Chapter 138

Anila’s POV

Ember was going faster than I had ever known her to go. Then again, I’d never ridden on her before because the last time I saw her, she was only a baby. She also knew exactly where she was going without even looking at the other dragons. We weren’t riding with a saddle, which was also weird, but oddly enough, I felt secure on Ember’s bare back.

Jaxon sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist and my back was pressed into his broad chest, so there was that extra layer of protection as well.

“We need to protect the humans because they are defenseless,” I told him; he nodded in agreement.

“We should get them under the ground,” he said. “If there are any sewers or anything. It’s safer for them.”

I wasn’t going to argue with that; as long as the humans were safe, that was all that mattered. As we neared the human nation, my heart started to sink. I recognized the nation was heading into; I grew up in this nation.

This was where my stepmother and sister were.

I could hear the screams of terror coming from the town below. Dragons were swarming the area and blowing fire on homes and businesses, burning them until there was nothing but an ashen mess in their path.

Ember landed in the middle of the town, letting us slide off her back. We nearly got burned when a dragon that flew overhead blew its fire down upon us, but thankfully, Ember used her body and fireproof scales to shield us, keeping us from getting hurt.

“We need to get them under the ground!” I told Jaxon as I searched for the sewer drains. “We need to get them open.”

He nodded in agreement and together we got to work at opening the sewer drains as we made our way across the town. More dragons were flying above our heads and this time, it was Jaxon who kept me from getting burned by shielding me with his body, pressing me into the ground, his breath hot as he breathed against the nape of my neck.

“Jaxon, are you okay?” I asked him, worried that he was burned by his own dragons.

“I don’t burn easily,” he told me as he pulled me to my feet and pulled me around the corner and away from the roaming dragons who were searching and hunting under the Alpha King’s orders.

“Do you see the King?” I asked him.

“Not yet,” he murmured. “I’m sure he’s watching from afar though. To cowardly to get his hands dirty so he’s making the dragons do everything.”

“Someone help me!” I heard a woman screaming from around the corner.

Without hesitation, Jaxon and I ran through the rubble to reach the sound of the voice, and I saw the woman lying under a large pillow. It looked as if she couldn’t move and because of the weight of it, she couldn’t get it off. She was completely stuck.

If she didn’t get out of there, she would die.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she struggled against the pillow.

I ran to her without hesitation and when she saw me, she looked relieved.

“Please, help me,” she cried. “I don’t want to die.”

“It’s okay<” I assured her. “I won’t let that happen.”

I grabbed the pillar and attempted to move it, but I wasn’t strong enough. At that moment, I wished Harle was there because I knew he’d be able to move it without any issues.

She let out a distressed sob as more fire burned around us, making more debris fall at our feet. I had to jump away to keep it from hitting me.

“I’ll help you,” Jaxon told me as he grabbed a hold of the pillar as well.

His eyes began to glow purple as he channeled the strength of his inner dragon. I called forth my inner animals as well and used their strength. I knew without looking in the mirror that my eyes were glowing, though I had no idea what color they were; maybe purple as well?

With all my strength and the strength that Jaxon contributed, the pillar started to move with ease off the woman’s body.

She pulled herself out of the rubble and just as she was set free, we released the pillar, letting it slam back against the ground.

“Oh, my God. Thank you so much,” she sobbed, her entire body trembling.

“You need to get underground,” I told her. “Most of the nearby sewer drains are open. Get under there. You’ll be safer.”

She looked uncertain but after she looked into my eyes, I saw her body relaxing and she nodded.

She turned and took off towards the sewer drains without saying another word.

We turned to walk away from the area, but a dragon landed right in front of us, halting us. The Dragon screeched loudly, but no fire came out of its mouth. This was an obvious male dragon, and his eyes were glowing red as he growled and snapped his giant teeth in our direction.

Jaxon was about to grab me and pull me back, but I wanted to see if I could get through to him. He hadn’t burned us yet.

Could I calm him before he got the chance?

“Hey,” I said, holding my hand out. “It’s okay. It’s just me… it’s me and your King…”

The dragon screeched again, making me flinch at the loud sound.

