The Dragon's Kiss

Kel's throat tightened as she once again thought of Lila and Alaia.

"Don't live and die for the futile dream of your ancestors," she plead, emotion filling her voice. "Live for yourself. And die only after you've made memories worth leaving behind."

That was it. She had said everything she'd wanted to say to these people.

Everything she wished she could convey to the two women whose bodies had already gone cold.

Had her words been enough to sway them?

She was somewhat practiced in verbal confrontations thanks to her position in Mevani as Adriell's double. The opportunities for such aggressive speech had generally occurred at tense tea parties or unpleasant encounters at royal balls.

In spite of that, however, she was far more comfortable wielding her sword than her words against her enemy. She could only hope her appeal had been successful.

Letting out a quiet breath, Kel waited for the people to react.

Did her speech move them to surrender, or was fighting inevitable?

To her surprise, neither reaction took place. In fact, nobody reacted at all. Instead, everyone was silent and still, perfectly emulating rigid statues.

Just what was going on?

"My, what an adorable little speech."

Kel whirled around to see Soren grinning at her, the creases of his cheeks sending tiny cracks running through the dried blood coating his face.

Taking advantage of the temporary daze of the soldiers surrounding him, thanks to the unexpected speech, he suddenly wrenched his arms free and dove toward Kel.

As he moved, Kel saw the glint of something in his hands. Apparently, he managed to slip a weapon past the emperor's men.

This is getting old, she sighed to herself, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet.

She waited for a split second, allowing Soren to come as close as possible, before jumping to the side and bringing the hilt of her sword down against the base of the man's neck.

Immediately, he slumped to the ground.

Though it seemed to take at least a few seconds from Kel's perspective, the entire event was over before the Serin soldiers had moved more than two steps from their original places.

Either Soren had become very desperate at the last minute or Kel had gone too easy on him earlier for him to think such a clumsy attack would be effective.

Unless, this was his plan.

Grimacing, Kel glanced at Soren's limp figure and then at the Subterrans. Her speech was entirely for nothing if he was dead. Was he truly calculating enough to sacrifice his life in order to take the upperhand one last time?

"Urrgh," a muffled moan came from the facedown man.

Oh. It turned out that he was still alive, after all.

The previous bizarre silence incurred by Kel's heartfelt, yet apparently poorly received, address was finally broken now that Soren was on the ground at her feet.

It started with a soft hum of voices coming from the Subterrans, growing louder by the second.

Kel couldn't pick out any coherent words from the jumble of murmurs, but an ominous feeling sent shivers down her spine.

Immediately, she began prodding Soren's ribs with the toe of her shoe.

Get up! She yelled internally. Show them you're not dead!

Unfortunately, the injured man offered nothing more than another quiet groan.

Unsure what to do, Kel turned toward Roland then the emperor, and then scanned the rest of the soldiers around her. They all stood looking rather dumbfounded with gazes either fixated on Kel or the man lying at her feet.

Did nobody know what to do now?! Even the calculating, always one step ahead, Dragon Emperor?!

Looking back to the Subterrans, Kel tried to address the situation once again. "D-don't be mistaken! I-"

"We were blinded, oh Goddess Divine!!" A sudden shout from somewhere in the midst of the Subterrans cut her off.

"...Goddess divine?" Kel echoed, watching apprehensively as each of the Subterrans fell, in turn, to their knees. "Um, that seems a bit-"

"Forgive us, Your Eminence!"

Another flurry of cries followed one after another, leaving no room for Kel to speak again.

"Punish us however you will!"

"Please save us from the deceit of this lowly world and lead us to a better!"

"Save us!!"

Kel took a step back, instinctively raising an arm in defense. Just what was this situation?

As if triggered by Kel's movement, the Subterrans began advancing all at once. Some pushed against the guards while others tried to crawl underneath them. Still others attempted to vault over the top of everything.

Every one of them had their eyes locked on Kel.

"N-no. Stop," she stammered, inching farther away.

The beautiful pale-skinned people no longer resembled people at all. They looked like a pack of wild dogs charging toward their prey.

Fortunately, the Serin knights mobilized as soon as the chaos broke out. Dozens of soldiers ran to fill the space between Kel and the howling Subterrans, pushing her back until she could see nothing except the shining tops of their helmets.

Kel's mind began to race as she became lost in a sea of armored bodies.

So the fighting was inevitable after all? No, had her attempt to pacify the Subterrans made things even worse?

And what about Soren? Did he escape in the turmoil or had he been trampled to death?

Should she look for him? Either to confirm his death or ensure he didn't get awa-

"Princess!" Roland's voice rang out over the top of the commotion surrounding her. "Come with me!"

With his arm around her waist, the knight began guiding her away from the chaos.

Kel glanced back several times, but couldn't see anything above the backs of the Serin knights.

Is it fine to just leave like this? She thought guiltily.

Shouldn't she be taking some kind of responsibility for this mess?

Sensing her discomfort, Roland leaned closer.

"Listen carefully," he said. "There are no sounds of weapons clashing.. or indications of casualties in general."

Kel paused for a moment to process the muddled noises. The knight was correct.

Rather than a battle, it sounded more like city guards containing a street riot.

"I believe the best way to calm them down is to get you out of their sight," Roland continued, urging Kel forward.

It was obvious he was trying his best to be gentle but was entirely unaware of his strength. Stumbling a little under Roland's unintentionally forceful push, Kel continued onward.

This is for the best, she told herself.

Regardless of what happened to the Subterran people from here on out, it was clear her presence had a negative effect on them. She'd already spoken her piece and struck Soren down, both to no avail. As much as she didn't want to admit it, removing herself from the situation was the best thing she could do now.

After several minutes of weaving between bustling Serin soldiers, they reached a broad arched entryway. Kel could only assume it marked the way to the surface.

Waiting for them, leaning coolly against one of the stone walls, was the emperor. He fell in step alongside Kel as they approached, taking Roland's place.

The path on the other side of the broad opening sloped upward for a short length until ending at the base of an endless set of stairs. After a few steps, Kel glanced over her shoulder one last time, hoping to get a better view of the main floor.

Instead of satisfying her concern, however, her gaze was met with darkness as the emperor immediately laid his palm over her eyes.

"Come," he commanded in a low voice.

"It will be a long walk to the top."