Chapter 21
Wynn hit the ground with enough force to rattle her teeth, but ignoring the shockwaves of pain, she jumped to her feet and searched the shadows for the slimy green magic. She assumed that this was the pit where she’d seen Gabriela and the corruption battling two hundred years ago.
But she couldn’t see any hint of the evil power. Instead, her gaze traced the shimmering strand that she’d seen attached to the back of Gabriela. It coiled over the stone floor and up the wall to disappear in a glowing portal.
Was that the rift? It had to be, right? The place where Gabriela had led her people from their homeland to this world? So what was the shimmering magic? And why was it attached to Gabriela?
The questions were spinning through her mind when she was abruptly distracted by a swirling mist across the pit. Another portal? Inching forward, Wynn realized that the thick fog was oddly familiar.
Keeping a safe distance to avoid being sucked into the opening, Wynn leaned forward, her heart stopping as the mist parted to reveal a pool of the bubbling green and the strands of the evil magic that had reached out to wrap around a large body lying on the ground.
She’d seen this image before. When the stranger had cornered her in Hexx’s apartment and touched her with his powers.
“This is inside my mind.” She blinked, grappling to accept the truth. The Watcher hadn’t taken her into the mist. He’d simply stepped into her thoughts to confront the evil magic. “Just when I thought this couldn’t get any creepier.”
“It’s the corruption,” Gabriela said from behind her. “I’m using my powers to keep it from overwhelming you, but the strange demon is interfering in my efforts. If he would just die all this would be over.”
With a muffled scream Wynn whirled around to confront the dragon who’d silently followed her into the pit.
There was no use trying to tap into the magic she’d stored away for an emergency.
She was too flustered to concentrate, not to mention the fact she didn’t have any spells that could match the power of a dragon.
Besides, she was suddenly distracted by the greenish tint to Gabriela’s aura. It was no longer veins of corruption weaving around her as if they were in a constant battle for supremacy. The power pulsed through her with every heartbeat.
The power wasn’t attacking Gabriela. It was protecting her.
“It’s you,” she rasped. “The corruption has infected you.”
The female’s eyes smoldered with a strange hunger. As if she were combating the urge to swallow her like a tasty morsel.
“Perhaps you’re right,” the dragon purred.
“That would be a first.” Goosebumps crawled over Wynn’s skin. Something had changed in the air. A new sense of heaviness that pressed against her with a blatant threat. “You admit you’ve been tainted by the evil?”
Heat blasted over Wynn, blistering her skin as she stumbled back to evade the punishment.
“It’s not evil. It’s power. Raw power!” Gabriela roared. “And it’s mine. It’s always been mine. I was just too frightened to claim it.”
“It’s always been yours?” Wynn struggled to think through the pain. Her skin felt as if it were being flayed from her body. “Are you saying you’re the corruption?”
“It was corrupted because I tried to deny my true destiny.”
Wynn pressed against the wall as Gabriela towered over her, an iridescent magic silhouetting her as if she were about to shift into her dragon form.
This was it. Wynn had spent two centuries living on the edge of disaster, always assuming that luck and sheer audacity would get her through.
But somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d always known there would be a day when she took one too many risks.
And this was it.
She was about to be... Well, she didn’t know exactly what the dragon intended to do, but it was going to be awful. And there was very little hope she’d survive the experience.
But even as she braced herself for the hideous death about to smash her into oblivion, she realized that the shimmer wasn’t coming from Gabriela. It was coming from the strand of magic that snaked through the portal and attached to her back.
She didn’t know why the magic was flaring, but she could sense the power was connected to a dragon. A dragon who wasn’t Gabriela. And while there was no predicting if the mysterious shimmer was a good or bad thing, there was the possibility she could use it to her advantage.
“And what’s your true destiny?” Wynn asked, playing for time as she tried to focus on the strands of magic inside her.
If she could tap into the unknown magic, she might be able to distract Gabriela and escape.
It wasn’t a great plan, but it was better than nothing.
“I was created to rule all the worlds. Dragons. Demons. Vampires. Even the humans. That’s why I was given the magic.”
Wynn rolled her eyes as she cautiously inched to the side. She needed to get closer to the strand to see if it was even possible to absorb the magic.
