The Dragon's Kiss

"Shall we?" the emperor extended his hand toward Kel as Roland and his men finally came to a halt.

"Eh? Why?" Kel questioned, glancing around nervously.

"I promised you, right?" The emperor replied with a grin. "That you could be the one to kill him."

"You're going to kill him now?" Kel asked, her gaze drawn automatically to the rowdy group of Subterrans.

They were clearly displeased to see their leader in such a state. Killing him now would only aggravate them and cause fighting to break out.

Is this what the emperor meant by 'benefit'? Driving the people of Subterra mad to the point of throwing their own lives away in vengeance of their leader? As much as Kel wanted nothing more than to see Soren's head rolling across the ground, she couldn't bring herself to believe that this was the best way to go about it.

"I'm not going to kill him now," The emperor responded, giving Kel a short-lived moment of relief before adding, "You are."

"Ah.. right," Kel gulped, her eyes still glued to the scene below them.

The once bustling great hall was almost unrecognizable now. Several of the very structures Kel had admired previously were scattered in large chunks across the ground. Pieces of grand archways were missing, large braziers had been torn down, and the intricately patterned street was full of craters.

It seemed an excessive amount of damage compared to the number of casualties.

Had the emperor's soldiers targeted the architecture? Or did the large cement structures conceal traps that the Subterrans activated in an attempt to defend themselves?

Surveying the wreckage further, it seemed the latter was more likely.

But the only way the Serin soldiers could have avoided devastating losses from falling stones and concrete would be if they already knew where the traps were.

The emperor's claim of knowing more about Subterra than even Soren did was beginning to gain more and more credibility.

Kel's eyes traveled slowly along the broken street until they again reached the rows of soldiers, their various weapons and armor glinting in the light of the braziers left standing.

Could she really stand by and watch the slaughter of innocent people?

"It's not that I don't want Soren to die.." Kel began slowly.

She wondered how she could adequately convey her contradictory thoughts in a way the emperor, who seemed to think human life held little to no value, could understand.

"Prepare yourself," the emperor interrupted Kel's brooding. "I will call for you when it's time."

Without waiting for Kel's reply, he spun around and started toward where Roland's men were holding Soren in a grisly display in front of the Subterrans.

"If you think about it, this is really the last mercy from the emperor for these cave-dwellers," Thane remarked in a low voice as he moved up next to Kel.

Together, they watched the emperor stride through rows of soldiers, all of them parting on cue to create a perfect path for their leader.

"Mercy?" Kel echoed. "Letting them live would be mercy."

"That's what he's doing, though?" Thane tilted his head in confusion. "That crazy guy down there is the only one who really needs to die."

"But look how upset they are," Kel pointed out. "Isn't this just the fastest way to push them over the edge?"

"Hmm you could look at it that way," Thane nodded, rubbing his chin. "But if you watch, the emperor is purposefully making an example of Soren to convince them to surrender."

"Is that it?" Kel murmured.

By now, the emperor had arrived at his destination. Kel couldn't quite make out his voice over the cries of the Subterrans, but it looked like he was speaking to them.

Was he trying to tell them to give in peacefully like Thane had said?

To her dismay, Kel's fears materialized in front of her before she could properly think through the situation. A small-framed Subterran soldier suddenly burst from the crowd and dashed toward where the emperor stood.

The extraordinarily nimble soldier managed to nearly reach her prey, sword raised and flashing threateningly, before she was cut down by the empire's knights.

Kel winced as the small body rolled to the ground completely limp, a small pool of scarlet spreading across the bricks beneath her.

A heavy silence fell over the passage.

Was this it? Had the hair-thin string of stillness finally snapped?

Holding her breath, Kel waited for more Subterrans to begin charging toward the Serin soldiers, following their fallen companion's lead. No doubt, all the lovely bricks below their feet would soon be stained beyond recognition.

To Kel's surprise, however, nobody stirred. It seemed the rest of the captives weren't ready to throw their lives away so easily just yet.

It was almost too odd to bring any relief.

Kel knew that, without a doubt, every one of the emperor's men would sacrifice their lives for their commander, even if it was in vain. Things weren't any different among the warriors of Mevani either.

Were the people of Subterra not trained the same way? Or was their loyalty to Soren even lower than Kel had suspected?

Slowly, she let out her breath. Perhaps, the emperor's plan would be successful after all.

"... Do you think it will work?" She asked Thane apprehensively, feeling a growing lump in her throat as the emperor turned back toward her.

Her heart thumped loudly as the man motioned to come forth.

It was time for her to go.

If this was truly all part of the emperor's plan to let the Subterrans keep their lives, then she had no need to feel guilty, right? She should take as much joy in the moment of killing Soren now as she would have earlier.

Right?

"I.. don't think it will."

Thane's whispered words crashed over her like a thousand heavy rocks.

No, let's trust the emperor. Kel shook her head, trying to stop her whirling thoughts as she took an unsteady step forward.

Trust the emperor.

Despite her attempts to push her doubts away, there was a single question she couldn't help but ask herself.

If her actions ended up being the catalyst that led directly to the slaughter of all the Subterran people… Could she live with herself?