Omnixius
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DKP 7-23 A bond no man can break
🕑 Added 2022-02-25 17:13:00 +0000 UTCHer vision cleared slowly as the darkroom came into focus. She was inside some kind of structure or cave with a domed ceiling. At the peak was an opening large enough for a small dragon to climb through. Faint starlight filtered through that hole, illuminating what appeared to be a round table of metal tarnished with ages of neglect. Tied on that table was a man who was struggling with his binds in an effort to go free.
“The time will be soon,” a voice said from someplace to her right.
“Good,” answered a familiar voice. “These fools have given us enough trouble already.”
“To think of the fight the male put up,” the first voice said with a hint of admiration. “He nearly killed Kossis with his bare hands.” There was a pause, and then the voice continued, asking if it was wise to keep him alive. He insisted that the outcome would be the same.
“It would be unjust to do otherwise,” the familiar voice said. “She deserves the right to kill him herself.”
There was a sigh and the second voice asked why this was so important. Surely they were taking a significant risk, especially considering the trap already laid. The familiar voice assured him that this had to be done, especially considering her condition was his fault. He wanted this one chance to right the wrong, and if it failed, he would not hold back any further.
“And what of the red?” the voice asked.
“Carigarra will deal with that. With my ring on, none will be able to detect her true intentions,” the familiar voice replied.
Lilly listened intently as her mind began to clear, then suddenly remembered the ambush. She thrashed as if to defend herself, but she, too, was bound. The movement caught the attention of three people in the shadows, one of whom she readily recognized.
“So, you’re awake,” Lord Durmont asked.
“You!” Lilly hissed as her eyes burst into blue fire. He was the man who tried to command her to leave with him and who seemed very surprised when she did not. Now he was close, and his aura was laid bare for her to see. Whatever magic he used to protect himself before wasn't present now, and Lilly saw the head of the dragon in his and his companion's aura. It all made sense now, but why did he bring her here, and what was he planning to do?
“I am grateful you remember, child of the scale,” he said.
“Don’t call me that!” Lilly shouted as she struggled again. “Where am I, and what have you done with my family?”
“Your family?” he asked with a nod that almost seemed compassionate. “Is that what he commanded you to believe? Well, rest easy. Your family is safe. I have brought you all here so I can undo the yoke around your neck.”
Lilly was grateful to hear they were nearby but nearly scolded herself for not reaching out across the bind. In seconds she felt the comforting presence of Thayle and Gersius, then realized he was the one bound on the table. She struggled to look in Thayle's direction to see her tied to a wooden post as if being forced to observe what was happening.
“What are you going to do?” she asked once she knew they were safe.
He smiled gently and leaned closer as if to share his answer with her privately. “I know you are bound to him and that he has used this control to twist your mind. I am going to free you from that slavery and give you a chance at justice. In a few moments, the moons will be right, and a rare but powerful magic will be unlocked for a short time. My companions and I will work a weave that will temporarily sever his binding with you. You will be able to think clearly again and have a few minutes to kill him.”
“Kill who?” Lilly asked in confusion.
“Gersius, of course,” Lord Durmont said as if the answer were obvious. “He will have no control over you.”
Lilly wasn't sure if this was madness or some blind belief that no dragon could love a man. No matter the case, she refused to hear his insanity any longer and shouted her love for Gersius, assuring him that she would never harm him.
“You say that only because he has ordered you to love him,” Lord Durmont countered. “In a moment, you will see the truth, and that anger will tear him apart.”
“You have no idea what love is,” Lilly laughed. “If you did, you would already know this wasn’t going to work.”
“You are the one who has no idea,” he corrected as his tone shifted toward anger. “You believe the divines are the highest power, but they were shackled and brought low by she who sleeps. Now understand when I tell you that there is a power even greater than hers. Through this power, you have been bound and twisted to believe in lies. I am going to set you free of that shackle so you can see the truth. I assure you that once this is over, you will thank me.”
“I am going to kill you,” Lilly taunted.
“Brave words, my daughter,” he said with a slight smile. “I will accept your apology when this is over. I understand you can't help yourself.”
Lilly watched as he moved away, motioning the others to join him. She struggled at her binds once more and briefly considered trying to change. The space was certainly large enough for her, but it would be impossible for a dragon of Sarah’s size. Still, she was wedged in a corner where her bulk would collide with wall and ceiling. If she could somehow get to the center where there was more room, she could change safely.
