Page 100 of The Magic of Destiny
Thane threw his head back and bellowed a laugh, like it was the greatest day of his life. “Settle down, boy. Good for you.” Bram's eyes narrowed as he tried to work out if his father was being sincere or not. “Did you all hear the great news? My son has taken a mate!”
The fifty or so demons who were in the room cheered, and we all shifted uneasily. This dude was a loose cannon. I stepped forward, wanting to get my hands on Bram just to give some silent support, when Thane whirled around and grinned. His eyes trailed down my body, and his body visibly jerked when he saw my pregnant belly.
“She is with child? Your child?” the king asked in disbelief.
“Not that it's any of your business, but yes. One of these babies is sired by your son,” I snapped, before I could think better of it.
His brow lifted. “One of them?”
“The other is mine,” Sloane replied, taking the spot beside me and wrapping his arm around my waist. “Are we going to have a problem, Your Highness?” He didn't even try to hide the sarcasm at the title, and I could practically hear Cam grinding his teeth behind us at our deliberate rudeness.
“Interesting,” Thane said, turning his back and walking back to his throne.
I looked at Bram, who looked just as confused as I felt.
“What's this urgent news then?” his father called down to us.
“Your Highness, if I may,” Khol started, pausing until the king nodded for him to continue. “It was brought to our attention that there was a facility in the human realm which Asrael was using as a holding center of sorts for dragons. We went to investigate and found this facility empty. We have reason to believe he's preparing to make a move for the throne, so we came as soon as possible to relay this information and offer our support.”
King Thane sighed and shook his head, and Sloane's grip on my waist tightened.
‘Be ready for anything. I can't read him, but his body language isn't right,’Fischer told all of us through the mental link, and I let the wall holding back my magic open slightly.
The king stroked his beard, not looking the slightest bit alarmed at Khol's revelation. The sunlight that had been shining through the windows was suddenly blotted out, as if huge clouds had just rolled in and eclipsed the light. I turned behind me and glanced at Cam, wondering if he was behind it, but he looked as confused as the rest of us.
“If my memory serves me correctly, Khol, the last time you were here with my darling son and your daughter, your behavior was what some would call treasonous. In fact,” he boomed, ensuring the entire room heard his words, “all three of you might be guilty of that heinous crime.”
I felt anger surge through the bond from my mates, and I didn't need to have eyes on them to know they were forming a tighter formation, preparing for the worst.
“Father,” Bram called, moving to take the stairs up to the man who had sired him. “We can discuss that soon, but you must understand, we're talking hundreds of dragons. The casualties alone—”
The king waved his hand, and Bram abruptly stopped speaking. In fact, he stopped moving completely. Fuck. The drops we’d taken were clearly no match for this demon’s power. “Never fear. I'm pardoning you from your treasonous crimes. I simply don't see any reason in executing you for crimes committed under a prior reign.”
Prior reign? But...
“Run, wild one. Get out, now!” Khol shouted and I felt hands grabbing me, tugging me back to the way we'd entered. The king's laughter filled the hall, the hoarse bellows slowly shifting into a different laugh altogether.
“Fuck,” I whispered, my eyes caught on the demon standing before the throne as his form rippled and twisted, leaving none other than Asrael in his place.
The evil demon straightened his crown with both hands. “Seize them! Chain them all!” he roared, and his guards poured in like shadows seeping from the cracks in the walls. Bram was still on the stairs, and I screamed as Asrael approached him. The guys were shouting desperately at me, and a gust of air blew my hair around my head as Faris rushed the throne. Asrael simply looked bored as he threw his hand out, sending a huge chandelier crashing down from the ceiling.
“Faris!” I screamed so loudly that I swore I felt my ears bleed.
“Fuck!” Fischer snarled, against the sounds of fighting. The roar of Bagheera sent goosebumps over my skin, but my heart shattered when the massive lighting fixture hit the stone floor with an almighty boom, and I didn't see Faris anywhere.
Oh my gods. Oh stars, no.
Asrael swung his fist back and punched my demon so hard that he flew ten feet back, hitting a stone pillar and reducing it to rubble. I called on my magic, and was horrified to find I had none. Nothing at all. Spinning wildly, I saw Bagheera being wrestled to the ground by almost a dozen demons. The awful, heartbreaking whine he released when one of the guards jabbed him with an electric prod while another kicked him hard in the ribs was enough to have me clenching my stomach and heaving.
“NO!” I screamed, unsure of what to do.What can I do?I caught a flash of golden hair, and Cam's eyes collided with mine as he collapsed under a surge of guards.This isn't real. Maybe I'm dreaming again? Where's Guppy?
“You motherfuckers!” I heard him shout, and I followed the sound of his voice to the ground where I could see multiple guards binding his wrists and ankles. Khol was not far from Fischer, engaging a huge demon in hand-to-hand combat, and it wasn't looking good for my dad. His face was bloodied, his footing unsteady. My vision blurred with tears when his opponent lifted a massive foot and kicked Khol square in the chest, knocking him to the ground. A glint of silver in the guard's hand as his arm sailed through the air was all the warning I got before he sank a sword deep within Khol's stomach.
“No, no, no.” It was all I could seem to say. Everyone was severely injured, captured, or worse. So much worse. My stomach tightened abruptly, taking my breath away. Sloane. Where was he? The guards weren't paying me any attention, and I wondered if they'd been told not to harm me or if they simply didn't see me as a threat.
A horrible, terrifying rumble came from behind me. My entire body was shaking as I turned, taking a startled step back when I found Sloane's huge dragon head right behind me.
“Sloane,” I gasped in relief, throwing my arms around his snout and hugging him tight. We'd be okay. He'd kill them all and get us out of here.
