haggard inhale later, a sound that quite literally made Ranger shake with fury, and Ellie asked, “Why did you kill momma and daddy?”
"WHY?!" A furious voice, deep, grating, raspy, and rough roared. "You have the utter nerve to ask me why?"
Another blast of magic, not as strong as the first but much more vengeful whipped and whirled down the tunnel, past Ranger, Jianna, and Zach, and out into the desert "You, spoiled, little snot-nosed brat who never wanted for anything. Young, beautiful, loved by everybody, promised the future that was stolen from me, you have the fucking nerve to question me?!”
"Yes." Ellie snapped right back, her strength and the true goodness of her very being infused in that single word. "I have the fucking right to question you. What does it matter one way or another? You're going to kill me like you killed mom and dad? Suck the very life from my body, steal my magic, leave my body to rot in the desert. Is that what you did to those other people, too? Did you steal their souls? Take the Enchantment that had been in their families for generations? Were they sacrifices to whatever unholy abomination you sold your dirty, worthless soul to? Did you get what you wanted? Get back what you lost?" Taking a ragged breath, the sound beating at Ranger's very soul, making him long to take his Mate in his arms and remove her from the evil he felt pulsing all around them, Ellie started again just as he pushed harder against Jianna's hands and pulled at the hold Zach had on his arm.
"Just tell me why you're working with the Chimera. You owe me that, at least."
"I owe you?" The voice cackled. "I owe you? That is rich." Another burst of maniacal laughter, another flash of magic, another blast of hot air, this time laced with the scent of sulfur. "Well, I guess, at the very least I can tell you that, since you won't be alive long enough to reveal my secret." Voice becoming little more than a conspiratorial whisper, Ellie's captor's chuckled sounded almost as manic as her cackle as she divulged, "I don't work with the Chimera, dear niece, I run, lead, and command the Chimera. I am the Keeper of the Three."
"Niece?" Ranger breathed the word, his head snapping to the side, his eyes connecting with Zach's. "Does Ellie have any other aunts, but the one who is her mom's younger sister? The one who was locked away forever ago when she lost her mind during her Awakening and tried to kill herself?"
“Not that I know of, and if it’s her, she shouldn’t have…”
"Much magic," Ranger growled in unison with his brother, going on to add, "Wrong again. Fuck this shit. That bitch is certifiably crazy. The Leader of the mother fuckin' Chimera. All she's got is Black magic stolen from the souls of others. She is evil with a capital E. I gotta get Ellie outta there."
Grabbing Jianna’s hands, he pulled the Valkyrie to the side at the same time that Zach let loose the hold he had on Ranger’s arm of his own accord. Flying through the twisting and turning tunnel, the screeching howls of the mad Witch ringing in his ears, Ranger burst into the grotto just as Gwen screamed, “And you, my worthless waste of magic and space niece, will give me what is mine!”
Hands flying forward, a blast of light, energy, and mysticism not unlike Ranger's pure, white Dragon Magic flew from the mad Witch's palms. Hitting Ellie square in the chest, the beam went through and around his Mate, ripping the young Witch from her restraints and lifting her in the air right before his eyes.
Head thrown back, arms open wide, her nose nearly touching the ceiling of the cave, Ellie was completely silent, utterly still, and glowing like Times Square on New Year's Eve. Sprinting forward, Ranger made it as far as the fire in the center of the cavern, when the light surrounding his Mate turned the brilliant blue and red-tipped hue of the scales of his Dragon, and her voice sounded in his mind.
“This is it. This is my Awakening. Join your mind with mine and shift!”
Doing as she commanded without a single reservation, Ranger opened completely to his Mate and embraced the coming transformation. Throwing back his head, flames flying from his lips as he roared to the Heavens, tremors shook his entire body.
Blood running cold in his veins