As she struggled to look around, she caught sight of Gersius and realized he was staring back at her. He was trying to speak, but his mouth was gagged, and all he could do was grunt.
“My love, use the bind,” Lilly pleaded as she nodded to him.
“Lilly, are you alright?” he begged.
“I am fine,” she replied silently. “They don’t wish me any harm. It’s you they are after.”
“Is Thayle with you?” he asked as he tried to look around.
“I’m here,” Thayle replied in their shared voice. “They have me tied to a post nearby. I don’t know what they are planning, but I overheard them saying I needed to watch it before I died.”
“Watch what?” Gersius asked as he struggled against his ropes. “I can’t get free.”
“Calm down, my loves,” Lilly begged as she watched the men move closer to the table. “Whatever they are planning will take time.”
“What good does that do us?” Thayle asked.
“Reach out across the bind. One of us is missing,” Lilly replied.
There was a moment of silence then Thayle excitedly answered.
“Sarah is coming! I can feel her getting closer.”
“But she is still far away,” Gersius pointed out. “How much time do we have?”
Lilly told them she didn't know, but she knew enough of their plan to stall for time. Gersius asked how she knew this, so she explained who the men were.
“The tall one is the man from the party who wanted me to leave with him. They are all dragons, and he seems to think you commanded me to love you. He intends to evoke some form of ancient magic that will sever our bind and free me from your commands.”
“By the gods, he will not!” Gersius shouted across their bind.
“Please, Gersius, just hear me out,” Lilly pleaded. “He said it would only be temporary and thinks I will kill you once I am free.”
“What do you plan to do?” Thayle asked as Lilly tried not to smile.
“We pretend he’s right and play along to give Sarah as much time as we can,” she replied. “If it comes to it, I will try to fight them to stall for more.”
“I don't want to lose you again,” Gersius said. “I promised I would never set you free.”
“You aren't breaking your promise,” Lilly assured him. “All they can do is temporarily disrupt it. They are counting on me to do the rest.”
“We don't have much choice,” Thayle agreed as she watched the men assemble around the table and take up a chant. “They are already beginning.”
The voices echoed with the dual power of dragons as they took up a chant while weaving with practiced motions. Slowly a blue-white light began to trail their dancing fingers as they lifted their voices higher. Lilly let her loves know they were chanting in dragon, evoking something called the unknowable one to bestow his blessing. Balls of light the size of grapes began to form in the air and drift over the table as a larger weave was invoked. Together the three combined their power, creating a more potent effect as silver runes on the table began to glow. Gersius struggled to see it as the light blinded his eyes. Lilly could still see, and what was happening made her gap in awe. A red band of light twisted in the air as it linked her to Gersius. She could see it spiraling out of her chest, showing clearly that they were connected.
The three men saw it as the power they evoked made the once unseen visible to the naked eye. Then they began to gesture at Gersius, and the light grew intense. There was a noise like breaking glass, and suddenly the line was gone. Lilly felt a cold chill grip her heart as the man she loved was torn away, leaving a void she was now desperate to fill. The shock left her with a seething anger that made her want to scream in frustration.
“You see,” Lord Durmont said. “She was bound to his will.”
“Then it has worked,” one of the men answered and looked to the sky. “Hurry, it will not be lost long.”
Lord Durmont practically ran to Lilly and knelt to begin untying her hands.
“I am sorry we had to do this. We couldn't trust you to see reason while he was in control,” Lord Dumont said as her wrists loosened.
Lilly wanted to scream in his face that he was wrong but struggled to put that anger to use and disguise her true intentions. She asked him how long she had, and he answered with a few minutes at most.
“Quickly, cut me loose before the spell fades so I can be rid of him for good!” she said with all the anger she was feeling.
He smiled as her binds came undone then helped her up. She noticed how pleased he looked and how the others smiled to see her free at last. Rubbing her wrists, she asked how he knew about the bind, and he repeated something he said at the party.
“I told you I have a lot of experience with dragons. I knew you couldn’t love him, so there had to be something forcing you to behave as you did. The cause was obvious; he must have bound you. I knew I had to set you free, and I regret that I played a role in your capture.” He spoke with sincerity hoping Lilly would understand.
“You played a role in my capture?” she asked.
“I should have come for you myself,” he said. “I should never have sent that fool to collect you.”
