Everlasting Kingdom (The Winter Court Chronicles Book 3)

by Stephany Wallace

  “No!”

  My hand flew to my chest. I reached for the cold soothing energy inside me that I had clung to during all these years, for my Serene, yet I could not find her. She was gone. Ripped from me.

  “No, no. She’s mine! He can’t have her!” I roared. My hands fisted while the Shadow Curse unfurled inside me. Rage like I had never felt, filled me and my eyes became all black.

  “Nooo!”

  Something exploded in me, and the guards before me were blown back against the stark white stonewalls, now stained with red. My skin began to prickle as newfound power rushed over every inch. Tendrils of dark mist exuded out of me, swiftly traveling over the marble floors in all directions and seeping into the bodies of the men around me. Their gargled screams filled the space, echoing in my ears as the Shadow Curse consumed them from the inside out. The dark magic lifted them in the air as it sucked the last of their life force, until their empty shells crashed to the floor.

  The black ribbons recoiled back to me, bringing the stolen energy with them into my being, and elevated me until my feet slightly floated off the floor. Pleasure, ire, desire for revenge, and power, above all power, coursed through me, and I realized I was finally freed to the Shadow Curse. The weakness I experienced every time I used my abilities was nowhere to be found. Serene had been ripped away from me, yes, but so were my binds.

  My head flew back as the Shadow Curse engulfed me. My mouth opened, and the tendrils of power seeped out of it, curling in the air and returning to my body. Into my eyes and ears, through my fingers, it expanded, becoming almost a living mist that engulfed me, finally taking full control of me. A second later, my feet returned to the ground and the black mist seeped through my pores until it disappeared.

  “What happened, my king?”

  Scyron’s voice brought my darkened eyes to him, he tensed but didn’t step away from me as I approached. My gaze swept the room, and the scene before me stretched my lips into a sinister smile. Only carcasses were left of the guards. I had killed them all in mere seconds, with just a single thought, and I felt more formidable than ever.

  “Serene was ripped from me. Our bond severed. Avra took her, and I have been freed once and for all.” My eyes fell on Scyron once more and my sharp nail scraped his cheek, drawing blood. “I have been gifted ultimate power, and I’m going to kill the Dragon Lord.”

  I gripped his jaw and forced his mouth open. “Let me share my gift with you, and together we will be unstoppable.”

  Scyron’s eyes widened when the dark ribbons spouted from my mouth and into his. I let go of him and the dark magic lifted him from the ground. I watched, amazed, while the Shadow Curse possessed him, the bands of black mist went into his ears, nose, and eyes. Seeping through every pore, and expanding within him, until his soul was mine to command. His feet touched the ground and the satisfied smile returned to my lips.

  “Who do you serve?”

  He dropped to one knee and blinked, his eyes becoming pure black orbs, like mine. “The Dark King.” A distorted guttural voice that was not his own, vowed.

  “Very well. Go to the Shadow Army you gathered for me, and share your new gift with your brothers, let the curse take them all, until it consumes their souls, and makes them mine. The final war is about to begin.”

  He bowed his head and stood, marching towards the door just as a new guard entered, responding to the screams he had heard. Scyron gripped his jaw and forced his mouth open. I watched in absolute fascination as the dark magic flowed out of his lips and into the man. Possessing him the same way it had done with the commander. Once it ended, the man blinked, all trace of white gone from his eyes.

  “Search for the rest of the royal guards and share your new gift with them. The Dark King owns your soul now,” Scyron ordered, and the man nodded once, filing out of the room.

  I turned towards Khet-ui, and found him staring at me with a mixture of awe and horror. “Come, we have much to do.”

  *

  My Forlay Estarhur Curu—Flesh Cloak whirled behind me as we rushed towards the hidden cave behind the Royal Archives.

  “What about finding your sons and daughter?” Khet-ui asked from behind me as he hurried after me, trying to keep up with my steps, except I wasn’t quite walking. The dark magic caused me to hover over the stone floor.

