The Crown's Fire - Chapter 235

Chapter 235: Khal’s Claws
Ezekiel informed Katelina of the latest news from the Summit.

“Shouldn’t we go back?” she asked worriedly after learning about the ambush that happened in the forest during the hunt.

“It’s nothing to worry about. Everything is being sorted out. Let the new king handle these minor setbacks. Besides, he’s fine,” Ezekiel commented, gently caressing her cheek.

“Are you done?” he asked as she began organizing her things.

“Yes, we should go now and see my brother. For some reason, I feel something ominous about what happened. You said King Moler encountered a sorceress on his way to the Summit. I’m sure it’s Devon’s followers. They have plans, and this ambush is just the start of it,” Katelina murmured.

‘I must warn Luis and ensure extra protection for Levi and the eggs,’ she thought.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll put extra protection on them,” Ezekiel suddenly commented.

Katelina’s eyes widened as she rapidly blinked at Ezekiel. She was sure she hadn’t voiced her thoughts. “You! You can read my mind?” she exclaimed.

Ezekiel’s awkward smile confirmed her suspicion. She thought their bond only allowed them to feel each other’s emotions and communicate through a mindlink, but listening to your thoughts?

“How come I can’t read yours? Wait… Are you blocking your thoughts from me? Can I also block my thoughts from you? Tell me the truth, Kiel, or I’ll be mad at you!” she demanded sternly, her face darkening.

“Yes, you can block your thoughts from me as well,” Ezekiel answered simply, pouting.

“Teach me!” Katelina demanded.

“Why should I? Kate, I like listening to your thoughts,” Ezekiel muttered with a long face. Katelina didn’t know whether to laugh at his expression or get mad at him for invading her privacy.

“But that’s not fair! You’re blocking your thoughts from me too,” she argued.

“I’m not blocking my thoughts from you at all, Kate. Can’t you hear them?” Ezekiel asked, looking serious as he stared at her, seemingly unable to believe she couldn’t read his mind.

“I can’t!” Katelina mumbled, her face scrunched up in frustration.

“That’s weird, you should be able to listen to my thoughts too,” Ezekiel commented.

[Khal, what’s wrong with the bond? Why can’t Katelina listen to my thoughts? What is going on? We’re able to communicate well through the mindlink, but why can’t she hear my thoughts?] Ezekiel inquired of Khal, including Katelina in the loop so she could hear.

[It’s because she bound another dragon to herself. Her bond with Onyx is preventing her from hearing your thoughts. It will work fine once the bond she has with the other dragon is severed,] Khal explained.

“Teach me how to block my thoughts now, or I will not see you for days!” Katelina threatened, her anger evident. Ezekiel released a heavy sigh and muttered, “Alright. I will teach you.”

Blocking her thoughts seemed easy enough; she just needed to concentrate and form a barrier through their flame bond. However, she had no way of confirming if she was doing it correctly.

“I can no longer hear it,” Ezekiel murmured with a shrug, making her eyebrows flicker in skepticism. She wondered if he was pretending, closely watching his reaction to see if he could read her doubts.

“This is so frustrating. I can no longer enjoy hearing your thoughts,” he continued to complain. “It’s not even my fault you can’t hear me. And here I am thinking you’re enjoying all those wild thoughts I’m having about you, including how many times and the different positions I want to take you,” he shamelessly added.

Katelina’s eyes widened, and her face reddened. Seeing how Ezekiel would continue to voice his thoughts, she scolded, “Stop it already. You’re impossible!”

Ezekiel chuckled and gently pulled her into his embrace. Katelina felt his lips on her head as he said, “I’m sorry if you feel like I’m invading your privacy too much. I really didn’t know you couldn’t hear my thoughts. Khal didn’t inform me about it. All along, I thought we were both enjoying listening to each other’s thoughts.”

Katelina took a deep breath and sighed. She wasn’t that mad, but she still felt it was unfair. Maybe she would consider unblocking him once she could hear his thoughts, but that meant severing her bond with Onyx, and she didn’t want that. Onyx had chosen her as her dragonrider, and dragons tended to feel dejected if their bond with their chosen rider was severed.

“It’s alright. Let’s go now and visit my brother,” Katelina urged.

