Dawn murmured softly from behind him. “Their auras are almost completely gone. The void is close.”
Those four words caused a chill to skitter down Knox’s spine and he swore when he saw the two paladins move swiftly toward them. “Stay back,” he ordered Dawn.
“I can fucking help!” Dawn yelled.
Knox had heard Dawn swear only once throughout their entire acquaintance. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to wonder why the sounds of Dawn cursing caused him to become aroused. He would have to analyse it later because as one paladin charged toward Dex, the other headed straight for Knox. It advanced in a lumbering gait, very different from the graceful floating the other chades used to do. His eyes were vacant and hollow – and black. So black and shiny Knox could see his reflection in them. And instead of seeing himself as he was now, whole and healthy, he saw the creature he had become all those years ago. And so, instead of fighting the paladin, instead of calling upon his own connection to his element, Knox froze. He simply froze.
Memories that had been dulled since his return and being reunited with his sons rose to the surface. Feelings of hunger and pain and that deep, deep abyss were like knives piercing his psyche. He therefore didn’t see the swift, outstretched hand of the paladin before it was too late. The air left his lungs with a painful whoosh, Kane falling on top of him after having tackled him. The infected paladin’s sharp claws passed harmlessly through the air. Knox shook his son off and attempted to get to his feet, but what he saw next froze him to the spot. Dawn was moving up behind the paladin and Knox had not felt such fear in years.
She was going to get hurt. She was going to get herself killed, he thought frantically. But before he could muster the wind, Dawn calmly placed her hands on the back of the paladin’s head. The paladin dropped like a stone, clearly unconscious. She didn’t spare Knox a glance as she walked over to where Dex was holding a snarling, spitting paladin with his powers. She placed her forefinger and middle finger to the centre of the paladin’s forehead, rendering the man unconscious as well from some kind of Vulcan mind meld or something. As she calmly walked away, not saying a word, Knox was frozen for a whole new reason.
Dawn was a total badass.
And he had royally fucked up.
Chapter Six
Dawn was both nervous and excited to attend the formal IDC meeting that day. The brand-new Headquarters had officially opened the day before and she and her counterparts had broken in their new council chambers with the appointment of the Local Council. Caspian had been beyond thrilled to take on the position of the chief, and Darius had been given the role of the local paladin member. One other paladin, one chaden and three other wardens – each from a different domain – completed the local council, and Dawn was satisfied they would do an excellent job. Even though the IDC was now going to be based out of the area, there were still many things the local council would be in charge of. The new IDC were about inclusion and delegation. They were wasting no time now that the HQ was open, and Eden was officially the hub of their society. It was basically their parliament. And that day, they were going to be formalising Orders.
Dawn couldn’t wait to place paladins with wardens they felt a natural bond with. With her own experiences of two failed Orders before finally finding the right paladins, she was a big advocate for the rights of wardens and paladins alike to choose their own Order. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as a warden choosing a paladin they liked, but the days of forcing strong paladins onto powerful wardens was over. The same went for the seemingly meeker paladins and wardens.
“Are you excited?” she asked Dex, who was standing next to her, searching the room. There were three wardens and five chadens that were hopeful to find their paladins that day. And then there was Dex. He had decided it was time to enlist some paladins to provide him with vitality on a permanent basis. Dawn wasn’t privy to the deal Dex and Ivy had with each other regarding recharging, but Dex felt the time was right to take on paladins once more. He also wanted to set