Chapter 208

Chapter 208
Vesper
 
Draken's roar of fury shook the ground beneath our feet. Dragon fire erupted from him in waves, fireballs the size of cars hurtling toward Morrigan with enough force to level a building.
 
They splashed against an invisible barrier around her like water against glass, dissipating harmlessly.
 
"No fucking way," I breathed.
 
But I wasn't about to let that stop me. I shifted fully into my hybrid form, wings spreading wide as I took to the air. Wind magic spiraled around me, fusing with dragon fire in a combination that had leveled buildings back in Vegas. I shaped it into a massive sphere of crackling energy, compressed air and flame wrapped around each other in a deadly embrace.
 
Draken caught on immediately, adding his own fire to the mix. The sphere grew larger, hotter, until the air around it shimmered with heat distortion. We launched it together, a meteor of our combined power streaking toward Morrigan's position.
 
It struck her barrier with a sound like a thunderclap.
 
And did absolutely nothing.
 
"What the fuck?" I landed beside Draken, staring at where our attack had simply... vanished. "That should have worked. That definitely should have worked."
 
"Finished?" Morrigan asked pleasantly. "Because I'd very much like my turn now."
 
Her transformation was instantaneous and terrifying. The cold, composed queen vanished, replaced by something ancient and powerful. Her true fae form blazed with ethereal light, every inch of her radiating magic that made my teeth ache. But it was the weapon in her hands that made my blood run cold—a crescent-shaped staff that seemed to drink in the surrounding light, leaving patches of shadow in its wake.
 
She raised the staff high, and black energy erupted from its tip in a wave.
 
"GET DOWN!" Titania's voice cracked like a whip. "That's corruption magic! Anyone it touches—"
 
The nearest soldiers didn't have time to react. The dark energy washed over them, and their screams cut off almost immediately as black flames consumed them from the inside out. I watched in horror as they ran blindly, bodies disintegrating even as they moved, until there was nothing left but ash.
 
"Dragon fire?" Morrigan's laugh echoed across the courtyard. "You dare compare your parlor tricks to the fury of the true fae?"
 
I dodged another wave of corruption magic, my heart racing as I realized just how outmatched we were. The energy was fast, faster than anything I'd dealt with before, and it took every ounce of my concentration to redirect it away from the soldiers. Where it landed, the ground itself seemed to die, turning black and lifeless.
 
"Fuck!" I called out to Draken. "This is bad. This is really, really bad!"
 
"Conserve your energy," he called back, his voice tight with controlled fury. "She's using dark magic. This is going to be a war of attrition."
 
Morrigan's smile was pure venom. "How sweet, looking out for each other. But the union of dragon and fae has always been an abomination in my eyes." Her gaze locked onto me, and there was such hatred there that I actually flinched. "I punished your parents for their transgression. Today, I'll correct my oversight and eliminate you as well."
 
She raised her staff toward the sky, and the world went dark. An artificial moon appeared overhead, pale and sickly, and I felt the surge of power flowing into her like a physical thing.
 
Draken didn't give her time to finish whatever she was planning. He tore scales from his own body, reshaping them into twin blades of crystallized dragon essence, and launched himself at her in a blur of motion.
 
But Morrigan's staff caught the moonlight and bent it, reflecting it directly into his eyes. He stumbled, half-blind, forced to fight on instinct alone as she danced around him with inhuman grace.
 
"Draken!" I shot forward to help, but she was ready for that too. The reflected light caught me as well, disorienting me just long enough for Morrigan to position us perfectly. Every time Draken and I moved to coordinate, she manipulated the light to send us crashing into each other instead.
 
And then, in the split second when we were both off-balance from another collision, she struck.
 
The staff came down with the full force of the moon's power behind it. Draken threw himself in front of me, taking the blow meant for both of us. The impact was devastating—I heard ribs crack, saw blood spray from his mouth as he was blasted backward, his dragon form flickering and failing as he plummeted toward the ground.
 
"DRAKEN!" His name tore out of my throat as I dove after him, catching him just before he hit the ground. I teleported him to Titania in a burst of desperate magic, my hands shaking as I laid him in her arms.
 
Morrigan's laughter rang out above us. "Two foolish dragons thought they could challenge me? Did you really think a millennium of power could be overcome so easily?" She descended slowly, savoring her victory. "Without your precious dragon magic, you're nothing but overgrown lizards playing at being gods."
 
I looked down at Draken's pale face, at the blood staining his lips. Saw the fear in Titania's eyes, the worry etched into Aurelia's features. Felt the terror radiating from the soldiers who'd just been freed from one nightmare only to face another.
 
Something inside me snapped.
 
My eyes began to glow red, heat building behind them until I could barely see straight. When I spoke, my voice came out low and dangerous, every word edged with barely controlled fury.
 
"Fuck you," I said clearly. "You think dragon magic is all I've got?" I rose into the air, my hybrid form shifting, changing, becoming something more. "I'll beat you into the fucking ground without using a single drop of dragon fire. And you're going to wish you'd killed me when you had the chance."