Chapter 87 Protecting Lily
Elara's POV
"One hour to hand over Lily?" I stared at the Shadow Dragon destroying our towers. "They're insane if they think we'll surrender her!"
"We won't." Drakon's voice was steel. "But we need to move her to safety now. That creature will tear through the castle looking for her."
We ran through crumbling hallways. Stone crashed around us. The Shadow Dragon's roars shook everything.
"Where's Faye keeping Lily?" I shouted over the noise.
"The underground sanctuary. Deepest part of the castle." Drakon grabbed my hand as a ceiling beam fell. We dodged it together. "It's protected by ancient wards."
We reached the sanctuary doors. They hung open. Broken.
"No!" I screamed.
Inside, Faye lay unconscious. Blood trickled from a cut on her head. Lily was gone.
"They already took her," Drakon said grimly. He knelt beside Faye, checking her pulse. "She's alive. But Lily..."
"Is still in the castle." I felt it through our magical connection. "She's close. Maybe she escaped and they're chasing her."
"Then we find her first." Drakon shifted to half-dragon form. "Can you track her through your connection?"
I closed my eyes, reaching for Lily through the magic that linked us. There, a faint pull to the east.
"The old library! She's hiding in the old library!"
We sprinted through the castle. Behind us, the Shadow Dragon tore through walls, getting closer to the library section.
"Faster!" I urged.
We burst into the library. Lily crouched behind a bookshelf. Three assassins cornered her, blades drawn.
"Get away from my sister!" I threw ice spears without thinking.
The assassins scattered. One threw a knife at me. Drakon's wing blocked it.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Fine. You take the two on the left. I'll handle the right."
We moved together like we'd been fighting as partners for years. Drakon breathed fire at his attackers while I created ice barriers to trap them. When one assassin got past his flames, I froze the man's feet. When another dodged my ice, Drakon's tail sent him flying.
Perfect teamwork. The mating bond guided us, letting us anticipate each other's moves.
"Behind you!" Drakon warned.
I ducked. His fire blast took out an assassin sneaking up on me.
"Your left!" I called.
Drakon dodged my ice spear that impaled an assassin attacking from his blind spot.
Within minutes, all three assassins were down. Defeated or unconscious.
Lily ran to us. "I knew you'd come! They broke through Faye's wards and grabbed me, but I bit one and ran!"
"Good girl." I hugged her fiercely. "Are you hurt?"
"Just scared." She trembled against me.
The library wall exploded inward. The Shadow Dragon's massive head pushed through, red eyes fixed on Lily.
"Run!" Drakon shifted to full dragon form, placing himself between the creature and us.
But more assassins poured through the hole. At least twenty, all armed with dark magic weapons.
We were trapped. The Shadow Dragon blocked one exit. Assassins blocked the others.
"Elara," Lily whispered. "Use your ice. Create a path."
"I can't control it well enough..."
"Yes, you can." Lily squeezed my hand. "I believe in you."
Her faith gave me courage. I raised both hands and focused everything I had. Not wild panic like before. Controlled power.
Ice exploded from my palms, creating a frozen tunnel through the assassins. It knocked them aside without killing them, clearing a path to the door.
"Go!" I shouted.
Lily ran. I followed, with Drakon covering our escape. He battled the Shadow Dragon, keeping it distracted.
We reached a safer corridor. But assassins kept coming. Wave after wave of them.
"There's too many!" Lily gasped.
"Then we fight together." I created ice weapons in both our hands. "You know basic combat magic?"
"Faye taught me some."
"Good. Stay close."
Mother and daughter or sister and sister in our case fought side by side. My ice magic and Lily's smaller but growing power. We protected each other, covering each other's backs.
Drakon rejoined us, the Shadow Dragon temporarily driven back. Together, the three of us formed an unbreakable unit.
Every assassin that came for Lily met ice, fire, or claws. We didn't let anyone through.
"They're retreating!" Thorne appeared with reinforcements. The assassins fled through the broken wall.
We'd won. Lily was safe.
I collapsed against the wall, exhausted. Drakon shifted back to human form and knelt beside us.
"You were incredible," he said, looking at me with awe. "Both of you."
"We protected our family." I pulled Lily close. "That's all that matters."
Drakon's expression softened. "I've never seen anyone fight as fiercely as you did for your sister. The way you risked everything, threw yourself into danger without hesitation..."
"She's my sister. I'd die for her."
"I know." He touched my face gently. "And that's when I realized something. You've always been this person. Even when you were lying about your identity, this part of you was real. Your love. Your protectiveness. Your willingness to sacrifice everything for those you care about."
Tears filled my eyes. "Drakon..."
"My last doubts are gone." His voice was thick with emotion. "You're exactly who you've always claimed to be. A protector. A hero. My mate."
The mating bond blazed between us, stronger than ever.
Before I could respond, the Shadow Dragon's roar shook the castle again. This time, it sounded different. Triumphant.
We ran to the nearest window. In the courtyard, Queen Morgana held something up. A vial filled with red liquid.
"No," I whispered in horror.
"What is it?" Drakon demanded.
"Lily's blood." My voice shook. "When the assassins grabbed her, they must have cut her. Collected enough for their ritual."
Lily touched her arm. A small cut bled there, half-hidden by her sleeve.
"They don't need me anymore," she realized. "They have what they wanted."
Morgana's voice boomed across the castle: "Thank you for the entertainment! Now watch as we become gods!"
She and Celestia began chanting. The blood moon above pulsed brighter. The Shadow Dragon roared.
And a portal opened behind the queens, not to the shadow realm this time. To something worse. Something that made the Shadow Dragon look like a pet.
Through the portal stepped a being of pure darkness. No form, just endless void shaped vaguely human.
"The Void King," Faye gasped, appearing behind us, leaning on guards for support. "The oldest evil. The one who created the shadow realm. If he fully enters our world, everything dies."
The Void King reached through the portal. Where his hand touched, life withered. Grass turned to ash. Stone crumbled to dust.
"He can't fully cross yet," Faye continued weakly. "The portal isn't stable. They'll need more power to bring him through completely."
"What kind of power?" Drakon asked.
Faye's face went pale. "The heart of winter and the soul of flame. Your powers. They're going to try to steal them now, feed them to the Void King, and let him destroy our world."
Morgana pointed at us. "Come down and face us! Or we'll send the Void King to hunt you!"
I looked at Drakon. He looked at me. The same terrifying question in both our eyes.
How do you fight the literal embodiment of nothingness?