Page 102 of Mantle

And there the cause of the destruction was, wielding Draco’s sword, and now breathing dragon fire over the rest of the building and the surrounding area.

Ketheron.

The one Ariana had called a victim, the one she’d wanted to save, the one she’d claimed had desired to be good, the one who deserved redemption.

And here he was doingthis?

Jaxon cursed from beside me as he rapidly assessed the situation.

“I’ve reached out to Cornelius. He’s with Cassius. They’re on their way.”

“I can hold off the monster’s dragon fire with my own. I’ll transform, using my dragon hide to protect myself against the Hellfire if he uses the sword again.”

“All right. But employ your Primal Celestial Resonance as well. It will further guard against a Celestial-made element like Hellfireandshould he use his Celestial power to attack. Distract and push back his destructive dragon fire and I’ll confiscate the sword.”

Before I could move to do that, a familiar scent drew my attention, one that had been attached to Ariana’s. One we hadn’t been able to identify, because neither Jaxon nor I had encountered the owner of it before to be able to make the link.

I watched as a cloaking veil lifted and then there Corvin Morvain was, the guy Kai had shown me pictures of after Ariana had first mentioned being with him and I’d been… curious.

He was levitating just above Ketheron, his carefully coiffed blond hair whipping about with all the magic and fire in the air, as he spoke, “They believe a powerful being like you will only be the problem for the upper echelons and powerhouses of the supernatural world. But today they learn that none of them are safe, not even civilians. Fear will spread, the Guardian Movement will strain, the supernatural populace will lose faith like it did with Cornelius when Draco rose and ravaged so much. And then we will fill the seats of power. They will beg us to spare them, trade their freedom for our protections. And we will rule them all. We will reign, my good boy. Nowdecimate!”

With that he teleported out in a blink.Motherfucker.

“Go,” Jaxon urged me.

I let the magic of the shift roll over me, calling my red magical flame, power surging until it encompassed me, turning my flesh to hard, black scales, red shimmering runes and gold patterns etched into them. My eyes becoming reptilian and fiery gold, my hair turning to razor-sharp thorns forming a crown. My wings sprung forth, their one-hundred-foot span filling the area, their black webbing covered in blood-red patterns. I swished my serpentine tail with the jagged spikes, then let out a guttural rumble as the full shift reached completion.

I focused on calling my Primal Celestial Resonance forth, pulling it from deep within me until that coolness permeated my being.

It wasn’t unsettling like cold usually was to me. It was more… soothing. Like I was calling on a part of me meant to be activated.

As soon as it was stable and constant, I soared up into the air, the smooth and powerful movements of my wings slicing the air in a furious gust, as I flew toward Ketheron.

20

~Kai~

He was struggling.

Staggering in his step.

Hands trembling.

Breathing unsteady.

And, of course, trying his utmost to hide it.

He hated showing weakness—possibly more than I did.

Us witnessing him in that state earlier and him being trounced by Masquerade had already demonstrated that and brought it to the forefront—at least in his mind.

The truth was, it hadn’t been a fair fight. Not in the least.

And, as much as he tried to act like it wasn’t true for the majority of the time, Sylaswassick.

Terribly sick.

Fuck, he was dying.

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