“You’re the one who sent the red to my lair?” she asked in alarm.
“Yes, but I assure you this wasn't what I wanted to happen. Please, I will tell you everything once the task is over. Your time grows short, and you must deal with your captor.”
Lilly nodded in acknowledgment and turned to face Gersius.
“Let’s get this over with. I have something I want to say to my slaver before I kill him,” she said with great anger.
“By all means,” Lord Durmont replied and gestured for her to take the lead.
She walked toward Gersius with methodical steps as one of the other dragons stood aside. She could see the look of pain in her husband's eyes but didn't dare reveal the ruse just yet. Instead, she began a quick weave, dancing rapidly to summon a sword. It appeared in her hand as she arrived before him to look down with a scowl of rage on her face. Gersius lifted his head to meet her gaze, and for a moment, he looked heartbroken.
“I have just one thing I want to say before I do what needs to be done,” she said, her voice dipping into the dual tones. “I hope you three will bear witness to what I have to say so that no one will ever doubt it again.”
Lord Durmont nodded in silence as Lilly's hand tightened on the grip of her sword. She leaned over Gersius, looking him firmly in the eyes, and smiled.
“No matter what these fools think, I will always love you, and I don't need the bind to see that.” Before anyone could react, she turned about and plunged her sword into the nearby dragon. Knowing he might heal, she yanked it back out, cutting him wide open to die a rapid death.
“What!” Lord Durmont yelled from her right.
Lilly whirled about with eyes full of blue fire as the two men cautiously backed away. She stalked toward them with blood dripping from her sword, her intention clear on her face.
“How could this be?” Lord Durmont stammered
“Did you honestly think he enslaved me?” Lilly growled. “Did you think he commanded me to love him? You fools! I loved him while I was free! I begged him to bind me because I wanted to belong to him!”
“She loves a human of her own free will?” Lord Durmont stammered, unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Great father, we must get away,” the surviving man insisted.
“No, the bind is still broken. She has no defense for my power,” Lord Durmont insisted and stood boldly before Lilly. Though he couldn't imagine how this could be, he had to accept that he was wrong and Lilly was lost. Her eyes were full of anger that burned for him, promising a violent end. The plan may have failed, but he still had his power of dominance, and without the bind to Gersius, Lilly was no longer shielded.
“You will obey me!” he shouted in a commanding voice. “I order you to kill Gersius!” His aura rushed out, bathing her in its power as it tried to enforce his command. Lilly hesitated for just a moment before his power was thrown back yet again, unable to touch the angry dragon.
“Impossible!” he roared and fell back. “You cannot resist my power! I have severed your bind to him!”
“You think Gersius is the only one who binds my heart?” Lilly hissed in an evil tone.
“He has to be!” Lord Durmont roared. “You cannot be bound by more than one master!”
“I have no master,” Lilly cried in rage. “But I do have something you can't possibly understand. I have a family who loves me, and I am bound to my husband and my wives.”
“Your wives?” he said in shock and looked to the right where the raven-haired woman was tied to a post. Now he understood why she was always so close to Lilly and often went where ever they traveled. His spies said that she too carried the title of dragon knight and called Gersius her husband. He assumed she was only a part of the prophecy, a tool of the divines to see their will done, but now he knew better. Somehow she was a part of their union, sharing the link that protected Lilly's solus. If that was the case, then it was very likely that Sutherisa also shared this link, which would be a danger most dire.
“Lilly, listen to me,” he pleaded with a hand up. “You are a dragon. You do not belong with humans. Balisha lies about the past and seeks to weaken our kind. You must fight her control and embrace Solesta. She will shield you from this crippling weakness.”
“Who are you to tell me where I belong? Who are you to say who I can love? I am the grand dovina of Balisha. Dragon priestess of her sacred word. I will carry her message and blessing to every corner of the world and teach all dragons of her love!”
“You don't understand the truth of your kind,” he countered as his patience began to wear thin. “You do not need Balisha because your blood is already divine. Would you mix that strength with the weakness of rodents?”
“Rodents?” Lilly hissed as the word dripped with bile. “Tell me, why are you masquerading as a human if you hate them so? Why do you know their ways as if you walked among them? Surely you had no cause to learn how to dance if all that mattered was restoring your dragon way of life.”
