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Mara’s eyes flickered. “Adara is weakening. She barely had a foothold in this world when Allorin attacked. He knew she would need time to gain her strength.”
Tempest’s breath caught in her chest as Allorin strode toward Rhadan. “I have awaited this moment.”
Rhadan shoved the dark-haired man away from him. “And why do you think this time is any different from the last Allorin? You grow weak. Take your dark thugs and go.”
Allorin laughed. “You have lost the use of radiance. I had no idea how powerful your druid was. She drained all of you in one spell. It was more glorious than I imagined it would be.”
He turned and looked at her before giving her a one-handed salute. “Thank you, Tempest. You gave me everything I needed.” His arm shot out as white light blasted into Rhadan’s chest.
The scream echoed in the chamber before Tempest realized it was her own.
CHAPTER 25
Rhadan erected a shield, but the power of the mage’s blast sizzled through his protections and ignited the end of his hair. As the white laser of energy dissipated, he whispered a spell to extinguish the flames. He could feel the difference in his power. He had been thankful he wasn’t connected to Tempest when he unleashed his magic on Mother Nature. The power of the earth. While he had been surprised it had worked, he was about to lose his mate. He would have done anything, including sacrificing his immortality to have a single lifetime with Tempest.
Mother Nature had taken his offer, but she had drained his power to a trickle, and he had to focus in order to sway another being with magic. Humans would still fall under his spell easily, but he would still need to use his voice. That meant he had control of his power for the first time. What a gift. He would have given up radiance simply for the asking, provided it didn’t fall into dark hands.
He circled the mage as Allorin approached and pitched his voice to the perfect pitch. The most desirable tone that had all around him, looking at him with adoration. “Allorin, you do not wish to do this.”
Allorin laughed. “I thought you had completely sacrificed your magic. I hear the compulsion in your voice and a lesser man or dragon would likely listen to you, but I am not a lesser man. I am a god. And you will be the first victim in this war.”
“Your hubris knows no boundaries. Regardless if I can influence you, this is your last day on this earth.”
Allorin laughed. “Who has the inflated ego now? I will tell you this. If you find a way to destroy me, I will unleash a revenge that will destroy the entire earth. Nothing will survive.”
“I believe you would try. You are a disease, Allorin. A plague upon this earth. You have survived far longer than you should have and inflicted pain on those around you. Death is too good for you.”
Allorin huffed. “I am not the one who is about to die.” A white blast of power erupted from Allorin’s hands, and it was much hotter than the first.
Rhadan erected another shield, but he could feel the mage’s power burning through it. His shield deflected the white energy upward, and the heat melted the rock and sand into a shiny red surface. He called on his magic to strengthen the protection barrier, but for the first time in his life, he was unsure if it was enough. Allorin seemed far more powerful than he had been in their previous encounters. Had that been because of Rhadan’s power? Had the mage tempered his power, unwilling to kill Rhadan?
Rhadan jumped to the side as the mage’s power obliterated his shield. He was caught in the shoulder as he dove for cover and roared as his skin was incinerated and a gaping hole was cauterized by the heated blast. He rolled around on the ground as Tempest screamed from a distance.
“Rhadan!” her cries wrenched his heart, but he lacked the strength to connect with her or call out. His vocal cords had been damaged in the blast and while his magic was working to repair the damage, he needed a moment to recharge.
Allorin moved toward the temple and pointed. “Focus on the temple. I want the women and the Druid Book of Knowledge brought to me.”
Rhadan remembered the ladies telling him there was a large book on the altar within the temple. None had known the name, but that book was thought lost in the Temple of Knowledge. It would be a disaster if it fell into the mage’s hands. “NO.” He tried to scream, but it came out as a raspy whisper.
While the darks were forced to keep fighting the dragons of the Rule clan, there were far more darks in the cave. Siro continued to attack the darks, but he was limited in his dragon form, in a confined space and he had to avoid the temple in the middle. The darks ran from him, evading his bone-wrenching jaws. He moved to the front of the temple, awaiting the dark scourge descending on him.
There were over twenty darks surrounding the purple dragon. Several attacked his left flank to allow the ones on his right to try to sneak past him and under the stone archway. The wooden drawbridge under his feet crunched under his weight, but as he fought the men on his left, his tail snapped out to send those on his right sailing in the air and landing hard on the rock floor.
Rhadan knew how lucky they were that Siro had woken. His father had been a master tactician and had excelled at hand-to-hand combat. Siro was exceptional with any blade, but he was just as deadly in dragon form.
Rhadan staggered to his feet as his shoulder wound closed over. The tissue was still mending, but he could move his arm again. He took a few steps forward before a dark he recognized stepped before him.
“Where do you think you are going?” Gargo said.
Rhadan pitched his voice to its sultry tone. “Get out of my way, Gargo. I have no time for your nonsense.”
Gargo laughed. “You still sound appealing, but the mage has created a barrier. You can’t influence me. I can’t have anyone alive that could control my actions. I’m afraid you will have to die.”
Rhadan glanced over at the mage. Allorin was almost frothing at the mouth as he watched the purple dragon keep the darks from the temple. There was a ripple of power, but it lacked the intensity it once had. Now that Rhadan was away from the mage, he could sense the spell the mage had erected around the temple. Whatever he had done was failing, and he was running out of time. Adara had grown stronger and was likely responsible for the dragon protecting her. “I guess this is it then, Gargo. It is time for you to take your eternal rest.”
Rhadan created a flaming sword from midair and gripped it with both hands. The flames licked the air like hungry tongues, caressing the metal blade in anticipation of the battle. They licked against his skin as his shirt burned away in the mage’s blast of power.
Gargo smiled as he created his own sword. The dragon blades were similar. All dragons learned to manufacture their swords when they were young, and their magic was in its infancy.