“Anila, we need to get away from him,” Jaxon said, grabbing a hold of my arm. He was seconds away from lifting me off the ground, throwing me over his shoulder, and running in the opposite direction.

I ignored him though, staring into the red eyes of the dragon.

“You don’t want to do this,” I told him, trying to reason with him, not entirely sure if he could understand me or not. “You are under the influence of someone else. You can break the hold. Let me help you.”

The dragon screeched again, but he still didn’t blast us with fire, which I found to be a win.

I stepped closer to the dragon, much to Jaxon’s protest.

“We aren’t going to hurt you,” I told the dragon, my eyes remained on his beady red eyes.

He looked restless now like he was struggling with what he knew to be right and what he thought he had to do. He looked as if he was about to fly away, but he kept himself grounded, his head whipping around as he struggled against the hold the ‘Alpha King had on him.

When I reached my hand out to him, I realized it was glowing with faint white light.

“Anila,” Jaxon tried to urge me to walk away but I refused to back down, not when I was so close to successfully breaking this dragon from the King’s hold.

I placed my hand on the dragon’s nose, allowing the glow and my strength to wash over him. He closed his eyes as if he was relishing in the feeling of my power.

I let out a breath that I hadn’t known I was holding until that moment. When he opened is eyes, the red was gone and his eyes were back to their normal pretty blues. I could see the fear, remorse, and sadness in his eyes as he looked at me.

He didn’t want this; none of them wanted this. They wanted to go home and live their days as they were before. They didn’t want to cause any issues for anyone.

“Amazing,” Jaxon whispered from behind me.

The dragon took a step away from me, the red in his eyes starting to return. I was able to temporarily bring his mind back, which means I could do that with the others too. Once his eyes were glowing red again, he turned away and took off into the sky, leaving me staring after him with my mouth hanging open. Even though his eyes were red, meaning he was under the influence of the Alpha King, he still didn’t hurt us.

That had to mean something, right?

I heard another loud screeching sound, and I looked up at the sky seeing Ember trying to fight one of the dragons.

“Ember!” I shouted, drawing her attention.

She flew down to me and I grabbed my wand out of my boot.

“I’m going to see the situation from the sky,” I told him. “Try to get everyone under the ground.”

Just before I was able to climb Ember and get on the back, Jaxon grabbed me and pulled me into his arms.

“Be careful,” he whispered.

I nodded and kissed his cheek.

“You too,” I said firmly as I pulled away from him.

I climbed Ember and together, we flew into the sky. It was mayhem; way worse than it was when we first arrived. I held onto Ember as we flew around, assessing the scene. Jaxon got to work at getting the humans under the ground, starting with one who was clustering the streets, trying to escape.

A dragon flew towards us, fire missing us by only inches. I swiped my wand towards him and cast a defense spell to get him off our backs.

Ember buzzed through the sky as I continued my defense spells, trying to get the dragon to settle down and stop this mayhem, but I knew they were too far gone. In the distance, I could see the form of the Alpha King in his dragon form watching everything happen and his eyes were deadly as he watched me buzz around the sky.

Ember brought me back to the ground so I could help Jaxon round up the humans, saving them from a deadly fate. Just as I was running around the corner to check for any survivors, I ran smack into a form, landing us both on the ground.

“Fuck,” I heard a familiar grunt.

I opened my eyes, and my eyes grew wide when I saw Gina sitting on the ground in front of me. My stepsister.

“Gina?” I asked, my eyes narrowed.

“A…Anila?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Where’s Claire?” I asked, looking around, not wanting to exchange pleasantries with the girl who made my childhood miserable.

“She’s stuck in the house. I left her. I would have died otherwise.” There was no remorse in her tone, and it left me shocked. “Is this all happening because of you? I should have known you’d be the reason our world got destroyed.”

Ignoring her, I stood to my feet and started to run in the direction of the house I grew up in.

“Where do you think you’re going??” Gina called after me, her hands on my hips.

“If you want to live, I suggest you get under the ground,” I said over my shoulder without bothering to turn around.

I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but I needed to save my stepmother.