  “I do not care about them right now. I have a Drayvok to awaken, so another can be killed. My sons and bastard daughter can stay wherever they are hidden, for all I care.” I changed direction abruptly, taking the corridor on my right and barged into the Seer’s room. “Where is the Dragon Lord hiding?!” I roared.

  Her frail form shook against the iron chains that constrained her to the wall. The skin on her wrists was scorched from the reaction Fae’s had to the iron. It was poison for us. The white silverish hair partly fell over her face, hiding her from me, yet when her eyes settled on mine, the white haze that engulfed them glowed. “He is in the White Haunted Mountain.”

  I looked her up and down as a mocking laughter erupted out of me. “You have fought me for so long, swearing your alliance to the Rising Kingdom, vowing that I would be killed, only to give up your lord so easily? Have you finally realized I’m more powerful than he is?”

  She smiled at the same time a tear spilled from her eyes. “You are a monster, Laeroth, but the Dragon Lord’s sons will be your undoing. They shall come back for you, surrounded by the ghosts of your past… they know you better than you know yourself, and that will destroy you. With these last words, I have finally fulfilled my purpose.” She closed her eyes as though relieved. “I am coming home, Mother Goddess.” She whispered.

  Her right hand left the wall, holding a dagger, and I realized too late she had freed herself from her binds. The blade plunged into her heart.

  “No!” I roared, reaching for her as her body crumbled to the ground.

  Crimson blood pooled around her, staining the white robe she wore. Her head bobbed towards me and I saw the white haze disappear from her gaze, revealing lifeless violet eyes I had never once seen.

  I stood while the rage coursed through me, pushing me into action. Spinning around, I headed towards the cave. “What the hell did she mean by the Dragon Lord’s sons? How do they know me? What does that mean?” I stopped, looking at Khet-ui, who walked beside me. “Give me answers! Did they infiltrate my castle? How were they even here?!” His blank face enraged me even more. I turned and began to walk again. “Idiotic riddles! Where is Nyx when you need h—”

  I halted as my eyes became wild. The words the seer had shared with me before echoed in my mind, finally coming together.

  “The Dragon Lord’s sons will be your undoing. They shall come back for you, surrounded by the ghosts of your past… they know you better than you know yourself…”

  “Aaahhhh!!”

  My fists connected with the column beside me, shattering it, and as the marble pieces blasted around me, I realized that I hadn’t even needed to call on my enhanced strength to destroy it.

  “My sons!” I seethed, whirling towards Khet-ui. “He did this. He stole everything from me! Took her from me long before today.”

  “What do you mean, my king?”

  “They are not my sons, you idiot. They are his!” The Sorcerers’ eyes widened as understanding filled them. “That mongrel took my family from me! And now they will all die for their deception.”

  I closed the remaining space between the cave and me, and pressed my hand against the wall. The moment my hand touched the stone wall, a red glow ignited over the grey stone and I watched it spread. One by one, the stones shimmered, forming an archway. I pulled the chain and key from under my shirt and placed the skeleton key in the lock. With a click, the silver door opened and I charged through it.

  “Wake him!” I ordered, the second my eyes fell on the sleeping form that lay over the white onyx pedestal. Revyr, the Drayvok known as “Soulless Black.”

  The green dome of pulsing energy that encased his body fli
ckered while my sorcerer pointed the end of his staff towards it, repeating the enchantment over and over. The emerald within his staff glowed brightly, and began to draw the power out of the magic capsule. A green trickle of energy moved away from the body, being sucked back into the gem, until Revyr’s body was freed.

  My lips slowly stretched into a sinister smile, while the latent rage in me mixed with pleasure, and the hunger for revenge. A new pulsing began over his dark skin, except this had nothing to do with the green magic that had covered him. Glossy onyx scales appeared on him. I watched, mesmerized as they began to roam his form, like snakes slithering over him. He stirred and I stepped back as his lids drifted open. My heart pounded in my chest in excitement. His haze slowly roamed the cavernous room, surely trying to figure out his surroundings.

