Chapter 71 Drakon Saves Elara
Elara's POV
Dark magic wrapped around my throat like frozen chains. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't scream. Queen Morgana's eyes blazed with evil victory as she lifted me off the ground with just her power.
"You thought you could betray me?" Her voice sliced through the battle noise around us. "Foolish girl. You were always meant to die."
My vision blurred. The battlefield spun. Soldiers fought everywhere, but no one could reach me in time. The Queen's magic squeezed tighter. My lungs burned.
This was it. This was how I died.
Then a roar split the sky.
A massive shadow blocked out the sun. Wind from giant wings nearly knocked Morgana backward. Her concentration broke for just one second, and I crashed to the ground, gasping.
Drakon landed between us in full dragon form. His black scales gleamed like midnight. His golden eyes glowed with protective fury.
"Touch her again," he growled, smoke curling from his nostrils, "and I'll burn you to ash."
My heart hammered. He came. Even after everything I'd done, all my lies, he still came to save me.
Queen Morgana laughed. "How touching. The dragon king saves his fake wife. Does she still mean something to you, Drakon? Even though she's a lying spy?"
"That's between us." Drakon's tail lashed dangerously. "You used her. Threatened her sister. You're the monster here."
The Queen raised both hands. Black lightning crackled around her fingers. "Then die together!"
She threw the dark magic at us. Drakon shielded me with one massive wing. The spell hit his scales and bounced off, but I saw him flinch. It hurt him.
"Drakon!" I scrambled to my feet. My ice magic flickered in my palms. It wasn't much, but I had to help.
"Stay back, Elara!" He breathed a stream of fire at Morgana.
She blocked it with a dark shield. "You'll have to do better than that!"
I ignored Drakon's order. We'd fought about lies and trust for weeks. But right now, none of that mattered. Right now, we were partners.
I threw ice shards at the Queen from the side. She had to split her attention between both of us. Drakon attacked from above while I struck from below.
Something strange happened then. As we fought together, I felt it, that tiny thread of our mating bond. It hadn't fully broken after all. It pulsed with golden light between us.
Without speaking, I knew where Drakon would strike next. He knew where I would move. We fought like we'd trained together for years.
"Left!" I shouted.
Drakon dodged. Morgana's spell missed him by inches.
"Now!" Drakon called back.
I sent ice up from the ground, trapping the Queen's feet. Drakon slammed into her with his full dragon weight. She flew backward, crashing through three soldiers.
But she wasn't done. She rose, her dress torn, her face twisted with rage. "You think you can defeat me? I've studied dark magic for thirty years!"
The sky darkened. The temperature dropped. Morgana pulled power from somewhere deep and terrible. Shadows rose from the ground like living monsters.
"Drakon, what do we do?" My voice shook. I'd never seen magic this powerful.
"We fight." He shifted to his half-dragon form, still huge, but able to stand beside me. His hand found mine. "Together."
The bond thread glowed brighter. I felt his strength flow into me. My ice magic responded, growing stronger than ever before.
The shadow monsters attacked. Drakon met them with fire and claws. I froze them solid with ice. We moved like one person with two bodies.
Morgana screamed in frustration. "This isn't possible! Your bond is broken!"
"Not completely," I said, realizing the truth. "Love doesn't break that easily."
Drakon squeezed my hand. "Never did. Never will."
We charged together. Our combined magic; ice and fire, gold and blue created something new. Something neither of us could do alone. The power built between us, connecting through that fragile bond thread.
Morgana threw everything she had at us. Dark lightning. Shadow blades. Spells that made the earth shake.
We dodged and countered. My ice caught her attacks. Drakon's fire drove her back. Step by step, we pushed forward.
"You can't win!" Morgana shrieked. "I have an army!"
"So do we," Drakon said.
All around us, our people fought. Ice faeries and dragon shifters. Human soldiers who chose unity over hate. They saw us fighting together and found new courage.
The tide of battle shifted.
Morgana's eyes went wild. Desperate. She started chanting in a language I didn't know. The air crackled with awful power.
"She's doing something big," I warned.
"I know." Drakon pulled me closer. "Whatever happens, I need you to know I never stopped loving you. Not really."
My throat tightened. "Drakon..."
"I was hurt. Angry. But my heart knew the truth. You're my mate. My true mate."
The bond thread blazed like the sun. I felt tears on my cheeks. "I love you too. I'm so sorry for..."
"Later." He kissed me quickly. "Right now, we end this."
We gathered every bit of power we had. Ice and fire swirled together in our joined hands. The magic grew and grew until it felt like holding lightning.
Morgana finished her spell. A massive ball of dark energy formed above her head. It blocked out the sun. If it hit the battlefield, hundreds would die.
"Now!" we shouted together.
We released our combined magic at the same moment Morgana threw hers.
The two forces collided in midair. The explosion shook the ground. Light and darkness fought for dominance. Neither could win.
We pushed harder. Our bond thread didn't just glow, it burned. Pure gold. Pure love.
The dark magic started to crack.
Morgana's face went pale. "No. No!"
Our magic broke through. The dark spell shattered. Golden-blue light rushed toward the Queen.
She raised her hands to block it. The power hit her. She screamed. The sound echoed across the battlefield.
Then sudden silence fell.
Morgana collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. Her dark magic was gone. We'd won.
I started to smile. Started to celebrate.
That's when the trumpets blared from the south.
A new army crested the hill. Hundreds of knights in shining armor. Banners flapping in the wind.
And at the front, riding a white horse, sat a woman in a golden crown.
Princess Celestia. The real one.
My blood froze.
"What perfect timing," Celestia's voice rang across the battlefield. She smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "Did you miss me, dear husband? Because I'm here to claim what's mine."
Drakon's hand tightened on mine. His voice came out rough. "This just got a lot more complicated."
The Princess snapped her fingers. Her army drew their swords as one. The sound echoed like thunder.
She wasn't here to help. She was here to conquer. And we were trapped between her forces and Morgana's army with no strength left to fight.