Chapter 15: Breaking the Magic

GABRIEL

“Let me out!” Gabriel screamed.

His shoulder smashed into the bars. It was useless, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do. His anger was palpable throughout the entire dungeon. He knew because the guards kept their distance, even with the charmed cuffs around his wrists.

Evine would not be happy. He had talked her into attacking Imarnia on his own, all but ensuring a swift victory.

Instead, he had let that little Slifer and her band of wizards take him down.

Knocked senseless in his own throne room! He never imagined they would defeat him. And yet the combination of the Slifers’ powers was overwhelming.

“She’ll come for me,” he said to the nearest guard. “Evine won’t stand for this. The last thing you’ll see is her smile as she rips the life out of you.”

A young ranked wizard on duty stepped forward and touched the bars with his finger. An electric shock transmitted through the metal and zapped Gabriel.

The Royal stumbled back and fell to the floor with a thud.

“If she does come,” the wizard replied, “she won’t be happy you were caught, King of Imarnia.”

Gabriel seethed as he watched the wizard walk away. The little bastard was right. Evine gave him one chance to show his real power, and it had failed magnificently.

~The Fire Slifer must pay,~ he thought. ~She’s the thorn in my heel.~

Gabriel shook his head as he remembered the battle. Lydia Voltaire was a spritely young nemesis, but something about her was almost captivating. Several of her firebolts had missed him. At first, he imagined this was a symptom of her young age and lackluster preparation.

On second thought, it almost seemed like a choice. She tried to talk to him during their fight—almost like she knew him...

Gabriel closed his eyes. Lydia’s olive skin and dark black hair smiled back at him. The streaks of fire at the tips of her hair glistened like a candle’s flame.

~Don’t you remember me?~ asked her beautiful lips. ~I don’t want to hurt you anymore…~

Gabriel opened his eyes, staring through the metal bars of his cell.

It was impossible to understand why he felt this way, but he was sure this young Slifer had meant something to him at one point in time.

Even when she had the chance to kill him, she’d taken the high road. He hated being held behind bars, but it was much more humane than anything Evine would do once she found him.

And he knew that if given enough time, she ~would~ find him…

He destroyed his own kingdom for his dark mistress. Watched as people screamed for help while their loved ones perished by their side.

After all that, Lydia had still spared his life.

REDMOND

“I didn’t think I could do it,” Redmond said. He looked at the Slifers and wizards that had gathered on the steps of Congress to hear the tale of how he rescued his queen from Evine’s control.

“But I knew that if I didn’t try, she would never return,” he said sadly.

“What did you do?” Elise asked, curious.

King Calix was still somewhere out there, controlled by Evine and Uzier. The more she knew, the better prepared she would be to free her mate and stop whatever their enemies were planning.

General Malla squeezed Queen Adria’s hand tightly. Redmond’s mate had already been through so much, and yet she was forced to relive her actions over and over again.

But it was important for everyone to know that it was not Queen Adria’s doing. The blood magic Uzier and Evine had used on the gemstones was more powerful than anything they’d ever gone up against.

“While the others held her down,” Redmond continued, “I grabbed at the jade-green gem in her forehead. It took nearly every ounce of my magic. With my arm turning to solid wood, I finally managed to rip it free and crush it under my might.”

The crowd gasped as he recalled the story.

“It was very heroic,” Ayana added, smiling.

“I only did what anyone else would do for their beloved,” Redmond said. “No doubt you will all have to do the same.”

The Slifers looked at one another with solemn conviction.

Sobs echoed from beside Redmond as Queen Adria broke down. It wasn’t the first time she would do so, and surely not the last.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I could see what I was doing. But it was like a nightmare that I had no control over.”

Redmond hugged Queen Adria and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Seeing the love of his life so beaten down ripped his heart in two.

“We know it’s not your fault,” Lydia said, wiping away her own tears. “Evine is a master manipulator, and there was no way for you to break free on your own. It could have happened to any of us.”

