The Crown's Fire - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Shifting Back
As always, Tarah spent her day with the dragon while waiting for Ezekiel to finally shift back into his human form. Currently, she was staring at her journal with a deep frown on her face as she tried to think about a few things.

In her previous vision that appeared after Queen Mineah had successfully fused Ezekiel’s spirit back to his body, both Zoran and the Vampire King discovered their location at the same time. Tarah then witnessed how the two fought against each other after Zoran managed to capture them and put her and Ezekiel inside a barrier.

Being responsible, she promptly mentioned this to Queen Dana and Wizard Lurio to see if there was anything they could do. However, moving the dragon after fusing Ezekiel’s spirit back to it was never an option because it would disrupt the process. As such, Tarah simply asked Lurio to add another layer of protection in the cave, even though she knew that it wouldn’t be enough, especially against a powerful warlock like Zoran.

One way or another, that warlock would sense the protections in the cave and pierce through it no matter what.

Tarah let out a heavy sigh as she stared at the dragon before her. It was currently still unconscious while enclosed in a golden sphere. It might look peaceful now, but there was a battle going on within… a battle of dominance between Ezekiel and Vulcan’s souls.

Looking up at the night sky, she felt her muscles tense up at what she saw. It was the new moon like in her vision.

“Your Highness, please hurry and shift back to your human form,” Tarah murmured to herself. It was only then that they could move him away from danger.

As if hearing her prayer, the dragon’s eyes suddenly opened as the sphere covering its body changed to white. Tarah clasped her hands together as she silently prayed for Ezekiel’s success. Then, a roar boomed from the sphere as its colors began changing rapidly, blocking her from seeing the dragon.

‘He’s shifting back,’ Tarah thought as she watched it all unfold before her eyes. Slowly, the mist vanished, and Tarah’s lips parted when the dragon’s body slowly turned back to Ezekiel’s naked human form.

The dragon’s golden scales shimmered under the moon’s gentle glow as it began its transformation. With a graceful twist of its massive body, the dragon closed its eyes. A subtle ripple coursed through its form. And then, with a sudden burst of energy, the dragon’s body began to contort and reshape.

Bones elongated and muscles shifted beneath its skin. Scales receded, replaced by smooth, supple skin. Wings folded and disappeared into the dragon’s back, while its tail shortened and merged seamlessly with its spine. Within moments, where once stood a mighty dragon, now stood Ezekiel’s human form.

“His clothes…”

Noticing his nakedness, Tarah quickly grabbed his clothes from inside her magical purse. Her face was red, but she was unable to look away with how magnificent the process of a dragon shifting back to Ezekiel’s human form looked like.

Soon enough, the process ended, and she quickly walked towards him to help him up. He was struggling to get back on his feet, and she did her best to give him support.

“Your Highness,” she called to him while quickly wrapping a cloak around him.

“I’ll do it,” he weakly said as he grabbed the rest of his clothes. “You can stop looking.”

Tarah’s face further reddened as she quickly looked away, letting him handle the rest. After a few moments, she felt Ezekiel’s arm on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he reasoned as he put a bit of his weight on her. “For some reason, I’m having a hard time keeping myself standing.”

“It’s understandable, Your Highness,” Tarah reassured her. “Your body is still weak.”

Ezekiel almost smiled back when something happened. She felt his body tense up. Did something happen?

“Someone’s coming,” he grunted. “I can feel their powerful presence…”

Tarah’s eyes widened. “We have to move quickly…”

Immediately, she started walking, almost dragging Ezekiel along with her. But once they were near the other exit of the cave, their bodies suddenly bounced away, causing them to fall to the ground.

“Hmm… I managed to decode the encrypted message you sent through a pigeon. I must say… It took me a few days to do so, but here we are now. And it looks like the dragon has already shifted back to its human form.”

Tarah felt her heart skip as she saw warlock Zoran approaching them with a victorious grin. She inwardly cursed at her lack of power enough to fight the warlock, and the same went with Ezekiel’s current state.

Thankfully, like what she saw in her vision, the Vampire King of Valcrez, Queen Mineah’s husband, appeared just in time to save them.

“Ezekiel,” King Nikolai called out as he attacked Zoran.

“We need to get out of this barrier,” Tarah murmured as she did her best to find a way out.

“Mineah,” Ezekiel murmured.

Tarah followed Ezekiel’s gaze. And her face immediately lit up with hope. “Your Majesty!”

Seeing Ezekiel’s sister coming out from a portal with Wizard Lurio gave her much hope that they could survive this unfortunate event. And surely, Mineah would be able to pierce through the barrier Zoran created.

“My body is burning,” Ezekiel gasped out.

Hearing his distress, Tarah let his head rest on her lap. “Hang in there, Your Highness. Try focusing on fully controlling your body for now. Vulcan’s soul is still inside you, so you shouldn’t let your guard down,” she advised while giving him all the encouragement she could. “The Vampire King and your sister are here together with wizard Lurio. Let them take care of the rest while you’re taking care of the dragon soul inside of you.”

From there, Tarah could only watch as wizard Lurio tried altering the spell that was holding her and Ezekiel captive. And from there, Queen Mineah created a teleportation spell and went through it. It then quickly vanished before instantly reappearing beside Tarah and Ezekiel.

“Tarah, go bring Brother inside the portal with you immediately,” Mineah advised. “This will teleport you back to the encampment.”

“You!” Zoran yelled at Queen Mineah the moment he noticed what they were doing by the sidelines.

“Attack her! Don’t let them escape!”

“Quickly!” Mineah screamed. “I won’t be able to hold this for much longer!”

Taking the hint, Tarah nodded and promptly dragged Ezekiel’s body through the portal with her with all her might. A few moments later, they were finally in the safety of their allies.

“Son,” Queen Dana burst out the moment they reappeared inside the prince’s tent in the encampment.

From there, Queen Dana helped Tarah assist Ezekiel onto his bed.

“The portal, it’s still open… My daughter… Where is my daughter?” Queen Dana gasped.

Right then, Tarah had another vision where Zoran managed to capture Queen Mineah, leaving her to become Devon’s captive.

‘No! That can’t be!’ Tarah inwardly gasped. She must do something to change that event!

“Your Majesty, I need to go back inside,” Tarah told Queen Dana with her eyes on Prince Ezekiel who was now unconscious.