Fell Dragon
Greetings Readers
It's officially that time! After almost a year, Saita is to face her father is combat. Will the mad king relent or will a fight ensue? Read on to see what happens.
“The Queen a traitor? Never! Karesh has lost his mind.” said the one.
“She is in communication with the Saith. How is that not the actions of a traitor?”
“Was she sending secrets to them or trying to stop this stupid war? The Princess is alive and well, there is no reason to continue. The King is mad with power!”
“Shh! That is enough to get you hung nowadays.”
“I am not the only one who feels this way. Mark my words! If someone backed Pura with enough force, then you would see many of us turn.”
“Shh!” said the soldier when he noticed Saita. “What are you doing up here!? You are meant to be in the kitchen! Get!”
“Ah…” she started.
“Oh damn it, another one. Look,” the soldier gripped her shoulder and turned her to face the hallway she had just come from. “Go back that way, turn left the first opportunity you can then go down a flight of stairs. Then follow your nose.”
“Thanks.” she skipped out of his grasp and followed his directions.
Once in the kitchen, she was rather surprised by the preparations that were happening. This seemed more like a feast than a traitor being brought in. Cooks and servants were flying in all directions and Saita was forced to dodge on several occasions until a cook grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her towards a staircase.
“You smell horrific! When last did you have a bath? Never mind, you won’t be in there for long. Take this up these stairs and leave it on the table then come straight back here. Understand?”
A silver plate was thrust into her hands, and she was pushed up the stairs. “Understand?”
“Yeah, throne room?”
“Yes! Now go!”
She kept to the left as several other servants came down the right, wrinkling her nose as she passed them. She kept her head bowed and marvelled at the sheer luck she had run into. Once she left the stairs, she realised that this was one of the many servant entrances that littered the room. She placed the plate down and ducked into the room trying to find some sort of shelter so that she could wait out whatever this was. The throne room was completely different from her mother's. This one was significantly bigger. It was rectangular in shape with eight columns running down the centre part of the room. Four columns to the left and four to the right with a thick red carpet that ran between them. The carpet ran from the main entrance of the hall all the way to the throne which sat upon several stairs which elevated it. Then each corner of the room had a column as well. Likely for some kind of support.
Saita found herself in a comfortable position behind the pillar that was on the right side of the room and here she waited. Once the servants started slowing down the bringing of food the guests started arriving. Saita had not been with the royal family for many years, but she did recognize some of the faces of those that were gathering. They were high-standing humans. Those that ran shipping, mining, trade, and so on. Karesh was going all out with whatever event this was.
“What are you planning?” muttered Saita under her breath.
Soon the hall was a buzz with people muttering to each other. It seemed to her that not even they knew why they were here, to begin with. They were nervous and the scent of fear was heavy. Saita had successfully managed to remain undetected when her mother was brought before the throne. Myla had been shackled but still kept her head high. She gracefully walked forward without allowing the guards to lead her.
Emotion ran high in Saita at that moment. She wanted to run and grab her mother and then escape but there was nowhere to go. Doran was right. This plan was going to go nowhere. They had made a mistake in their haste.
“I’m so glad all of you could be gathered here today.”
Even though Saita could not see her father she could hear him, and he sounded completely different from the last time they had spoken. He sounded exhausted and furious.
“Myla you stand charged with high treason. How is it that my own wife turns against me?”
“How is it that a King can be so blind as to lead his people into the maw of a war machine?” counter Myla.
“The Kai have the answers I want, and the Saith stand in my way. I will get the answers to my questions.”
“What questions? All I have seen is the killing and maiming of our soldiers while the Saith are barely injured. What questions are so vital that you need to drag us through hell to get? Your daughter has been returned, is that not enough!?”
There was a murmur from the crowd. They must have had similar questions in the past but had remained silent due to their now-mad king.
“Do not question your King!” he roared.
“I am royalty too and I dare to ask questions that everyone else is too afraid of asking!”
The murmurs were starting to sound like grumblings and Karesh turned his anger on his people. “Silence!”
His voice echoed and even Saita jumped. This was the first time in a very long time that his voice inspired fear inside of her.
“I am making a single Royal line,” said Karesh. “You and Pura no longer carry the title of Royalty.”
There were a few people that cried out at this, but they were silenced by Karesh once more calling for silence. From what he had said Saita could only guess that Pura still lived but where?
“So, you will do to me what you did to Pura? Shut away in the dungeon until we die?”
“Him yes, you? No. You are a traitor. You sent messages to the Saith. This is high treason and there is only one punishment for this.”
“You cannot be serious!” came an angry voice from the crowd.
“Are you insane?” begged another voice.
This time it was Myla’s voice that cut through the buzz. “There are still those that are in your line that can challenge you for the throne.”
“Who? Aleux? The boy isn’t even here to see this. His mother will simply vanish. The twins are far too young and the coward hides with the rest of the traitors.”