With that, Ezekiel sent a word to Lurio with his pigeon. It didn’t take long for Lurio to appear before them.

“Your Majesties,” Lurio formally greeted them. Then he handed her a small journal. “I wrote everything you need to do and practice there so you’ll recall how you managed to perfect the teleportation spell. Regaining your knowledge in forming a teleportation spell will come in handy in the future,” Lurio explained.

Katelina nodded and uttered, “Thank you for this, Lord Lurio.”

Ezekiel then signaled Lurio to cast the teleportation spell, and in an instant, the portal appeared before them. Ezekiel held her hand, and they both entered the portal that led them to the Dragon Blood Forest.

Without her veil, it was only natural that her guards at the palace didn’t recognize her, but they immediately recognized Ezekiel.

“I guess it’s your first time seeing your Queen Regent without her veil,” Ezekiel commented to the royal guards, who instantly bowed their heads to the ground and apologized fervently, “Your Majesty, we deserve to die for not recognizing you!”

Katelina gulped at their extreme apologies, knowing it wasn’t their fault for not recognizing her. “Please rise and return to your posts and duties,” she simply instructed.

As she and Ezekiel proceeded inside, one of the guards quickly ran ahead to spread the news. Everyone they passed greeted her and Ezekiel with the utmost respect.

“Welcome back, Your Majesties,” everyone greeted with a curt bow as they passed by.

Katelina bit her inner cheek, feeling the glances all over her. Her face blushed hard seeing the admiration on her people’s faces for her beauty.

[I should be proud, right? But why do I feel bitter seeing those males ogling at you? Let’s hurry,] Ezekiel commented through their bond, making her smile and let out a small, controlled chuckle.

[I should say the same to the women ogling at you as well!] she scoffed.

Their small banter was interrupted when Levi ran towards her.

“Big sister! You’re back!!! I missed you!” he beamed, and Katelina bent down just enough to hug and carry Levi.

“Oh goodness, you’re getting so heavy!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, come here, little one, and let me carry you instead,” Ezekiel quickly offered. Katelina blinked, seeing how easily Levi let Ezekiel carry him in his arms.

“I’ve been seeing you often in my dreams and visions,” Levi whispered in Ezekiel’s ear, loud enough for Katelina to hear since she was practically walking side by side with him.

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes at Levi and whispered back, “You must make sure no one knows about this special gift of yours, alright? So next time, don’t mention it when others are around.”

Levi nodded obediently and then said, “I’m glad you and my sister came because I have important matters to discuss.”

Luis approached them and quickly greeted her and Ezekiel with a curt bow. “Come with us to the secret chamber,” Katelina instructed, and Luis followed behind them. They were in the hallway on their way to the secret chamber when Ezekiel suddenly halted.

“Wait,” he commanded. Katelina stopped and turned to him. His face was dark, and his gaze was intense.

“What’s wrong?” she questioned.

“Someone is following us,” Ezekiel informed as he looked around. Luis immediately unsheathed his sword and assumed a defensive stance to protect her.

Katelina looked but saw nothing. She saw Ezekiel form what looked like a gas ball in his hand and quickly threw it in a specific direction.

Katelina’s eyes widened as she recognized the woman dressed as one of the servants. Her face darkened with realization. Luis reacted quickly, catching the woman and pressing his sword against her throat.

“Too late,” the woman menaced with a mocking laugh.

Katelina’s eyes widened. She recognized the woman from the temple where she worked as a servant. “The dragon eggs!”

In an instant, Katelina dashed into her bedchamber to check on the dragon eggs.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel approached the woman and seized her by the neck. “Where are the others hiding?” he demanded with a cold gaze.

The woman smirked defiantly. “Kill me. You won’t get anything from me.”

Ezekiel turned to Luis and commanded, “Take Levi to Katelina. I’ll handle this.”

Luis swiftly took Levi from Ezekiel’s arms. As soon as Levi was safely out of harm’s way, Khal’s claws emerged from his fingertips, piercing through the woman’s neck, causing her to scream in pain.

This time, Ezekiel smirked knowingly. He didn’t require her to utter a word; with a touch of his claws to the nerve connected to her brain, he could glean the information he needed.