“Are you alright?” Evanna rushed to squeeze my hand the second she saw mereact.
“I don’t have much time,” I explained, “I’m with Raithian.”
Evanna’s eyes grew anxious, but she blinked, trying to hide it. “What is happening?”
“We reached an agreement…” I began, turning my attention to Kingston and my mentor. “Two hundred slaves are being released as we speak. Azazel will fly them to the Outlands under Raithian’s influence. Take my guard and their Dragons with you to pick them up as soon as possible. And take provisions. He’s releasing the old and the sick first. They will need help.”
The urgency in my words pushed them into action, and both of them rushed out of the room without looking back.
“What kind of agreement, Braxton?” Evie asked, her hold on my hand tightening even more with her apprehension. “If we get the slaves, what does the Warlock get?”
“Me.”
“Brax, no!” Horror captured her being.
“I agreed to let him train me because we need it, but that’s all. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m safe,” I assured. “Raithian’s going to teach me how to use my magic, and in return he’ll leave you and our people alone. He’s also freeing those two hundred lives,” I added, offering her a small smile, and reaching for her cheek. “I’m coming back to you, Baby. Trust me.”
Gripping my hand on her cheek, Evanna opened her mouth to speak, but the room vanished the next second, leaving the lake and the Warlock King as my only reality.
“Well done. You are a fast learner,” he praised, stopping before me as his gaze once more searched for something in the depth of my eyes. “You do realize that once I have grown your power to my desired strength, I will not hesitate to drain you of all magic and use it to fuel my own?”
My hands fisted with his threat, and I leaned dangerously close to his face. “As long as you realize that once I have grownmypower tomydesired strength, I will not hesitate to destroy you.”
The sly smirk on his mouth grew into a full-blown grin, and he extended a hand to me. “Agreed.”
Gripping it, my eyes bored fiercely into his. “Deal.”
26
The moment the Warlock King’s grip tightened on my hand, a current of energy rushed through my arm and the ground appeared to move beneath us, making me tumble a few steps away from him.
What the fuck?
Chuckling, Raithian took a step forwards, the cloak behind him swaying as he did, and green smoke engulfed his legs. He’d transported from the throne room to the lake.
My eyes snapped to my own legs to find the golden smoke that surrounded me in the room a moment ago, also swirling around me here. He had pulled me out of the castle, taking my body away from Evanna. My stomach instantly sank, I couldn’t even imagine how much she might be freaking out after seeing me suddenly disappear.
His troubled gaze briefly lingered on the golden smoke dissipating around my feet, probably wondering why it wasn’t green if he had used his power to bring me here. Thankfully, his concern vanished as easily as the fog did.
“How did you bring me here?” I only half demanded because I was too taken aback by his feat.
He waved his hand, expecting my question. “I will admit that I would normally not be able to pull you out of a room without seeing it or having been there myself—”
“You have never been in the Hidden Kingdom,” I argued, causing a new smirk to graze his face.
“Have I not?” He gestured to the space beyond the tree. “Bed, nightstand, wall, alarmed little princess… I could keep going if you want.”
Bastard. He had piggybacked onto my magic when I spoke to Evanna and the others, gaining a look into our room.
“I suppose I could show you how to block others from following your magic,” he continued, “but I am the only other being alive who can take advantage of that, and I am not sure I want to.”
“This won’t work unless we can trust each other, at least while we train,” I warned, getting in his face again. “I won’t follow anything you want to teach me until you agree not to interfere with my magic in any way. Otherwise, I’m gone, and you’ll no longer have access to me. Understood?”
Of course, I knew I couldn’t ever trust Raithian, but there had to be a minimum amount of decency in this pact, or what the hell were we even doing?
Amusement danced over his expression, like he was dealing with a silly child.
I crossed both arms over my chest, standing my ground while I held his gaze defiantly. “If we can’t at least be civil while we train, then—”
