Chapter 201 Chapter 0201

Chapter 201 Chapter 0201
Lucien's POV

"Finish him!" Eldreth's voice erupted across the battlefield, I lay on the cold ground, barely able to breathe, every muscle in my body screamed in protest, my shoulder throbbed where the sword had struck me, and blood trickled down my back from the vampire's claws, I tried to reach for my sword again, my fingers brushed the hilt, then Eldreth spoke again, "Sebastian," he called desperately, "I said finish him." I lifted my head, Sebastian turned toward him.

"But..."

"I am in charge here," Eldreth screamed, his eyes narrowed. "Finish him, or your entire clan will go into exile like the others when I become king." Sebastian froze, his jaw tightened.

"But..."

"You should know better than anyone," Eldreth interrupted coldly. "Your loyalty will determine your existence." The battlefield seemed to fall silent around us, Sebastian looked at me, then at Eldreth, something flickered in his eyes, it was fear, not of me but fear of Eldreth, slowly Sebastian's lips parted, his fangs descended, my body tense, he was coming for me, he lunged at me, I tried to move but my body wasn't responding, my hands dug into the dirt as Sebastian's shadow swallowed me then boom, before Sebastian could reach me, a deafening thunderclap ripped through the battlefield, the wind exploded outward, it hit Sebastian first, his body was lifted from the ground and thrown several feet backward.

"Ah!" A loud, reverberating growl of pain left his throat as he crashed into a group of vampires. The soldiers surrounding me were thrown aside like leaves; some slammed against the stone walls, others tumbled across the battlefield. I raised my head, my hair whipped violently across my face as the storm raged around me. Lightning split the sky; the air smelled of rain and magic. Then I saw him, a figure standing beyond the chaos. His coat moved with the wind, his eyes fixed on me. I knew that face, even with the mask. A small smile slowly spread across my face.

"You came." My voice was barely a whisper, he walked toward me.

"You always did have a talent for attracting trouble."

"Dray..." I tried to say his name, but my voice cracked, he immediately shook his head.

"You don't want the king to know the traitor is here, do you?" I stared at him. Despite the danger surrounding us, I almost laughed; he hadn't changed. He is still reckless, still sarcastic, still willing to put his life on the line for his loved ones. He stopped beside me and extended his hands. I looked at his hand, then at him. 

"Aren't you afraid that the king will kill you if he finds out you are here?" He laughed.

"Maybe," his hand remained extended, "but someone else will kill me if I don't do anything to save the man, her best friend loves." My chest tightened. I understood exactly what he meant; he was talking about the woman he loves, who happened to be Aerith's best friend. I grabbed his hand while he pulled me to my feet. My knees nearly gave out, he caught my arm. "Easy,"

"I can stand,"

"I know," he looked at me, "but you don't have to prove it every second." I smiled weakly.

"You sound like Aerith."

"That is because that female is usually right." I almost laughed, but the pain in my body reminded me where we were: the war wasn't over, Eldreth was still standing, Sebastian was recovering, the vampires were gathering again, and my magic remained trapped inside me. I clenched my fist.

"I..." I parted my lips to speak, but he suddenly stretched out his palm, before I could react, the sharp blade of his sword cut across his palm. "What the hell are you doing?" He ignored me, blood immediately welled from the wound, then he lifted his hand above my head

"I break you free," my brows furrowed, "from every command, King Silas placed on you," My heart stopped at his words

"What?" Drayce's expression became serious.

"Your magic doesn't belong to the king," he turned his bleeding palm over, "it belongs to you, and it will answer when you call." a drop of blood fell from his palm and it landed on my head, the moment his blood touch me, everything changed, my breath caught, something inside me shattered, not my bones, not my body something deeper and invisible, I heard a sound inside my mind, crack then another crack, the invisible chains around my magic began breaking, one after the other, I gasped as my dragon full energy awakened, a loud roared erupted my dragon’s throat, the force nearly knocked me backwards, "Lucien," he called grabbing my shoulder, but I couldn't answer, power surged through my veins, fire rushed through my blood, wind twisted around my body, the earth beneath my feet trembled, I stared at my hands, they were glowing, my magic surged through my veins. They were back, completely mine again, I looked at Drayce in disbelief, how could he do that, only one with the title of a... before my thoughts could form a complete sentences, my dragon roared again, I threw my head back, a wave of power exploded from my body, the battlefield shook, vampires screamed, and dragons roared, warriors stumbled backward, I looked at my hands again, I could feel everything, the earth, the wind, the flames, the life around me, every silent thread of magic answered my call.