“That’s quite a destiny,” she muttered, ignoring the blistering heat as she tried to skirt around Gabriela’s pulsing aura. She didn’t want that green taint touching her. “So why are you stuck in this pit?”
“Zion.” The name came out in a hiss and Wynn had a sudden memory of the robed male who’d tried to keep Gabriela from unleashing the corruption.
“I thought I could trust him. He’d been my most loyal servant for centuries.
But as soon as I embraced the magic, he stabbed me in the back.
I had no choice but to flee his vicious attack. ”
Wynn hid her shock as realization hit her. The strand belonged to Zion. That was the only reasonable explanation. He was the one who’d sacrificed himself to close the rift, not this egotistical bitch. She moved another step closer.
“And you brought the dragons with you?” she asked, more to keep Gabriela boasting about her glorious future than any interest in her answers.
“They belong to me.”
“No.” A male voice shook the air and Wynn was forced to squeeze shut her eyes as the shimmering magic became a blast of white light. “They are no longer pawns to be exploited by an overly ambitious bitch.”
“You,” Gabriela rasped in fury.
Wynn abruptly forced open her eyes, enduring the blinding glare as relief blasted through her.
“Azh.”
Wynn barely resisted the urge to launch herself toward the male stepping through the portal.
She’d sensed he was okay, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need to examine every inch of his hard, flawless body to assure herself that he was completely unharmed.
Not to mention the fact that she was giddy with happiness that she wasn’t going to have to face the dragon alone.
But an inner voice warned her not to disturb Azh’s concentration. Not when she could feel the oppressive heat as their powers clashed in the confined space.
“I knew you were going to be a pain in the ass the moment you appeared,” Gabriela rasped, her aura marbled with veins of sickly green magic.
Azh offered a mocking smile, his eyes filled with storm clouds as flames danced over his body. The scent of scorched metal swelled until the air was so thick it was hard for Wynn to breathe.
“I try my best,” he taunted the female he’d once admired.
Gabriela spread her translucent wings, but she didn’t attack. Was she worried that Azh was stronger? Or was she keeping him talking so she could finish stuffing Wynn with her magic to make her escape?
Wynn pressed against the wall of the pit, trying to focus on the strands of magic inside her.
There had to be something she could use to protect herself if Gabriela suddenly attacked.
But even as she tried to reach her stored magic, she hit a crimson barrier.
Wynn muttered an obscenity. The damned dragon was already filling her with more of her essence, making it impossible to tap into her other magic.
“I suppose you’ve been promised to become the next king if you destroy me?” Gabriela demanded, her own flames appearing as she tried to intimidate Azh. “Is that why you’re here?”
Azh’s exquisite features were unreadable as he stared at the queen who’d betrayed everything and everyone who’d trusted her. And for what? Power? Greed? Vanity?
“I’ve already warned you that the dragons aren’t pawns in your sick desire to become a petty tyrant. When the time comes they will choose their next leader,” Azh responded, his calm confidence more threatening than any amount of bluster. “And they’ll do it without threats or coercion.”
Wynn’s heart swelled. She’d never been so proud.
Gabriela wasn’t nearly so impressed. Or maybe she was. Maybe she understood that she’d ruled out of fear and weakness and that’s why she’d needed to lie and cheat and manipulate her people. Azh would never have to resort to nasty tricks to earn the trust of the dragons.
“Such a feeble coward,” Gabriela snapped, sounding more like a petulant child than a hero from legends. “You’re not worthy to rule such a proud species.”
“At least I don’t have to force them to bend the knee.” Azh spread his arms. “Or destroy their homeland in an effort to control them.”
“They will worship me,” Gabriela snarled.
Wynn grunted, falling to her knees as an excruciating pain stabbed into her stomach. Glancing down, she could see the crimson strand of magic snaking out of her, heading straight toward Azh.
“Azh look out!” she cried, desperately trying to find a way to snap her connection to Gabriela.
Distantly she was aware of Azh shooting a blast of magic toward the female dragon, who countered with billowing flames that charred the air.
Wynn felt sweat drip down her face, well aware if she’d been a normal human the heat would have killed her.
Thankfully, her coat was wrapped with enough layers of magic to keep her from melting.