Page 74 of Magic Flame

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I flicked my wrist and his hammer flew to my hand. I regarded it for a moment and shook my head. “Dad, you want it?”

Without waiting for a nod, I tossed the hammer his direction. It flipped in the air until Dad caught its haft.

Tartarus’s eyes almost bulged out, a tragic look written all over his face. He’d been with this hummer for eons. He slept and ate with it, according to him.

Dad swung the hammer a few times, eyeing it critically.

“Nay,” he said. “I appreciate your gift, heir, but this toy’s too light.”

He flung the hammer back to the warden, and Tartarus caught it and thanked him profusely.

“Now that we’ve got a new sheriff in town,” I said. “We’re going to set up a few new rules.”

“Sheriff?” a nosy Titan asked.

“Will you let my heir, the most powerful, glorious Princess of the Void, finish her speech without any rude, ignorant interruption?” Dad hissed. I doubted he knew what a sheriff was, either.

“Sorry, King Hyperion,” the Titan murmured in a low voice.

“My father will be the new warden,” I said. “All the Titans and sentinels will be his to command, and Tartarus will be his new secretary until Dad promotes him.” I surveyed the guards. “Your job is to follow his orders and guard the Eternal Prison, as you did before. My monsters will join you on patrol and you won’t hunt them. Once a month the gods will be let out to walk in the courtyards.”

My Living Flame had stripped the original gods of their powers, and the Void would further drain their remaining strength. They were no longer a threat, and they wouldn’t have the power to open the portal to Olympus even if they escaped the Eternal Prison, which was unlikely as well.

My sentient Flame would force them back to their cells after they stretched their legs and inhaled the fresh air.

“You see, I’m not totally without humanity.” I waved a hand. “I don’t want the gods and the Titan inmates to become crazier than they already are since we don’t have the budget for therapists.”

I showed mercy to the gods for my mates’ sake, and I saw gratitude shine in their eyes. But I couldn’t allow the gods to roam free. If they were set free, they’d keep coming after me. And they’d summon their allies and brothers-in-arms from every corner of the universe, and then every superior being and their lesser would take their shot and come hunt me.

That wouldn’t be a pretty picture, and it wouldn’t be fair to Earth, which would be caught in the crossfire. So I was going to prevent it from ever coming down to that.

After I’d endured all this crap, I wanted a break. I wanted to live peacefully with my mates and have a lot of hot sex with them without looking over my shoulder all the time. And I didn’t think that was too much to ask.

“The Flame that guards the dome is automatic,” I said. “It’s connected to me no matter where I am.”

And unbeknownst to anyone, when I transformed into the Flame, I’d deeply connected to the Void. It would give me any magic and energy it possessed as its child, but it wouldn’t let me leave. So I’d bargained with it. I would leave a part of my essence—a thread of my Living Flame—behind.

And I promised to visit Void at least once every century.

That was how I’d tether to the Void, and that was the tithe I paid to have a life with my mates outside the Void. I wouldn’t feel incomplete as long as I had them.

It was time to go home with my beloveds.

CHAPTER 19

__________________

Mom, Dad, my mates, and I lounged inside the carriage driven by hundreds of beasts toward the edge of the Void. My former hellhound sprawled at my feet, licking my hand. He knew I was leaving, and he’d stay with the former Queen of Hell.

Mom’s maiden warriors rode tall on the backs of the beasts, whipping them to make them obey and run faster. I winced, even after that bloody battle.

The beasts howled.

Wind of a riot of colors flowered above us like a stream of starlight, and an ancient, haunting symphony arose in the air.

“The Void is seeing its child off and will welcome her back home,” Mom said proudly.

At least I remained humble and didn’t whip out my blue wings and let my flame adorn their feather tips to add to the effect, though my mates would have loved it.


Tags: Meg Xuemei X Half-Blood Academy Fantasy