32. Chapter 32
thirty-two
L ight prickles my eyes, and I lift my hand, shielding myself from the sun that filters through the window.
My body is stiff and heavy as I stand in what looks like Ethan’s room when we stayed with the Slatebane Clan.
I crack my neck as I turn, sensing whether I still have my dragon here. Scales move under my skin, and I grin, knowing I have all my powers here. The grin quickly falters as I realize I can’t truly use it as the ones I care about are in this world.
I don’t have a plan as I step out of the room and head to the foyer. I wander around the halls as other clan leaders roam around, all staring blankly, showing they aren’t really here.
As I take a deep, steadying breath, I try to use the weak bond I created with Ethan to lead me to him. To his soul. I have to believe Cedric won’t truly dare to hurt Rodi, not with everything he is trying. He’ll make sure she stays alive, and I need my Warden. I need someone in my corner.
The bond leads me downstairs to the basement, to where they kept the Netherlings when the clan leaders were here.
The reality Cedric created seems different here. The walls blur, the air thick as my moves slow.
The corridor narrows until it leads to a door, one guarded by two shifters. Their eyes are blank, without emotion. They aren’t really here.
“My Warden?” I ask, and one of them opens the door, letting me in.
Cedric didn’t believe he needed anyone else in this place, so perhaps this can work. I can get my Warden and my Draconis out.
The temperature drops as I step through the doorway. The hairs on my arms rise to attention as the scent of ashes surrounds me.
A thin silver sheet lies in the distance, the color showing what’s underneath. Death.
I step closer, kneeling beside Ethan, and peel the silver layer off him, revealing how he looks.
My teeth grit as I see the turn in his neck. Broken.
This isn’t something I can fix. I thought maybe he was being tortured or held somewhere, but this? I don’t know what I can do about it.
I can’t save him. I can…
I have to take him out of here, but how do I even leave this place? Perhaps I should’ve thought it through.
Normally, I fight my way out of a situation while knowing my chances of winning.
And maybe that’s my plan.
Kill Cedric. Kill Hephaestus .
“Kill them all,” I whisper as I place the sheet back over Ethan’s face.
I’ll break this place, make it crumble to the ground as I’ve done with those who stood against me in my past lives.
I turn away from Ethan and head back, needing to know where Rodi is and take out Cedric.
He has to have put her somewhere where they can take care of her, heal what is broken.
I venture through the castle, trudging through this twisted dream world that Cedric has crafted to trap Rodi. Just the thought of him tricking and tormenting her makes my fingers curl into fists, itching to rip his head off.
He’ll pay for what he’s done.
With narrowed, determined eyes, I reach the end of a hallway and turn the corner before pausing about twenty feet away from a familiar door and two men.
There they are, guarding the infirmary, the same lifeless expressions as the ones downstairs.
Squaring my shoulders, I take my chance, ready to move past them, but this time, I’m stopped.
“No one is allowed in. Aetherion’s orders,” the one with dark hair says, his armor glinting in the sunrays coming through the high windows.
Right.
“And where is he?” I cock my head to the side as scales emerge on my skin.
“Important meeting,” the other guard says. My eyes snap to him, and a grin spreads on my face as I see the difference.
He’s here.
Truly here.
With my gaze locking on him, I wrap my hand around the other guard’s throat, snapping his neck in a simple move .
“Let’s try that again,” I say as I release my hold and the guard slumps to the ground.
But not for long. The guard scampers back up, cracks his neck as if nothing happened, and takes his position again, unfazed about what happened.
“Interesting,” I mumble as heat radiates my way.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” the guard on my left says, scales shielding his skin from me, his eyes changing to his dragon’s.
“Well, I have heard that before,” I joke, gripping the arms of the dark-haired one and with a grunt, ripping his body apart. I watch closely to see if he comes back from that.
I grunt as I’m hit on my back, and I turn to my opponent.
My smile widens as he edges back. “Do you want to do that again?” I taunt.
He gets in a fighting position. As more scales show on his skin, I realize what he is.
Sapphire.
“You do know your little trick doesn’t work against me, right?”
He swallows, and I laugh. “What clan are you from?”
“Dominion Cedric’s.”
“Such a shame. Dragons like you are rare.”
“What do you mean?” He blinks at me as I close the distance in a single heartbeat, towering over him and gripping the back of his head.
“Weak,” I growl, and I pull back, ripping his head clean off his body.
Blood gushes out, painting his shoulders as his lifeless body spasms while I’m still holding onto his head. I meet his eyes again.
“They say Sapphires can still see what’s happening after they die, just for a few moments,” I say as the light slowly flickers in his gaze and I toss his head to the side .
Blood coats my hands as I walk through the door they were guarding. The one keeping me away from what’s mine.
Moving with caution, I wonder how many Cedric had taken into this place or if his Sentinel was the only one.
The bond flickers in my chest, pulling me closer until I see her. She’s lying on a wooden table, a tight bandage around her throat, her hands tied.
Rummaging behind me makes me turn. A nurse walks up to Rodi, checking up on her as if I weren’t even here.
“What happened to her?” I ask, brushing my fingers over Rodi’s.
“She did this to herself,” the nurse replies, taking a washcloth to clean Rodi’s other hand. The one covered in dried blood.
Tears prickle my eyes as I realize how scared she must have been to try to take her own life.
As the blood fades from her hand, the nurse leaves us, and I quickly rip the restraints off Rodi’s wrists.
“Rodi, you have to wake up,” I whisper. I lean down, feeling her slow breath on my lips.
“Please wake up.” My lips brush over hers, and a spark emerges. She stirs beneath me, her lips part, and I edge back, hoping she’ll open her eyes.
