The Crown's Fire - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Too Weak Against You
Tarah let out a heavy sigh as she quietly planned her next move. Time was crucial for her right now, so she needed to get to Zion this instant and get things moving.

Thankfully, Ezekiel had made things comfortable for her by gathering some twigs and using some magic to make it into a comfortable flat makeshift bed that she could sleep on a while ago. He also gave her his cloak to use to cover herself more from the cold.

Thinking about it now, her face blushed hard when she remembered that she had brought Seer Beirut’s magical cloak with her so that she could use it to give herself warmth. But despite having it, she didn’t refuse the prince’s offer when he gave her his cloak and used it instead.

‘I must be crazy,’ she scolded herself as her grip on the cloak tightened.

After a few moments of thinking to herself, she eventually decided to get up. Right then, she saw Ezekiel sitting not far from her. He was still awake simply staring at the fire while putting more twigs into it.

‘Is he keeping it lit to keep me warm?’ she thought to herself before quickly clearing her head. She needed to remind herself that she shouldn’t give any meaning to things like this.

“I can’t sleep,” she said as she sat beside him. “Maybe we can return to the encampment now that there are no more visible dragon scales on you.”

She wasn’t able to get rid of all of them, but at least she managed to remove those that were on visible parts of his such as his jaw, neck, and his hands and arms.

“There’s still a risk of me shifting into a dragon with my soldiers nearby. I refuse to compromise their safety like that,” Ezekiel retorted. “I’ll stay here till either the waning crescent moon phase ends or once I’m able to fully have control over this damn soul in my body.”

Tarah nodded in agreement. In truth, she thought it would be better if Ezekiel stayed away from others during this time so that no one would witness him turning into a dragon.

“Anyway, you can also see someone’s past right,” he suddenly stated. “A clairvoyant human like you is scarce.”

Tarah didn’t respond. She was waiting for him to ask about it a while ago, but he didn’t for some reason.

“I’m sorry if I hid that fact from you,” she murmured with her head hanging low. She didn’t want anyone to find out about her clairvoyant abilities after everything she had been through.

“Don’t be. It’s always your choice to hide or share your gifts with others. All of us should look for what’s more good for us,” Ezekiel genuinely remarked. “The world we live in right now is very chaotic, so I won’t take it against you. I truly understand why you had to keep some things to yourself.”

Tarah sighed upon hearing those words from him. She felt relieved that he wouldn’t judge her too much for her decisions.

“Thank you,” she sincerely nodded. She then recalled something and asked, “A while ago, Vulcan mentioned that I was probably the woman Seer Beirut told you about. That I was going to be your doom…”

“Seer Beirut’s vision is not entirely clear on this one except that he saw a woman with ice blue irises and silver white hair as yours,” Ezekiel explained. “He saw such a woman to be my doom, probably to bring me to my demise.”

Tarah gulped at that. Seer Beirut’s vision might’ve been unclear but it was clear as day that it was her…

‘Don’t worry, I’ll try my best… to save you,’ Tarah inwardly vowed to herself. And she meant to. It was the least she could do for him. After all, in the end, she knew she would do anything, even betray Ezekiel, just to save her brother Leviticus.

Moments passed, and there was a deafening silence between them as the fire between them continued to glow and give her warmth. It was already past midnight if she was not mistaken, and Ezekiel suddenly stood up with a frown.

“Something’s wrong. Wizard Lurio should be here by now,” he said. “I gave him our exact location. Someone must have intercepted my message, which means we should head back.”

Ezekiel walked outside the cave with Tarah following behind him. Needing to leave, they needed a mode of transportation. However, there was only one available horse; the one Tarah used.

“Mount the horse,” he said while offering his hand to assist her up.

She did as she was told. From there, she watched him mount the horse and position himself behind her back. He then wrapped his arms around her and reigned in the horse to move.

They started their journey back to the encampment in silence. Their surroundings were a bit foggy and eerie, which prompted the prince to try and give them some protection.

“I will cast a protective barrier,” Ezekiel commented.

Tarah remained silent as she tried to focus on more important things rather than on what she was feeling while she and Ezekiel were seated close like this. Still, they hadn’t traveled far yet when Tarah suddenly felt Ezekiel’s arms around her waist tightened.

“Your Highness,” she gasped when she felt his nose and lips on the crook of her neck. She then felt shivers run down her spine when his warm lips trailed kisses on her.

Gulping, Tarah blinked as she slowly turned her head. She had to move her head to the side to do that, and doing so gave Ezekiel more access to her as he started suckling on her skin.

“Your Highness!” she called out, her voice being much louder.

Finally hearing her, Ezekiel stopped and slowly raised his head. He was grinning, and Tarah’s eyes widened once she saw that it was Vulcan’s eyes again.

“This prince is too weak against you, Dragonrider. It’s way too easy for me to take control whenever his urge and desire for you take over him,” Vulcan mocked. “He simply couldn’t hold it in.”

Tarah didn’t know what to do. But before things could happen, his eyes flickered back to normal again. He then stopped the horse and dismounted it. Tarah quickly moved and followed him.

“Your Highness,” she called to him.

He turned to face her, and again, his eyes flickered. He whimpered at the attempt, and Tarah saw this opportunity to chant a spell. She didn’t know if it would work, but she hoped it would.

“What are you-”

Ezekiel was unable to finish his words as instantly he fell unconscious to the ground. Tarah then quickly moved his body to safety before tying the horse near him. She then chanted another spell to make a protective barrier around him and the horse.

“I won’t take long…” she murmured while staring at Ezekiel before closing her eyes. She then said, “My Lord, I need you.”