"Get him!" Eldreth screamed. I looked up; several dragons from Lord Eldreth's forces descended upon us. Drayce immediately pulled a strange weapon from his back; he grinned.

"Attack!" He charged, and smiled, watching the man who always got my back, with that one word, he didn't look back, he swung his weapon into the first dragon, steel collided with scales, the beast roared, another vampire rushed toward me, I lifted my hand, a wall of fire erupted between us, the vampire screamed, I clenched my fist. The flames consumed him. I stared at my hands; my magic was back, stronger. A small smile spread across my lips, then I heard another scream. I turned. It was Sebastian; he was retreating, his eyes wide with terror.

"Run!" He shouted to the vampires, but it was too late. I raised my hand; the ground beneath him moved. Vines burst from the earth; they twisted around his legs. "Fuck!' he cursed, trying to run away. This wasn't the first time I had tied him down with my vines. The vines tightened around his legs before thorns erupted from them. "No!" He screamed as the vines yanked him off the ground; his body flew upward, and he hung upside down several feet above the battlefield.

"No!" The vampires screamed, "Fall back!

"Retreat!'

"Save the prince!' Their formation collapsed instantly; Eldreth stared at Sebastian hanging helplessly from the vines.

"No!" He turned toward me. "This isn't possible!" I stepped forward, my magic pulsed through me.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance." Eldreth raised his sword; he wasn't giving up.

"Fight back." But the vampires were already retreating, the soldiers were running, and the battlefield that had been theirs only moments ago was becoming a nightmare.

"Our prince is already dead!" One of the vampires screamed, Eldreth face twisted with rage.

"No!" He turned toward his remaining warriors, "Don't retreat! Fight!" I slammed my feet against the ground; the earth answered. A massive crack tore across the battlefield. The ground split beneath the retreating warriors; they screamed as the earth swallowed their feet. Some fell into the cracks; others stumbled over one another, trying to escape. Eldreth stared at me. For the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes. I took one step toward him; he took a step backwards.

"You wanted to be king," I said, taking another step towards him, "then look at what your ambition has created,” before he could answer, I heard an agonizing cry of pain, I spun around, in the other side of the battlefield, three enormous dragons had surrounded him, Drayen was standing alone, his weapon was raised, blood covered his face, one dragon lunges, Drayen blocked the attack, the force sent him sliding backwards. "Drayen!" I called started running towards him, I didn't even know while I care about him because I know if Drayen had saw me in similar situations, he would never had offer an help but I still want to help him, I turned away from Eldreth, and this gave him and opportunity to escape, but I didn't care about Eldreth anymore, all I wanted was for all my brothers to be saved, I took another step, a hand grabbed mine, I turned, it was Drayce who had stop me. "Drayen, he needs..."

"Go to Aerith!" My eyes widened.

"What?"

"Go to her." I shook my head.

"Drayen needs help, and I will not leave you alone with these dragons." He looked over his shoulder; he could already see many of the dragons coming towards us, and more towards Drayen.

"I will handle them."

"You can't,"

"I can."

"Drayce," he squeezed my hand.

"Ash!" I smiled when he called me the name Aerith used to call me, and our eyes locked onto each other. "She is waiting for you." My throat tightened.

"But..."

"Go..." I stared at him for another second; everything in me wanted to stay, to fight beside him, to make sure he survived and every other warrior here, but I still had to look for Aerith, especially since Eldreth had escaped the battlefield. I couldn't risk it. Finally, I nodded.

"Don't you dare die," he smirked.

"You either," I released his hand,

"And keep that asshole safe." I refer to Drayen before I turned around and ran, my boot thundered against the battlefield, fire burned around me, dragons flew above me, behind me, I heard Drayce roar as he charged at the dragons attacking Drayen, but I didn't look back, because if I did, I knew I wouldn't be able to leave Drayce there, so I kept running, the riverbank was all that was on my mind, and then I let my magic envelope me as I teleported myself to the southern riverbank. "Aerith!" I screamed, "I am here. Come out; let's go."