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My heart pounded against my ribs, waiting for the scorching feeling that never came. Opening my eyes, I looked up to realize that Tharion’s wings had formed a shield of sorts over me, his fire smoothly gliding over us towards the back, without harming me.
Lifting my head about the only few inches the position allowed, I glanced at the flames and something I never thought would happen did. I was spellbound. Given my past, I never imagined one day I would think of fire as anything other than monstrous and destructive. However, when the smooth red and orange waves glided over us like dancing silk, the only thing I could think of was how beautiful and magnificent they looked.
It all lasted no more than a few seconds, but it was enough for me to appreciate this world in a whole new way.
“Braxton!” Evie called again when the flames subsided. To the others, she probably just sounded alarmed and concerned—as it was expected of anyone witnessing that—but I could hear the restrained panic in her voice.
“I’m okay! Tharion’s wings shielded me,” I answered the instant I could sit up again, turning to find her rigidly hold on to Luna. I suspected it was taking every ounce of strength she had to keep from running towards me. I knew that, because I would do the same if I’d been forced to watch her in my place. “I’m fine,” I repeated, so there was no doubt.
Letting out a slow and controlled breath, she nodded, her body relaxing a smidge.
Then the sound of something liquid and heavy dropping reverberated around us, and I faced forwards to see the wall of rocks literally melting. It sagged towards the ground like mud, heavy blobs dripping onto the earth, until the glow of night was revealed on the other side. The entrance had opened.
“Thank you, soul mate…”
“As one,” Kingston ordered, and the Dragons began to spread along the round space, silently crawling along the cavernous walls on their way out—like creepy spiders.
With me soothingly stroking his neck, Tharion sat again, and I asked him to wait so Kingston and Evie could take the lead. To my surprise, he listened. As Luna approached, Evie threw me a glance that said she was glad nothing happened to me, but she was going to kill me for putting her through that the second we got home.
We watched the others pass us, and exit the tunnel. Once Harper and Spike reached us, Tharion and I moved with them as agreed that morning, with only Lachlan and Saithar following after us. I could almost feel the daggers his eyes were throwing me, but I decided not to look back.
Instead, I focused on my surroundings and my Dragon Eye took over, making sure there were no magical traps that could hinder our mission once inside Raithian’s protection ward. The sight that greeted me in the Crimson Fortress was something I wished I could unsee.
Like everything else our race built, the castle was a Gothic masterpiece. Built mostly of spotless black marble, and a red stone so dark and glossy that it resembled blood, it truly lived up to its name. Giant archways, stained glass windows, and innumerable towers and turrets adorned the structure. However, the way the arches, windows, and carved details along the front of the palace were arranged, they suddenly resembled a hollow and eyeless face screaming.
And now I knew why they called it the Hollow.
The place reeked of anguish, torture, and death, the ominous feelings clawing their way through my pores and invading my body. The worst part? The Warlock King was still building onto it. Scaffolding could be seen along the other side of the structure, adding who knew what to his haunting design. He seemed obsessed with making it larger and larger, like its unnerving façade wasn’t grand enough to represent his true power.
