Page 5 of Mantle

Then I craned my neck, even straining just to do that in my current state, to see the dragons and my parents held at bay by Kai’s magic, but Zepharion was snarling and managing to push against it a little.

I turned back to Kai. He was exerting himself too much.

Holding back ten of our mightiest dragons within House Titanusandmy parents—it was another fucking level. It shouldn’t be possible.

I lurched up and grabbed Kai’s wrist.

Wavering on my feet, where I shouldn’t really be right now, but I had to be because Kai couldn’t shift to a lower position with the way he was needed to hold off the threats against us, I managed to latch onto his power, feeling him opening to me, allowing it to happen.

And then I pulled.

Hard.

He was right; it had to be fast.Reallyfucking fast.

I watched Kai, doing everything I could not to hang onto him for support while he was already fighting back so much. I saw him wince, but quickly cover it up as I kept siphoning him, until I felt a massive rush of strength and power flow through me.Holy hell…it was out of this world.

His power started sputtering out.

“More. Harder,” he told me.

“Fuck… under different circumstances, hearing those words from you, sorcerer…”

He managed a weak smirk.

It was messed-up to be going there in the middle of all of this, but some levity and hope was needed, no doubt. Especially as Kai let out a pained cry, really feeling that on-fire sensation I’d warned him about.

He collapsed to his knees.

Seconds later, his magic went out entirely.

As I stared at him in pain for me, doing all of this for me… anger surged. Intense protectiveness rising like a beast.

A beast just like me.

Power and strength coursed through me.

And then, as I heard Zepharion and Serapha both give the command to attack us, thinking we were now vulnerable, a bellow tore from my throat, and I spun toward them.

I summoned the memory of the one time I’d used this particular special ability before.

The sensation behind it—dominance in the form of protection.

I thrust my hands forward and my red magical flame burst forth, powered by Kai’s raw power pervading every part of me.

It swirled around all twelve of our enemies in the Throne Room.

In an instant, they all stilled.

I sucked in a harsh breath as my hands shook from the force of controlling them, and the shock of being able to pull it off.

Their expressions were blank as they were held immobile.

Completely at my will.

I glared at my parents. “Take down the Blood Anchor spell. Immediately.”

The shocks kept on coming as I watched them both summon their power, moving almost robotically and in unison, then uttering the necessary chant to accomplish the task.

---