Chapter 30 Falling

Lucas

He gritted his teeth. No one, no one owned his queen but him. They belong together. Forever.

Wanting to finish the fucker once and for all, he commanded his beast to calm down and promised him retribution soon.

"Give us the children first. We have fulfilled our end of the bargain." Esmeralda demanded, raising her arms.

"Okay, little sister. I have no use for those brats anyway." Ruby clapped her hands and several slaves appeared with the pups.

The powerful priestess immediately took the crying babies, soothing them. "I'll be back, Ruby." She warned before she vanished with her precious cargo.

"Lucifer," the gothic beauty enticed in a sickly sweet voice. They all felt like gagging when she tore the front of her black dress revealing her pale body with generous curves. "Claim me." She beckoned.

"No, bitch. You will never be my queen." Lucifer answered venomously.

"A pity." She licked her red lips suggestively. "You could end this right here, right now. You only need to make me your queen."

The Demon King threw back his head in a burst of mocking laughter. Then his black orbs narrowed. "I would rather spend eternity mateless."

"Then you will die with them." She spat. Her face contorted with rage.

Beside him, Alexander relaxed his stance. He was preparing to shift in his giant lycan. While Lucifer had smoothly transitioned to his devil with long black horns, black nails, and sharp teeth. All rock hard muscles in a confident stance.

Xavier, his vampire beast to the fore, eyes darkened to dark red, fangs glinting in its sharpness, light on his feet, ready to attack.

The abomination Zachary has stood motionless, waiting for his mistress's command. Looking exactly like an attack dog.

Killing the bastard properly this time was their true aim. Ruby after.

Deftly aware of their ladies surrounding them - which had been a bad idea in the first place - they shifted further away to avoid getting their queens in harm's way.

With the lycan pups securely spirited away, they were free. To kill. To maim.

Long mournful horns sounded in the distance, in a few moments, dark forces surrounded them. Fuck! They were fenced in. Let's hope all their plans will not fail.

"Your boy toy won't win against us, Ruby," Xavier warned.

She licked her lips suggestively. "You don't know what you are saying, Vampire King." She smirked.

Lucas removed his shirt, his muscles taut with tension, his eyes glowing. "Before the dawn kisses the horizon, we will have your head on a stake."

Her eyes flashed from his words. All humor was gone. "And I will drain the blood of your queens before the night is over. Bring me their heads, Zachary." Ruby motioned and sat on a makeshift throne. Her ocean-blue eyes alight with malice and expectations.

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Alexander

-I will kill him and tear his body piece by piece.

-Please be careful, darling.

-Stay hidden. Command our army when it's time. I love you, mate.

How he wished he could send her home to care for their rescued pups. But he knew how stubborn and headstrong his mate could be.

The only consolation right now was their children were hidden somewhere. Esmeralda was the only person who knew where it was.

They were surrounded by dark forces, with hideous entities. The balmy air was thick with hostility. He should be confident enough because their combined armies were ready to back them up but a sense of trepidation kept creeping in his chest.

One was Zachary, there was an unexplainable evil strength coursing through the bastard's body. An unknown force.

Not for one minute did Alexander doubt his ability however deep inside he knew this will not be an easy fight.

Growling, his chest rumbled, the fur covering his neck and shoulders raised in warning, fangs bared, showing aggression. His fellow kings made room for him and their enemy.

On his muscular hind legs, he began to thunder towards the ugly beast before him. To his annoyance, Zachary remained standing where he was, lips lifted in a condescending smirk.

A few meters before he hit him, with lethal precision, Alexander jumped a few feet in the air and went down slicing the fucker's arm, blood spouting everywhere from the severed limb.

The blow should have made the enemy weak but it didn't. He watched in astonishment when the wound closed and another arm grew in its place, the new hand was caressing a ball of fire, which unceremoniously Zachary threw at him with a deadly force hitting his torso, burning his skin.

Zachary's other hand was wielding a black sword.

Alexander grunted from the unexpected pain, however, his lycan rapidly healed him. But he was still feeling it. He could sense his muscles underneath burning. A deadly poison spell. If he had not possessed rapid healing abilities, he would be lifeless in a few seconds.

-You are hurting!

-I'm okay, mio amore. Stay hidden.

