Page 77 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

“Drake,” she cried.

I whirled on the summer king. “You said you’d let her go in exchange for me,” I growled.

He nodded. “And I will. Once I cast this spell on you.” He looked toward his warriors. Place him in the middle of the room.” The warriors did as told. Then they hurried away from me.

The summer king performed an intricate pattern with his hands before raising his arms skyward. Shimmering light burst from the floor, encompassing me. White-hot pain tore through my insides, ripping apart my tendons and shredding every cell in my body. A scream tore from my throat as I collapsed onto the ground.

“Drake!” Ember screamed for me.

I could make out the summer king belting out a laugh, his cackles turning wild.

“Yes!” The summer fae king screamed. “Yes! Once I siphon the shadow king’s power for myself, I will have the power of both high fae. I will be unstoppable!”

I grit my teeth hard against the pain, my talons slicing out and digging deep gouges into the floor. I could feel my power fading as if some entity was sucking out my shadows. The core of my essence, the ball of shadow, dimmed, flickering.

I was dying.

As long as Ember was safe…

Then the summer king stepped to the edge of the power stream. He crouched down and cocked his head as he told me, “Once I have your power, I’m going to personally relish killing your female and stealing your daughter for the purification of my lands. Then she can die right along with you!”

My eyes snapped wide.No!I’d been played.

I slammed my eyelids shut underneath another wave of pain that shredded through my skull. I heard the sound of a struggle, then screaming. I cracked my eyelids open to find Ember charging toward me.

No! Don’t!

Ember raced into the blast and collapsed onto me. Her hands grabbed my shoulders as she threw her head back and screamed.

“What…are…you doing?” I rasped against the agonizing siphon. I tried to push Ember out of the blast, but even my strength had weakened.

I could feel the power draining Ember, the primal power seeping into the air.

“Use my power!” Ember cried to me. She grunted and dropped her head. Then her gaze landed on me. “Use the mating bond.”

“That…won’t work.”

“Just trust me!” Ember groaned, then added, “Our power conceived Melodina, one of the strongest hybrids. Together we can fight this!”

I looked into her eyes and saw her desperate determination. Then calling upon my power, I felt down the mating bond and melded my power with hers. In my mind’s eye, I saw our bond ripple and expand outward, the colors the most vibrant I’d ever seen them. Then a burst of explosive power shot outward, coursing from both Ember and me. I looked upward to see the ceiling shimmering with Amber and amethyst lights, like the northern lights of the pole.

The blast fanned outward. And I felt my strength return to my body. The pain vanished. The power was stronger than anything I’d ever felt. The summer king cried out, throwing up his arms and staggering backward. I pushed to my feet, Ember standing alongside me. The siphoning spell spanned away from us, under the weight of our combined power, pushing outward to encompass the summer king and those nearby him. They wailed and screamed, collapsing to the ground under the siphoning spell. The rest of the warriors ran from the siphon blast, many fleeing out the exit.

The summer king’s body began to swell and contort. He cried out, clawing at his skin as he writhed beneath the pain. With one final swell, the king and the warriors caught within the blast burst into light particles that rained down upon the ground like glitter.

The power Ember and I willed vanished, receding back into the cord of the mating bond.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: A NEW DAWN

EMBER

Iwatched as the remaining summer fae warriors gaped at their fallen king. Nothing remained of him except a pile of powdered glitter dust. The warriors' eyes latched onto Drake and me. I growled low in my throat, and Drake called forth his shadow flames. The remaining warriors screamed and clamored for the exit, leaving Drake and I the only two alive in the room.

I dropped to my knees as relief crashed through me.

Alive…we’re actually alive!

We had done it. Drake and I had combined our power into one entity and had defeated the summer fae king!

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