The man frowned as her words bit at his past and dug up wounds he had long since buried. The truth was self-evident. Lilly could not be saved and would have to be destroyed. Once again, the prophecy was unfolding right before his eyes as Lilly took her place at Gersius's side.
“Great Father, the space is too small to change,” the shorter man said as Lilly closed. “Go, I will delay her.” The two men stepped back as Lilly’s stalked them like a cat, her eyes focused in a murderous rage. The shorter man worked a weave of his own, and sword appeared in hand as he squared off against Lilly.
“No, we will kill them together,” Lord Durmont said and stepped forward. “None of them can be allowed to leave here alive.”
Lilly tensed as Lord Durmont began a weave of his own, and an ebony-bladed sword appeared in his hand. He swung it with careless ease as if it weighed nothing and then pointed the blade Lilly’s way.
“Now you will die,” he said as white mist began to crawl across Lilly's skin. “Kill her before she changes!” Lord Durmont cried, but it was too late as a cloud of white engulfed Lilly. There was a flash of light followed by a rumbling growl as Lilly's blue eyes appeared in the darkness.
“I will tear you all to shreds!” Lilly howled and came racing out of the mist.
With no choice, the smaller man began to boil with black smoke while Lord Durmont retreated with all haste, heading for a passage in the wall. Lilly was suddenly blocked by a red dragon who was painfully crammed into the tight space. He struggled to turn about and face her head-on, but Lilly had more than enough room to dash about. She rushed around his side and came at him with claws and teeth, shredding one of his legs.
He howled in rage and managed to bring his head around to bite, but she dashed away. He managed to reach out with one arm, driving her out of his reach. His gaze shifted to Gersius, and Lilly quickly reached out a hand, calling on Balisha in song. A dragon's claw formed over Gersius, and she quickly yanked him away, depositing him behind herself along the far wall.
“You still fight to protect him! Fool child,” the dragon growled. “How could you forsake your kind to debase yourself with a rodent!”
Lilly smiled and kept her distance as Lord Durmont vanished from sight. She wanted to kill him most of all, but the red was blocking the tunnel. For now, all she could do was hope to keep him penned up and stay out of his reach. She was sure he was older, perhaps closer to Sarah in age, but here in this cramped space, he was at a severe disadvantage.
“I haven't forsaken my kind,” Lilly replied as she began to circle, stalling for more time. “I have embraced what the divines had planned for us and come to understand what it means to love.”
“Then you have fallen!” he cried and struggled to turn and face her. “Solesta shielded you from this curse, and you spit in the face of her sacrifice.”
“You're the one who's cursed,” Lilly countered. “You will never know the joy of being held by someone who loves you. Balisha wanted to give you a choice, but Solesta wanted to take the choice away and make it for you.”
“Balisha lies!” he roared and tried desperately to swipe Lilly with a claw. Lilly reacted by moving away and falling into a song. She produced another dragon’s claw blessing and easily raked him from a distance as he bellowed in rage. Just as she was sure he would be no challenge, he too began a chant. A moment later, a shield of fire appeared over his arm, blocking most of his body as he dared her to approach.
“He’s a priest!” Thayle cried over the bind as she witnessed the clash.
“But, whose blessing is that?” Gersius asked. “What divine gives a shield of fire?”
“One of the lesser ones?” Thayle suggested but doubted that was true.
Lilly darted about, trying to find a crack in his defenses. He was crushed between the ceiling and floor, his wings grinding painfully as he turned, but still, he refused to leave an opening. She raked at him with another dragon's claw, but the shield blocked it and sent it away. Out of desperation, she ran around the front only to see him laugh as his jaws opened wide.
A torrent of fire and death washed over her as her loved ones cried out in fear. The dragon laughed with a bellowing rumble, gloating as the smoke cleared, leaving Lilly unharmed at the center.
“This can’t be! How did you resist?” he cried in alarm. “You are an ice dragon!”
Lilly looked at herself in shock to see that not a single one of her scales was singed. For a brief moment, she wondered how this could have happened, then smiled as she realized the answer. Sarah was in their bind and had been long enough that she now had the older dragons immunity to fire. This fool's breath would be useless against her, but did he have the same immunity to cold? She decided to test it and blasted him back, breaking his shield and coating him with ice. He cried out in pain and shuffled away, the cold clearly having a good effect.
“You want to know how I resisted your fire?” Lilly mocked as she stalked toward him. “I did it because I am loved by a fire dragon, and her love protects me from the flames.”
