“Glahad! You know the Emperor didn’t want this!”
The Golden Dragon resumed its furious growling, but despite her fear, Cassandra continued.
“You can’t stay here and do nothing. Kairen needs you, Shareen too. The Emperor has a new grandson, Kassian, my son, and you can’t let him die!”
This time, the dragon stopped growling, apparently having heard her. Cassandra grabbed Kian off the floor, though the Baby Dragon was still fearlessly growling at Glahad.
“You have to help me get out of here, please. Vrehan will kill them! Kairen, Shareen, even Prince Opheus, Prince Anour, and Lady Kareen, too!”
Having heard about the Imperial Concubine, Glahad finally raised its head, making Cassandra sigh in relief. The Emperor’s love for Lady Kareen may save their lives, after all! Her name had definitely made the dragon react.
“I know... I know His Highness wanted Lady Kareen to be safe. He loved her, and wherever she was, he was fine with it because she was safe, right? As long as Vrehan is out there, she won’t be safe anymore, Glahad. You can’t give up on the one love His Highness wanted to protect.”
The dragon suddenly emitted a long higher-pitched sound that sounded like a wailing to Cassandra. She was actually crying. She didn’t want to admit the Emperor may be dead, but the thought was making its way in reluctantly. So many things were pushing her towards it, no matter how much she didn’t want it to be true. She wasn’t ready to hear it, neither was Glahad, and yet the Golden Dragon knew.
“Glahad, please...”
With a growl, the Golden Dragon finally moved. Glahad’s humongous body slowly rose up, and Kian made itself very small in Cassandra’s arms, obviously impressed and scared. Glahad was incredibly big, and once the dragon was standing, its body occupied more than half of the space there. Cassandra had to retreat against the wall to not risk being crushed. It seemed like Glahad knew exactly what to do. The Golden Dragon turned around, its ruby eyes going to the gigantic door. Cassandra couldn’t imagine how Glahad had been made to stay here, but she doubted there was anything that could efficiently contain the most powerful creature in this Empire.
The Golden Dragon growled and raised a paw to grab the giant handle. Due to the size of its claws, only two of them could pull, but still, the dragon had no trouble lifting it, unlike Cassandra had earlier. She felt a wave of hope as the door started making an awful ruckus from the pressure. However, it wasn’t moving so easily. After a few seconds, it became obvious Glahad had to use considerable strength to try and open it. Something was blocking it, but the Golden Dragon was not giving up. It started growling furiously, determined.
“Come on, Glahad... Please,” whispered Cassandra.
In her arms, Kian started cheering too with excited little growls and squeaks, its eyes riveted on the adult dragon. Glahad struggled more and more. The dragon growled furiously against that door that was not opening, and it kept pulling. Cassandra was worried to see the base of one claw starting to bleed, but Glahad wouldn’t stop. The old dragon kept using all of its strength, arching its back and putting all of its body into it. Cassandra felt the tension as if she had been pulling too, and silently cheered, praying that this was going to work. Finally, the door moved.
Strangely, an awful noise was heard. The sound of something massive and heavy resonated in the vault, and Cassandra had to protect her ears. Yet, Glahad growled even more furiously, pulling the handle even more. The Golden Dragon was determined, and the door was still resisting, but it was almost done. Cassandra could finally see the opening. Jumping at her feet, Kian chirped excitedly and ran to jump on the Golden Dragon’s back. The little dragon climbed up the body that was at least ten times bigger than its own, peeking at what was going on behind the door.
Kian suddenly made another one of those high-pitched sounds, and in a split second, Cassandra saw the baby dragon jump and fly away into the small space.
“Kian!” she called, too late.
Where had it gone? Cassandra didn’t like losing her son’s dragon, she was scared something would happen to it. She knew that door had to open up to somewhere behind the Emperor’s giant Golden Throne. However, soon enough, she heard another furious growling, and this time, it wasn’t coming from Glahad. She froze, but those growls were coming from wherever Kian had gone to, and even scarier, she could tell those weren’t Krai’s.
