“Lachlan said his piece,” I spoke glancing at all of them, “it is my turn now.”
Pulling away the wrap off my torso and the imperial cape, I let it fall to the floor, exposing the marred skin that stretched over my side and back before facing everyone.
“My mother might have been Raithian’s daughter, but he never was and never will be my grandfather,” I declared, addressing everyone in the arena. “I did not choose to be born in his family. I never chose to be connected to that monster, but I was. And still, he took everything from me…” I gestured to my scar. “He killed his own father for power, the last person my mom had left after watching Raithian murder everyone she loved. He tried to kill her too, but my father rescued her, and then he followed us all the way to the Mirror World, burning my father to death with Dragon fire, your hero, in front of my eyes!”
Pain burned through the disfigured skin as though fire once more engulfed it, making my throat constrict and my eyes sting with the memory, but I didn’t stop.
“I was just a child when I watched my father burn, his screams echoing in my ears, and yet, I still wear the scars that remind me of his loss every day. But that is not the only thing the Warlock King took from me. My mother suffered a mental and emotional breakdown after having to leave the man she loved behind, bound by flames, just so she could save me.”
My arms trembled, but I pushed forward, knowing they needed to know.
“Her mind turned against her until she could no longer distinguish between reality and the nightmare she survived. All she ever did was to be strong for everyone else—for her grandfather, for her husband, for me. And so, I lost my mother too. She sacrificed herself for all of us. For you, even if you didn’t know it. I was taken to the Mirror World because the power I possess would be deadly in Raithian’s hands. I have Dragon abilities, but as you just saw, I also inherited the magic of the Supreme Wizards. The Devenish. Yet, this power is not only deadly in his hands, but in mine too.”
A round of murmurs and questions travelled along the arena, but their uncertainty only seemed to grow.
“It is true, I made a deal with Raithian,” I confessed, stepping forwards. “He has no idea who I am or the danger I pose to him, but he is intrigued by the power he senses in me, and I’m using that against him. I convinced him to leave all of you alone, this kingdom, and our queen, in exchange for me training with him. I exchanged myself for your safety and for the release of the people who have arrived here in the last few days. Every time we meet, I demand more slaves, and he always agrees because he thinks he will get to drain the magic from me once this is over. But this will only end when I destroy him. I am the weapon that will end him, and that is why I’m here.”
Taking a settling breath, I picked up the piece of my mother’s letter from the floor.
“This is the proof Lachlan had against me. It is the last page of a letter my mother left me after she died. A letter where she finally told me the truth of who I was and what this world was to me. Before that I didn’t even know about this world, or Dragons, or the Warlock King. The Harbinger of Justice was just Dad to me… Whoever read this to Lachlan, didn’t know enough to truly understand, or they simply decided to see only what they wanted to see. This is what it really says…”
Lifting it before me, I began to read.
“My true name was Keira Devenish, and I was the Princess of Caelisium. Raithian killed my entire family…”Stunned gasps rose in the air with every word I read, but I didn’t stop reading, the truth finally set free.“He will never stop. Not until he kills you all or Caelisium is destroyed. That is why I must now do something I wish I never had to do…
I beg you to kill the Warlock King, Braxton. You have to kill my father.”
For a moment, I just glanced at them, our people, hoping they could understand.
“I fell in love with Caelisium the second I set foot here. I fell in love with all of you, with the Dragons, with your customs, and everything you represent. Here, I discovered who I was meant to be and became the man my parents, and your late queen and king needed me to become.
I gave my heart to your queen, and I would give my life for any of you before I ever did anything that could hurt you. If you believe me, if you can see the truth in my words, in the scars that I share with many of you, then accept me as I am. If you believe Lachlan, you are free to leave with him… But know that if you follow him, you may never return.”
To my dismay, many stood, silently walking towards the exit of the arena. Far more than the five hundred who’d originally chosen Lachlan as his leader, forming the Battlesky Clan.
“No! Wait!” Evanna called after the masses, rushing to the front of the stage. “He’s telling you the truth. Braxton is telling the truth! Please… Please, don’t leave!”
In that moment, Evanna’s biggest fear was realized, and she saw everything her parents had built crumble before her… because of me.
Kingston had been right, me being Raithian’s grandson was the one thing our people could never forgive. That monster had taken far too much from them, and now, I reminded them of him.
“Please!” Evie pleaded again. “I swear to you it’s true—” A sob swallowed her words, and a hand flew to her chest, tightly gripping her dress as though she could keep her heart from ripping apart if she only held it tightly enough.
All strength left her as the sorrow finally took over and she stumbled, her knees suddenly giving out on her. Evie collapsed to the floor, her form shaking from the pain. The dam she had built around her when she lost her parents split open, letting out every emotion she’d ever repressed. Anything she’d concealed to remain strong for her people, the same people now abandoning her.
Willow fell on her knees beside her, taken down by the force when she tried to hold her best friend upright but failed.
The pain taking over the woman I loved was far too strong and devastating to be stopped. Not anymore.
Muscles strained along my jaw and chest with each step I took towards her, tears burning my eyes from the agony that captured my insides at seeing her like this. The worst part was I didn’t know what to do to help her. I had no idea what I could possibly say to make this better, and I feared nothing ever could.
Lachlan successfully turned our people against me, against their queen. His betrayal had shattered her into a million pieces, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
28
EVANNA
My vision blurred as the people my family had given everything for, even their lives, walked out on me.
