Page 45 of The Magic of Eternity
“I know. It’s just hard seeing him like that. Let’s do this.” I pushed away all thoughts of injustice and sadness for my brother, Bram. “Fischer, tell them what they need to know so they can meet up with Sloane and Saige.”
Fish nodded and walked over to the group of men who were practically dancing around with excitement, the adrenaline of the upcoming fight rushing through their veins, fueling their fires.
“Once we free them, we’ll meet you in the courtyard. Don’t worry, we’ll find you. I hope you’re ready to spill blood.” Felix cackled, as the five of them disappeared from the room without a trace, as though they’d never been here to begin with.
A look of determination flared on Balor’s face. “Let’s prepare the ones here who are ready to fight. There’s nothing else we can do.”
“Lead the way,” I told him, and the three of us fell in line behind him. This was about to be a day to remember.
Red and I stood there together, my arm wrapped securely around her shoulders, and I kept her tucked in close to my body. We kept our eyes to the sky as we watched the dragons, who had become our allies, take off through the air.
We’d been startled a moment ago, as the Exiled had popped up out of nowhere, stating that they were coming along to help in the rescue mission. They’d created some kind of gas that would effectively cut Asrael’s hold over every dragon that he had kept prisoner. Normally, I would have interrogated the hell out of those men. Today, I didn’t have the time or the energy. Checking in and getting confirmation from Fischer was good enough.
“Do you think it’ll work?” Red asked, turning her big green eyes onto my face.
“It has to,” I answered, dipping down and taking her mouth in a quick kiss.
Vaeryn had gone with one of the teams, the one that would be liberating the camp Emrys was held in. He was determined to be a part of history. I had so much respect for him—he loved his people, and they adored him. I let myself gaze down at Red, and fuck, my mate looked fierce. The gown I’d designed for her was perfect in every way. It would protect her, and it also portrayed her image in a way that would be told for years and years to come.
“Aren’t you scared?” She cupped my cheek, gently brushing her thumb along my cheekbone.
“Of course I am,” I admitted, placing my hand atop hers. “But more than being scared, I’m excited for this to be done. I’m excited for our lives together to really begin. No matter what happens today, I’m going to do everything I can to ensure we can begin the next chapter. Together, all of us.”
She nodded and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, gnawing slightly with worry. “I know. You’re right. I just wish we could fast forward a few hours, so that we know the ending. Then this anxiety that’s eating me alive would be gone.”
“I understand. Something tells me though, that everything that happens over the next few hours is going to be something to remember. Those dragons?” I pointed up to the sky. “They’ve been waiting a very long time for this call. And all the demons here who have been mistreated? They’ve been waiting too, for Bram. Everyone has a horse in this race. Let’s just hope that we’re all celebrating later today.” I tracked her hands as they moved over her swollen belly, watching her face for any sign of discomfort. “How are you feeling? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I think I’m just really tired. It’s a lot of activity and excitement for a pregnant woman,” she chuckled.
“Did you drink all the water that I gave you? You have to make sure that you drink enough water. And what about food? When did you last eat?”
She playfully pushed me in the shoulder. “Yes, I drank the water and I already ate. I’m fine, but thank you for thinking of me.”
Gods. This woman was going to be the death of me. She was like a little sugar-packed gumdrop; every taste I got had me craving her more. Just being near her gave my darkness a hit of sweetness. A sugar high for a monster.Her monster.
“Alright then, we should get moving.” I brushed away the sweet thoughts and squared my shoulders. The plan was that I would fly us in a little closer to the castle. From there, we would go on foot. It was too risky to fly the whole way in, knowing that there was a chance Asrael would recognize me in my dragon form. That was a chance I wasn’t willing to take, so walking it was.
I shifted and held open my large claw for Saige to carefully climb into. With a couple beats of my powerful wings, we were up in the air, heading the opposite direction to the rest of the dragon army. It was a quick flight since I could cover so much distance in such a short time. The air was cool but not uncomfortable, as we sliced through the darkness.
Landing, Saige scrambled out of my claw and began pulling out my clothing from a bag. It was a disguise of course, an outfit to match that of Asrael’s guards, which the dragons had acquired on one of their recent reconnaissance missions. It was nauseating to say the least, having to wear this uniform, but I did what I had to do. Dressed as a guard, nobody would question who I was or who I was escorting, nor my presence on the castle grounds.
“Are you ready?” she asked, linking her arm through mine.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
We stepped out of the woods, onto a brick-paved street. There weren’t cars here; most people chose to fly if they needed to go somewhere or used a horse. I’d suggested a horse, but Saige had promptly shut that down, stating that her cervix would fall out of her vagina right now with the amount of bouncing. The visual image of that alone had me shuddering. What would I even do if something like that happened? As much as I wanted to know if that was an actual situation I might have to deal with, I just didn’t ask. It seemed even I had my limits, and a cervix falling out sounded like a fucking nightmare.
“It’s dead around here,” Red observed softly, and I took in the empty streets and the closed shops. It looked like these stores hadn’t been opened in ages. We passed a bakery, a bookstore, all your usual shops. All of them had been boarded up, cobwebs hanging in the windows. “Maybe it was just too close to the castle. People decided to flee.”
Whatever the reason was for the absence of people in this town, it worked perfectly for us to move through unnoticed. After about fifteen minutes of walking, we came to a bridge that crossed over a small, babbling creek. It wasn’t guarded, which I found to be interesting since this was the way to the palace.
“Everyone’s probably at the castle because of what’s happening this morning,” I speculated, and Saige hummed in agreement.
“You’re probably right. But let’s hurry, just in case. If we get there quickly, maybe we can see the guys.” Her voice lifted, full of hope and longing.
As we strolled through the empty town, I started to feel that telltale drain on my magic with each step we took toward the castle. “Do you feel that?”
“Yeah, something is siphoning my power. Asrael must have wards placed. Pretty strong ones to be working from such a distance,” she murmured with a frown. “I don’t like being powerless.”