Footsteps run toward me, more than I need right now.
I shift on my feet, ready to protect Rodi and take her with me, even if I haven’t truly figured out an escape.
“W–Wait.” Her voice lures me back, and my eyes fix on hers.
She squints and groans as she regains consciousness.
“Rodi, I need to get you out of here,” I say, hearing Cedric’s men closing in.
“There’s no way out,” she groans and finally meets my eyes. “You’re Dominion Ares, right? ”
I blink, confusion gripping me. “I’m so much more than that, little rider.” I smile, brushing my knuckles over her cheek. “I’m yours.”
Her lips part, a small gasp escapes, and something changes in the way she looks at me. “He did something to me, didn’t he?” she breathes as tears sting her eyes.
I slowly nod. “But we have to get you out of here, protect you from Hephaestus.”
Her brows pinch together. “How? We can’t leave this place. I tried.”
My smile changes. “I need you to remember what Hephaestus did to his wife, Aphrodite. How he cursed her and her lover.”
She knows this story. This information doesn’t cling to a memory with me.
“Ares?”
I nod. “Yes, Ares and Aphrodite, both cursed to roam alone for centuries.”
“Until they find each other,” she mumbles.
“He will do everything to have his revenge.”
“Hephaestus?” she asks.
“To keep… us apart,” I say.
She cups my cheek, brushing her thumb over my lips. The turmoil is visible in her eyes as she whispers, “This feels different.”
I inch closer, her breath dancing over my lips before I press against hers. A single spark tickles, and I can only hope this will help her remember who she is.
Guards shuffle behind me, and I groan as my back takes another blow, but it won’t keep me from what’s mine. Power surges in my veins as my wings form, shielding me and Rodi from the attacks of Cedric’s men.
“Ares,” she whispers against my lips .
“I won’t leave,” I grit as something punctures my back, slicing through my thick scales and harming my wings. “I’ll never leave you, not again.”
I push myself off her, making those who harmed me stumble away.
“So, you’re letting your men die, leaving them alone to fight mine?” Cedric taunts.
I chuckle as blood runs down my back, my cuts healing slower than they should. “We were already winning.”
“No, Ares. You can’t save them both.”
“Ethan?” Rodi asks as she steps beside me, rocking on her feet from the blood loss.
“You haven’t told her yet?” Cedric laughs. “He’s dying, dear. Can’t you feel it, feel how warm your skin is getting?”
My brows knit as I glance down at my arms. “What did you do?”
“You weren’t winning, Ares. You never were.”
“I thought you wanted me alive?”
He edges closer. “I did, but if I go back home with her, you’ll repeat your life again, as you always have. You can never come after us.”
Burns spread on my skin, my scales fading, and I pull Rodi behind me.
“I will,” he says and nods to his men.
I push Rodi back as the fight nears, and my lungs fill with smoke, though there isn’t a fire. I start to wheeze for air. I try to push through, protecting her as much as I can, but I’m losing as I become weaker.
Blisters emerge on my arms, and I fear for what’s happening to my body. Even dragons aren’t protected from fire.
My vision starts to change. Images of the room my body lies in filter in front of me, and I struggle to stay with Rodi.
“Ares!” her scream echoes around me as I realize I failed her.
An orange hue moves through the room. Smoke fills my lungs as fire engulfs me and Ethan .
I quickly look around, noticing the dead bodies of the witches, and there’s no sign of Rodi.
I roll from the bed and fall to the scorching stone floor. My body feels weaker than ever before, and I wonder how much time has passed.
Crouching, I stumble back to my feet, knowing I have to get out. I have to get Ethan out.
I’m not giving up. I know I’ll live again, but I can’t spend another lifetime without them by my side.
I can’t believe I failed. I didn’t even stand a chance.
“ETHAN!” I yell, pushing myself forward, gripping the burning bed. As the flames burn higher, my body shields his. My arms rake around his form, gripping him closer.
My scales break on my back, trying to protect me from the scorching flames as I lift Ethan from the bed. Screams leave me as I move through the burning structure. Bones crush under my feet from my lost staff and men. Lost in battle. My teeth grit as I hear their souls screaming at me, a downside from one of my abilities. They’re calling me, wanting to speak one last time, but I can’t. Not as I carry Ethan’s limp form to the stairs.
I stumble, falling to my knees. There’s no escape. My home crumbles. The stairs collapse as a sea of flames spreads higher.
“Ares.” Ethan coughs, his body stiffening in my arms as his soul comes back from that wretched world Hephaestus created.
I glance down. Burns cover his skin as his eyes glint in defeat, tears ready to fall.
“We failed, didn’t we?”
Shaking my head, I climb back up. “No, we’ll get her back. We have to,” I say, feeling the defeat spreading inside, nudging me to give up and let myself crumble, let my body turn to ashes and try again in the next life .
Scanning around, trying to see a way out of this hell, I see a small path to my room.
“The balcony,” I mumble under my breath and lurch forward. My feet stumble on the crumbling ground. I don’t know if it’s the ground breaking or the skulls of my men.
I heave back and kick against the burning wooden door, clearing our path outside.
Thick black smoke clouds my sight as I push through, moving without thought. Even as Ethan whimpers and cries in my arms, I need to keep trying.
The night sky glimmers through the windows, and I push the door open, taking a breath of fresh air.
The stone structure of the balcony pivots slightly, and I try to shift partially, but the burns and blisters on my back prevent me from calling my wings. I know I have no other choice than to jump and let the gravel path catch me.
I turn my back to our escape and hold onto Ethan tighter as I glance down.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper and lean back. The air rushes past me, cooling me slightly until I crash to the ground.