The Crown's Fire - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Scrolls and A Journal
One thing led to another, Tarah quickly cleaned herself up and changed into a new set of clothes after Devon was done with her.

“Please keep your promise and let my brother be taken care of by Asura,” she reminded him.

Devon had a smug look on his face after he was done with her, but he still looked satisfied with how submissive she was to him a while ago. Tarah could only grit her teeth and ball her fists as usual as she tried her best to clear her mind of negative thoughts, especially the thought of wanting to kill Devon.

Truly, all she needed to do was fill her mind with Levi’s smiling face and imagine how the two of them would soon live a peaceful and happy life together. At first, it was hard to even think of such a thing, but in due time, she was able to overcome them, mainly because of her strong determination not to put her brother in pain and at great risk.

Back in the present, Devon moved to approach her, but Tarah quickly said, “I need to teleport back to Zion. There’s an important scroll that I must retrieve that could help me awaken the dragon spirit.” She then leveled a glare at him and added, “I need to go now, or I might miss the opportunity.”

The demon frowned at her words, but he didn’t say anything as he created a portal for her. Tarah quickly entered, and as soon as she arrived, Laban, who was now in charge of their kingdom, was already there waiting for her with Asura beside him.

“King Devon told me that you asked for my daughter to look after your brother,” Laban angrily stated. “How dare you-”

“Father, that’s enough,” Asura stopped him. “Go and head back to what you were doing. I can assist Her Ladyship from here.”

Laban grunted, but he no longer argued as he instead gave Asura a knowing look. “Make sure that you won’t take your eyes off her!” he commanded. “Remember what I told you. Take this chance to please our King.”

Tarah was no longer surprised to hear it knowing how Asura’s father was greedy and incapable of being a good person. He would even sell his daughter just to have more power and a secure position, and no one had seen this coming because he was good at hiding his true self. He fooled everyone including her and her parents.

If only she was able to touch him before the siege in their kingdom. She would’ve known how he had already sold himself to the demon before things went downhill. But that was all in the past. There was no point in her dwelling on things that already happened since she could no longer turn back time in the first place. All she could do now was simply move forward and focus on how to change her future.

“I will, Father,” Asura said before whisking her away with her. This time, it was she who held Tarah’s wrist as she led her to the temple.

Some of their people threw sharp glances at Asura as they passed by, especially those who strongly viewed Asura as the traitor’s daughter. however, Tarah knew her friend well enough. Asura could be clumsy and was often not careful with her words, but the woman had no ill intention on others.

She already saw her past, and she saw how Asura would often cry in the dark due to all of the pain and guilt she felt.

“It’s your own choice if you want to follow your father, but I must tell you that being with Devon is like living in hell for you,” Tarah reminded her friend while the two of them walked. “Just wait a bit longer… I will soon take you away from this hell.”

Tarah could feel Asura’s eyes on her. She took a breath and sighed, “I don’t want to promise anything, but I do want you to know that I’m doing my best so that all of us can live a peaceful happy life like we used to before.” She then stopped in her tracks once they reached the altar. “I will entrust you with my brother’s welfare, Asura. Please look after him while I’m gone.”

Asura nodded at the request, and Tarah pulled her arm away from her before staring at the ruined altar used for burnt offerings. It had been a while since she last stepped foot in their kingdom’s temple, and clearly, it didn’t look the way it used to.

Almost everything in their castle was ruined, and right now, Tarah was aware of how her people were in peril as they worked nonstop to supply Helion with everything they had.

Walking in, she entered the spacious altar and looked around. In the center of the area, there was something very important buried, but Tarah wouldn’t dig for it just yet. Instead, she stared at the corner and chanted a spell.

For a brief moment, nothing happened. But then, a number of scrolls and a journal appeared before her. The moment she touched the scrolls, however, they all quickly burned up into ash, their energies all seeping into her own inner energy.

“What’s happening?” Asura worriedly asked.

“I’m not sure, but it seems like there’s a protective spell around them if they all disintegrated after someone not authorized to touch them did so,” Tarah lied. In truth, what happened was that her Dragonrider bloodline just got updated due to the scrolls having the blood seal spell of her ancestors.

Before she knew it, all details regarding languages and spells for dragons had already passed onto her memories. The influx of information was so great that her knees weakened and she slumped onto the floor. She even vomited because of the dizziness.

“Are you alright?” Asura burst out as she quickly approached her side.

Tarah nodded as she then grabbed the journal while holding onto Asura’s hand. “I will call on Devon now.”

Asura simply nodded as she helped her get up. “I might lose consciousness, but tell King Devon that he has to transport me back to the forest.” she weakly told her friend.

She then handed her the journal and added, “Tell him that this is the missing part in the Ancient Book of Dragons. This is what he needs for Sibil to perfect the spell so that they can extract the dragon’s power. Also, remember to tell him to teleport me back even if I’m still unconscious, or we’ll miss an opportunity. If that happens, he will change the course of events. He will lose the dragon’s power.”