She was terrified to go there, but even more terrified that something would have happened to the Baby Dragon. Running to the other side of Glahad, she went to face the open space, but almost immediately she stepped back, terrorized by what she had seen behind it. Red scales.
The thought had crossed her mind while seeing where they were headed. She had heard the horn and seen Glahad’s misery. She could only think of one scenario to explain all that, but she had been pushing those dark thoughts to the back of her mind, until now. She just didn’t want to think about such a horrible outcome.
The growls of both dragons became louder and louder, and more terrifying. The more Glahad was pushing the door, struggling to open it, the more Vrehan’s dragon was trying to prevent the Golden Dragon from getting out. Despite the difference in strength between the two, Glahad was somehow weaker than usual. Cassandra bit her lower lip. The Emperor’s state had definitely had an effect on his dragon.
She couldn’t stay here though, not when she had lost sight of Kian. The gap was now wide enough for her to slip through. Actually, two men could have fit through, but it was still not large enough for a full-grown dragon. Cassandra tried to position herself around the Golden Dragon, watching both creatures’ actions. This was extremely risky. Kian had quickly flown out, but she would have to make a run and pray. It would take only a second for the Red Dragon to notice her and kill her. Hopefully, she could escape it, and even perhaps distract it enough that Glahad could finish opening the door and be free.
Cassandra was starting to become concerned about all the ruckus she could hear on the other side. Cassandra wasn’t familiar with the battlefield, but the horrible sounds and screams she could hear coming from behind the wall of red scales looked very much like a war was going on out there. What was happening in the Throne’s room? Who was fighting whom? Her heartbeat was accelerating fast. If Kian had flown so confidently, it ought to know who was behind that door. And there weren’t many people the Baby Dragon would fly to.
Raising her green eyes on the Red Dragon, Cassandra took a deep breath and prepared herself to make a run for it. Glahad was still struggling and growling furiously, and hopefully, the ruckus would hide her escape even more. The Red Dragon probably hadn’t even noticed her. She remembered she and Kian had worked together to make the beast blind, permanently perhaps. She took a deep breath, and started running.
This short distance felt like miles away. Cassandra had no idea what she would find behind the door, but she couldn’t stay back and wait to be caught in a fight between two adult dragons. She just ran in a straight line, her eyes riveted on the little space where she could see an actual wall behind Vrehan’s dragon. Her heartbeat went even crazier when she ran past the door. Just a bit more! She kept running, even stumbled on something, a rock or a claw, and got back up to keep running again.
Finally, Cassandra jumped over a red paw, and fell on all fours, next to the Emperor’s throne. Her eyes tried to grasp a hold of the situation as quickly as possible. Dozens of men were fighting in the Hall, but many of them were down on the ground already. The whole room had its floor covered in blood. It truly was a battlefield, all contained in one room. She looked up, trying to find who the assailants were when she finally saw him. Kairen.
She lost her breath for a second. He was standing there, a few meters away from her. As if he had felt her stare on him, his black eyes rose up to look for her, too. For a couple of precious seconds, they found each other. She was shocked, her heart couldn’t even contain this much emotion at once. Tears appeared in her eyes. He really was there. Her War God, her Prince. Kairen was there, standing proudly, his body covered in scales and blood, but alive. She smiled, almost nervously, in such relief her mind couldn’t formulate a thought strong enough. Kairen, Kairen, Kairen. She could barely believe it, but it was his obsidian eyes riveted on her.
“Kai-...”
She tried to call him when a wave of pain tore her scalp. Cassandra felt herself being pulled back, as a large hand was holding on by her hair. She suddenly felt the cold metal of a blade held on her throat, and she gasped in horror. She had almost forgotten every dragon ought to have its Master close by. She tried to fight herself, but a sharp pain on her neck prevented her from trying any further.
“Look, look, Kairen. Your precious little witch came right into my arms.”
Cassandra’s heart went from relief to horror in a split second. After she had tried so hard to fight him, she had ended up in Vrehan’s hands! She wanted to scream in despair. She couldn’t believe it, all of this for nothing! She could hear the two dragons still struggling behind her. Glahad was still fighting to get out, but this seemed like a minor detail compared to the fight between the brothers.
