Page 123 of The Exiled Dragon

We hovered over the landing pad, which was easy to do when there was a platform for my claws to land on. Several others had already flown to the warrior arena filled with people of all races. Cheering and excitement from the crowd had my stomach-churning. Osirus and Melina, hand in hand, landed beside me as I turned back into my human form.

“This is getting easier,” I spoke to no one in particular. Creed immediately ran and pulled me into a hug, playfully biting my ear.

“You did it,” he growled. “I’m so proud of you.” Kissing my forehead, he held me close while Osirus waited for Ondi and Apollo to gather around us.

“Alaneo.” Osirus nodded his head to him. “Make the preparations ready. Make sure there is enough UV light on him to be tied to the post without struggle.” Alaneo bowed, flying off to the nearby arena.

“I don’t have to be there, do I?” I asked, rubbing my arms up and down. Osirus gave a little frown.

“It would be best if you were.” Osirus cleared his throat. “We are to announce his wrongdoings, and to tie it all together, we need your testimony.” My head turned to the King. I wanted the Duke gone. I didn’t want to see his eyes again. The emptiness, the loneliness, the crazy psychotic Vampire he was had ruined my feelings about that entire race. I knew not all Vampires were like him like not all humans were evil, but separating can be difficult.

“If she doesn’t want to be there, she doesn’t,” Creed snapped. “She’s been through enough. Six months of it!”

“What of those three girls?” Osirus snapped back. Three girls, barely able to walk, were being carried into the palace by the Fae warriors. One girl’s head was buried in the Fae warrior's neck. It was intimate, making me think he had found a mate.

“They are too weak to walk, unable to stand to testify of what that Vampire did to them. Mortus needs to be publicly humiliated, tortured, and receive all the information from him, so we find out who is the head of this rebellion. Then, and only then, will he be put to death.” Osirus’ wings turned dark, his skin color, his hair. Darkness fell into his eyes that reminded me of that of the Duke.

“Please,” I said meekly. “Can I testify, then leave?” Osirus’ eyes softened.

“Odessa.” Melina grabbed my hand. “You are strong, remember? You can do this. He can’t hurt you. You have Creed and the entire Dragon tribe and Faes with you. Besides, you ripped the throat out of a damn Witch, girl.” Melina tilted her head and eyed me heavily. “And you are scared? After that ball of light ripping the darkness out of every supernatural while we battled, and you fought on your own? GIRL!” Melina rolled her eyes, dramatically throwing her hands in the air.

Laughing, I cried too. I did it. I took the darkness and used it to brighten the room and burn the shit out of Mortus. I wasn’t sure how I did it… but I did.

“My fawn.” Creed turned to me. “I’ll make sure King Osirus doesn’t force you. If you want to leave, we will leave.” Creed growled, glaring at Osirus. “But… I think you would benefit from it if you are willing.” Sighing heavily, turning to the small crowd in front of me, they awaited my answer.

“All right, let’s do this then.” I would throw a damn lightning ball at him if all else fails.

Chapter Seventy-Two

Odessa

Creed'sbrawnyarmwrappedaround my waist; his hand firmly planted on my side while we walked to the arena. The crowds roared with excitement. Faes, Fairies and Melina’s Siren family were here to attend the festivities, if you could call it that.

The suns were high in the sky; the Orcs followed obediently, leading up to the royal viewing area. Their large bodies had difficulties going through the door's opening, having to move their shoulders to squeeze through.

“This looks like another world,” Thorn whispered to Sugha. Sugha had been quiet since landing, his eyes on everything but his Orc brothers. While walking to our royal viewing box, they gave us a brief history of themselves, being brothers by the same mother but different fathers. Females were so few, and far between hundreds of years ago, women had harems of men to help produce various genetics for their tribes. Everyone was born a boy, and with each passing birth, the females became weaker and weaker until they could not survive.

“We Orcs treat them like goddesses. We loved them,” he choked. “We were not allowed to have a female or be part of a harem since we were so young; only the Eldest could partake in a woman’s body. The Elders showered them with gifts, brought food, and made medicine to heal them as each birth came, but to no avail did it help. The women continued to try and give us daughters for the younger Orcs but failed ultimately. They wanted us to feel love too. They did it for us.” Valpar rubbed his large green chest, speckled with dark hair.

“This gives us hope if King Osirus and this Princess Clara agree about bringing down the wall,” Valpar mentioned. “A war to give us love again. We will fight until our last breath so all of our kind can experience it.” Melina took the largest Orc, Sugha’s, hand, and patted it gently.

“You guys are just big green softies. You are going to have some lucky mates.” Osirus pulled Melina away, eyeing the Orcs.

“You’ve got a mate, darling,” Osirus warned, pulling her to his lap on the largest throne overlooking the arena.

“I know that, my sweet Fae.” Her finger trailed his jawline, causing Osirus to turn into putty. “They just look like little candy apples ready to be eaten by some lonely wolf.” Satisfied with Melina’s answer, he waved his hand for Creed and me to sit beside him. Creed’s parents stood behind us while we watched the bags be emptied of Duke Mortus’ body.

Piece by piece, he fell into the sand. The guards surrounding him gave enough space so all may watch the body slowly pull together. Bright lights, caused by large mirrors positioned carefully to catch the suns’ rays, hit right on Mortus’ body, heightening the potency of the light.

“This is so gross.” I looked on in horror. Creed’s arms tightened around me, his growls going deep in his chest could be felt straight between my legs. It was a scene where you didn’t want to look away, just like a terrible car accident while driving down a highway. You couldn’t help but look and watch.

“Creed,” I nudged, trying to get him to stop. He only chuckled, kissing my forehead.

“Trying to keep your mind off of things.” My lips caught his neck, kissing him softly.

“Keep watching,” Ondi warned. “Watch as the seams melt together.”

Like magic, or some unexplainable natural law of the supernatural, had parts roll to areas where the body could be laid out flat. His body was naked, no clothing to cover himself as the broken pieces were welded together. Using my Dragon’s eyes, they sealed quickly until groans from Mortus broke us from the trance-like state the entire arena watched.

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