Chapter Forty
Daxton Aegaeon
The room erupted in pandemonium.
Sparks of color and fire soared in every direction.
Guests began screaming as the loud booms and explosions from the colorful displays meant to burst high in the sky erupted in the enclosed area.
Panic set in as the blasts set fire to the draping curtains, blew holes through the walls, and shattered windows.
I could smell the familiar scent of blood beginning to pool.
Those injured by the blasts screamed in pain as the others trampled over them in fear for their own lives.
I sprang to my feet, forcing my aching body to push onward. Ignoring the shooting pains along my limbs, I raced toward the pedestal where the scroll lay untouched near the golden throne. I covered my skin in a thin layer of ice as I leaped over a fallen column, burning in decadent golden decor.
I glanced over my shoulder, thankfully not seeing Reece anywhere. I sighed in relief, hoping he had an escape route already planned and was able to find it without getting caught.
Skidding to a stop, I reached for the scroll and rolled it before quickly tucking it safely into my shirt. Pivoting around the pedestal, I dashed toward the throne only a few lengths away. The center was covered in crumbling rubble and destruction.
Fireworks indeed. The entire structure was falling apart. It wouldn’t be long before the ceiling came crashing down.
As I dashed toward the rendezvous point, my heart thundered inside my chest. I didn’t see her. Zola wasn’t waiting behind the… Fuck. There were no shadows cast around the throne. With the room illuminated by the explosions and fires, there were no shadows for her to hide in.
Where the hell was Zola?
“Gahhh!” I roared, feeling the force of the queen’s magic, collapsing on my knees in front of the throne. I grasped my head in agony as she attacked my mind, attempting to split it in two and force it to explode like the fires swirling around us all. “No!” I screamed.
My eyes sprang open, finding her in the center of the chaos. Her hair was a tangled mess. Her crown was missing, with a large open wound along her black brow. If I could have managed to laugh at the state she was in, I would’ve.
“You!” she sneered as her magic flared with her finger pointed in my direction.
I simply smiled at her. “Me,” I answered, unleashing the power I struggled to keep veiled during these weeks locked in Minaeve’s dungeons. A blast of ice erupted from my hands, shards of deadly, sharpened points targeted straight for Minaeve’s blackened heart.
“No!” Seamus screamed as he rushed to shield Minaeve, using his magic to create a barrier to protect them.
My shards slammed into his magic, knocking them backward into the rubble.
“Z!” I roared, frantically searching for my spymaster.
Where the fuck was she?
I collapsed onto my hands and knees, praying she was near and this wasn’t all for nothing.
“Queen Minaeve!” Rhett hollered as he raced across the room.
Seamus and Minaeve slowly rose to their feet, ignoring Rhett’s presence. Their eyes were solely locked on me. My heart began racing as Rhett bent to pick up Minaeve’s fallen crown—his eyes turning stark white.
“Give that back to me!” Minaeve snatched the crown from his hands and placed it on her head.
Rhett remained still as the frantic screams and cries of the injured surrounded him, his vision slowly returning to an all-knowing deep-blue stare.
I watched him carefully. His emotions were quickly concealed, disguising any reaction to what he saw. But he wasn’t fast enough to conceal it entirely.
“Of course,” Rhett said, lowering his gaze and kneeling amongst the rubble. “I’m so sorry, my queen.”
Another explosion boomed on the far side of the room, collapsing the main doors and trapping those of us who remained inside.
“Zola!” I roared once more.
My desperation rapidly grew as fear began to encircle me like a vice.
No, I told myself. Fuck. No! I would not fail. I refused to.
I needed to get the scroll to Skylar, ensuring that she didn’t fall into Minaeve’s hands and become a pawn in her quest for power. The primal need to protect my mate drove me past my exhaustion, urging me not to give up.
“Daxton!” Off to the side, cloaked in the shadows near the corner, I found Zola. Her eyes were wide with fear, her voice laced with panic.
Another explosion thundered in the throne room. The vibrations of the blast knocked everyone off their feet while vibrant colors danced over their heads. Sparks of energetic flames spiraled in different directions, causing everyone to take cover.
“Hurry, Daxton!” Zola called out. “I can’t—”
“I know!” I yelled as I crawled toward the shadows.
Zola couldn’t chance leaving her position. Her magic only remained undetectable as long as she stayed in the shadows.
With my power completely drained, I struggled to drag myself across the floor. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to stop. Begged me for a release.
My only solace was the hope of seeing Skylar again. When I would be able to hold her in my arms, and by the grace of the Gods, I would never let her go.
“Daxton!” Zola screamed. Her arm extended past her protective hideaway.
“Seize them!” Seamus commanded. “Before they escape!”
I forced my limbs to propel me forward. My roar of pain filled the room as I lunged for Zola’s outstretched hand.
“Gotcha.” Zola gasped as she helped pull me into the shadows.
Once my feet were tucked into the corner, Zola’s magic encased us, transporting us outside the palace and away from the screams of terror and destruction.
The kiss of cold night air caressed my beaten body and felt like a gift from the Gods themselves. Before I could take a full breath, however, Zola jumped us into another shadow.
And again.
And again.
And… again.
Fifteen fucking jumps.
Each one twisted my stomach, making my body feel like it was being pulled through a hailstorm with gale-force winds. Zola’s magic was a gift from the wilt. Traveling within it held unpleasant side effects that I was unable to combat with my power drained. Each jump felt like an assault.
We finally came to a stop, and even in the dead of night, the waves of heat suffocated me. I fell to the floor, my eyes rolling to the back of my head as my vision began to blur.
“Hey!” Zola’s voice was panicked. “Wake up!” she roared. “Adohan! Idris!”
I heard footsteps frantically speeding across the floor.
“Dax!” Adohan gasped. “Send for the healers! Quickly now!”
The world began to slip away. My limbs felt like slabs of stone as my breathing became labored.
I’d drained my well of magic to the point of burning out, giving more than I was able to sustain.
Only once had I felt this weak, so close to the crossing that I could feel the sprays of water from the river itself.
“Stay with us, Daxton.” Idris’s voice was soft and comforting. “Skylar is at the veil! We just received word from Fjorda. She’s almost here… Hold on. You must hold on.” Her plea was hopeful.
“Skylar,” I rasped. “Tell her—”
“No,” Adohan interjected, kneeling at my side. “Don’t you dare say another fucking word. You tell her whatever you need to when you see her yourself.”
I huffed a laugh, even though it pained me to do so. I tried to reach for the scroll tucked into my shirt, but despite my best efforts, I failed miserably.
Adohan noticed my feeble attempt and reached out to take the scroll. “You did good, my friend,” he said.
“One more day, Dax,” Idris encouraged as the sound of footsteps entered the room. The healers were already preparing some kind of concoction to try and heal me. “You just have to last one more day.”
One day.
“Skylar will be here, Daxton,” Zola said, quietly kneeling near my feet. “Keep fighting or else she’ll kill you for giving up on her.”
“One day,” I repeated.
I could manage that.