“Maybe,” Adria said, “but it didn’t. It happened to me, and now I’ve destroyed my entire kingdom. All the people who looked up to me to lead them…”

Her voice trailed off as she buried her face in Redmond’s shoulder. He stroked her hair gently while whispering words of encouragement.

“What’s going to happen next?” Dorian asked. “Is there a reason why Evine and Uzier forced you and Gabriel to destroy your kingdoms?”

General Malla squeezed Adria’s hand again in support. The queen wiped her eyes, nodding her head.

“It’s Uzier’s retribution for what the kingdoms did to him years ago,” she finally said.

“That was before our time!” cried Elise.

“True. But Uzier doesn’t care,” Adria continued. “All of us Royals were alive when the wizards banished him to the Shadow Realm.”

“He won’t stop until every kingdom is destroyed,” General Malla added. “That includes Ellesmere.”

A few gasps sounded from the crowd. The capital of Ignolia was a beautiful city that had the advantage of being home to several dozen ranked wizards. But in these uncertain times, even a place that hadn’t known war in ages could fall victim to evil.

“We’ll do everything we can to stop them,” Marsie Maroo called out. Supportive cheers erupted from the others.

“No doubt,” Malla agreed. “But first we must free every last Royal from the death grip they’re currently under.”

“How?” asked Ayana. “I can’t bear to think of the horror King Morrison is suffering.”

Redmond nodded in understanding. If anyone knew what he was going through, it was the other Slifers.

“It’s up to our mates,” Adria said. “Slifers are the only ones who can break the blood magic holding sway over the Royals.”

LYDIA

Adria’s words hit Lydia hard, taking the breath from her. She had been onto the answer all along: not only was the jade-green gem what was controlling the Royals, but it was up to her to end Gabriel’s enslavement to Evine.

All eyes turned to Lydia.

She usually hated attention to fall on her. But she understood why. After all, it was her Royal who had been dragged through the streets cursing and kicking just moments ago.

No matter what state of mind he was in, Gabriel always found a way to embarrass her beyond measure. Once again, it was up to her to save his sorry ass and set things right.

But would he let her? Did he even remember who she was? All the devastation he had caused told her he didn’t know anything. But neither did Adria, and once Redmond broke the spell, she was back to normal.

Could she really save Gabriel?

“Well,” Lydia said finally, “guess that means I better get to it!”

EVINE

“How dare he!” Evine screamed. The Wizard Hunters covered their ears from her banshee wail.

She allowed Gabriel his deepest desire—to lay waste to his kingdom single-handedly. And what did he end up doing? The stupid prick let a girl and her team of magical misfits take him captive!

Evine took out her fury on Imarnia’s castle walls as her henchmen stood back in fear.

A giant blast of magic shot through the stone, shaking the ceiling above their heads.

“We’ll find him, my queen,” a hunter stammered.

Evine responded to his encouragement by crushing his windpipe using only her thoughts. It was bad enough that she had lost their prized possession. Uzier would be sure to reprimand her for her failures—and not in a sexy way.

What made things significantly worse was the fact that Queen Adria was lost while she and her men were in Imarnia. The connection to the Royal had gone dark while she was speeding toward the castle to check on Gabriel.

The Queen of Vallas was weaker than Gabriel. But Evine hadn’t expected the Earth Slifer to destroy the gem that enthralled her.

Jora cleared his throat to speak, but Evine cut him off. Even the leader of the Wizard Hunters should know when to hold his tongue.

“If another one of you so much as opens your mouth,” she snapped, “I will rip off your heads and feed them to the werewolves that roam these forests.”

Jora quietly stepped back in line without so much as a footfall echoing off the walls.

Things weren’t going according to plan—but there was still a silver lining to the clouds on the horizon.

Evine could still feel her connection to King Gabriel. Her enemies managed to take him hostage, but they had yet to break the control she held over his mind.

At least, not yet…

But she would do everything she could to keep it that way.