Greymoor Academy: I Accidentally Bonded With Four Lycan Royals! novel Chapter 267

Chapter 267: 267. A Selfless Bargain I

Maisie

I let my eyelids flutter shut, giving in to the exhaustion that weighed on my bones.

The cold returned again and with it came the distant din, the screaming, the ramming of fists into ice. Someone was yelling my name.

"Reach for it," he told me as he wrapped his fingers around my freezing ones and held up my bleeding hand.

It started like a hum in my veins before it hit me, slammed into me with such force, I recoiled into him. A strange thrill bubbled in my blood, as if the very iron in it was being... magnetized.

Like called to like, he’d said.

I found it instantly, felt it like I felt my own heart slowing. It tugged harshly at me, like it had been waiting all along, and when I opened my eyes, I was no longer cold.

The dragon’s wall of ice around us exploded, throwing Mercer and Quinlan several feet away from us. Mercer hit the floor with a hard grunt, skidding across the debris, while Quinlan scrambled frantically to his knees.

"Maisie!" Quinlan roared, trying to push through the crushing, invisible pressure radiating off us.

I didn’t care. I didn’t remember why they should’ve mattered to me. All I cared about was the ruby.

I could hear it. It wanted to be rejoined with me. And I wanted nothing more, too.

"Take it, sweetling," the dragon told me, his arm curving around my waist, bringing me to rest against his naked chest. His nose ran up and down the curve of my neck. "It is all yours."

I cocked my head at the exit door of the wrecked stadium, already knowing I would find her there. The Queen and Tessa were surrounded by her mates and her personal guard. They were fleeing the hall.

My fingers curled as I reached in the Queen’s direction.

She stopped walking, causing the entire entourage to stop too. And then, like she could somehow feel what I was trying to do, she spun, green eyes wide with shock.

Our eyes connected briefly, and for the first time, I thought I saw fear in her eyes. "You stupid, stupid child," she whispered, but I heard her like she might have screamed the words into my ears.

My lips pulled back from my teeth in a feral snarl and I yanked at the ruby.

And the crown lifted off her head.

It circled above her for a second, a second that felt like the world held its breath. Fights across the room faltered. Bloodied students and guards alike turned their heads, their screams dying in their throats as they tracked the impossible sight.

Then, it came hurtling for me with speed.

It cut through the air, a blur of gold and red, crossing the space in a heartbeat.

Then, it stopped.

The crown hovered just inches away from my face. The ruby pulsed, a deep, rhythmic throb that I felt in my blood. And then, a cacophony of whispers erupted from the sentient thing, none of which I could make out but one.

"I see you, my Queen."

The words sent a hard shiver down my spine and before I could even take a breath, the crown dropped.

The cold metal landed on my head, sliding down a size too large. And then, it adjusted, tightening around my skull until it fit snugly, like it had always belonged there.

Like a dam had been cracked open inside me, I gasped, my spine arching as raw, untamed power and knowledge flooded me too fast, too much.

A wave blasted out of me, sending the nearest creatures to me splattering against the wall.

I gripped at the crown, crying out as my head felt one second away from exploding. I reached for the ruby, my blood smearing over it, and it lit up so brightly, all I saw was red light for a moment.

I gripped at the crown, crying out as my head felt one second away from exploding. I reached for the ruby, my blood smearing over it, and it lit up so brightly, all I saw was red light for a moment.

The ruby sang to me, "The false queen knows nothing of what we could do together. Let me inside. Let me ease your burdens. I am the rest you seek. Use me."

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