The Crown's Fire - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: An Illusion
“I… suppose we would just have to wait then.”

With Ezekiel having disappeared on them, Queen Dana, along with Tarah and Wizard Lurio remained sitting in his tent while waiting for him to contact them. Well, Tarah would be the only one waiting while the other two waited for her to tell them something.

Somehow, it placed a bit of pressure on her to reassure the two that everything was fine.

“Waiting… is the only choice we have left, isn’t it?” Lurio humorlessly chuckled at Tarah’s offhand remark. “Until the Prince contacts you, we’re left to simply speculate on what exactly is happening with His Highness.”

“I’m sure that he knows what he’s doing,” Tarah reassured both the wizard and the queen. “He wouldn’t just leave us like that without a plan. He even said that he’d contact us through our bond.”

“That’s a small relief, at least. However, we still have to do something regarding his disappearance,” Queen Dana stated with a hint of resignation in her voice. “I trust my son, but the same couldn’t be said with the others. Princess Ezme would have to be addressed, especially if she ever decides to check on my son on a whim.”

Tarah winced at that. That was… actually quite the problem they had to address.

“How about I just lay in the bed and pretend to be His Highness while he’s gone?” Lurio suggested with a hint of amusement. “Magic can be rather convenient when we least expect it, yes?”

“An illusion then?” Dana questioned back. “Princess Ezme might know enough to discern the trick.”

“We only need to make it look convincing for a while,” Lurio explained. “If the prince is correct, he might return before we even need to create a better alibi for his disappearance.”

The queen hummed to herself in thought before nodding. “Very well. Proceed with the plan.”

With permission granted, Lurio wordlessly laid himself on Ezekiel’s bed before summoning an illusion spell to wash over him. For a brief second, his form flickered before it was eventually replaced with the visage of Ezekiel unconscious in his own bed.

And thus, the current normal was established with Tarah simply waiting with Queen Dana. Every once in a while, the queen would ask her what his son was doing, but all she could reply was the fact that he hadn’t contacted her at the moment. For a brief hour, the same routine continued, until eventually…

[Tarah, are you all alright back there?]

Tarah’s eyes lit up with relief upon hearing the sound of Ezekiel’s voice. And evidently, the queen noticed her reaction as the older woman leaned forward in her seat, clearly curious for any sort of developments regarding her son.

[We’re alright here,] Tarah replied with a faint smile. [But how about you? Did the dragon give you any trouble?]

[Actually, it didn’t. In fact, I haven’t felt this much in control in my entire life,] Ezekiel gleefully relayed. [I have full control over the dragon and its powers. Whatever Vulcan is capable of before, I now also have control over them.]

“What did my son say?” the queen suddenly asked.

“Prince Ezekiel is safe and unharmed,” Tarah informed her with a smile. “In fact, he now has full control over the dragon.”

They both let out a sigh of relief at the news. Even more, Tarah was more than glad that the bond she formed between Ezekiel and the dragon spirit was a success. Judging from his words, it seemed like there was nothing stopping him from fully utilizing the dragon’s power with reckless abandon. Not that he would ever do such a thing, but he now wielded a weapon far mightier than any other kingdom could ever dream of controlling.

“That’s a relief,” Queen Dana smiled.

[Did you speak with my mother just now?] Ezekiel asked her through the bond.

[I just told her that you’re alright,] Tarah stated. [Frankly, all of us are.]

It was just natural, after all. While she had already bonded the dragon spirit, there was still a chance that she had failed somewhere down the line during the procedure. Hearing that he was practically the dragon now reassured her that her work was a success. It also meant that even if Devon were to ever expel Vulcan’s soul from his body, the dragon’s spirit and all of its power would still remain within Ezekiel.

He now had sole access to such power… The sole dragon that would ever grace the world.

[Ah, in that case, please tell her that I’m alright,] Ezekiel told her. [I also took the initiative of helping our troops on the northern border. Whatever offensive Helion had in the area is gone. I melted them all down into slag.]

Tarah couldn’t help but smile at that. But that was all that she allowed herself to do in the wake of such news.

“What is it?” the queen asked her.

“The Prince told me to inform you that he’s fine and that he had just secured the entire northern borders of Ebodia against Helion,” Tarah couldn’t help but smirk with every word. “He even worded it as ‘melting them all down into slag.'”

“Oh my,” the queen gasped before letting out a soft smile. “I’m glad. That’s one problem off our back for now.”

The tense atmosphere from before finally lifted as a steady communication between them and Ezekiel was established. With Tarah acting as a liaison, Ezekiel talked them through his process as well as how he now had the power to protect Ebodia all on his own.

But just as things were looking up, Princess Ezme casually walked into the tent to check on Ezekiel. It was already expected, but they didn’t think the princess would come this early.

“I’ve come to see if Prince Ezekiel is in need of some assistance,” Ezme shamelessly announced with a grin. She then spotted the illusion and frowned. “He’s still unconscious?”

“He is, yes,” the queen coolly replied. “He needs the rest, unfortunately.”