“We were trying to save you,” he growled and flinched from the cold. “But you are beyond redemption.”
“I don’t need redemption,” Lilly spat and darted away from a claw as he tried to crush her. “I have embraced the greatest gift humans have to give, and I would trade a thousand dragon hoards to keep it. You, on the other hand, would kill one of your own kind to keep your old ways. You will forever walk alone and never know the joys I have discovered.”
The dragon laughed and fixed his eyes on Lilly as if her words were meaningless.
“Is that what you think?” he mocked and lashed at her once more. “I am not alone,” he added as a golden light spread over his frozen wounds.
Lilly looked around in shock to see a small blue dragon at the hole in the ceiling. She was singing a low song and somehow healing him from across the room. As far as Lilly knew, only a follower of Vellis could do that, but surely this dragon didn't worship a divine.
“That’s impossible,” Thayle gasped over the bind.
“No,” Gersius replied in a calm voice. “I think this is starting to explain a great deal.”
“What are we going to do?” Thayle pressed.
“We remain calm,” Gersius replied. “This battle is about to end.”
“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” the red bellowed as his wounds began to close. “Lezzoria, kill the humans while I keep this weakling occupied.”
“No!” Lilly shrieked as the blue turned her gaze on Gersius, laying helpless along the wall. The little dragon went to drop into the room, but suddenly the structure shook, and a massive red hand wrapped around her.
“Stay away from my family!” Sarah roared as she squeezed the dragon, breaking its bones.
“Sarah!” Thayle cried in relief as the dome cracked and started to crumble. A moment later, claws cut through the roof, rending stone like paper, and a vast section was torn away to reveal the leering face of death incarnate.
Lilly threw her body over Gersius, shielding him from falling rocks as Sarah locked eyes on the trapped red and went mad with rage. She shattered the roof and tore him out, throwing him out of sight as the ground shook from the impact. She lunged after him, the whole building shaking and crumbling as Lilly scrambled to grab Gersius and then get to Thayle.
“She’s gone mad,” Thayle said as Lilly used a claw to cut her ropes.
“That's because she knows what was going on. I was talking to her as she approached,” Gersius said. “You two were so preoccupied with the other dragons I don't think you noticed.”
“You can tell us once we're outside,” Lilly said and grabbed her loved ones gently, clutching them to her chest to protect them. The hole Sarah made was large enough to fly through, so she spread her wings and rushed out, soaring into the sky as Sarah beat a dragon half her size to pulp.
“We lost lord Durmont,” Lilly grumbled as she circled, hoping to spot him.
“Lilly,” Gersius said as he put a hand on her chest. “I still can’t feel you.”
“It will pass, my love,” she said and turned her head to look at him. “I promise you; we will feel each other again.”
“So you can’t feel her at all?” Thayle asked in alarm.
“Not a thing,” he replied. “There is a deep emptiness where she used to be.”
“I can see your link to the bind,” Thayle said as she studied his aura. “But there is a black chain around it like it is being constricted. Lilly has the same chain on her side. It must be what is blocking you.”
“He said it would only last a few minutes,” Lilly repeated and flew low to land near Sarah, who was looking up with blood dripping from her maw.
“You three are safe?” she asked before anything else was said.
“We are,” Lilly replied and set her loved ones down.
“And the other dragon? The one who was at the part?” she asked.
“He ran down a tunnel and into some lower passages,” Lilly replied. “He can't be far, but we would have to pursue him in human form.”
“No doubt he has a plan for that,” Gersius interjected. “I suspect he has help waiting if he needed to make an escape.”
“And all this was because he believed our husband commanded you to love him?” Sarah pressed.
“How long were you talking to her?” Thayle asked in shock that she hadn’t noticed.
“A little while,” he replied and turned to Lilly, who walked up to Sarah and rubbed her head alongside the larger dragons.
“He said he was the one who sent that dragon to attack me. He felt responsible for my situation and believed it was because of him that Gersius bound me,” Lilly replied.
“Well, that is true,” Gersius said. “If not for him and his plans, I would never have been able to bind you.”
“That may be true,” Lilly agreed and looked back at him. “But you never once commanded me to love you. You never so much as suggested it. I fell in love with you all on my own, and Thayle helped nurture it until it was ready to show.”
Gersius nodded and then froze as a rush of sensation flooded across the bind.
