Dusk 'Till Dawn (Book 3)

14

Hagar glared at the floor of her lab, her blood boiling though she didn’t show it. If her Druids made her wait another tic for them to arrive she’d have their skin as a floor mat.

The old Altaen growled hearing the door to her lab open.
“Leave, I have business I am attending to!” she hissed, not looking back, a foot soldier didn’t deserve her acknowledgement.
“No you do not witch,” Lotor hissed.
The alchemist whipped her head around, “Prince Lotor? What are you doing in my lab?” she asked scanning the guards who’d followed him in.
The soldier who she’d sent to fetch her druids subtly slid behind Zethrid, but didn’t escape her sight. The witch gritted her teeth understanding why her druid had not shown.
“What was our discussion on the Blue Paladin, Witch?” the prince glared down at her as if he thought himself truly better then her, truly her superior.

“I have not wasted your time, if anything you are the fool who has been chasing shadows. You waste our soldiers and our resources when a clear easy victory sits in front of you,” Haggar growled.
Lotor glared at the witch, “The only thing I waste is time arguing with you about hunting down some worthless FORMER Paladian! You foolish selfish old hag, if you were half as competent as you pretended to be you would understand that taking the Blue Paladin would only invite Voltron to our doorstep! Need I remind you what happened the last time that happened? Or is your emperor barely holding onto his life enough of a reminder?” Lotor glared down at the woman, drawing himself to his full height over her.

Haggar didn’t look up, instead locking eyes with the Galra who’d betrayed her. Darkness erupted from underneath her, causing the prince to jump back in surprise.
“Ready to fire!” one of the generals commanded the soldiers behind her.
The darkness lashed out racing past the Prince snapping around the trader throwing him behind Haggar. The soldier rolled across the floor slamming into the wall on the farside of the laboratory. Haggar’s magic quickly disarmed him. The soldier's weapon flying, and shattering against the far wall. Haggar pulled herself through the shadows of her magic in front of the soldier who lay quivering on the floor, frozen in fear like a kit at the power of the witch, who honestly was not trying.

The pairs eyes locked for half a second, and for the first time in a while Haggar felt her heart beat faster in anticipation of the screams she’d rip from him. Quintessence ripped from her fingers with practiced ease tearing the soldier’s own Quintessence from him. Screams ripped through the air as strong, youthful, potent quintessence flowed into her from the glara on the floor.

It registered in the back of her mind that someone had yelled something behind her. But not until she had been ripped from her spell did she begin to comprehend the world around her again. The soldier stopped screaming, and Zethrid held her to the ground as Lotor knelt beside the soldier. His ears were pinned back against his head and he curled away from her, yellow eyes shining in fear. He bore a striking resemblance to the Red Paladin. Haggar couldn’t help but feel satisfaction in that as she pulled herself out of the grasp of the brute on top of her, teleporting a few feet away.

“Leave,” the witch ordered.
“After that, absolutely not, attacking one of our own is treason,” Lotor growled.
“No, it’s a punishment for insubordination, Prince Lotor. That is no crime. It's protocol," Haggar started, "I have done nothing you can try me for, your Highness," she spit.
Lotor glared at the witch as she retreated out of sight, not making a move to stop her. She was right after all. He had no power to convict her of punishing a subordinate or hiding her operations from him.

The prince sighed, turning back to Klaar, “Are you alright?”
“Thanks to you,” the Galra nodded, scooting away from the Prince, noticing the other guards watching them, “and thank you for intervening,” they added, standing and offering the Prince his hand, “I owe you much.”
“You owe me nothing,” Lotor stated, standing on his own, grabbing Klaar’s hand before the smaller could pull away, “I must thank you for reporting Haggar’s actions,” he continued, captivating Klaar in his gaze, “It shows true loyalty to the Galra Empire and courage that you would stand up to a superior who continues chasing foolish daydreams.”

“Thank you, sir,” Klaar smiled, trying to ignore how good  it felt to be finally praised for something.
Lotor simply nodded, “Go to a medic to make sure no physical damage was done to you, we need everyone in their best conditions,” the Prince stated, walking away with his generals following.

“What are you thinking?” Axca asked quietly.
“That Haggar didn’t disclose everything she found about the Blue Paladin in her testing,” Lotor glared ahead.
“And what do you want to do with that?” Axca asked.
“Learn what she knows, obviously, however asking nicely seems like it would be, to be blunt, stupid,” Lotor stated.
“So what do we do?” Ezor asked.
“We play stupid,” Lotor stated, “Let her try and take the Blue Paladin, if she sucsesseds, we’ll learn. If not, it’s clear the Paladins either aren’t twisted enough, or smart enough, to learn on their own what Blue is capable of.”

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✨🌟✨Weekly Positivity ✨🌟✨

Good things don't always come to those who wait. Sometimes they do. Most times they don't. Good things come to those who earn it, who work for it, and prove they deserve it.

I know it can get hard to work for a goal, a level of happiness, or a life you want, but it's never gonna come if you don't try for it. And though the effort to achieve whatever you are looking for may be exhausting. I promise, it's worth it.

~Rune♡♡♡