  “My lord,” I said, slightly bowing my head and his eyes flew to me—cold and calculative as he assessed me. “Finally you have awoken, and we are ready to attack again and grant you the temple.”

  Before I could blink, he was upon me, hand over my neck, pressing me against the brick wall behind me. “Do you think me a fool, you pathetic little man? I know you have kept me here under whatever magic you used against me.” He pushed me aside and I crashed against the pedestal. “I should kill you where you stand, and rid this realm of such a waste.”

  I snapped, straightening, and my hands flew to him. I pushed the black tendrils of power out of me and slammed them into him, blowing him back against the far wall. “Do not mistake my composure for weakness, Revyr. We can help each other once again, and finally take this realm together. Not as rivals, but as equals, and that is the only reason why I kept you alive.”

  The scales erupted from his skin, fingers turning into claws as he began to shift, yet his transformation was sluggish, delayed as his body adjusted after thousands of years at rest. “Do you really think me your equal? You must be deluding yourself, filthy Fae. I am your God, and you will treat me as such. If you want me to fight, you will bow to me now.” A full dragon roar erupted from his lips, causing the cave walls to quake around us, and bits of stone to crash on to the ground.

  I lifted a brow, looking towards Khet-ui. “Bring the others here. It’s time Soulless Black meets his army.”

  “I said, bow!” Revyr roared once again, and flickers of fire ignited in his breath, but he wasn’t able to fully shift. “What have you done to me?” he questioned, enraged, looking to his partially shifted arms.

  “It’s the remnants of the magic we used to make you sleep while you healed. You are welcome.” He growled, stepping forwards as loathing darkened his gaze, and I calmly lifted my hand, signaling him to stop. “I’m glad you are filled with hatred, because it is that ire that will help you win this time around.” I clasped my hands behind my body and began to glide around him, the dark magic exuding from me.

  “Necromancy,” he spat at me, disgusted by my powers.

  “I don’t have any cares for how you see me. I just need you to understand that I am as powerful as you, and right now, I am not your enemy. I am your ally. We dragged your ravaged body out of your flaming Holy Land, before it was reduced to ashes; after the Dragon Lord almost killed you by ripping you to pieces, one by one. Lucky for you, slicing his face stopped him before he could land the final blow. Yet, he thinks you dead. Everyone does.”

  His bottomless charcoal eyes followed my every move while I continued to hover around him.

  “My sorcerer put you under the sleeping spell that blocked the pain from your injuries, and allowed your form to heal naturally. He added a healing influence to the mix just to ensure your survival, so that one day, you would awake and we could finish what we started. Take over the realm. Our original alliance stands. The Holy Temple will be yours, and the masses will bow to you as their new lord. They’ll come to you and pray for your benevolence. And I, will rule the realm.”

  No one knew where the Holy Temple had disappeared to after the Dragon Cataclysm, or if it had even survived the battle, but Revyr didn’t know that. The door behind him opened and we turned to see the twenty slaves that my sorcerer ushered in. Magic blocking shackles bound their hands and feet, the chains dragged against the floor as they walked, standing against the wall. Their eyes looked to the ground, submissive, awaiting my orders.

  Revyr’s eyes widened as his gaze fell over the men. Skin as dark as midnight spread over their bodies, just like his.

  “There might have been one more thing I did while you recuperated, or twenty.” I grinned as his murderous eyes flew to me.

  “Unbind them, now!” He roared, stepping towards them.

  I tsked, shaking my head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, not until you agree to reestablish our alliance. The Dragon Lord is still at large, and he took my fated from me, and my sons. He stole everything. I will not rest until he is dead, and together, we can accomplish this.”

  His nostrils flared as pure anger coursed through him. He nodded once, inspecting the men before him, they were as naked as he was, only the shackles on their bodies. “How have you done this?” he growled.

  I shrugged. “The only way we know how. I had women servants who had already opened to their fated mount you while you slept, so they could bear your children. Twenty sons—Drayvok—at your disposal for battle. All you have to do is show them how to transform into their dragons, and we can kill Avra, once and for all.”

