Page 17 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
None of them could respond, but Marco nudged me with his large head in encouragement. My eyes nearly welled at that because I knew how protective my mates were, but they believed in me to handle this. I couldn’t properly express the confidence that gave me.
“I have an idea,” Az said and tugged gently on my arm. We soared up and through a throng of dragons, getting lost in the crowd as we flew around the structure.
When he suddenly dove down towards the windows, I followed easily, as if I had been doing this my entire life. We flew right through the giant stone arches, the ease in which we’d been able to do so putting me on edge—how confident did Ry need to be to not have the windows of his personal quarters closed?
My eyes were scouring the room before I even touched down on the stone flooring, Az eyeing the space cautiously as if Ry was going to appear out of nowhere. I didn’t think that was going to be much of an issue considering I could still hear the roar of the serpentine creature outside.
“Where would it be?” I murmured, looking around, trying to find anything that stood out.
“I have no idea, I just know that he would’ve kept it close,” Az grunted, running a hand through his hair. Then he looked towards a stately wardrobe, something seeming to occur to him. He strode forward and opened up the doors to reveal a mirror…whose silver surface reflected nothing. It was just blank and shiny, hanging on the wall.
“Thank fuck.”
“What?” I asked, feeling more and more on edge as time passed with the sounds of battle continuing full-force outside.
“He can’t see anything. Before, this would be how he saw everything I did. It was why he didn’t realize I was helping you until he came back from his travels,” he explained.
“I’m so glad you aren’t tied to him anymore,” I whispered, approaching him and sliding my fingers into his. “I’m so glad that you’re free, that you aren’t tied to anyone…and that you’re alive. That part is important.”
Az smirked, his eyes filled with a warmth. “Well, that’s not completely true.”
My cheeks heated. “Our bond?” One that he didn’t seem nearly as upset about anymore.
“Yes,mon lapin, our bond. Now, let’s find you this damn heart.”
Yeah, that was a good idea.
We began to tear apart the room, but after pulling out every single item and going through the closet, I began to feel despair at the idea of not being able to find it. Maybe it wasn’t in here? Where else would it be, then? I suppose it could be anywhere—I mean, he was a freakin’ dragon god. Then again, if I had a section of my heart in storage, I would probably want to keep it nearby.
I spun in a circle, taking in the room again.Where the heck would it be?Then it hit me. My head snapped over to the mirror, and I stepped past Az, who was going through a dark chest, and grabbed a metal poker from the fireplace. I lunged forward and stabbed the mirror, and it instantly cracked, a smile breaking onto my face at the sound of the shattering glass.
I’d been right.
There was a small, dark chest hidden in the wall.
I grabbed it as Az appeared behind my shoulder, both of us putting it down onto the desk. I went to tug on the lock and hissed as electricity went through my fingertips.Crap, that hurt.
Az cursed as a roar sounded, vibrating the air and making me wonder if Ry had realized what we were doing.
“We have to work fast,” Az said. “I have no idea how to open this—”
“My fire,” I offered, and when I touched the lock, I held onto it this time, ignoring the shock of electricity and Az’s sound of concern. Another roar sounded, this one loud enough to shake the entire building, as I used the full force of my new power and lit the metal contraption on fire.
The strange man hadn’t been wrong—my magic felt intense and so different than before, almost wild and untamed.
The metal turned blue within my flames right as the wall to our left crumbled with a hard hit from Ry, exposing us to the open air. I grabbed the chest as the lock broke open and ran towards the back of the room, Az shouting something about finishing the job. I didn’t argue, and when his angelic power filled the space, I realized two things—one, he had put up a shield, but secondly…Holy crap was he powerful.Like,soinsanely powerful.
Throwing open the box, I breathed out in relief to find half of a black onyx heart inside.
I grabbed the heart in my hands, my eyes widening at how hard and cold it was. There was no way this was a living organ; it felt more like a precious stone. I looked up in concern for Az’s safety, glad to see that he was behind his own faint silver shield of power, as Ry suddenly shifted into his human form.
It was odd, because he was honestly kind of handsome…in a way that was only appealing on the outside. You couldn’t ignore the toxic darkness that seeped off of him, which ruined the whole effect. He stood completely naked in front of the shield, his eyes on me and his face completely devoid of emotion. Az didn’t take his eyes off him, but I knew he probably didn’t understand what my hesitation was, why I hadn’t destroyed the heart yet.
“Maya,” Ry said, infusing that one word with a plea.
I squeezed the organ in my hand, and he hissed, my breathing uneven as I considered everything this dragon god had done. How many people he’d imprisoned and how much that infuriated me.He deserved this. This wasn’t like when I thought I’d killed Lorn—I’d been unprepared for that. No, I was going to look Ry in the eye as I destroyed a part of him that he wouldn’t be able to get back.
“Don’t do this,” he urged, his pleading tone somehow now mixed with fury. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can give you things that your mates don’t have access to, the type of protection that ensures you’ll live through everything to come. I can make you a queen.”
