Page 49 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“There isn’t much to be said that hasn’t already been said over the last week. We all know the plan, so stick to it. If something goes wrong, you protect the wall into Vulkara… We do have a bit of a surprise that we have hidden from everyone for the last week though,” Drake says as he smiles at me when I shift. “We have learned a lot about Lysa and as it turns out, Hybrid witches are capable of shifting into something that is a cross between a witch and a dragon. This is her full form and although we will not be going into detail as to what we have learned about her over the last week, know that she is our key to peace. “

“Can I?” I ask softly, and he nods.

“I know this is scary for some and I know that most of you will never admit your fears. Know that we are doing this to build a better tomorrow for future generations. We are building a world where we can live as one without fear of a tyrannical force holding onto society... Move forward today with the understanding that negativity begets negativity. We are here to restore peace, not add to the chaos. We are not savages, so do not act like one,” I say.

When Drake and Eyrx shift, I go to Eyrx. We have made it known that I have two primary mates, which makes Eyrx have a status that is much like mine and Drake’s. He is Drake’s second, but he holds just as much power to the throne as Drake and I do. My armor has been altered to have accents of red that fade into pink and into purple to represent the three of us. Drake and Eyrx have similar accent colors. Julianna was stripped of the honor of wearing our colors, leaving her with just green. Our pendants now hold four stones to represent the three of us as well as Erin. Drake thought of the idea, but I was wary because I am only a stepmother to Erin. Eyrx insisted that I had every right to mourn her loss, and I have. It is absolutely heartbreaking that she is gone, but something is off about the story Eyrx told us. I cannot put my finger on it, but I sense her cause of death is his lie.

I climb up into Eyrx's back and I gain a nasty glare from Julianna. Bitch. Drake and Eyrx leap into the air and we soar through the sky as everyone else follows suit.

The plan is simple. We burn from the outside in and drive them into one area. Drake, Eyrx, and I will be the ones to land first. Next will be Mom, Dad, Keril, Petra, and Iliam. Mom has two other witches with her as well. After that, the dragons will move to a partial shift while I will stay as I am. We know that Aldric won’t be caught for a while. Dad likely sent him to the caves, but we will make our way there soon. We have no intention of going back to camp, so we have a group moving camp into the city. We will be on high alert and have a post set up, but I know we can manage it.

As we pass over the wall, they all blast fire at the buildings just inside Thalorin. Their flames persist as we get to the first city, and everyone falls into formation to sweep across the land. I can feel the attacks hit my force field of sorts that I have put up to protect us. The soldiers on the ground eventually stop and retreat when they realize that the force field is simply reflecting their attacks back at them before they can reach us.

We have quickly pushed everyone toward the castle but none of them have a chance to disappear inside before Dad sets it on fire. It all goes up into flames so fast, but it forces everyone outside. Out of nowhere, Julianna breaks the formation and goes to land before everyone.

I could shift my force field to protect her, but I don’t. My instincts immediately tell me that she is not worthy of my protection. Before I can override that and shift my focus to her; a bolt of light shoots out from the gathering of witches. It is soblinding that Eyrx and Drake change directions to avoid any sort of trap. When we circle back, she’s gone.

“Oh no…” I say a loud. Drake and Eyrx are unfazed as we swoop down to make a landing. I jump off his back and everyone starts to shift.

The group of witches includes Rystar and Isolde, but they are behind the rest. Rystar shouts and they all charge at us. I step in front of everyone and everyone running at us suddenly stops.

“Go!” Rystar screams at them. “Attack!”

The soldiers’ eyes go wide as they stand frozen. Not only is their magic bound, but they are essentially a statue. I’m slowly heating them up from the inside out, and I have every intention of turning them to ash. Rystar and Isolde turn to run but are blocked in by a group of dragons that wrap around to keep them from escaping.

“Kill them,” I say to Keril simply. His team, minus, Julianna, steps up. Keril grabs hold of the first man’s head and violently twists it, letting his body drop to the ground. The others follow suit, and they all take down the others. Rystar and Isolde join hands and mutter something before a slight stabbing pain prickles across my chest. I smile deviously and take my mom’s hand as we talk toward them.

We found that anyone I am touching gets the same resistance to pain and magic that I have. Petra is protecting the others, but the focus is on us. “You think you can defeat us?” Rystar laughs.

“I don’t think I can, I know I can,” I say simply.

“Anyone who cries while they get fucked is no match for me,” Rystar growls as he steps toward us. His gaze clips from me to my mom and then back to me.

“What? Got used to calling me Unika and now you don’t know who is who?” I ask.

“Why don’t you get on your knees and suck me like the useless whore you are,” he smirks. “You look far better under me, Lysa.”

“Okay,” I smile, making Drake and Eyrx chuckle. Rystar doesn’t move and Mom laughs.

“What the fuck are you laughing at? You should be dead,” Isolde says hatefully.

“I don’t know what’s worse… the fact that your son would rather rape me than fuck you or that your own husband preferred his daughter and granddaughter over his wife and mate,” I say before looking back at Rystar with a dramatic pouting face. “What's wrong, Daddy? I thought you wanted me to suck you?

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” he frowns.

“The dragon king,” I smile. “And his best friend.”

“Either surrender or get the fuck out of my country,” he says, changing topics.

“Mmmmm. No,” I say. “Want to know your first mistake?”

“What?” he sighs.

“Keeping a dragon in your castle,” I laugh. “You know… Mom got pregnant with me while you were down in the dungeon too? Since you clearly lack education, let me teach you something… You see, when a dragon meets their mate, they both are instantly filled with lust. They can’t help but fuck. It’s in their nature to breed, so he did. Over… and over… and over. All while you thought you were the only one to take her.”

“Shut up,” he seethes.

“What? Can’t handle hearing about your daughter being in love? What about me,Daddy? You sacrificed me thinking that they would kill me in response to your lame attempt at taking the king down,” I laugh. “You know what happened instead?”

---