Page 30 of Their Crowned Mate
Alexander stared blankly at me. "You did what now?"
"Made it look like a piece of cake," said Cole. If I wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of pride in his voice, even though he hadn't been crazy about us going in in the first place.
"Color me impressed," Alexander murmured. "But it's time for you to leave."
The next instant, I heard the sounds of magic further down the hallway. "What's that?" I asked.
Alexander watched me warily. "It's coming from the emperor's quarters, or at least that direction, but—"
I shifted before he could stop me and slipped past him, leaping and weaving over and around his men on my way down the hall as the cloak billowed behind me, still tied around my neck. I could hear the exasperated shouts of the others as they followed me, trying to grab my cloak, but I couldn’t stop to shake it off.
It felt like an eternity, but I finally arrived unhindered at the emperor's quarters. The door was slightly ajar, and inside I could make out two figures—one that was clearly Joram and another cloaked in a dark robe.
The emperor himself.
He seemed to be struggling with the magic Joram was throwing at him, but without fail, each of Joram’s spells seemed to dissipate even before they struck the emperor’s body. Despite the onslaught of magic, I could see a wound in Joram's side, and I realized he was losing the battle.
Dread welled up within me as I saw the emperor cast a stream of blue glowing waves at Joram, and I could feel the heat pouring off them even from where I stood.
No!I cried, throwing out another portal to block the waves from hitting Joram. I didn’t even have to shift and use my human hands. I just had to look at where I wanted the portal to appear and it fucking happened.
Joram turned to stare at me with the wide eyes of a man who knew he'd just nearly lost his life. But he looked as pissed I was here as my guys were.
When were the men in my life going to learn they couldn't control me? Especially not now. Not when everyone's lives were on the line.
"What are you doing here?" Joram bellowed. "Where are the others?"
Alexander, Cole, Marcus, and Aurelius in his shining white wolf form showed up just then, and I felt a surge of relief that backup had arrived. Especially since I wasn't sure how much more juice I had left in me after using my power so much. I could already feel blood trickling down from my nose.
Before I could respond, the emperor waved his hand and dissipated the portal between us.
Shit. I didn't think he'd be able to do that.
The four men put themselves between us, Aurelius's wolf bristling and snarling with his lips curled back to reveal his white fangs. The men were a formidable force, but the enemy they were standing against was more powerful than I had imagined.
I felt a chill of fear run through me like a bolt of lightning as the emperor stepped forward, his face split into the most menacing grin I’d ever seen.
"You think you can stop me? I am the most powerful being in this world, and my magic is far greater than any of yours," he said with an amused laugh. He thought this was fucking funny.
My heart sank at his words, feeling hopelessness wash over me. But then something inside of me shifted. We weren't alone in this fight, and we weren't powerless either. We had strength in numbers, and if we worked together, we could win.
I stepped up next to my men and summoned my power once more, forming a crackling shield around us that glowed with an eerie blue light. I could feel the energy flowing through us all, amplifying each other's until it seemed like we were one entity instead of five separate beings.
The emperor scowled at our display and let out an enraged roar as he unleashed a wave of potent magic upon us. His spells crashed against our shield, but it held strong against his onslaught while shimmering with a brilliant blue light that illuminated the darkness surrounding us.
Aurelius lunged fearlessly through the shield, and his jaws clamped down on the emperor's arm. The force of his bite sent the emperor reeling and he screamed in pain, momentarily unsteady on his feet. Alexander and Marcus moved in for the kill, their blades slicing through the air as they aimed for his neck. Sparks flew as their swords clanged against the emperor's armor and I watched in amazement as it began to crack under their relentless onslaught. It was built for show, not battle. The emperor clearly made his soldiers and guards do all his dirty work.
Cole was next, tearing into the fae's side beneath his crumbling armor, and a spray of blood hit the room before the emperor kicked him off, flinging him across the room. He hit the wall with a raspy yelp and rage washed through me at the sight of my mate struggling to breathe on the floor.
Even though Joram was injured, he sent another burst of energy out to attack the emperor, who was struggling against the restraint of Alexander and Marcus, but it was taking both of them just to hold him down.
It was all I could do to keep the shield up around the others, but that was easier said than done when they were all separate, and it seemed to protect them only from the emperor's magic, not any physical attacks.
With a sudden burst of blue light from the emperor's hands, the others flew back across the room.
"No!" I cried, feeling his magic dissolve the shield I had created. His magic felt like a dark shadow, masking and drowning out my own, and as he got to his feet, grinning malevolently, I realized I was sorely outmatched. We all were.
No... I couldn't give up. I wouldn't.
