Protectiveness seared through our bond from the both of us.
“Conjured shadows, heed my call, a blade of darkness, I enthrall. In depths so deep, it shall reside, a weapon swift, my foes to chide.” Jasper stepped forward and extended his arms. Dark wisps snaked around him until they formed a large ethereal blade of obsidian pointed directly at the dragon. The black blade hummed with pure darkness. “I know you can handle this, goddess, but let me help.”
“Thanks, Jas.” Wind tunneled around him as Fawn lent him a wind boost to help power his attack.
I fired off several spells of light bolts that tore through the air, piercing the dragon’s thick hide in several places over the torso.
It reared up, exposing its underbelly as it tried to shy away from my light.
“And thank you, Cas!” she shouted with a smirk toward me.
Jasper thrust the blade forward, Fawn’s wind barreling it forward harder. Its darkness embedded directly through the dragon’s tough scales and into its flesh before moving around its chest cavity.
The dragon roared a painful cry as Jasper’s blade slashed all around the heart of the dragon until it finally fell to the ground in a motionless heap, blood puddling all around it.
Fawn’s eyes flashed that glowing pale blue as she switched into her spirit vision. “Its spirit has left the vessel.”
“Good.” Jasper’s blade of dark wisps sliced through the dragon’s chest, maiming the body as the darkness created a hole big enough to fit the heart through. The blade dissipated into thin air as his wisps trickled into the hole he’d created and pulled out the dragon’s heart with a gushing sound.
“You already have my heart, goddess, but here’s a dragon’s heart, too.” He lifted the heart up and brought it to Fawn, who cupped her hands and took the dragon’s massive heart from the wisps.
“Kiss ass,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
The blood dripped down her arm as she shut her eyes and murmured a spell to teleport it into the potion room where Bastian had told us to send the ingredients as we collected them.
A moment later, a tingle crawled up the back of my neck, and Bastian’s face appeared in front of the three of us as he held up the dragon’s heart. “Thanks! This is awesome. You got itmuchfaster than I thought you would!”
“We would’ve had it faster if there were more dragons around.” I glanced at the dead body of the only dragon that was around. I didn’t even think they had dosed it with a rage potion by the fact that it was still here and not out terrorizing the world. It wasn’t as hard to take down as the rest of the monsters that were clearly affected by the rage potion.
“Well, hopefully scutterflies are easier to find.” Jasper smirked, practically jumping on his heels.
Helovedgoing to the Lethal Forest just like I enjoyed the Crescent Desert.
“I’m sure they will be,” Bastian told us. “Safe travels, and spirits of Hexarium bless!”
“Spirits of Hexarium bless,” the three of us replied in sync.
Bastian’s call faded out, and Jasper wasted no time wrapping his wisps around us.
“Shrouded in darkness, I call upon the powers of the night. Grant me the gift of shadow jumping, fast and out of sight. Spirits of Hexarium Bless.” Dark, familiar magic enshrouded our vessels and spirits.
The world around us shifted, the air turning almost as cold as ice as we stepped out of the darkness and into the lush, dark Lethal Forest. It was thick with fog and mist, and the soft moss-covered ground sank below my weight.
My body shivered from the lack of heat and light.
Jasper sucked in a deep breath as he took in the forest, an excited glint shimmering in his garnet eyes. “Bless, I love it here.”
The trees arched high into the air, blocking what little sunlight penetrated the thick canopy above. They were draped in thick moss and vines that matched the color of the leaves. The cloaked darkness made the forest look dark, dead, and desolate, but beautiful, and that was why Jasper loved it here.
Distant cries echoed throughout the forest. The sounds of wild animals and monsters that lurked below the treetops sent an eerie chill down my spine, but Ilovedthe seclusion.
“It would feel peaceful if I hadn’t been forced to hunker down here and wipe out the majority of the monster population in the forest,” Fawn whispered harshly, her eyes flicking cautiously around the forest.
Jasper turned to her, his lips curving into a frown. “Sorry, goddess. I didn’t think about that.”
“I didn’t either,” I murmured, throwing an arm around her shoulders and conjuring a glowing ball of light to follow us and light our surrounding area.
“It’s not the dark that bothers me.” She leaned against me, making sure to make eye contact with Jasper as if to reassure him. “The smell of this forest hasn’t changed. Musty and damp with a hint of trees and dirt. A small fragrance of sweet flowers carried on the wind, but it was bitter at the same time. When monsters are near, there’s an overwhelming scent of blood.”
