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“Are you worried about my soul, Rena?” He touched my cheek and smiled slightly. “It’s only a small piece. I haven’t made it a habit of traveling through the Realms over the last several millennia. And the piece of my soul that was taken was for a worthy cause.”
I took a long drink of water and sat up against him a little straighter. I was already feeling stronger. My jaw had full mobility now, and it was getting easier to speak.
“Erik was so strong. I couldn’t defeat him, and I refused to go with him. My only choice was to jump over the edge of the balcony and pray for a miracle.”
Julian ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “As soon as I left you to travel between the Realms I got a bad feeling. I’m not connected to you once I leave this Realm, but the loss of you was overwhelming. I knew I had to get back as quickly as I could.
“You took a thousand years off my life when I saw Esmerelda dragging you out of the water. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The pool was colored red with your blood. You weren’t moving. Your fire began to burn without your knowledge. It would have swallowed you whole and turned you to ash if I hadn’t been there to absorb it.”
“I’m sorry.” The words seemed inadequate.
“I was gone between the Realms long enough to get a good sense of his trail. I know where he’s hiding his army. We need to go into battle as soon as you’re healed. Two days have passed and more of our people have disappeared. We cannot waste any more time.”
“He has more than an army. He has a kingdom. He’s been mating Drakán to each other for centuries, building his numbers. He’s created a machine to drain the powers of those who don’t agree to fight for him. It makes them human. He’s determined to steal the powers from all creatures and make himself king over all the Realms.”
Julian’s face showed the first sign of legitimate surprise I’d ever seen before he quickly masked it. “Then we must stop him.”
“But will we win?” I asked.
“If we don’t, we will die trying. The Drakán deserve to have peace and power restored to them. Now that you’re awake, Esmerelda’s medicine should restore most of your strength by this evening. Rest for a while. Those of us who can change form will meet and go after The Destroyer at midnight.”
“I assume you know how to find him?” I asked.
“He’s taken possession of the Realm of the Gods.”
Which meant the gods had chosen sides, or they’d finally met their match and were too afraid of Erik to do anything but hand over their Realm without a fight. Whatever the case, they weren’t going to be any help to us. So praying was probably out of the question.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
I’d healed as much as I was going to by the time midnight rolled around. We gathered, thousands strong, cramming into the ballroom and spilling out into the halls. A hushed murmur whispered its way through the crowd, building to an overwhelming roar of sound. The scent of anticipation and fear was strong, and the hunger for flesh and blood lay heavy in the air.
Despite the impressiveness of our numbers, less than a thousand of us could actually shift to dragon form and take flight. Human blood had weakened us all more than we’d thought. But we needed numbers, and it was decided those who couldn’t shift would remain in their human forms and ride through the Realm on the backs of their dragon brethren. I had no idea what to expect from Erik’s army. We could only hope that if we couldn’t outnumber them, we could at least overpower them.
Julian raised his hand high up in the air, and the room went silent. I looked at the Drakán standing around me. I didn’t know most of them—a scary thought considering a few days ago they would have tried to kill me, and now they’d be fighting beside me.
Feng stood against the wall, watching Julian with a malice and calculation in his eyes that made his position clear. He wore black sweatpants and a sweatshirt with the sleeves cut out. A tattoo of a dragon snaked all the way up his arm and rested its head on his shoulder. He looked deadly and dangerous, two traits we needed on our side when fighting The Destroyer and his army. I only hoped Feng didn’t decide to change his allegiance once we went through the portal.
Xana, Olaf, and the other guards all stood behind Julian—Esmerelda and I flanked his sides. I worried about him destroying another piece of his soul by taking us through the portal, but it was he alone who could make the sacrifice to save the very people who despised him.
“I have asked you all to do the unthinkable,” Julian said. “The Destroyer was one of us. And he betrayed us to strengthen his own power and treat us no better than slaves. We will not let the Drakán race falter. And we will not forsake The Promised Child by letting this impostor deceive you. You are strong. And you are ready to fight.Porro Ago Drakán.”
Long Live the Drakán. The crowd repeated the sentiment with a resounding cheer.
A familiar crack echoed through the room. The ground shifted and the plaster on the walls split and crumbled. The portal swirled and opened to reveal a liquid silver hole in the middle of the room. Gasps sounded from all the Drakán. Besides myself and Julian, it was the first time any of them had seen a portal to another Realm.
The Drakán around me began to shift into their dragon forms. There were dragons of all colors—all shapes—all sizes. Julian’s black dragon was massive and towered over all those around him. Xana and the other guards were also in varying shades of black—some lighter, some darker, some duller, some brighter—but none had the onyx sheen and breathtaking beauty of their leader.
Esmerelda was the color of a shiny copper penny. Even though the Drakán clan she was born to was green in color, the Fae blood that ran through her veins made her unique. Her form was dainty and feminine despite her increased size, but Esmerelda had seen many battles before. She was a seasoned warrior, and she was as deadly as anyone in the room.
Feng stood just to Julian’s right. His scales a dark golden yellow. Tiny spikes ran the length of his spine and tail. Not for the first time I wondered about the ancestors we all shared that helped shape our destiny. Feng’s guards showed the mixed heritage of Prince Lucian’s two races. The Chinese dragons were shades of yellow. The Russians were shades of white.
Cale of the Éire stood to the outermost side of the group, surrounded by a handful of his own guards. He looked to be reconsidering his decision to risk his life and his former clan. His dragon was emerald green. His guards were shades of the same green, from sea foam to the color of Irish fields at night, and their hesitation was obvious.
I couldn’t stop the despair that overwhelmed me as I looked over my clan and saw my father and Calista both absent. Not to mention Erik, though we’d see him very soon. The clan varied in color—from the palest pink to brick red. But not me. The silver of my scales didn’t belong to any clan. Which was why Julian and I both thought it would be best if I transported through the Realm in my human form. As far as my clan was concerned, I’d never been able to shift, and we wanted them to keep thinking that for now. Seeing the silver of my scales would not help me get control over the disobedient group.
Andres of the Rumanus and his blue clan only had a few dozen Drakán who could shift, but they all pushed through the crowd, eager to be one of the first through the portal. I climbed on Esmerelda’s back and all the other Drakán who were still in human form did the same. Some carried swords in scabbards and others were relying on nothing but their physical strength.
Julian gave the signal and the dragons took flight. I held on for dear life as the wind rushed across my cheeks and Esmerelda launched herself just behind Julian into the liquid silver portal. As soon as we left our Realm I was completely cut off from all that existed in that world. I couldn’t help but look back as the last of the Drakán came through and the portal closed behind us.
