Page 21 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“Yes,” she says. “If you hadn’t been abused, this is what you would have looked like.”

“I’m beautiful,” I say.

“Yes, you are,” she smiles. “Let’s get you dressed.”

Julianna has chosen a black dress with dark red accents. It hugs my torso but loosely drapes down my body from my waist to my knees. My long hair is pulled up into a clip with a few tendrils that fall in loose curls down the sides of my face. My jewelry is comprisedof black obsidian with small blood-red Ignisium stones to accent. I slip my feet into simple black flats to allow for comfort and we make our way to the foyer.

Drake turns around to look at me when we get close and a mix of pride and lust sweeps over me. He slowly walks closer as he looks my body over and my eyes are scanning his body just the same. He is wearing black slacks and a simple tight black shirt. I can see and feel his muscles tense when I gently lay my hand on the center of his chest.

“You look… incredible,” I say softly. Drake grabs the back of my neck and abruptly pulls me against his body as lust overtakes both of us.

“Drake, we do need to go,” Eyrx laughs. Drake grunts his disapproval but loosens his grip before pulling me along with him. We step outside and we get into a large vehicle that gives us a panoramic view. There is a bench seat that wraps around the perimeter while the controls are on a table in the center. I sit next to Drake while Julianna and Eyrx sit on the opposite side of the controls.

Ashe sets the controls for the center of Ashveld, the capital of Vulkara, and the vehicle starts to move. I have never been in a vehicle like this, and I think they know that, so I spend the ride looking out of the window and enjoying the view. Vulkara is a gorgeous country with wide open fields for farming and rolling hills that provide a gorgeous view. If the royal family is this compassionate, I can imagine that the citizens are incredible too. In Thalorin, thepeople are bitter and downright hostile at times. I don’t blame them though. The royal family is awful. They’re so focused on enhancing their powers that they don’t focus on providing simple things like consistent electricity.

When we come to a stop, I realize there is a group gathering. “What… why are there so many people?” I ask.

“Everyone knows my vehicle,” Drake says.

“They knew about the curse, so Drake being in public is going to draw a lot of attention. They need to see that he’s okay, but also to know what’s going on with Thalorin,” Eyrx says.

“Do they like you?” I ask Drake. “Everyone was afraid of the royal family in Thalorin.”

“They’re scared of me, but I feel I have established enough trust that they know I am fair and compassionate when appropriate. I don’t tolerate nonsense, and they know that. Consequences for breaking the law are severe, but the laws are based off affecting others. I don’t care what they do so long as it does not negatively affect anyone else. Violent crimes, when it is not self-defense, are met with the death penalty. Any crime against a child is similar. We don’t focus on putting people in jail because that’s more money out of our pockets when we could just focus on solving the issue,” Drake explains.

“Do you intend to take Thalorin down?” I ask.

“Yes, but it’s the royal family that I am after,” he says. “I’ll explain in detail with everyone because transparency is essential if I am going to ask anyone to fight by my side.”

“So… this is war?” I ask.

“Yes, Little Flame. This is war,” he says, gently kissing me.

We get out of the vehicle and Drake immediately pulls me to his side. Julianna is on my other side while Eyrx is beside her. We walk toward the crowd that is quickly growing, and I am one of the smallest people here. I do spot a few people who are not as big, but I am still small in comparison.

Everyone looks happy to see Drake, and that makes me happy. “Ready?” he asks me.

“Yeah,” I say sweetly.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Drake speaks. Everyone instantly gets quiet and turns to us. “I know things have been hectic the last week. I appreciate all the well wishes. I am going to be blunt with everyone because I am going to be asking for something major… The curse that was placed on me did break the treaty with Thalorin. While I was under the curse, Eyrx led a mission to the capital city to bring the king’s assumed daughter here to help break the curse. He did learn that she never developed powers, so it moved into ensuring that I had an heir. That ceremony many of you saw, but you were left thinking that I was attacked by her. To put it simply, she is my mate. Lysa is the assumed daughter of theKing and Queen of Thalorin, but we have recently learned that she is a hybrid and they’re not her biological parents. When she and I mated for the first time, her powers developed and she is now able to heal from the long-term injuries caused by her assumed parents and brother, Prince Aldric. We have narrowed down who her biological parents are, and we are confident that her biological father is alive. Her biological mother was her assumed sister who is thought to be dead since she was six… Now the second part of why I am declaring war on Thalorin is very simple… King Rystar, Queen Isolde, and Prince Aldric spent Lysa’s entire life mentally, physically, and sexually abusing her. She was raped regularly by the king and the prince while the queen watched or helped restrain her. The queen beat her on many occasions.”

“Can I project memories?” I ask Eyrx quietly.

“Absolutely. Drake?” he says.

“That would be great,” Drake smiles and looks back to the crowd. “Lysa would like to project her memories onto everyone. She is a brilliant woman and has spent her life studying spells, but she is new to being able to practice. Please be patient with her during this process.”

I step up and close my eyes to focus on the spell. It’s simple but complex in the way of it being projected to so many people. I don’t know which ones to project, so I give them everything. It takes me a few minutes to sort through my thoughts, but I can feel it as the memories multiply and spread out. I made sure to include Drake,Eyrx, and Julianna in the spell so they could see it also. Within seconds I hear sniffles and open my eyes to see people crying. The tears do not discriminate as they are huge seven feet tall men crying and smaller females.”

“This… this is why I am declaring war. The issue with the treaty could be rectified but not this. I will not stop until I get my mate justice for what she has endured,” Drake says with emotion in his voice. “Your queen deserves justice, and I hope you all will stand with us and fight. The nobles and leaders of Vulkara will be given instructions that will be passed down to you all.”

Without hesitation, everyone starts to cheer and holler in support of the war. Well wishes and promises of violence spread across the crowd as they all share the same drive for justice. I smile up at Drake and for the first time in my entire life, I feel heard. “Thank you,” I say sweetly.

“Don’t thank me too quickly,” he says with a devious grin.

“Here we go,” Eyrx chuckles.

“Now that I have that settled,” Drake says as he pulls me in front of him. “I would like to introduce every to their Queen.”

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