When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

AERYN'S POV

My resolve dissolved as Zoran retreated and my shoulders slumped as I let out a defeated breath. I'd wanted him to hate me so he wouldn't come after me when I was getting married right in front of him.

But even after I'd declared such hurtful words, he'd still followed me.

The ever-loyal Champion was crushing my heart in his fist without realizing it.

I crouched behind a throne as Shade came up behind me, standing above me to assess the destruction. I couldn't find Zoran among the mass of robes, skull masks, and clashing weapons. He hadn't come alone, but the Draconians had disguised themselves as the Phoenixians in their stolen black cloaks.

Tingles spread around my shoulder from where Zoran's flare had struck me, and my arm was limp. I couldn't even roll my shoulder or lift my hand without sending sparks bolting under my skin. The pulse roared in my ears as I watched bodies get slashed and slain, dropping to the ground in unmoving slumps.

The smoke intensified around me, and Shade ushered me behind him. "There's a door that leads to the outside right behind the banner on the left. That's probably where my spineless parents disappeared to. I want you to get out of here."

"No. Those are my Draconians."

"They're here for you, Glastos."

"They're here for Armaeda," I countered, turning on him. "My bond is still intact because she's still here and now my Champion thinks I'm a demon."

"He doesn't know the truth. You need to survive this and request to speak with your father to gain entrance into the empire. We need you to get the antidote. We can change Traeveria."

I didn't need a whole monologue in the midst of an attack, especially one where Zoran had given me the most pained and simultaneously disgusted look I'd ever been victim to.

I unsheathed my dagger, tilting the hilt to discover it had been replenished with droxin. Thank you, Bastion, I thought as I fisted the weapon.

Shade grabbed my wrist as I maneuvered around the monstrous chair. I yanked my arm out of his hold, and he demanded, "Whose side are you on?"

"I don't know, Shade! I only know I can't just let my Ice Force die while I watch!"

The ground rumbled and I whirled around as the still forms of the fallen bodies shuddered and rose to their feet in jerky movements. Deceased Phoenixians and Draconians stood and faced Shade as the living slunk back in unease. 

The only way I could discern the Draconians from the Phoenixians behind their masks were the weary looks on the faces of the later while the former were sporting frightened, wide-eyed expressions as Shade raised the dead, compelling them towards the half-human, half-dragons.

Fumes burned my nostrils and scorched a burning path down my throat to my lungs, and I choked, hacking coughs into my hand as I doubled over in the surplus of smoke rising around me. I swatted away the exhaust as Shade raised his arms, dangling his fingers as if invisible strings hung from them. He swayed his arms as his fingers danced, and the deceased followed suit, compelled to act out the performance their master puppeteer was directing. The red ring around Shade's pupil intensified and devoured the milky white iris behind the small section of bone around his eye.

The dead charged at the Draconian Ice Force, outnumbering them three to one. Zoran hadn't recruited enough Champions to pull through this with a successful attack and take back Armaeda and myself.

I hurdled down the steps of the dais and stared in horror as Shade's living dead attacked full throttle. Smoke leaked out of their eye sockets and curled from the lethal wounds that had caused their fatality. I recognized the purple and blue glows around my Champion's hands as four of Shade's undead army circled him. I sprinted after Zoran, taking aim with my dagger as I closed the distance between us.