This time his nemesis raced towards him, his red eyes full of hate. Alexander braced himself from the impact and loosened his stance, ready to meet him.

Their bodies met in a series of deathly blows, he was slicing through skin and bones yet it was doing nothing to hinder Zachary's attack.

Alexander suddenly found himself on the offensive. Deterring the fucker's deep bites and scratches, his dark claws tried to sink onto his enemy's shoulder.

The Lycan King hissed when Zachary's demonic weapon sliced through his arm, blood flowed freely.

A lightning-fast movement to his left made him aware Xavier had joined in the fight. Delivering punishing kicks and hits to their enemy. It did nothing and they both found themselves collapsing on the cold earth.

-Alexander!

He could hear his mate whimpering in fear from their link. Chest heaving, he was mentally preparing for another bout. This might be his toughest fight yet.

-How the fuck did this happen?

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Lucas

The fucker, Zachary was toughened when he was resurrected by the bitch, the Death Angel gave him enhanced powers.

And it will surely take a lot from them, the four kings to beat him.

Partially shifting to his dragon, golden leather wings with sharp talons sprouting from his back, he flew upward with his whole body aligned along the path of his prey, extending his legs upward building his strength before he lunged for the kill. His wings' long black talons embedded through and through Zachary's torso.

Triumph surged, then Lucas felt it. A knife-like pain below his heart. Fuck!

And Anna Marie's cry of misery. -No!

"Attack now! Kill them all. Bring the queens to me." Ruby screamed, sounding the alarm, realizing in a panic the four kings had back up.

Both withdrawing their weapons, he slumped on the ground. Lucifer came to his side and the fight began once more.

-Give me control, human! Dracon growled. And he did. Shifting into his fully grown beast. Though bleeding, his fatal wound began to heal.

Anna Marie scrambled to get to him and was perched on his back in an instant. They were up in the air, blowing deadly fire on their enemies.

Moments more, they were joined by their armies. Esmeralda had opened the portal.

The Demon King and Zachary were fighting to the death. Both wounded. Traces of blood oozed from his friend's chest and arms. He continued to evade the bastard's long flaming black sword.

Alexander and Xavier were also engaged in hand-to-hand combat, meeting Ruby's flesh-eating troops.

The ground rumbled from below them, a sign of more doom about to come.

The Lycan queen and her beta female had shifted to their wolves. Both were fighting. Even Mish, the apparent Vampire queen, obviously trained with swords, was demolishing the men coming for her.

They should get their queens out of here. It was a huge mistake bringing them in the first place. Even if they knew how to defend themselves, it was still too risky.

"Don't you dare think that, Lucas!" Anna Marie uttered in anger above him. Her hands were tightly clasped on his horns while she drove them both through the chaos. "And believe me, I will fight with my bare hands, too, to protect you. We are in this together. It's the only way."

Before he could answer, a blinding light came from the horizon.

Esmeralda.

The night creatures whined and protested in fear. Giving their men a chance to break their formation.

Snarling, Ruby met her with flaming light of her own.

There was an uproar like no other on the battlement. The Alliance's armies gaining more strength and confidence by the power emanating from the divine priestess.

One more danger needed to be taken care of. Zachary.

Lucifer was giving him hell yet the fucker remained unscathed. Healing almost instantly and moving faster for the kill.

Swooping down, while Zachary was busy avoiding the demon king's attack, Lucas buried his claws from behind once more, bringing his opponent a few meters up on the air with him, and spewed his raging fire. Burning half his body.

Ruby's spawn thrashed and kicked to get free but to no avail.

"Bring him to the cliffs and let's finish him there!" Lucifer shouted.

Good idea. There was an open range with molten lava from one of the mountains. That should help kill the son of a bitch.

Flying higher, his queen giving him strength, and the body impaled by him growling and snarling, he went faster. Lucifer and Michael on their heels.

Upon reaching his goal, he dropped the severely injured body on the edge of the cliff.

They had to make sure Zachary was dead before pushing him to the burning lava.

In a blink of an eye, the rogue wolf regained strength and rammed into his dragon and Rie fell from him with a frightened scream.

The primal roar erupted from him had the bastard stepped back.

He leaped and partially shifted to his human and landed face to face with Zachary.

