Page 102 of Scalebound

4.Ezu (Eh-ooh): Heaven

5.Haxnau (Hah-nah-woo): Hell

Chapter sixty-three

AURELIA

“They know,” Clementine said, as we were running through the halls, trying to get to our dragons outside. The light illuminating from the sconces flickered as we ran on the pristine purple fabric carpet that covered the floor.

A numbness filled my body. My fingers lost the feeling in them besides the warmth of Damian’s hand in my own, helping me make it through.

“Who?” asked Loker, keeping up.

“The Deathlies. The king was the connection,” Angie said, smirking at Abner, catching up to us. “Wow, you’re so strong. My Prince Charming,” Angie mocked.

“Shut up, and keep going, GG,” Abner exclaimed, not even close to being out of breath.

“You guys love getting off topic,” Damian piped in. “Clemmy, what about the core of the magic?” he asked.

“We have to do something with the nest,” I said, as Clemmy was running thin on breath. “The clue, yamceeii1axuaeii2uama3,” I repeated, my mind blank from watching my father die right in front of me, but the adrenaline kept it awake.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Damian asked, staying by my side, making sure that I could keep up. His eyes burned into my side, unsure if I was okay or not.

The truth was that I wasn’t sure, either.

“Are you sure that you’re the princess of this castle?” Luella teased me for not knowing where to go. I kept leading them in the wrong direction because the castle was so big. I was even more offended that it came from her, as she normally wasn’t the one to insult the group.

“Oh! Down this hall!” I exclaimed, my fingernails burning into my wrists from clenching them so hard. We made our way down the passage, our footsteps pounding on the thick violet patterned rugs that lined the flooring.

We reached the large main hall stairs that split identically down both sides. A core memory of the night with the masquerade ball came to mind when I had to pretend to beLaneux4 walking down the steps. It felt like a lifetime ago when, in reality, it was only less than two weeks. I thought of the person I was back then and the changes that had been made in my life.

In less than two weeks, I had become completely different and unrecognizable.

Powerful.

Strong.

The words that Damian told me occupied my mind.“Don’t be afraid of how strong you are and how strong you can become. You have more to yourself than you give yourself credit for, my Queen.”

We all flew down the steps, the patter of our shoes the only sound occupying the air as we crossed the marble flooring ofthe ballroom, reaching the back of the castle, passing the glass windows.

As we passed through the transparent panes, stumbling down the concrete steps, we reached the garden that was so familiar to me. The rain instantly pelted us, the storm loud above. The raindrops were so thick that I could hardly see my own hands in front of me. Flames flickered throughout the in-between of the water pellets up in the sky.

The dragons were fighting the Deathlies.

After a long streak of fire, something black fell limp to the ground, stampeding from the sky. It made a large thump as it collapsed onto the grass, barely missing the water fountain. Its limbs were misconfigured and poking out in unnatural ways.

The black body with hollowed wings made us gasp in response. It was a Deathly. And it was only a couple of yards in front of us. The grass around the Deathly started to pale and shrivel up, slightly spreading the disease around the creature.

The disease.

We had to get to the base, and I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to make it.

“Belle!”I called out, hoping that she would answer. What if she wasn’t okay? The fear of her being touched by a Deathly penetrated my heart, making its beating rapid and constant in my chest.

The sky was pounding with clashes, fire and lightning streaming across, flickering images of the dragons and Deathlies above. Where was Belle? She waited for me to worry uncomfortably until she responded.

“I’m okay!”she called out. I sighed, knowing that the gates ofEzu5 hadn’t taken her yet.

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