  “Unbind them or I will rip your eyes from their sockets!” Soulless Black demanded, enraged by the sight, and I sighed, nodding to Khet-ui. “Look up at me, my sons,” he soothingly asked the men, as their shackles fell to the floor, freeing them.

  The slaves slowly lifted their heads, afraid, unknowing of what they truly were. When their eyes met Revyr’s, he touched their chests and the magic within them began to awaken. Scales started to appear on their bodies, pulsing with the rhythm of their heartbeats, just as they did on their father’s body. They looked at themselves, shocked and startled by the changes in them—clearly feeling the magic I had kept at bay. Questions inundated their eyes and their gazes connected with their father’s. He stroked their chests, offering them comfort and turned to face me.

  “Drayvok are slaves to no one. We are superior to you, and I don’t care how much black magic you steal from the Dwarves of the Cursed Mountains, you will never be as powerful as us.” He motioned his sons out of the cave. “We will fly now.”

  I sighed, bored, and nodded to the Sorcerer. “Khet-ui, take them to the warrior grounds in the back of the castle so they can transform and release their dragons. We take the fight to the White Haunted Mountain tonight.”

  The men followed him out, but Revyr stopped by my side. His hot breath reached my skin as he lowered his head to my ear. “I will pay your debt of life by killing Avra.” He seethed. “And although I am grateful for my sons, once this is over, I will rip you apart with my own claws for what you have done to them…

  That is my vow.”

  Chapter 11. Revenge

  NYX

  *

  “The Dark Army has already camped outside the mountain, my king,” Ora announced, talking over the others through the celebration.

  Kyr smiled, facing her. “Thank you, Ora. I’ll come out to greet them shortly. Will you sing to us again, please? I want to dance with my wife.”

  Father chuckled, grabbing Mother’s hands and pulling her to him, while Ora stepped onto a table and her sweet voice floated around us. Food and drinks were laid out in the dining hall—that now served as a ballroom—as the couples around me celebrated their love. I gazed towards the entrance of the room, wondering if Kah would return tonight, or if she had decided to stay and assist my friend, Theo, with the preparations for the battle in two days.

  The thought took me to a different place within the Golden Castle and I wished I could see Aura again. Talk to her, and find out if she had been able to communicate with her mother. Find out if she was well. It was all it took for the image of her to flood my mind and I
suddenly found myself entrapped. I didn’t want to break away.

  “Mine.”

  “Does love make us stupid?”

  Our grandmother laughed, standing beside me. “Yes. Yes, it does. In the best way possible.”

  I grunted, lifting the goblet to my lips, and took a sip of wine while my eyes roamed the forms in front of me.

  “What do you see?” she asked, referring to my true sight.

  I gazed at the others more intently as Avrielle twirled, and suddenly her hair shone blue. I frowned. My gaze flew towards Gabriella as the same chandelier illuminated her hair green.

  “Stop!” I bellowed, making everyone stagger to a stop. Even Ora ceased her song. Grandmother chuckled, amused, while the rest looked at me as though I had gone insane, and perhaps I had. “I’ve had enough. I need to know what is going on. I keep seeing things that now I’m certain I’m the only one to perceive, and it’s driving me mad. Gabriella is much taller than when she arrived in this realm, about a foot to be exact.”

  Ash severely frowned, looking at his mate, while Gabriella inspected her body, worriedly.

  “Avrielle’s hair has this strange blue glow and, now that I mention it, Gabriella’s hair is doing the same, except hers is emerald green.”

  My eyes widened as it finally clicked.

  “They are mates!” Understanding washed over me, and Selenia nodded approvingly. I looked to Mother. Her hair was already a cerulean blue, so it had been easy for me to miss, but she too had a blue glow to her tresses. “Something changes within our women after being claimed by their Drayvok mates, doesn’t it?”

  My eyes returned to my new sisters, they slowly inspected their hair with frowns on their faces.