Lexi’s heartsank as she gazed around the realm. Located on the side of the mountain, they stood on a large shelf of rocky terrain. If she opened another portal to the land below, the army could march across the ledge to the portal.
But there wouldn’t be an army if there wasn’t any sun. They couldn’t turn an army loose on this realm if she couldn’t draw the dragons away from the Lord’s army. They would only get slaughtered.
The dragons soared through the air and circled over top of where the Lord’s men had gathered around the portals entering Dragonia. The ones they planned to flood with more of their men and women.
Their army was smaller than the one gathered below, but if they could draw the dragons away and surprise them by flooding in from different directions, they stood a chance of defeating the Lord’s men. Without enough light, she couldn’t draw the dragons away.
Thousands of the Lord’s men gathered below, and she was sure there were men inside the palace. They all wore the Lord’s red and white colors and a red, fire-breathing dragon on their clothes.
Many of the men below patrolled near the open portals while others gathered around fires, roasting their meals. More of them stood before the closed gates leading toward the palace.
The last time she was here, those gates were open, but the Lord never would have allowed them to remain that way. She couldn’t tell if the merchants were still selling their wares in the bailey, but she doubted it.
She imagined the Lord had become a paranoid prick since learning of her existence. Between his insanity and the fact an arach could enter his palace at any time, the man must be going completely off the rails. She imagined Dragonia had become a worse place to live.
Around the army gathered below were structures that weren’t here when she and Cole came for the ball. She couldn’t tell if they were hastily assembled sleeping barracks for the men or something more as they almost looked like prisons.
Had they been built to incarcerate any prisoners the men caught? It didn’t seem likely the Lord would keep anyone alive, but perhaps he planned to torture the immortals they captured. Maybe he required more blood for his fountain.
Far away from the army and closer to the mountains, six giants sat in a circle. They must not have wanted much else to do with the Lord’s army as they were about as far away as they could get while still being able to see their military.
They had gathered around a bonfire and sat with their shoulders hunched forward while they roasted something on a tree. Lexi had expected more of them, but six giants were enough to demolish a realm. And they probably didn’t think they would need any more with the dragons here.
“He knew we were coming,” Lexi said.
“That doesn’t mean someone told him,” Cole said. “I’m sure once he learned what you were, he searched for ways to curb your powers. He’s been privy to the secrets of Dragonia for centuries; he probably knows arach are creatures of light.”
“And he will deny you that light,” her dad said.
He wore the amulet Cole had taken from Malakai after killing him. The sun medallion protected a vampire against sunlight, but it wasn’t necessary now that the realm was in darkness. The vampires with them could fight out here now, instead of just in the palace, but it wouldn’t do them any good if they couldn’t draw the dragons away.
“He cast a spell to rob as much light from this land as possible,” Sahira said.
“What do we do?” Kaylia inquired.
“I’ll release my shield,” Lexi said.
When she did so, there was enough light for a small spark of light to emerge at the tips of her fingers. Not one dragon noticed. The glow crept through her arms and face, but it was so faint she could barely see it.
“Shit,” Orin muttered.
“Can you and the witches break the spell?” Niall asked Kaylia.
“No,” Kaylia said. “He probably used dozens of warlocks to help cast this spell, and it’s not a typical eclipse. The moon isn’t blocking the sun; no one has the power to move the moon, but”—her eyes flicked nervously to Cole—“shadows are.”
“I can still enter the palace,” Lexi said as she erected her shield again. “We can keep the armies out of this; Cole and I will go alone and find the Lord. The dragons won’t attack us.”
“He probably has a hundred men, if not more, guarding him,” Varo said. “They’ll kill you.”
“If we get close enough to him, maybe… maybe….” Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of something…anythingto help them. “Maybe we should take all of the army into the palace.”
“And the dragons will gladly eat them. If we can’t get the dragons away from him, then they’ll destroy any army we set loose on the palace,” Maverick said.
“What if she goes to another realm, lowers her shield, and tries to draw the dragons there?” Skog suggested.
“Some will come,” Lexi said. “I can go to another realm, let my shield down, glow as bright as possible, and return here. I should retain the glow long enough to draw the dragons to me. I’m not sure if they’ll stay once the mark of the dragon fades, but it’s something.”
“No, it’s not,” Cole said. “We need more than that, and it has to last.”
