The Crown's Fire - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Dragon’s Draconite
Inside the inhospitable forest…

[Does this mean I won’t be able to shift back to my human form unless my spirit returns?] Ezekiel asked her.

[Yes, so we need to look for your wandering spirit,] Tarah answered as she walked and searched the forest while the dragon followed her from behind.

Tarah sighed at her current situation. Until now, she was still fascinated with how well she could communicate with both Ezekiel and Vulcan through telepathy. She had successfully performed the dragon bond, but apparently, Ezekiel and Vulcan’s souls were still at a tug of war on who would take full control of their shared body.

It made for a funny situation at least. A while ago, it was Vulcan cursing her, and now it was Ezekiel asking her questions. She wouldn’t be surprised if the dragon would suddenly speak to her out of the blue. Ezekiel’s flickering eye colors would clue her in back then, but now it was his and Vulcan’s voice shifting inside her head every now and then.

[You’ll never find his spirit,] Vulcan spoke to her again. [If I were you, I’d try making a deal with me, and I might consider not killing you once I take full control of his body.]

Tarah stopped walking and annoyingly turned around to face the dragon with a frown. She just knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate if these two souls refused to stop contacting her.

“I’m your dragonrider, so nothing you say will make sense to me, Vulcan,” she stated with narrowed eyes.

[You’re forgetting how I can wipe out all of your kind so easily,] Vulcan bellowed.

“Not at all. I’m here, right?” Tarah countered with a frown.

Staring closely at the dragon, she was fearless as she walked closer to it. Vulcan hissed at her, but she simply chanted a spell to make it stay still. From what she noticed, Vulcan was a golden dragon, but she noticed something shining on its head. Touching it, a vision then suddenly appeared before Tarah’s eyes.

“The Queen of Valcrez? Queen Mineah?” she unknowingly whispered as she saw the Queen inside Devon’s castle. “This…”

[What is going on? Did you see a vision of my sister?] Ezekiel spoke. [Tarah, is Mineah in danger?]

Tarah did her best to ignore Ezekiel’s voice as she weighed her options. She could let him see the vision because she had the power to do so, but in the end, she chose not to. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to take the risk of changing the course of ordained fate and letting her brother suffer in return.

As such, she needed to tread very carefully before making any drastic decisions. Mulling over her words, Tarah opened her eyes and vaguely stated, “A draconite stone. Your sister Mineah will need it. We need to extract one from Vulcan’s dragon form.”

[How?] Ezekiel eagerly asked. [Tell me how I can-]

[No! How dare you think you can have one of my draconite stones!] Vulcan roared, cutting Ezekiel off as it took over. [I will not allow that to happen!]

Tarah felt like her head would burst at any minute just by hearing Ezekiel and Vulcan’s voices constantly fighting over control over one another. She was trying to get a hang of it, but it was quite hard, especially whenever a vision like that would appear all of a sudden.

Unable to keep her strength up, her knees wobbled before she weakly slumped into the ground while massaging her temples.

[Tarah,] Ezekiel called out to her.

“I… Please… This is too much for me…” she muttered with her hand raised as she signaled for them to stop. She then raised her head and said, “Your Highness, do you think you can try holding on for longer and not let Vulcan take over? Also, stop contacting me through the bond unless it’s very important. Let me have some peace for some time.”

[I understand…] Ezekiel answered.

Finally having some silence in her mind, Tarah didn’t bother getting up. Instead, she sat down in a more comfortable position as she crossed her legs together.

Calming her body, she started working on her inner energy and her bloodline as a dragonrider once more. She had succeeded in activating her new powers, but she still needed to meditate and cultivate it properly for her to fully use her abilities with ease.

Focusing on herself, Tarah felt a bit light as things began moving smoothly. She could feel how the dragon was still before her and simply watching her keenly, and she smiled knowing that Ezekiel had managed to get a hold of Vulcan while she was meditating.

It wouldn’t take her too much time, she was sure. Just a few more cultivation sessions and she would eventually become a proper dragonrider.

After some time, Tarah opened her eyes, and right then, she smiled at the dragon before her. “Let me just write all of the important things I know into this journal for a while,” she told him. “It’s very important that I keep details of everything, Your Highness. This journal… I will hand this over to you eventually so that you can use it in the future.”

Having said her intent, Tarah then grabbed her journal and wrote down every important detail she saw in her visions that involved Ezekiel. She also wrote down a few important points she discovered in herself ever since she managed to activate the dragonrider bloodline in her.

[Why would I need that journal when you’re bound to stay by my side forever?]

Tarah stiffened upon hearing Ezekiel’s words. Inwardly biting her inner lip, she didn’t know how to respond as she stared at him. There was no way that what he said would ever happen.

What she saw in her vision was Ezekiel becoming Ebodia’s King fulfilling his dreams of uniting every kingdom into one rule under him. It was him leading a Global Summit for every kingdom, and she was not there by his side. However, this journal of hers would remain in his possession.

Mentally shaking her head, Tarah gave a half smile at the dragon as she said, “It’s still better to always have a backup plan like this. And besides, my memories wouldn’t be able to keep every single detail intact as I age. As such, it’s still best to keep notes regarding everything.”

[So tell me then, how can I give you one of this dragon’s draconite?] Ezekiel asked.

“Right, Queen Mineah will need it. You need to get tired and pant for me to easily extract one…” Tarah answered.

[Let me burn all of your soldiers nearby then, dimwit!] Vulcan interrupted.

Before Tarah could respond, the dragon flapped its wings, making her eat its dust as it flew above the sky.

“No!” Tarah horrendously gasped.