Arwick (A Light Of Roria Sequel)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Staci

"You cur!" Ahaz cursed, punching the soldier hard enough to make him hit the ground. "I want every guard who stood ground against them and survived brought to me! They will die before the evening is through for their failure!"

Addisyn had escaped with our friends. The guard had said as much, telling Ahaz and his father that by the time he'd reached the prison cell, many guards were either missing or dead, and the doors of the cells were removed, making for quite a riot down there.

Ahab moved toward his son, drawing him close. "Our lead marshals will see this as weak. We will be challenged for the crown by them all."

Ahaz smirked. "Let them." Turning to me, Ahaz jerked me close to him. "You will see just how powerful dark magic can be my queen. Especially when I wield it."

Ahab started shouting commands at the guard. Some he commanded to go after my friends on foot, while others were to round up slaves to repair the castle, even if that meant drawing in people from the city, which I had a feeling they were used to with Ahab as king.

Ahaz's attention was on me. His finger ran through my hair while I shivered. Again, I couldn't decide whether I hated or enjoyed his touch more. I felt Addisyn's eyes on me, though she wasn't really there, judging my decision to just allow him to touch me like that. The shame caused me to turn away from him despite the darkness inside me humming with pleasure.

Ahaz chuckled under his breath. "I feel your own darkness. It is strong and wants me to free you of your old self." He pulled me and whispered in my ear, "And so I shall."

Just then, the large doors of the throne room burst open. Three men gripping their dark swords rushed in. Their armor was silver and looked almost as expensive as the king's and his son's. Both Ahaz and Ahab formed blades, and the three stopped in their tracks before one of them spoke.

"I, Zadok, have come to challenge for the throne. You have both allowed prisoners to escape and for the dragon to demolish our kingdom! You are desperate to see your silly prophecy of a dark fairy come true, but Kane will hear of your failure and come seeking justice for this betrayal!" He shook his head, pointing his blade at them both. "But I will gladly hand over both your heads to restore the name of this kingdom!"

Ahaz laughed. Shoving me aside, he moved toward Zadok. "I accept your challenge."

There was no fear in Ahaz's eyes. In fact he looked as confident as I did in my favorite little black dress back home, like he knew he would win this fight, just as I knew I looked irresistible in that dress.

Then a sudden wind, which seemed all too familiar, rushed through the hall. Ahaz fell back in both shock and awe when a dragon appeared only several feet in front of him, swallowing Zadok whole like a small snack. He roared, whipping his tail across the floor, smashing the tables and chairs to bits.

Diving for cover, Ahaz moved with reflexes so quick they were worthy of a sports channel replay. He shot arrows from a bow he'd formed, aiming for the dragon's chest. Running for cover, I headed for the thrones, hoping the metal could withstand the heat of the flames from his breath. I wasn't much of a runner, but when my life was in danger, I found adrenaline could really affect a person's speed.

I knew this dragon had sided with Addisyn, and he didn't deserve to be killed, but it wasn't like I could casually walk to his side and explain who I was before he possibly chomped on my flesh like a great white during Shark Week. I wasn't willing to take that chance. I wanted to live, even if that meant taking him down before he did it to me.

Quickly glancing around the throne, I saw Ahaz's arrows were deflected by an invisible wall above these vibrant blue flames. They surrounded the dragon, guarding him like a shield.

Ready to fight to survive, I used the dark to create a bow and arrow. It shifted through me just as wickedly as it had done before. Hoping my shots wouldn't be stopped by the blue flames, my eyes landed on Addisyn and Elijah, who had been hidden behind the dragon but now stood beside him.

Guards tried to take down the dragon, rushing inside the throne room, but were either killed by the blue flame, which I realized was exiting Elijah's sword, or smashed by the dragon's massive tail.

Addisyn's eyes finally caught a glimpse of me, and even though I couldn't hear her over the dragon's roars, she mouthed my name, motioning me forward.

Ahaz, who had reached my side, grabbed my arm before yelling in my ear. "I will create a large shield! We can escape through my quarters!"

I looked back toward Addisyn, who shot arrows at a few remaining guards before she tried to call me over again.

Swallowing, I found myself split. The good part of me, the girl who grew up in Oregon, wanted to run to Adi's side. The dark wanted me to follow Ahaz.

As the dragon's breath engulfed Ahab in flames, no longer able to defend himself, I looked to Ahaz, who had literally just watched his own father burn to death, who looked like it hadn't fazed him in the least.

Right then, I realized the true difference between divinity and dark magic. Divinity was about self-sacrifice. Dark magic was all about self. In the end Ahaz would only fight to survive, not to defend someone else, while Addisyn and Elijah had come for me.

Smiling at the thought, I ran, not caring about the insanity taking place around me (though I did have a close call when a part of the ceiling came tumbling down and almost crushed me like a bug). I ran because I didn't want to be alone. And from Ahaz's reaction, his heart was very alone.

Between Elijah's sword and the dragon's fire, there was nothing any of the guards could do. No matter how many came in, none of them could get past that blue flame. The entire throne room looked like the result of a war zone, and by the time I made it near the blue flame, another thirty guards had gone down in a blaze of fire—literally. (Whether blue or yellow, people were crispier than bacon in that place, but that blue flame turned them into a pile of ash, so I guessed it was hotter than the surface of the sun.)

When I finally reached the blue flame, that dark piece of me seemed to jerk me back. It was legitimately afraid and was doing whatever it could to keep me from crossing. I felt my own feet take two steps back before Elijah turned to me for just a moment. He continued to move his sword while it broke pieces of the building to crush dark users, but the look in his eyes was evident. He was sad, like he'd lost something valuable and thought there wasn't a chance in the world he could get it back, before a space in the blue flame separated just enough for me to step through. Without hesitating, I dove toward Addisyn's outstretched arms. The flame immediately closed while Addisyn held me in a judo-style death grip of a hug.

"We leave now!" Addisyn commanded. "With or without you, Joash!" she added, facing the dragon. He looked toward her, almost offended, before his massive head nodded.

I recognized the wind instantly, looking toward Ahaz. He was halfway through the door toward his quarters. He looked to me, and I could see not only anger but also disappointment in his eyes. He'd wanted me to follow him, but I'd chosen Adi. The darkness inside rejected the ones around me, wanting me to run to him, but as he turned his back to me, fleeing, the wind had reached my eyes, and bam, we were gone.