The Crown's Fire - Chapter 76

Chapter 76: My Pet
Almost as if in response to her musings, Tarah noticed a familiar raven perched on a nearby tree. It was Cloy, the raven she had enchanted so that she and Aurelia could exchange messages with each other.

Cora, following Tarah’s gaze, instinctively reached for her arrow to shoot the raven.

“No!” Tarah intervened, stopping her.

“But it’s suspicious,” Cora argued with a frown, her bow still aimed at the raven. “What if it’s a spy for Devon? I sense a spell on it.”

“That’s my pet, Cloy,” Tarah explained, and sure enough, the raven flew towards her, perching itself on her outstretched arm. “It’s been a while. Do you have a message for me? Hmm, I suppose you do.”

Seeing the familiar compartment on the raven’s foot, she retrieved the parchment within and quickly read it, her expression lighting up the more she read Aurelia’s message. The parchment then quickly crumbled to dust after she was done reading it.

“You look so happy, My Lady,” Cora softly noted.

“Hmm…” Tarah nodded thoughtfully. “My friend from Cordon wants to see me,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips.

She recalled that Aurelia had not sent any messages to her after she refrained from replying to her friend’s request for help regarding her clairvoyant abilities. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, even if she was needed to aid King Darius, someone that she was acquainted with. It was all to avoid complicating matters with her disguise, something that she was still making sure would remain intact.

Thankfully, her inaction didn’t make her lose a friend, and Tarah found relief in Aurelia’s message which conveyed a genuine concern for her well-being and a desire to meet her.

“What good timing! We’re heading to Cordon anyway, so you two can also meet there!” Cora beamed, her excitement mirroring Tarah’s.

Tarah nodded in agreement, her spirits lifted by the prospect of reuniting with her dear friend.

******

“Woooooh! Victory!”

Tarah smiled at the cheers from every soldier in the encampment. There was no doubt that Ebodia was winning this war on all fronts thanks to the assistance of the golden dragon which had spared Ebodian blood from being spilled.

Currently, she was outside the tent, enjoying some hot tea with Cora after helping and treating some of the wounded soldiers from the battle. After some time, she then saw Wizard Lurio come out from Prince Ezekiel’s tent before being followed by Elijah behind him.

“His Highness wants us to prepare to leave. Come with me, Cora,” he informed Cora. He then turned to Tarah and said, “His Highness asks for you inside, Your Grace.”

Tarah nodded in understanding before getting up to walk towards Ezekiel’s tent. Upon entering, she saw Ezekiel with his bare back exposed to her, revealing no trace of the dragon scales she had seen before on him.

“Are you ready to leave?” he casually asked as he turned around to face her.

‘Is he flaunting his body right now?’ Tarah thought with a pout.

For her, Ezekiel had the best physique since everything there was about him was proportional from all angles. He had a lean body with just the right amount of muscle unlike other men, but she noticed how he became a bit bulkier than before. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was caused by the dragon spirit… Still, he looked very marvelous and mighty like an unparalleled epitome of a titan in her eyes.

‘What am I thinking of right now?’ she inwardly scolded herself upon realizing that now wasn’t the time for her to admire a man like this. The moment for her to soon leave him was nearing, and she hoped to part ways with him on good terms… Even though she knew how such a thing was impossible.

“Satisfied with what you’re seeing?” Ezekiel teased her without a trace of emotion, his face as stoic as ever.

Tarah’s face flushed crimson as she quickly defended herself. “I just noticed how your body seems to have changed,” she stated. “Then again, I suppose it’s the dragon spirit doing its thing…”

Ezekiel chuckled, and Tarah found herself drawn to the sight of him smiling. She gazed at him, Imprinting his smiles into her core memory.

“We won’t be using the teleportation spell because of how much it saps away at Lurio’s strength,” he explained as he put on his clothes. “Instead, he’ll remain here in the encampment with Atlas to rest and ensure that all of Helion’s forces would be forced to retreat, leaving no trace of them near our borders in any direction.”

Tarah simply nodded, and she was about to say something when Cora entered the tent with Elijah.

“The carriages and horses are ready, Your Majesty,” Elijah informed them.

Hearing the news, Ezekiel looked at Tarah and said, “Let’s leave.”

Left with no other choice, Tarah nodded and walked beside him. Ezekiel then offered his hand to help her get inside the carriage, and Even though she thought it wasn’t necessary since she could climb onto the carriage on her own, she still accepted it.

Taking his hand, she gulped at the electrifying sensation she felt with just their hands touching like this. She could only wonder if the prince felt the same way. Still, it wasn’t like she didn’t know that the prince was physically attracted to her.

Her face reddened when she recalled the memory she witnessed from his soul from before when Vulcan used her image as bait to manipulate Ezekiel… The prince lost it when the dragon tricked him into believing that he was making love with her, and she saw it happening with her own eyes.

‘I must be nuts!’ Tarah thought as she shook her head to deliberately clear her thoughts.

Composing herself, she immediately sat in the carriage, and she was surprised to see Ezekiel enter before sitting opposite her side. She had expected Cora to occupy that seat somehow while Ezekiel would ride his own horse to their destination.

“You seem startled,” Ezekiel noted with a curious expression. “Did you not want me to stay with you in the carriage?”