Was that her mother’s plan all along? For Saita to challenge her father for the throne? What were the niceties of that? There were rules but she couldn’t remember them.
“After you have been dispatched the cowards will be flushed from their warrens and I will finally be able to move all my forces against the Saith. There is no one to stop me.”
The murmuring told Saita that the people were finally at the breaking point with their king. They were willing for a change but only if they could back someone who was at least as strong as him.
“And the girl will have no choice but to do my bidding with her boy in my grasp. With her power, she will flatten the Saith.”
That pinprick of fury started to glow in her belly when she heard that. How could he possibly have known about Aidan? Kiai had been so careful but clearly not careful enough.
“How do you know about him?” Myla’s voice was dripping with fear.
“You really need to be careful about what you put in letters that are sent digitally.”
The smugness that came from him caused the pinprick to grow ever brighter and Saita had to clench her fists to stop them from shaking.
“Now, kneel.”
“I will not. I am still Queen, even if you think you have the power to strip me of my title.”
“Kneel or I will do it for you.”
Saita squeezed her eyes closed when she heard the gasping cry from her mother. She needed to act, she needed to act now but her legs were shaking, and she could barely draw any breath.
“Last words Myla?”
“Only that you see the error of what you are doing before it is too late.”
NOW!
Saita wasn’t sure where the voice had come from, but it echoed in her head, and she found herself stepping from the column into the crowd.
“Move,” she said simply to the people before her.
They parted, not because of what she had said but how she had said it. There was power in her voice. She stepped forth onto the carpet and found her father towering over her mother with blue flames dancing around his hands. Saita allowed her hands to relax before she looked up at the man that had been her father and said clearly.
“Let her go or I won’t even waste my words on issuing a challenge. I’ll just take your head.”
Deathly silence followed her words. It was so quiet she could actually hear Karesh’s flames burning in his hands. Then he started chuckling which eventually became loud enough to be heard by all of those in the room.
“I flushed the coward by taking the mother. I should have done that earlier.” he stepped back from Myla.
“I will not speak again,” said Saita.
“I only took her because you are so fond of her. She has served her purpose. You are here. Come, reveal your face so all may see who you are.” Karesh clapped his hands, and the flames went out.
He indicated that two soldiers could take Myla, but Saita refused to remove her hood until she saw her mother being held back by the crowd. She gripped the edges of the hood and lowered it.
“It is good to finally see you face to face again. It has been almost a year since we last saw each other.” Karesh seemed almost gleeful and it irritated Saita.
“Clear the hall,” said Saita.
People started to move towards the only exit, but Karesh bellowed. “No one moves until she actually challenges me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said softly as she stepped forward. “Please can we just talk like humans?”
“But you barely are one.” mocked Karesh. “Soulless, half-human, a biomechanical construct.”
Saita bit onto her molars, and even after all this time her condition was not that well known.
“You think you will be allowed to rule considering what you are?”
Murmurs flooded the room again and Karesh pressed his advantage. “You are a built fighter. You will fight my war with the Saith, and I will learn to make more of you.”
“You think the Saith made me?” she snorted. “No, a human-made me under orders of a…”
“A Kai, I know.”
“You know nothing!” Saita screamed at him.
“I know that the machine inside of you is designed to make far more energy than a human body could ever hope to hold. You won’t last long holding onto that power. Use it, help me to right what was done to you.”
“You don’t care about that. You never did. If you had, you would have stopped this senseless war and been at my side. I would not have had to carry this burden myself but instead, you want to use me. I have been used by people since I came back. A mercenary. A weapon. No one thinks of me as a living breathing person anymore. All they can think of is how they can use me next.” Saita surprised herself with those words, knowing that they were far truer than what she wanted to admit.
“But you are a weapon. You were built to fight, to destroy and if I can’t get you to do it then your son will be a good replacement.” Karesh grinned and brought white flames to his hands. “He does, after all, carry your blood and monsters beget monsters.”
The fury now engulfed Saita and she didn’t even think of the niceties of what she needed to do. “I will take that throne from you now.”
“Oh, please do try.”
Saita had to release the force field that she was using on Doran so that she could use it to defend herself from her father. His flames were far more concentrated than what she had ever remembered them being. Even using the wind to help her couldn’t dampen them. Though he couldn’t break through her force field he could turn the flames up and steal her oxygen. She jumped back and created some distance between the two of them.
“Where is the little spitfire that proved to me that she was strong enough for the throne!” roared Karesh.
“She died,” whispered Saita sadly.
Things are heating up! Will either be able to defeat their foe, or will this all end in tears? Who knows, you'll have to rejoin us on Friday! See you then!
For those of you just joining us, please note that this is the follow on book from Fell Dragon. Follow this link to read it
Fell Dragon Book 1
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
If you want to join the Reader's list, just ask or follow me for updates on this and my other stories.
Reader's List
Haven't read the other parts yet? Follow these handy links:
Part 26>>You are Here>>Part 28