The Crown's Fire - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Risk (unedited)
In her tent, Queen Dana let out a heavy breath as wizard Lurio examined her. It had been a long time since she had used so much inner energy, and she could feel her body tiring more quickly than usual.

“You need to stop channeling your divine power to His Highness and take a rest, Your Majesty,” Lurio scolded gently. “Continuing to use up the rest of your divine energy so quickly will harm your internal organs.”

Dana looked at her dear friend with a weak smile, but he frowned and continued sternly, “If you refuse, then I’ll have no choice but to inform His Majesty, King Stephan.”

Dana chuckled softly and replied, “You don’t need to tell him. I’m aware of my limits. I was just trying to support and recharge the divine power inside Ezekiel to ensure it was functioning properly in all his vital points.”

Letting out another deep sigh, she continued, “Honestly, there’s nothing more I can do at this point. It’s all up to Ezekiel to fight the dragon soul in his body. But we can’t just sit idle. We need to remove that dragon soul from my son’s body as soon as possible. It needs to disappear for good…”

“Are you planning to expel the dragon soul in your current condition? Won’t it be very dangerous?” Lurio questioned, his frown deepening.

“I won’t be able to do it alone, of course. I will need your help on this, Lurio. If necessary, I will use the rest of my celestial power to banish that dragon’s soul. I remember something… but I need to double-check the details about this spell,” Dana explained.

This was why she had mentioned to Tarah earlier that she wouldn’t be able to cast the tophet bloodchain spell if the need arose. She intended to devote all the remaining celestial power of an angel she had to Ezekiel.

“I will do my best to be of help, Your Highness. But for now, you should rest. It’s been a long day. I’ll send word to King Stephan…” Lurio informed with a curt bow.

As Lurio turned to leave, Dana recalled something and asked, “Are you aware of the scar that appears mostly like a mark on Tarah’s back?”

Lurio nodded as he replied, “Prince Ezekiel showed me the drawing and asked if I’m familiar with it. But I’m not… It’s the first time I’ve seen that mark. He asked Seer Tarah about it directly, but she said she couldn’t tell him anything about it.”

Dana’s forehead creased as she narrowed her eyes. ‘Could it be connected to the tophet bloodchain spell she asked about?’ she mused. She then closed her eyes and inwardly cursed because she couldn’t remember if that spell would leave a mark on the body.

“Are you familiar with that mark, Your Majesty?” Lurio asked.

“The mark honestly looks familiar, but I can’t seem to remember it,” Dana commented, recalling the scar that resembled a knife wound with diagonal and horizontal cuts, along with another slanted scar intersecting the horizontal one. It appeared to be a wound scar mark.

She then turned to Lurio and said, “Tarah mentioned that she saw a vision regarding the Tophet blood chain. What if this involves Ezekiel? We need a backup plan. We should search for another fallen angel like me, a repenter who could help break the spell.”

“I’ll handle this matter, Your Highness, and also report the same to His Highness once he wakes up and gets back on his feet,” Lurio reassured. Dana nodded and then murmured, “I want to check on my daughter first. I’m feeling quite better now.”

********

Inside Prince Ezekiel’s tent, Cora had already left, and Tarah should have been sleeping by now. However, she couldn’t bring herself to rest. Instead, she sat by Ezekiel’s bedside, her gaze fixed on his unconscious form.

After Queen Dana’s departure, Tarah felt as though she couldn’t breathe properly. It was evident that the queen wouldn’t be able to assist her in breaking the damn tophet bloodchain spell Devon cast on her and Levi. Closing her eyes, Tarah tried to calm herself, focusing on memories of Levi’s smiling face.

She couldn’t afford to lose hope for Levi. Opening her eyes again, she gazed softly at the unconscious prince. It would likely be days before he woke up, and she hoped that when he did, he would finally regain control over the dragon’s soul.

“Will you really be able to succeed in killing Devon?” Tarah whispered weakly, her shoulders slumped. It was her only option—having someone kill Devon—because she wouldn’t risk Levi’s life.

She had seen it in a vision while they were inside the cave before—Ezekiel killing Devon, burning him alive into ashes. The vision wasn’t entirely clear, but it filled her with a sense of relief. “I will assist and help you with everything I’ve got,” she declared firmly, her gaze unwavering as she looked at Ezekiel.

*******

After his fight with Nikolai, Zoran transported himself directly to his hideout, unbeknownst to Devon. It was a place protected by a strong spell to keep the woman he loved out of Devon’s reach.

[Zoran!]

Zoran groaned as he felt a familiarly excruciating electric jolt run through his body.

[Zoran!!!]

Devon yelled through their bond, and Zoran was rushing as he made his way inside his confined room protected by his spell so that Devon wouldn’t be able to locate him whenever he answered his calls.

[Zoran!!!]

Zoran was crawling into his confined chamber when he coughed blood. He had to answer this monster quickly before he got too impatient.

[Yes, Master…] he immediately answered as soon as he made it into his safe room.

[You bastard! Do you really want to die by my hand?] Devon barked at him. [Be grateful that you’re the best warlock I have, or else I wouldn’t hesitate to take your life!]

Before he could even brace himself, Zoran’s body convulsed as the dark mist of the serpent symbol on his back crawled out and appeared in front of him.