Arwick (A Light Of Roria Sequel)

Chapter Twenty

Staci

"The wretched creature will pay!" Ahab scowled when the smoke finally cleared.

It had done more than blind everyone. I'd also felt disoriented, like I'd fallen into a strange sort of haze and couldn't quite stay upright on my feet, but I could still hear Ahab and Ahaz freaking out, desperate to reach two eggs, one in their weapons room and the other hidden in a vault in Ahab's throne room. A lot of what they shouted made no sense to me, but I knew they were losing control of the kingdom.

"It is too late! Joash has retrieved his egg!" Ahaz shouted. "The dragon would never have lifted the smoke otherwise!"

"Because he had help." Ahab's anger was only growing by the second. He looked toward me, shooting daggers with his eyes.

Ahaz pulled me toward him, his grasp causing me to wince. "This fairy, my queen, is she your sister?" he asked through flared teeth. Though by the sound of his voice, it seemed like he already knew the answer.

I didn't know how to reply. There was nothing I could say that would make the situation I was in any better. I didn't want them to hurt my friends, but by their expressions, it was too late for any bargaining. And if Addisyn did somehow fight her way back to the others (and I was beginning to wonder if she could; there had to be some kind of chance of that, or the two of them wouldn't be so scared), would the others let her rescue me too? I knew they saw my eyes; their faces told me so. Would they actually think I was worth saving? Probably not.

"Sire, the dragon had help! Someone has taken the egg from the weapons room! Whomever they were must have been able to see through the smoke! They fought as such!"

"Wretched she-fairy!" Ahab cried, slapping the guard, who took the pain like he was used to the king's outbursts.

Taking off in a full sprint, Ahaz headed for a door to the right of the thrones. "I will stop him, Father! We will bring the beast down!"

Ahab turned toward the guard, gripping him by his armor. "When the egg is cracked, you will fight through the pain and bring down that dragon, or I will set you ablaze myself."

Ahaz practically threw him toward the door; the guy barely able to catch himself in time, taking off in a sprint.

Ahab looked at me. He was angry, and for a moment I thought I saw fear in his eyes, but it was gone before I could tell for sure. Moving toward me, he grabbed my arm in a death lock until it felt like it might fall off from lack of circulation. Trying to keep from showing how much he was hurting me (Ahab and Ahaz seemed to enjoy causing pain, and I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction), I clenched my jaw, never taking my eyes off him.

"She has compassion," he said with a grin. "She will not leave without you, and it will be her downfall."

Before I had a chance to reply (wanting to say I wasn't so sure), something like an explosion practically knocked us both off our feet. The doors to the throne room shook, and the floor felt like it was shifting with sudden blasts that sounded like giant boulders were crashing to the ground. Screams erupted from right outside the door, and Ahab pulled me back, shoving me to the ground.

Creating a dark bow, he faced his weapon toward the doors before speaking. "You will die before your flames bring me down, beast."

Then a cry unlike anything I'd ever heard surrounded us both. I covered my ears, and my entire body seemed to tense up. The darkness inside me became angry, and I couldn't help but picture a rattlesnake coiling within itself while it shook the end of its tail in defense. It wanted me to use the dark to protect myself, and the feeling was strong I was seconds from giving in.

When the cry finally stopped, the dark relaxed, and the temptation to use it began to fade. When I rose to my feet, Ahaz reentered the throne room. His father turned to him with a smile.

"Did he flee?" Ahaz asked.

With a nod, Ahab turned toward the large doors. "Guards!" he shouted, and the two who stood to protect the throne room came in. "Send every man still alive to find the she-fairy, and have her killed!"

"No, please!" I moved toward the guards, who never even gave me the time of day.

Ahaz, who had already moved to stand next to me, pulled me against his chest. "She is nothing more than a distant memory, I assure you."

"Sire, she heads for the prison cells! I saw it myself. I sent the men to follow once the dragon left. Others have pursued the beast."

"Just as I expected. Divinity users and their desire to save." Ahab laughed. "She's gone for the others. Now we will end her."

The sudden pain in my chest felt like I'd been punched. The idea of losing Addisyn killed me, and their smiles fueled the sudden rage that crept through me.

With a maddening cry, a dark blade appeared in my hand, and a shield formed in the other. I raised it toward Ahaz, but his own blade appeared and blocked mine before I could drive it into his chest like I'd wanted to.

He pushed me back, causing me to fall flat on my behind like a fool. Laughing, he turned to his father, pride lighting up his eyes.

"Your fury is strong. How easily you achieve dark magic. You will do great things, I am sure of it." Pulling me back to my feet, Ahaz looked into my eyes with lust. "Once they are gone, you will have nothing to hinder who you are meant to be, and I will make you mine."

I wanted to despise him. I wanted to try again and again to take them both down. But as much as I hated to admit it, a part of me didn't.