“That’s precisely the point. I somehow undid the vow, erasing the hold he had on me while we trained.”
“How is that even possible?” Imogen added, stepping closer while true interest marked her features.
“I’ve never heard of a wizard’s vow being undone. Though I’m not exactly an expert,” Evanna admitted, glancing at my mentor but she just shrugged.
“I just remember telling him that I rejected him as my teacher and the magical vines that linked us to the vow reappeared, letting me drag his off me, and mine off him.”
“And that is when you started fighting,” Imogen concluded, seeing me nod.
“He was as shocked as you are. But that’s not all… During our fight, I think something happened to my magic. It reacted ortransformed.”
“Transformed into what?” Evanna called my attention back to her, her gaze troubled.
“Honestly, I have no idea. There was a moment when I had him trapped, using his own teachings against him, and I even thought I might be able to finish him without having to go to war.”
Evanna and Imogen exchanged a sly glance, as though it was naïve of me to think I could take Raithian that easily, and after saying it out loud, I had to admit it was.
“Fine, so I was being overconfident,” I huffed, seeing their lips twitch. “The point is, I had him cornered until he exploded into magical fire, and—”
“You mean, his actual body became a fire blast?” My mentor asked, truly taken aback.
“Yes, that is the way it looked.”
Profound concern darkened her expression. The fact that Imogen, the Harbinger’s Red Wing, had never seen anything like it from the Warlock King—even after fighting against him from the start—was not a good sign.
“This means he is not as weak as we thought him to be,” she concluded, the admission seeding dread in her.
And yet, pride blossomed in Evanna’s wide eyes. “It also means that whatever you used against him, Braxton, was intimidating or scary enough for Raithian to resort to such powerful magic in order to free himself from you.”
“That makes sense. He did disappear afterwards,” I added, feeling a bit more confident about my growing ability. “It’s what happened after that truly shocked me though.”
“You escaped,” Evanna assumed, seeing me unharmed, but I slowly shook my head.
“I actually couldn’t. The waves of the blast reached me too fast for me to do anything, and the blaze engulfed me fully. But the burn never came. Golden magic burst out of me, overcoming his green flames at the same time that the scales rushed along my being—”
“Forming a shield,” Imogen guessed, having seen my scales in action already.
Still processing what happened, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Kind of, but it wasn’t just that. They absorbed the blast.”
“The scales did what?” my mentor gasped, eyes widening.
“Both of your powers worked together…” Evanna whispered, a million questions seeming to swirl in her eyes.
“Yes. They did. They combined somehow, and while my Devenish magic transformed the deadly fire into its purest energy form, my scales used it as fuel. They absorbed it all until I felt recharged. Filled with unstoppable energy.”
“Do you still feel it?” Imogen’s astonishment swiftly turned to curiosity, and I understood why Dad trusted her with his research and his secret. She was as inquisitive and calculative as he was.
Gaze falling to my hands, I clenched and unclenched my fists, feeling the raw energy prickle every pore while its power swayed within my being. I felt supercharged. “Yes. It is still there.”
“And have you ever seen Raithian absorb power?”
I nodded to my mentor.
“Then your magic did not simply ‘react’ to the Warlock’s attack, Braxton.” The light changed in her expression until her whole face illuminated with admiration. “It evolved into the power you were meant to have. One born of Wizard and Dragon. A force you are the first to ever wield.”
A slow smirk began to tilt my lips, and I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself.
“No. No,” she instantly reproached, waving a finger at me. “This is not the time to get overconfident. It is the time to prepare. The last thing you want is to lower your guard around Raithian.”
