“We have to destroy the monument,” Evie whispered, pain etching her words as she realized the same thing I had.
Noticing a small, broken piece along the back of her hair—probably from when we hacked the vines off it, I stepped closer. “Wait, I might be able to look inside.”
Lifting my hand, I called to my power, and the magic slithered down my arm swiftly until it reached my hand, creating a ball of light between my fingers. Although the vessel was deep, the glow instantly illuminated its hollow insides, gifting me a glint of metal within it.
My heart began to slam against my chest, my widened eyes meeting Evanna’s. I couldn’t believe my luck. “It’s in here,” I breathed. “We just found the Dragon Crown.”
“I’m sorry, Mother.” Asher’s words were our only warning before his spear swirled in the air, crashing against the statue.
I pulled Evie against my chest, turning our bodies away just as the eons-old monument exploded into a million pieces from the force, plaster raining all around us.
When we all turned again and my gaze fell on the crown, the air was sucked out of me. At that moment, I finally understood why Raithian, once known as King Xavier Devenish, wore the demon mask.
14
Accelerated breaths escaped me as I stared at the golden crown amidst the clouds of dust. It wasn’t a regular crown, not like the ones I knew from movies and shows in the Mirror World.
It was a Dragon mask.
Crouching before it, I was helpless but to stare at the masterfully crafted piece of art on the ground, appreciating its every detail. In all honesty, it was hard to describe. It was somewhere between a Dragon inspired masquerade mask and an Egyptian headdress.
Curling towards the sky as they rose, six horns of different sizes graced the top regally. Intricately carved scales and reptilian skin extended from the horns, down the forehead and temples, all the way to the protruding top half of the Dragon’s mouth. The two slanted holes of the eyes were large but not empty—two pieces of theAnima Crystallumhad been fitted into them.
Now out of the statue, the sculpted gold piece softly glinted in the dim light, showing two bands that curled around the back of the head to keep it in place when worn. Blood pounded through my veins as I stared, one hand instinctively reaching for it to wipe the dust from its surface.
The instant my ring neared it, its crystal ignited, connecting to the eyes of the Dragon Crown. A current of power jolted me the second they glowed, jerking my back straight, and making my head snap up while the golden hue captured my vision.
My eyes glowed too, but I hadn’t even touched it.
A slight whistling noise filtered into my ears, making everything sound like I was under water while the power held me in place. Vaguely, I could feel my mouth open and close, but no words came out of me. I couldn’t move; I could barely breathe.
“It’s too much magic!”Evie’s muffled voice shouted too far away to make sense. She’d been right beside me.
“Get it away from him!”Kingston roared when shadows shifted around me.
“It won’t move!”
What wouldn’t move? The crown?
Alarm coursed through my being—this felt like being frozen by Raithian’s magic.Frozen by Raithian’s magic…The thought echoed in my mind, bringing back critical thought. Raithian’s magic was my kind of magic. I could stop this. I could break the connection.
Focusing on my essence, I pulled the power away just like I had brought it to the surface to illuminate the inside of the statue.
Recede…
The voice echoed within me, and slowly, the magic began to reverse along my arms until it reached my core, disconnecting from the crown’s and resting again.
A deep breath finally filled my lungs and my muscles unclenched, my posture sagging. The moment my gaze met Evanna's, the breath seemed to return to her too… and both Kingston and Asher fell on their asses—they’d been pulling at the crown.
Laughter erupted from me, but they didn’t seem amused.
“Are you alright?”
With a nod, I leaned into the woman I loved and kissed her lips. “You were right. It’s too much magic and I had no idea that would happen. Thankfully, I was able to stop it. I’m fine.”
“How did you?” Kingston asked, standing again while Asher placed the crown in the leather satchel he’d brought—just in case we were successful.
“It felt similar to when Raithian took hold of me with his power, but his magic is the same as mine. The same each piece of the soul crystal holds, so I fought for control of it and basically turned it off.”
