Page 137 of Queen of Legends and Lies
“You’ll have to best me first. And you’ve never managed that. Not even when you had an army of drachen at your back.”
Technically, I have the permission I came for. Now, I just need to get out of here while I’m still breathing. The easiest way to do that is to ensure Xenon isn’t alive to remain a threat.
Anger warps to loathing, distorting Xenon’s handsome face into something vile and ugly. “I will destroy you. I will send a thousand hordes of drachen after you. I will hunt you down, and you’ll regret ever being born.”
“You still don’t understand, do you? You don’t really control the drachen. Narc does. He just gives you the illusion of control.”
Xenon lets out an incomprehensible howl. His eyes bulge as he flings out his hands.
I steady myself, reaching for my own magic in anticipation. “I think now is the time, my friends.”
Sterling, Agnar, and Rafe shoot through the heavy door and appear beside me in seconds.
Xenon’s elemental magic surges as he uses air to rip stones free from his walls.
Sterling’s ice magic crackles through the air, freezing Xenon’s projectiles mid-flight. They shatter into glittering shards. Then he uses water to hurl the Aclarian king against the wall.
Agnar throws his arms up. Vines creep in through the window, wrapping around the evil ruler as Rafe’s winds begin to whip and swirl. He tears tapestries from the walls, sends furniture skidding and crashing.
And I didn’t even have to lift a finger.
My allies landed in Valonde before I did. And Rafe and Sterling merged their magic to bend the light, concealing their presence as they followed me inside.
Xenon never even sensed them.
The king staggers to his feet, eyes wide and wild. For the first time, genuine fear distorts his features, but apoplectic fury quickly follows. “You dare? You insignificant worms! I’ll bury you all!”
The floor heaves as Xenon summons his power, more violently than before. Cracks split the stone, racing toward us. The walls groan.
But we’re undaunted.
Water, earth, and wind combine in a maelstrom of unleashed magic, engulfing Xenon in an elemental cyclone that spins around his body. I add my flames to the mix, white-hot tendrils snaking through the churning vortex.
Xenon shrieks and wails in agony. There’s a final, terrible pulse of magic.
And then nothing.
Silence falls as the magical storm dissipates. We’ve reduced Xenon to a pile of fine, gray ash on a scorched patch of stone.
It’s over.
We’ve won this round.
Relief crashes through me, so intense I start to get lightheaded. I sway on my feet, suddenly exhausted. A strong arm wraps around my waist, steadying me, and I look up.
“Lark? Are you all right?” Sterling’s face is wrought with worry.
“I’m fine. Just…I can’t believe it’s over.”
Xenon’s gone. The man who stole me from my biological parents, whose order to kidnap me led to my birth father’s death when he tried to save me. The reason my adoptive motherlocked me away for my entire childhood. The one who indirectly killed my mother and friend via the tainted eyril that corrupted my sister. The evil monarch who imprisoned my dragons.
Sterling brushes a loosed strand of hair from my face, then crushes his mouth over mine. Despite our audience, I part my lips.
The kiss is desperate and raw and full of passion. Sliding a hand around my neck, Sterling draws me closer. He tugs on my braid to tilt my head back so he can deepen the kiss. When his tongue darts between my lips, I moan.
A throat clears.
Reluctantly, we pull apart. A glimpse at Rafe’s mortified face has me laughing.
