoes. Answering her silent call, I lowered my mouth to meet hers, kissing her softly.
The love Evanna awakened in me from the start, the one she showed me was stronger than any power—natural or supernatural—was something I knew would never die, even after I did. So, I clung to the strength she gave me. I clung fiercely to the bond we shared, one sheltered in our souls, knowing it would give me the courage I needed to win… even if that meant leaving her side afterwards.
Evanna’s head tilted, deepening the kiss until her tongue caressed mine, and I was gone. Lifting her from the ground, I walked her to our bed, feeling her legs wrap around me. Her hands pulled the linen pants off me the moment her back rested on the mattress, and my hands pushed her nightgown up, guiding it over her head to revel in the sight of her naked body.
My eyes could stare at her forever.
My mouth could kiss hers until there was no more breath left in me.
My hands could caress her until she came apart, and then we started all over again, but tonight would have to do…
Destiny had other plans for me.
A smile tilted my lips when her touch began to roam my body, claiming me all over again. She was so stunningly dazed by passion. Reaching for her mouth, I allowed my thumb to tug at her bottom lip before I claimed it, kissing her with all the need her sensual touch provoked in me. With all the desire I harbored just for her.
Every inch of my body tingled when she took me in her hold, curling both hands around me and stroking me firmly. Slowly, she pulled on me until her hand squeezed my head. Evie’s sinful grin grazed my mouth between kisses, enjoying the feeling of me becoming impossibly hard for her.
Making love to her, my queen, was something I would never forget, not even in the Lake of Tranquility.
Our breaths became ragged when her legs parted for me, and she used me to caress her delicate skin before guiding me to her entrance.
Fuck! Evie was so flawlessly wet for me; I would miss feeling her like that…
Erasing the thought from my mind, I anchored my forearms at either side of her head, and thrust my hips forwards, sliding inside her slowly, deeply. I only stopped when I felt the very end of her.
A moan escaped Evanna’s throat from the delicious feeling, and it was my turn to smile against her lips. I knew how much she loved having me so deep inside her. It was the one thing she always begged for, and it was my pleasure to give it to her.
My rhythm became indulging as I rocked in and out of her, my lips creating a trail towards her throat while she wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her breasts against me and flushing our bodies together until not an ounce of air could fit between us. She felt so perfect like this, we fit together so impeccably that even as I thrust into her my body rubbed against her delicate skin, stimulating the most sensitive part of her.
Being so close, her nipples brushed against my chest, sending goosebumps all over my spine, with each movement, and a surge of need to my groin. I jerked inside her, making her walls tighten around me in turn. The sexiest whimpers escaped her, and I licked her neck, making my way back to her ear.
“I will never regret choosing you,” I whispered the words she’d shared with me, pulling back, and sliding deeper into her until loud moans erupted from her lips. “You changed my life, Evie. You saved me, and I will never stop being grateful for you. No matter how hard it gets for us, or how it all ends.”
Lifting my head, I glanced at her, seeing her open her striking blue eyes to focus on me.
“Before I met you, I used to search my rocky path for glimmering, golden grains of happiness. There were never many, but I held on to them until they escaped between my fingers like shifting sand, leaving me in complete darkness… You gave me a whole damn, brilliant desert, Evie. You pulled me back into the light, and I want to thank you for that.”
“Stop,” she whispered, tears falling from her eyes when she blinked up at me. “Why are you saying this, Braxton? Why does this feel like goodbye?”
The muscles of my jaw jerked as I strained to contain the pain burning through my throat. “I love you.”
“No,” Evie ordered, lips trembling. “You don’t get to say goodbye to me. Do you hear me?” Her hands left my neck, and she cradled my face, her eyes boring into mine. “Promise me that you will fight with every single speck of magic, every drop of Dragon blood, and every ounce of strength inside you to stay with me. No matter what happens tomorrow, you have to stay with me. Don’t let go.”
Forcing the emotion down, I nodded. “I swear to you that I will fight with everything inside me to stay with you.”
She nodded, even as another tear left her, and hugged me impossibly close again until our foreheads pressed together. “I love you.”
I claimed her lips again, making love to her with all the raw need, the desperation, and even the hope that I would be able to keep that promise, and stay with her. Even as I did, the Truth Teller’s prophecy echoed in the back of my mind.