The Dragon Prince The City of Smoke and Night

Chapter Nineteen A Duel of Sun and Ocean

Ephai pulled out his sword and Naima did the same. He lunged at her but she fought back. The sound of metal clattering between the swords filled the stadium. He struck her sword out of her hands. She ran toward to get it back but Ephai snuck up behind her with his sword in hand. "Naima, look out!" She turned to see Karim blast Ephai out of the way and she retrieved her sword. "I thought I told you to stay away from that girl, Karim," Ephai said to him. "Why would you throw your life away for this miscreation of a human?" "Because I was mistrustful of humans because Viren has destroyed Lux Aurea," Karim said. "But when I laid my eyes on Naima, she was nothing like Viren at all. She may look like an ordinary Durenian farm girl but there is so much more to her than meets the eye. She looks for the good in all of us and somehow she finds it. It's why she makes friends wherever she goes. Her kindness and wisdom made other people's lives better and she made people who had lost hope regain their confidence again. She is without a doubt the kindest, wisest, most extraordinary girl I've ever met. And if you want her, you're going to have to kill me." "The prince who mistrusts humans is now willing to lay down his life for a human," Ephai snarked. "How poetic." "Actually, she's not entirely human." "Since I hate both of you, I'll destroy you both." He lunged at Karim and Naima but they dodged him. Karim cast his cannon of fire spell but Ephai blocked it with a shield of smoke. "That trick doesn't work on me anymore," he told him. "Let me show you some real Sun magic." He held out his medallion and aimed it at Karim. "Tempestas Ignis Atri!" A storm of black fire escaped from his medallion with a gun's strength, a blast so swift that Karim had to shield his eyes from the flames. Naima summoned water to extinguish the fire. She handed Karim his staff. "Thank you," he said as they continued fighting Ephai. When Naima kicked his sword out of his hand, that was the final straw for Ephai. "All right, no more stalling," he said. "It's time to finish this." He held out his hands and summoned fire in his hands. "Ignei Pugni." Then he sprung at Naima with multiple punches and she blocked his attacks. "I have fought your parents to the death. So tell me, Naima, how does it feel to be in their shoes?" he asked her insultingly. "Tell me!" He tried to punch her on the ground but she rolled out of the way. "Tell me!" She surprised him with a spinning kick from behind but he grabbed her ankle and sent her flying to the platform where the Heart of Charringmoure once stood. "Naima!" Karim said, running up to her. "Please be okay." "Stay out of my way, Karim," Ephai said to him as he extinguished the fire in his hands. "You should have left her in the dust and accepted my offer while you still could, but you chose to stay by her side." He kicked Naima, causing her to roll down the platform. She was battered and worn out. She tried to reach her sword but Ephai stepped on her hand. "Your time is up, Naima. Any last words before you draw your last breath?" She watched Ephai's medallion glimmer around his neck. All his powers came from the medallion. She looked up at him and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do. I hope you've been practicing your skin care!" She leaped toward him and snatched his medallion from his neck. She tossed it into the air and smashed it into tiny fragments with her sword. Ephai roared in fury. "No! Look what you've done!" His body was beginning to change. His broad muscles shrank into scrawny limbs and his marred skin turned silvery gray. He let out another vengeful scream before he erupted into a pile of dust. In the city, his army felt sharp pains and screamed in defeat as their bodies began to fall to pieces. Naima and Karim ran out of the stadium to get their friends. The city around them was shattering. "What's happening?" Soren said. "When I destroyed Ephai's medallion, it caused a chain reaction and his army and Charringmoure were getting destroyed with it," Naima explained. "We gotta get out of here!" "You don't have to tell me twice," Rayla said. They ran as fast as they could from the city but Callum tripped over a rock and a decaying Lava Walker crept behind him. "Callum, look out!" Karim blasted the Lava Walker away and Callum used his lightning spell. Callum and Karim cheered. "You did it, Karim!" Callum exclaimed. "No, we did it," he said, before the monster exploded, showering the two princes in smelly orange gunk and mud. They slowly opened their eyes. "Well, this is a whole new level of disgusting," Callum said. He turned to Karim, who had the same idea. "So..." "Time to go," he finished. And they ran to meet up with their friends. "Where's Callum?" Rayla said, gazing at the distance. "I don't see him!" "I don't see Karim either," Miyana replied. "We're over here!" Callum and Karim ran toward their friends, both of them coated in mud and slime. "Come on." Karim took Miyana's hand and they catched up with Callum and Rayla. Callum and Rayla ran across the bridge but just as Karim and Miyana were about to go on the bridge, the bridge broke. "We have to jump," Karim said. "What?" Callum asked. "Jump?" Rayla said in disbelief. "Karim, are you nuts?" Soren called him. "It's like Naima said. I'll never know until I try." Karim and Miyana walked back from the moat. Salana wrapped herself around Miyana's neck. "On a count of three, we jump. Are you ready, Miyana?" Karim asked her. She looked at the moat anxiously. "It's okay to be afraid," he said as he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I promise I'll never let you go, Miyana." She steeled herself. "On three. One," she said. "Two," Karim said. "Three!" Karim and Miyana ran and jumped over the moat and landed on the ground. Karim rolled on his back. "Gah. Right on my ribs," he groaned. Karim pulled himself and Miyana up to their feet, while the rest talked over what they had just witnessed. "That was insane. Are you hit, Callum?" Soren asked him. "I'm all right." "We did it. Ephai is finally gone," Callum said and he tried to hug Rayla but she gently pushed him. "Sorry, Callum, I would love a hug, but you and Karim need to clean up. You two look yucky." "Gosh, you guys smell like something died," agreed Soren with his face scrunched up in disgust. "What the heck just happened?" Naima said. "This moment is in the all-time Team Zym Hall of Fame," Soren said and Naima gave him a high five. "Heck yes. Come on, everybody. Let's go back to the camp." They went to a nearby stream where Naima used her Ocean magic to clean herself, Callum, and Karim up and Team Zym journeyed back to the Sunfire Elves' camp to tell the Sunfire Elves of Ephai's defeat. Despite Naima's weariness, she felt her heart swell with pride. She had completed her aunt and uncle's mission. Her parents' deaths were avenged and Ephai's reign of terror had come to an end at last.