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As the dragon and I shed with fire and force, it began to understand that we weren’t the easy prey it had expected. Its massive wings red as it tried to intimidate me, but I stood my ground.
Arthur and his men seized the opportunity, circling around the creature’s nk. With precision, they hacked at its legs with their swords. The beast roared in pain, momentarily distracted, and stumbled backward.
That was all the opening I needed. I unleashed another torrent of fire directly at its chest, the mes striking true and igniting its scales. The dragon screeched, thrashing wildly before copsing in the heart of the mountain. It crashed to the ground with a deafening thud and didn’t rise again.
I stepped to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Mia stood below, her face twisted in disbelief. Beside her was another blonde woman dressed entirely in ck, both of them staring up at me as though they couldn’tprehend what had just happened.
“Did you really think I was going to let you escape again?” I called down coldly.
“What have you done?” the woman shrieked, sprinting toward the fallen dragon.
“I stopped your beast from killing me. Anyone in my position would’ve done the same,” I replied evenly.
“You b***h! You killed my baby!” she screamed, her voice echoing through the cavern.
“Oops,” I said with a shrug, not bothering to hide theck of remorse in my voice.
The woman exhaled a chilling breath, snuffing out the mes that still clung to the dragon’s corpse, then flung herself onto its body with a piercing wail.
“My baby is dead! You murderer!” she howled.
I exchanged a puzzled nce with Arthur, who leaned in close.
“Do you even know who she is?” he whispered.
“I don’t care,” I muttered.
“Morgana,” he said grimly.
My eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? She’spletely insane.”
Arthur nodded. “I know. She’s always been unhinged.”
< CHAPTER 89
“She’s got way more than a few screws loose,” I muttered.
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Below us, Mia’s agitation was palpable. She was furious that Morgana was so consumed by grief over her dragon that she wasn’t focusing on the bigger picture. Meanwhile, the other dragons kept their distance; after we had taken down thergest guardian, none dared approach us.
“Morgana, focus!” Mia snapped.
“They killed my baby–my favorite!” Morgana wailed again. But then, just as suddenly as it had begun, her sobbing stopped. She stood up, wiped her tears, and fixed me with an unnerving smile.
“I know,<i>” </i>she said softly, pointing at me. “You’re pregnant.”
My hand instinctively went to my stomach. “Oh, hell,” I whispered.
“I’ll just take your baby in exchange for mine,” Morgana dered, beaming as if she’de up with the perfect solution.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I shot back.
“Why not? You killed my baby; I’ll take yours. Fair is fair,” she said with a sickly sweet tone.
“Fair isn’t stealing my child,” I growled. “Fair would be handing Mia over to me so I can make her pay for all the suffering she’s caused in both worlds.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Morgana said, ncing at her sister. “Mia won’t even let
me go to your world.”
“That’s not my problem,” I said coldly.
“I <i>know </i>my sister can be selfish–she only ever wants the best for herself. But she’s still my sister. I won’t hand her over,” Morgana said firmly.
“Her sister?” I muttered under my breath.
Arthur gave me a sheepish look. “Didn’t I mention that?”
“No. You conveniently left that part out,” I said sharply.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
I red down into the cave, then jumped from the cliff,nding in two swift bounds until I stood face to face with Mia and Morgana.
“My family will never betray me,” Mia sneered.
< CHAPTER 89
“ir did,” I reminded her, my voice icy.
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“ir’s the one who deserves punishment!” Morgana snapped. “She’s the reason Mia is the way she is today.”
“Oh, I’ll be having words with ir when I see her again,” I said darkly. “But right now<i>? </i>Step aside.”
“I can’t do that,” Morgana replied, nting herself in front of Mia.
Mia wasted no time. She fired a st of energy at me, but I conjured a wall of ice, reflecting the attack so it ricocheted wildly around the chamber. The air sizzled with crackling magic until I finally dropped the shield.
Fire ignited in my palms, twin orbs of zing heat swirling faster and faster as I twisted my hands. When the mes fused into one searing mass, I hurled it straight at Mia with every ounce of force I had.
She ducked at the veryst second, and my fireball missed her by inches, mming into the drapes hanging along the cave wall and setting them aze.
“You’re destroying my home!” Morgana screeched, her voice echoing off the cavern walls.
Mia shot another energy st at me, forcing me to dive behind the corpse of the dragon for
cover.
“Don’t you dare hit my baby again!” Morgana wailed, stomping her foot.
“She’s hiding behind the damn thing! How am I supposed to hit her?” Mia shouted back, clearly frustrated.
“I don’t care how <i>you </i>do it, but stay away from my baby!” Morgana barked.
I peeked up, and Arthur caught my gaze, gesturing subtly that Mia was edging closer. I gave a small nod, closed my eyes, and tuned in with my werewolf hearing. Her footsteps grew louder, each step reverberating through the cave floor,
The moment I knew she was close enough, I darted around to the other side of the dragon’s body and hurled another fireball. It struck true this time, igniting the back of her cape.
Mia ripped the burning fabric from her shoulders and spun toward me, but by then I was already airborne. I mmed my fist squarely into her face mid–leap,nding lightly on my feet as she staggered back several feet.
I didn’t stop. I closed the distance in a heartbeat, mming a kick into her stomach and then driving a punch into her throat. As she gasped for air, I swept her legs out from under her, <fn46a2> ?????? ???? F?ndNovel</fn46a2>
< CHAPTER 89
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sending her crashing to the ground. I didn’t hesitate–I kicked her in the head repeatedly, each blow fueled by rage.
Morgana’s piercing scream filled the cave. She stomped her feet like a child throwing a tantrum, then bolted through another doorway deeper into the cavern.
I didn’t care where she was going. I didn’t care about her at all.
Mia was bleeding heavily now, her once defiant face a mask of terror. I grabbed a fistful of her shirt, yanking her upright. My knee drove into her stomach with brutal force before I smashed my forehead against hers, the headbutt snapping her head back violently.
She slumped back against the wall, barely able to stand. I could sense Arthur and his men approaching from behind, but my focus didn’t waver. My ws slid out from my fingertips
with a soft, lethal sound.
Mia’s wide eyes locked with mine, panic flooding them as I drew my arm back. I could feel her trying desperately to summon her magic, but she was far too slow.
With a swift strike, my ws tore through her throat. She gagged and choked, blood spilling from her mouth as I ripped my hand free, holding the remnants of her life in my grasp.
Her body crumpled lifelessly to the ground. I dropped the bloody mess I’d torn from her throat onto her corpse and stepped back.
Arthur moved to stand beside me, his eyes flicking between my hand and Mia’s body.
“Werewolf,” he muttered in quiet awe.
“I’m pregnant,” I said tly, wiping my ws clean. “I can’t fully shift. It would put my baby at risk.”
“Fair enough,” Arthur replied, understanding.
I conjured another fireball, the heat swirling in my palm before I flung it onto Mia’s corpse. mes engulfed her immediately, spreading across the floor and catching the drapes and furniture behind her.
I wasn’t taking any chances. That witch wasn’ting back.
“I’m ready to go home,” I said, my voice steady.
“I’ve already got people at my castle working on finding a way back to your realm,” Arthur assured me. “With any luck, they’ll have it figured out by the time we return.”
We turned our backs on the burning cavern, walking toward the cave’s exit as the mes
<CHAPTER 89
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consumed everything behind us–Mia’s body, the drapes, and the wreckage of the life she had destroyed.