The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty Six pt 3

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Meanwhile, outside the palace, the elf poured sweat from expending his magic through the ground, stabilizing the chaotic magic brimming the ground with his own. As the extent of his magic's capabilities neared its end, so did the elf's consciousness. His vision fading away, he nearly dropped before a pair of hands covered his own and—

—Suddenly, the ground burst with magic; water, earth, fire, air elemental energies mixing and intertwining with more ease into the buzzing energy beneath. Suddenly, the elf's magic spread far wider, reaching farther towns. Suddenly, the elf's breathing settled and his vision cleared.

The hands that laid upon his own were familiar, the length of the fingers, the shape of the nails, the energy that permeated through him at the touch. Turning his gaze to the side, his green eyes met with a face cradled by horns that settled by his cheek. With downcast amber eyes, the being beside him whispered, "I'm sorry." Thumbs caressing the elf's, the being continued, "I'm sorry for coming so late."

Of course, it was the elf's mate, the demon's touch amplifying the elf's magic. As the demon's words resounded against Eial's eardrums, he felt a warmth spread in his chest. The magic renewed through his body, his expanded facial features started to ease.

"Did you defeat the king already?" Eial wanted to ask, but only the word "King" managed to strain past the elf's mouth through his bared teeth.

Drokn did not respond. Right now, this was his priority. Eial was his priority. The king, his pride, his inferiority— the thoughts of such, everything can wait. Pushing aside deafening darkness that could overflow in his chest from how weak he'd felt against the king, Drokn changed the subject asking about what was happening here.

Face smoothing, his teeth were now half the size than before as he sputtered. "Elements... explosions... everywhere..." Eial's fingers tensed below Drokn's. "But, it's 'ard... I don't know... how far I can 'elp."

Drokn closed his eyes, furrowing his brows. Whatever was happening was massive, and the elf had tried to face it alone. Following the pull of his bond, Drokn had found the elf at the center of the city. How the elf looked when the demon had flown over, his trembling body surrounded by no one, his distant eyes— all of it ingrained within the demon's memory.

The pressure of energy around the elf during his entry was heavy. With the way he looked, his teeth bared and veins protruding all over his face and arms, it was obvious he had been pushing his limit. He was capeless, yet here. He couldn't hide, and yet he stayed. His fear of demons, his fear of showing his powers— he had been facing them without an option, by himself, just to help others.

Despite the pressure of the elf's magic, Drokn had been able to walk close with moderate ease, as if that had meant to happen all along. I should have been here from the start, Drokn thought and held the elf's hands tighter, pressing his chest closer against the elf's back. "I'm here with you now. We'll just do our best."

The words crept into the elf's heart, an oddness blooming, and his magic seemed to grow. But even with the two of them, there was only so much they could do. Still panting, the elf's hands tremored. Why was the magic so hard to settle? Why was the air still agitated? There was something he was missing...

Widening his eyes, the elf remembered the crater from the outer town. "Light magic!" Eial strained out his voice with a gasp.

Hearing such, Drokn pieced together what the elf had meant. Changing positions of their left hands so that Drokn's lay under Eial's, Drokn spread dark energy underneath— the energy that grew with the elf's touch. Suddenly, the air in the area calmed completely, and for the first time during this disaster, Eial felt a tinge of hope.

The hope, however, crashed as soon as it came, new explosions starting to breach the surface far off into the distance. How were they to settle all the agitated magic within this territory? Eial spread his magic again, his face deforming as he spread himself thin in a futile attempt.

Watching Eial continue to stick his palm to the ground, his left hand subconsciously gripping the demon's hand harder, Drokn frowned and looked around. He noticed the demons nearby that he had ignored with his tunnel vision, all of them hiding yet staring. "W-we—," Drokn's brows creased as he gulped, "—need your help. We need more dark magic, and—"

Drokn recognized the way of the stares on the demons around him, the very stare the demon himself often gave others— gave elves. A stare of doubt, of distrust. Especially within the city where demons were taught to place elves with malice and disgust. And why would they ever listen to a demon who seemed to work with an elf?

"Don't you see the situation here? Dammit!" Grating his teeth in frustration with the others, frustration with himself, Drokn's voice shook as he closed his eyes. "P-plea—"

"Didn't you fuckers hear him? He's the heir to the fucking throne. How dare you shitheads ignore him?"

Interrupted, Drokn and Eial marked their attention to a voice they both recognized, but to a persona that was so unrecognizable, they were sure it was a different person than the one they had in mind.