Page 6 of Mantle

The room shuddered, and then tiny sparks of red magical glass rained down, indicating that the spell had been shattered to pieces.

I swung my head toward the ten enforcers. “Sleep until morning.”

In an instant, all of them dropped and fell into slumber right there on the Throne Room floor.

“You’re right,” I told Zepharion and Serapha. “I am no longer your heiroryour son. But let’s clear something up right here and now.Idenounceyou.Not the other way around. You see the power I hold—it can be no other way. And, mark my words, I won’t allow what you’ve done to me to befall my brother.” I snarled, gnashing my teeth at them. “You’ve made an enemy tonight. And soon you’ll feel the full wrath of that.”

In the next second, I spun, gathered Kai into my arms, then teleported us the fuck out of what was now nothing but a hellhole to me.

2

~Kai~

I jolted awake from what felt like a bolt of electricity, sucking in frantic, ragged breaths.

Blinking, I looked to see Vorzyr crouching over me, blowing out a breath of relief. His palm was lit with his red magical flame. He closed it and snuffed it out, then reached out and wrapped his arm around me, easing me into a sitting position.

“Sorry. I had to wake you up somehow. It could’ve been hours if I hadn’t intervened with that magical shock.”

“I seriously passed out?”

“I know you hate weakness, but I drained you almost entirely, and passing through the Dracoryn Realm the way we did to get out, against their will, takes a toll on a dragon of my power, let alone an outsider. You were without your magic when I forced our way out, too. Although I had them drop the Blood Anchor spell, there are still standard protective wards.”

“I know. I had to force my way in with colossal power.”

“You do realize that most can’t manage that at all? Even sorcerers with centuries of experience on you?”

“Well, you’re well acquainted with what a stubborn bastard I can be.”

He flashed the band around his right wrist, a smooth, pale band of enchanted stone encircling it. Its surface was etched with delicate, ancient runes that shimmered faintly with rose-gold undertones when it was active with my power. “You secretly created this for me with a spell before I left, huh?”

“I needed a way to ensure you were okay.”

“And I wasn’t,” he murmured.

“No. You weren’t.” I gestured at the band. “It’s called a Nexus Band. It basically forms a connection to me and detects if you’re in danger, in pain, that sort of thing. It was glamoured, but it’s visible now with my magic depleted. I know you’re going to be pissed that it was invasive and what I did was underhanded, but with your pride and—”

“I’m keeping it.”

“You… what?”

“I like it. And it saved my fucking life.” He reached out and stroked my hair with an unrestrained reverence. “Thank you.What you did for me, it’s—”

“Nothing you, Nyx, or Ari wouldn’t have done for me.”

“Kai..”

I grasped his hand on my hair. “What they did to you… that won’t go unpunished.”

He held my hand tightly and lowered his head, struggling to rein in the depth of emotion that plagued him.

And then he pulled away and rose to his feet. “We have more enemies to add to our ever-growing list now,” he uttered bitterly, his worry clear.

“We’ll deal with them. Together, we will bring them all to their knees.”

He sucked in a breath and blinked hard. “First thing’s first. We need to restore your magic.”

“You do that right now and it could severely harm you. My power within you is needed to counter the severe effects ofthe Ashbinding. You could fall into a comatose state without it bolstering you. More time is needed for you to heal first.”

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