Chapter 61 Achieve Your Life’s Ambition #2
Before I could protest, she placed her hand on my arm. Immediately, I felt her magic flowing into me, cool and soothing against the burning heat of my own. The Heirloom glowed brighter, and the strain of holding the portal eased slightly.
“Better?” she asked.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
The last of the troops passed through the portal, and they were forming up on the other side, preparing for battle. Through the magical gateway, I could make out movement on the horizon—Auremar’s forces, already mobilizing to meet us. But not the main force of ten thousand. We’d done it.
“He took the bait,” I said, satisfaction coloring my voice despite the strain. “Evenfall delivered our false intelligence.”
“Let’s hope he’s still alive for you to thank personally,” Arabella said drily.
I laughed hoarsely. “I’d rather thank him with the edge of my blade, but I take your point.”
As the last of my ground forces passed through, the Sky Serpent emerged from behind our rear lines, its dark sails billowing as it sailed through the massive portal.
Captain Brecca stood at the helm, with the volunteers—those with heroic bloodlines who’d agreed to our counter-ritual—safely aboard.
The ship would keep its distance from both the capital and the fighting, hovering just close enough that we could summon them when needed.
I watched it glide through the tear in reality, a dark silhouette against the morning sky, carrying our best hope for sealing the Shadow King’s prison.
Then it banked west, away from the battlefield, disappearing behind a line of hills.
Sebastian and Thorne were the last of our forces to go through.
Now it was our turn. I looked at Arabella, suddenly reluctant to let her go.
I wanted to say more—to make her promise to return to me, to tell her what she meant to me.
But the portal was growing unstable, the edges flickering as my concentration wavered.
“Go,” I said instead. “I’ll see you when it’s done.”
She hesitated, then stepped forward and kissed me—fierce and quick, a promise and a goodbye all at once. “Once again, try not to die, Dark Lord.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, my lady.”
With one last smile, she stepped through the portal, finding Sebastian and Thorne and disappearing into the chaos beyond. I followed a moment later, the portal collapsing behind me as I released the magic holding it open.
The sudden absence of that crushing magical weight left me momentarily hollow, my legs threatening to buckle.
But the runes beneath my skin were already cooling, the pain receding to a manageable burn.
My body replenished itself faster than it used to, before the Heirloom’s power became mine to draw upon.
Within moments, the trembling in my muscles eased, replaced by the familiar hum of ready magic.
The scene that greeted me was one of organized chaos. My troops had formed battle lines, facing Auremar’s forces across a stretch of open ground. The dead rose fields lay to our right, a stark reminder of what was at stake.
Solandris’s capital city rose in the distance, its white stone walls gleaming in the morning sun. Auremar’s palace dominated the skyline, its towers reaching toward the heavens like spindly fingers.
I could see confusion and fear rippling through the enemy ranks. They’d expected us to attack from the east, where Evenfall had told them our forces were gathering. Instead, we’d appeared on their doorstep, an army materializing from thin air.
Relief and anxiety warred within me. Arabella was beyond my reach now, facing dangers I couldn’t protect her from. But she was capable and powerful. I had to trust that she would succeed—that we both would.
One of my generals awaited orders.
I turned my attention back to the battle. “Let’s give King Auremar a proper greeting, shall we?”
I reached for my magic again, feeling it respond eagerly. The voice in my head surged forward, hungry for blood and destruction.
Make them kneel or die.
For once, I didn’t fight it. In battle, at least, our purposes aligned. I wanted Auremar’s forces broken, his kingdom conquered. If the darkness within me helped achieve that goal, so be it.
I raised my hands, and the shadows responded. With a gesture, I sent them racing across the battlefield, forming into massive, wolflike constructs that tore into the enemy’s flanks. Screams rose from Auremar’s lines as my shadow warriors ripped through flesh and armor alike.
My own troops surged forward, meeting the enemy head-on. Steel clashed against steel, magic flared in brilliant bursts of light and darkness. The battle was joined, a chaotic dance of death and power.
I had no intention of wasting this opportunity. If we could take the capital while rescuing the prisoners, all the better. Auremar’s fall would be complete, his kingdom mine for the taking.
I moved through the battlefield like a living shadow, my dominion magic cutting down any who stood in my path. Soldiers fell before me, their wills crushed by my power, their bodies broken by my shadows. It was exhilarating, intoxicating—the kind of raw, unfettered power I’d always craved.
The voice in my head grew louder with each kill, each display of dominance. It whispered promises of even greater power, of a throne that was rightfully mine, of a world remade in my image.
This is just the beginning. When I am free, when we are whole, none will stand against us.
The words should have disturbed me, but in the heat of battle, they felt right—a truth I’d always known but never fully acknowledged. I was meant for more than just conquering a kingdom. I was meant to rule, to dominate, to reshape the world according to my will.
A contingent of Auremar’s elite guards formed up before me, their armor gleaming with protective enchantments. Their captain, a burly man with a scar running down his face, pointed his sword at me.
“In the name of King Auremar, surrender or die, villain!”
I laughed, the sound dark and cold.
The captain’s face reddened with anger. “Attack!”
They charged as one, their enchanted weapons raised.
I stood my ground, gathering my power. As they reached me, I released it in a wave of pure dominion magic that slammed into them.
Half of them crumpled instantly, their wills shattered.
The others staggered but remained standing, protected by their enchanted armor, but barely.
The captain swung his sword at my head. I sidestepped, then caught his wrist in a grip enhanced by magic. I could feel the bones grinding together beneath my fingers.
“Is this truly the best Auremar has to offer?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous. “Pathetic.”
With a twist, I snapped his wrist. Bone splintered beneath my grip—a wet crunch that cut through the din of steel and screaming. Before he could even cry out, I released a pulse of dominion magic directly into his mind. His eyes went wide, then vacant.
“Kneel,” I commanded.
He dropped to his knees, broken wrist forgotten, his will completely subjugated. The remaining guards watched in horror as their captain—their leader—became nothing more than my thrall.
“Now,” I said, still holding the captain’s vacant stare, “draw your dagger and kill the man to your left.”
The captain’s good hand moved mechanically, fumbling the dagger from his belt. The guard beside him—a younger man with fear-bright eyes—raised his sword in trembling defense. “Captain, no! Fight it!”
But there was nothing left to fight. The captain batted the younger man’s sword away and drove the blade up under his chin with the cold efficiency of a butcher. Blood sprayed across enchanted armor as the young guard crumpled.
The remaining soldiers stumbled back. One of them made a choking sound of horror.
I released the compulsion, and the captain collapsed over his victim’s body, his broken wrist cradled against his chest, comprehension and horror flooding back into his eyes.
“Tell your king,” I said, my voice carrying over his ragged breathing, “that Kazimir Blackrose has come to claim what is his. And that his strongest warriors are nothing but playthings to me.”
I shoved him toward his men. “Go. Run back to your master like the dogs you are.”
They retreated, dragging their injured captain with them.
The battle raged around me, but it was clear we had the upper hand. My troops were better trained, better equipped, and bolstered by my shadow warriors. Auremar’s forces were already falling back, their lines breaking under the relentless pressure.