Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Chlorine slid The glorious Beaston’s knife from its sheath at her hip and held it steady at her side as she strode toward The king of the dark realm. Her bare feet made footprints in the blanket of ash, and it fell like snow in front of her as The king stood to his full human height. Burns covered his body, and he smelled of burned flesh.

He looked like a walking barbecue. Chlorine sighed happily as she gazed at his miserable form. He had destroyed her all those years ago and now she was going to return the favor.

Chlorine recalled how he’d made it a mission to snatch her from her lover, her intended, Julian.

Hers and Julian’s love had been real. After julian had been revealed as the one who held the power. The one true warlock, the king had gone mad with jealousy of his son. He’d wanted everything his son had. How could a father and a king feel that way to his son and subject?

Chlorine remembered the night he had showed up in her bedchamber. She had been expecting Julian and because of that had stripped herself, laying in waiting for her lover. She hadn’t expected that it would be Julian’s father seeing her nakedness for the first time.

That was the first time destruction had knocked on her door. He had lain with her against her will, and made her swear an oath not to say anything it. He’d also put a spell on her so she could never harm him no matter the powers she had.

And so, chlorine had let it go on for long. She had let herself be raped and molested her in every way. When the queen had found out about her husband’s infidelity, she’d sent chlorine out of the sunshades, making Julian as angry as ever.

But when The king himself had told Julian he had been sleeping with his lover for years now, Julian sparked. He fought with his father and almost killed him. After that he took his mother and some other people of the kingdom and went and formed his own kingdom. Leaving chlorine as a slave with his father. Chlorine had managed to endure those years but everything had eventually come to end when she had gone to meet Julian. His trusted adviser had been the one who reported the situation to the king.

Chlorine had been mercilessly beaten to death by the king after he had found out the truth. That she still loved the prince. The one true warlock. Julian.

He had killed her without thinking twice and had also killed Julian’s people including his mother and his sister. The horrible bastard who was staring at her with disbelief running all over his face.

His demon-black eyes narrowed with hatred. “You bitch. What have you done to me?”

She offered him an empty smile. “I took your dragon power away. Payback for you killing me.”

“Obviously, Erin, I did not kill you. Not for lack of trying, though. I’ve put capsules of fire into every one of The red-headed descendants, just waiting for Julian to choose one of you. How could he not? You all looked the same. Exactly his type. Don’t worry, though. I’ll finish you off once I’m done with your mate.”

“You killed me and ripped my eggs from my womb!” she screamed.

The king’s face fell slack and his eyes went wide as he took a step back. “Chlorine?” He shook his head. “No, it’s impossible.”

His putrid face sagged like clay, and she reveled in the change in his features. He’d been a handsome dragon warrior once, but Julian had done this to him. Julian had burned him to avenge her and the rest of the dragons he’d murdered in cold blood. Pride surged through her as she whispered, “Do you remember the incantation you did on the ceremonial knife you used to cut me open? The one that allowed you to cut my skin so easily?”

Marcus backed up another step and shook his head, and the scent of bitter fear wafted from his skin.

“I do,” she murmured low, stalking him step for step.

“You’re just a seer.”

“No,” Chlorine said with a dark chuckle. “You were wrong about so much. I was never a seer, king. I was a witch.” She murmured the incantation over the Beaston’s blade, just a whisper of words so ancient and so dark, they tasted like poison on her tongue. The blade glowed orange, so bright, it was hard to look at. She clenched her fist, freezing Marcus’s body into place as she strode up to him and ran the blade over his stomach until black blood oozed from his skin and coated the knife, sizzling as it settled into the engraving Beaston had done of the Blackwing crest.

A wave of dizziness took her, and she stumbled forward, breath ragged as her power waned. Hold on just a minute longer. Finish this.

Marcus looked down defiantly at her, frozen under her will. “You meddling bitch. You can’t kill me, Chlorine. We’re bound. Now let me Change into my dragon so I can finish this.”

Her lip twitched as a branch snapped in the woods surrounding them. Chlorine backed up a few steps with the knowledge he was right. He’d done awful things to her when she’d been his so many lifetimes ago. He’d bound them. He’d made it so she could never kill him.

But she didn’t need to.

She spun in a slow circle. The woods were alive with towering, snarling grizzlies of every color. Two silverback gorillas beat their chest like war drums and pulled their lips back to expose long, razor sharp canines. Seb's monstrous boar lowered his head and trotted closer, blood lust in his feral eyes. A falcon and a raven circled overhead, crying out a death chant, and clinging to the cliffs above was Diem’s green and gold dragon. Chlorine's eyes stung with emotion as her gaze landed on Julian, Changed back into his human form. He was badly burned down one side, and his chest was heaving as he saw the same thing she did.

His crews had never left him as he’d asked.

They’d come for him just like he’d always been there for them.

The Estaters, the witches, the shapeshifters, and all other people Chlorine didn’t know had gathered together, ready to come help Julian finish this.

“I don’t need to kill you, King. You thought Julian caring for others made him weak, but you were wrong. And now you’re at the end of your life, and you’ll spend your last breath as you deserve. Alone.”

One of the men stepped through a line of grizzlies, eyes blazing inhuman green over his empty smile. “Can we kill him now?”

Chlorine dragged her glare to Julian’s father. She’d never seen fear in his eyes before, but there it was now.

She stood back and nodded her chin once. A massive silver grizzly burst from the animal and roared as he led the charge. The inhabitants of Julian's mountains bore down on Julian’s father from all sides, and he screamed a doomed sound as he disappeared in the middle of teeth and claws.

Chlorine stumbled backward, arms tingling with weakness. Stay strong. Finish this. Julian's love for Erin is infinite. It has to be to give me this much power. Erin is good. So much better than me. He deserves to grow old with his Erin.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she reached Julian and jerked his palm up. She ran the bloody, glowing blade across his skin, and she winced as the final pulse of power left her body.

Julian stared down at the blood that poured freely from the slice across his hand with eyes gone round.

She fell as all of the strength left her body, and Julian cradled her against his chest before she hit the ground. Looking up into those silver eyes, the ones that she’d fallen in love with once upon a time, she uttered the oath she’d made to him all those centuries ago, “You won’t be alone anymore. I found you again, and when I did, I was stronger. I gifted you mortality with the blood of an immortal vampire dragon.” She gasped as she left Erin's body, and on her last breath, she whispered, “Now, you’re free.”

Julian closed his eyes tight as the tears slid down his face. Thank you Chlorine. Thank you.

He stared at the love his life, passed out peacefully in his arms. He placed a soft kiss on her head and hugged her with all the strength he had left in him.

*****