Lucas didn't waste time. His sharp claws went directly to his nemesis burned neck.

Zachary went for his leathery torso.

They met and sparred.

He, with his sharp talons and claws, Zachary with his black sword. Neither had the opportunity yet to throw the other off the cliff towards death.

Lucas prayed Anna Marie was out of the way and somehow safe. So he would be free to unleash the full ferocity of his strength on his adversary.

They staggered, both battling for supremacy, both evenly matched this time.

Even though Lucas was backed by the strength of his dragon and his royal blood, Zachary was reincarnated and enhanced by the Death Angel, thus his more solid and heavier strength.

He guarded against losing. His queen would be the price and that, he could never allow happening.

Jaw clenched, eyes burning while he scorched the enemy with fire, they both swayed from the attack. Both intent on victory.

His feet shifted, avoiding the deadly sword hitting his shoulders but the sharp edge found its mark and severed his skin.

The dragon felt nothing, stamina-wise, he had more to give. He had long controlled his strength and power while Zachary was just discovering his.

A master of many wars, strategy forming on his mind.

Grappling, at the edge of the cliff, Zachary stepped into him and heaved his weapon, Lucas ducked in time and sliced his bare abdomen open.

Before he could heal, clawing his shoulders, the Dragon King flung himself back, trusting his instinct, bringing his bleeding foe with him.

He landed on an upright rock at the end of the ledge -- not letting go of Zachary -- his back landed, meeting the solid rock, with all his strength, he swung Zachary to the side, one sharp talon sank below his armpit hitting his black heart. He roared. Hurt. The steam from the molten lava was burning. Lucas, satisfied, unsheathed his claws then let the fucker go.

Zachary flapped, at the point of no recall, roared, gravity pulled him down but not before his sword once again hit Lucas's thighs. The cut was deep and he fell on his knees while Zachary fell to his burning death.

Over the edge, with the severe wound and no purchase, he flung his arms and wings around the upright rock and swung his bleeding limbs out over the void. Only just.

He knew he would fall in a few minutes.

Then he heard a scream above him.

His Argetlam.

Anna Marie appeared above him, her arms found him over the rock to hold his wings anchoring him with all her strength.

Not by much.

He dangled about fifty meters above the molten core where Zachary was melting, above them, small rocks were falling, raining over them.

Lucas's grip was tenuous, his fingers tensed, slipped. He swore, he needed to relax. And think. Frantically searching for stable rocks he could swing too. But he found none.

Looking further, he saw an outcropping to his far right. The problem was his legs were bleeding profusely even with Dracon healing him.

Anna Marie's body jerked. Her breath caught on a sob. He looked up, realizing her feet were sliding inch by inch.

She was helping support his weight but his weight was too much for her. Eventually, he would pull her over the rock until both of them fell.

A toehold held his weight, he couldn't balance enough on the protruding rock. And he was not healing fast enough. The sword was poisoned with a spell making him too weak to turn fully into his dragon.

His queen slipped once more. Fuck!

Cold certainly filled his veins like ice. There was no way she could hold him and there was no way he could climb up.

"Sweetheart, Anna Marie....please. Esmeralda can heal you. She can heal your heart. Let me go, my queen." He knew he was right. The priestess will do to Rie what she did to Mish. He had to cling to reason. She was everything he had lived for. She was the only reason.

"No!" She sobbed. So pale yet so determined. Her amber eyes filled with tears and flashing with determination.

His heart clenched. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "My queen, you can't hold me. If you try to hang onto me, you'll fall, too. And I can't let that happen. Please. I love you too much to let you die. Please. Let go."

"No, you idiot! You are not listening! I won't let go. You are my heart and I am yours. If we are meant to die together then so be it. But not yet. Not yet." Her chin quivered but she only tightened her grip. Her nails digging on the fleshy part of his wings

Lucas didn't know how much longer he had. He was numb all over and he couldn't feel his feet. When his grip slipped, he would fall...and bring her with him. "I love you, Rie. You are my moon and my stars. And you are my life. Please, I beg you. Because I love you, please let go. I'd die for you, sweetheart. I can face death knowing I'd saved you from yours. Please, my heart." His fingers slipped once more. "Let go. Find Esmeralda."

"No!" She screamed towards the black heavens. "No!"

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