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Fuck.
His glowing gaze assessed me while lazy steps brought him closer. Though, he stopped in the center of the hall, taking yet another drink. “Tell me about you, stranger. Braxton, is it?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“Hmm. Odd choice of words.” He placed the goblet down on a small table, which hadn’t been there a second ago, and lifted his hand to clutch the staff that materialized the next moment. “Who are you?”
“I’m Braxton. Once your slave, now a guard to Princess Evanna, the true heir to Caelisium,” I declared, muscles jumping down my arms. I wanted my sword back in my grasp so badly, so I could stab him right through his fucking eyes.
“And you have done a marvelous job of protecting her, if I should say so myself. I never imagined the princess would be stolen right from under my nose. I have to admit, I admire the guts it took for you to go against me that day. Or tonight for that matter.” His staff gestured to the window, teasing me to look below.
Against my better judgement, I turned to the stained-glass panel, and the moment my gaze reached his intended target, the air was sucked out of me. Smoke still swirled in the form of a staircase at the bottom of the castle. The Warlock King stood on it, in front of me, while our weapons clashed against the other—we were frozen in time.
“This isn’t real,” I gasped, whirling to face him, and frantically taking in the room in a whole new light. He was controlling my reality somehow. “Get out of my mind,” I demanded, lunging towards him.
His staff pointed to me a second before I reached him, and a beam of green power erupted from it, hitting me straight in the chest. Pain captured my entire being, forcing me to fall on my knees before him.
“Who are you?” he seethed, stepping closer as the magic exuding from his crystal restrained me.
It felt like hot iron threads were entering my muscles, ripping me open from the inside out. “Get out of my h-head,” I spoke through gritted teeth from the pain, fighting against it as fiercely as I could, but it was pointless. I was helpless against his supremacy.
His other hand came towards my head, and he pressed two fingers against my temple, his thumb settling on the center of my forehead. The glow projecting from the holes in the demon mask intensified.
Images from my childhood in the Mirror World came to life. I saw myself at school, playing in the park, sitting in the movies, but each time, I pushed against his invasive probing, erasing the faces of my parents from his intrusion.
“My slave, huh? You are not even from this realm.” His voice was filled with intrigue and insult. “Let me see,” he barked.
The Subway flared to life as I worked. The Golden Gate Bridge stood in the distance while I rode the bus toward Mom’s assisted living facility. Then Evie appeared, coming to see me in the coffee shop. Sitting with me at Gray Whale Cove, our bodies leaning towards each other when we kissed for the first time. A collage of memories that included only her followed, and fury coursed through me.
“Stop!” I shouted, struggling to break free.
“I see now why you are so protective of her,” he cooed, like he was delighted to discover such a secret. “Perhaps, there is a treaty to be crafted between us after all.”
“We will never make peace with you.” My arms began to move within his green bindings, and I tried to pull strength from Tharion.
“Now, now, Braxton. Do not be so covetous. We could share her. Perhaps, I should invite her inside to our little gathering.”
“Leave. Her. Alone.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. You see, I feel something inside of you. I don’t know what it is yet, but my dark essence craves it, and Iwillhave it.”
No.
My body arched backwards as the influx of his power increased. I could feel the cold tentacles of his evil magic attacking my mind, searching for the faces of my parents that I had hidden from him. Not my parents. He would not steal the memories I had left of them.
“Just tell me who you are, child, and the pain will end. Otherwise, the princess will join us as an incentive for you to give in to me.”
Desperation coursed through me, making me fight harder against him. “I’m Braxton. Once your slave. Guard to Princess Evanna…” I gritted out, forcing random memories into my mind. It was a last-ditch effort to push him out, or at the very least, distract him. I had to do something.
To leave this place alive, I had to break his hold somehow. If I only had a weapon.
An avalanche of scenes from the Terminator movies halted his exploration of my psyche. If there was ever anything that could make you forget about reality, it had to be the sight of Arnold Schwarzenegger with a mercenary android’s face and a laser weapon in hand.
“What is the meaning of this?” Raithian asked, sounding both enthralled and perplexed by the movies he was witnessing.
Instead of answering, I envisioned the spider web of silver threads that lived inside of me, each linking me to a different Dragon in the hidden kingdom.“Please… please help me.”
A few threads became alive, energy flowing from them and into me, yet they were too far to give me the strength I needed. Luna, Spartan, and Tharion were closer, but also restrained by the Warlock King’s sorcery.
