Crouching over him, I gripped his face with both hands and tilted it up, forcing him to hold my gaze. The voices of theAnima Crystallumreturned, chanting but a single word…
Justice.
Unbridled terror sparked in the Warlock’s grey eyes, as though he, too, could hear our ancestors’ demand.
“No!” His head jerked, trying to get me off him—the rest of his body paralyzed again.
“What I want from you is something far more valuable,” I confessed. “Something you never deserved.” Energy flowed from my core, travelling in threads of gold down my arms to my hands, and making them glow.
“Aaah!!” Raithian’s panic-filled scream sliced the air, shattering the windows, and reverberating through the Hollow when I began to draw the magic out of him—like he did to our family.
My threads pulled on his, and with every ounce of energy that left him, his face swiftly shriveled before my eyes. His magic scattered around us. Worthless. Unclaimed. Never to be wielded again. The two hundred years he stole from others floated away like wisps in the wind, finally exposing his true self until he looked like a decomposing corpse.
Once his magic was lost, I let go of him and stood, leaving only enough energy for him to meet his merited end.
The Warlock King collapsed onto the wooden floor, his form shaking as he looked up at me, his eyes fixed on the crown’s eyes. His mouth opened and closed weakly, probably begging me to finish him, but no words came out of him.
“I made a promise to my people once,” Evanna began, stopping next to me. “I told them that you would never stand before me again, unless I was landing the killing blow to your heart… You are not standing now, but a promise is a promise.”
The curved blade of her spear plunged into his heart, excruciatingly slow, returning every ounce of agony he had ever handed her.
His eyes and mouth opened widely in a scream that never came, and then his head lolled to the side, a mere sliver of blood dripping from his mouth.
The bands of the Dragon Crown unlocked on their own the next second, and I pulled it off my head, dropping it on the floor. The ring and the sword followed. Sending my magic onto them, I snapped the crystals out of each piece, gathering them all between my hands, and focusing my power on them.
Energy trembled in the air, the pressure intensifying until they burst into billions of particles, finally disintegrating into nothing.
“Why did you do that?” Evie gasped, holding my arm.
An encumbered breath sank my chest as I looked at her, feeling only my magic course through my veins again. “No one should have that kind of power. Not even me.”
With a nod, relief finally filled her lungs, even as tears gathered in her eyes. Evanna threw herself into my arms. “It’s over, Brax. He’s gone. He’s really gone!”
My arms wrapped around her, holding her fiercely, and for maybe the first time in my entire life, I breathed freely. It was over, and the power that notion gave us was something no crystal or warlock could ever surpass.
The voices suddenly returned, speaking all at once, and out loud. Evie and I stepped back to find ribbons of golden magic flying around the room, until we were completely surrounded. Each ribbon swirled in a different direction, forming several silhouettes of light along the throne room, facing us. No faces or bodies became detailed, but it was clear, the magic forms were people… or more importantly, souls.
“The power could have been yours, yet you choose to set us free…” they spoke in unison. “Thank you, Braxton. Long live the king!”
Just as they had formed, the ribbons of golden magic whirled through the room until they dissolved, never to be seen again.
A small, twinkling light called my attention to the Dragon Crown, but like the others, it vanished.
“Raithian’s body died without magic inside it, so it will never join our family in theLake of Tranquility,” I explained to Evanna, remembering my mother’s words.
“He will never find peace,” she agreed. “But your family finally will.”
Nodding, I pressed my forehead to hers, taking a moment together, but the anguish of loss swept through our hearts swiftly, catching up with us.
“Grieve not, Devenish King. All who are worthy shall rise again…”
The unknown voice echoed in my ears like it had when I was dying, startling me. Exchanging a glance with Evie, I realized she’d heard it too. We rushed to the window to witness something we never thought possible.
Our fallen Dragons and Elevated Warriors began to stir along the battleground, shimmering peach magic showering their entire bodies and breathing life back into them. Slowly they stood again, as though waking up from a deep sleep, their injuries fading completely. It was like they had never left us. Our dead warriors began to awake too.
Desperately searching for the source of this miracle, I glanced up to find Terra hovering over them, her magic spreading over our army, and returning life as their reward. Glowing, her eyes swept the land below us, then connected with mine.“My king…”
Her gracious farewell echoed in my ears, revealing it had been her soft voice speaking to me all along. With a small bow of their heads, she and the otherCelestialsascended, their infinite light dispersing among the clouds.