“I can feel you again!” Lilly cried and turned about. “The spell is broken.”
“Thank the divines,” he sighed and fell to his knees.
Lilly walked over and lowered her head to lick the side of his face. “I love you, and I will always be yours because you promised to keep me.”
“What is this about a promise to keep her?” Sarah asked as he wrapped his arms around Lilly’s snout.
“We told you this story,” Thayle answered for them. “Gersius set Lilly free of the bind but she loved him and wanted it back. It meant so much to her that he promised he would never let her out of the bind again, He never breaks his word, so whether she likes it or not, she belongs to him and will never be free.”
“I see,” Sarah said and lowered her head to sniff at the two. “I want you to make me the same promise.”
Gersius looked up as Sarah loomed overhead, her great eyes larger than the moon.
“You do?” he asked as she exhaled and filled the air with the scent of smoke.
“Am I not good enough to keep?” she asked as if insulted.
“Of course you are. It is just that I did not think I needed to make you a promise. I assumed our bind was forever,” he replied and looked at Thayle.
“Of course you assumed that,” Thayle said with a smile. “But as I have told Lilly many times, just because I can see her love with the aura sight, doesn’t mean I don’t need to hear it. Your wives crave to hear how much you desire them, and how you will never let them go.”
“So, you feel this way too?” he asked.
“I do,” Thayle replied. “Now, promise us you will never let us out of the bind. Even if the love faded and our hearts screamed to be free, promise you will never let us go.”
Gersius nodded and released his hold on Lilly. He turned to Sarah and Thayle and swore an oath before the divines that he would never let them go free. From this day forward, they were his, and the bind would remain till the end of time.
“Well, this is touching,” Thayle said and looked around at the shattered dome. “But we have no idea where our enemy is or what he is planning. For all, we know he will return with help at any moment.”
“Thayle is right,” Gersius agreed. “We need to leave before help arrives.”
“I have brought my saddle,” Sarah said and moved so they could see her back. “Change, little child, so that you can ride on my back.”
“But I tore my clothes,” Lilly protested. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“That doesn’t bother me,” Thayle teased.
“She isn't riding back naked, you little minx,” Sarah scolded and looked about. There was something packed into one of the saddle packs that Lilly could wear. It was special to Sarah, but she couldn't think of anyone she would rather share it with than Lilly.
A few minutes later, she took to the sky with her loved ones on her back. Lilly sat behind Thayle, lovingly squeezing her waist as she flew through the sky in Sarah's battle dress.
He watched from a safe distance as Sutherisa descended on the ancient dragon focus and tore it apart. His plan had failed in the most tragic of ways, and Lilly was now fully lost. Though the battle was lost, It was a moment of clarity that raised many difficult questions.
How had Lilly come to be bound to more than one being? Why did she choose to love them of her own free will? How could he have misjudged the nature of her relationship so completely? Surely some hint of this would have come through his allies. Could they have missed it, or did this mean his allies were less than trustworthy? He had to consider that thought carefully, especially since he had withheld information from the old man of Astikar.
If he had warned them about the dragon's ability to take human form, Lilly might never have escaped Whiteford. But then, Lilly was never supposed to be so mistreated. What those rodents planned to do with a daughter of the scale made his blood. Had he known what they were planning, he would have insisted they contain her until he could arrive to reason with her. He understood their plan to steal the prophecy, but the divines can not be so easily diverted from their course.
He watched as Lilly flew out of the structure and settled beside Sutherisa as the two reunited. There was something else to consider now that he witnessed this display. How had Sutherisa found them so quickly? In fact, how was she alive to find them at all? Did this mean Carigarra was dead? Surely both halves of his plan couldn’t have failed?
With a low growl, he watched and began to wish he'd crushed them when he had the chance. He could change and go after them now, but his power was spent, and the divines might risk intervening even if it meant angering her. If they confronted him now, he wouldn’t have the power to drive them back. To break the hold of a magic even higher than the divines required a sacrifice, and he paid it from his own solus. It would be months of laying on his hoard before a fraction of his power returned. No, the day was coming, and he didn’t dare draw on more power to fight a battle now. He would have to consume the gold being mined by the slaves to restore what was lost or risk being unable to complete the plan. All he could do was watch as his enemies celebrated this curse they called love.
“The next time we meet, I won’t hesitate to kill you all,” he said as Sarah took to the sky and carried his enemies away.
