Chapter 199 Chapter 0199

Chapter 199 Chapter 0199
Lucien's POV

"The vampires have invaded!" Silence erupted in the room, people don't go to war without warning, this was different, and to think they had crossed the borders without being detected, that alone was impossible, Darkhold's borders were protected by ancient wards, no one could cross them unnoticed, unless someone had helped them my eyes moved to my brothers, one of them had betrayed us. For one terrifying second, nobody moved.

"What?" Father rasped, the guard swallowed.

"The Eastern borders have fallen; a vampire army has crossed into the kingdom. They are being supported by another dragon faction led by..." His eyes moved toward me, I froze, he didn't need to mention, who the other party was because I knew it was Lord Eldrath, Seraphina's father, he must have heard what I did to his daughter and took an ally with the vampires, Sebastian, must have been among the coup, those two had become friends because of me. The enemy of your enemy is your friend. "Prince Lucien's fiancée's father, lord Eldrath." I didn't flinch because my mind had already connected the dots; Seraphina had told her father everything: the rejection, the humiliation, the fact that I had chosen Aerith over her. Her father hadn't come simply to attack the kingdom; he had come for revenge; he had come to take over the kingdom. Father's eyes snapped to me.

"What have you done, you ungrateful child?" I opened my mouth but I didn't say a word, I wasn't ready to defend myself, all I wanted to do was teleport myself from here, I need to get to Aerith, I reach for my magic instantly, but an invisible forced slammed through my body, my knees nearly buckled, I looked at father in shock, his eyes were glowing, he had left out a dragon command on me. "You think you can run away?" My eyes snapped to him. "You will not leave," he growled.

"Father!"

"Go gather the warriors, you will lead the army." His voice thundered through the hall. I shook my head; there was no way in hell that I was going to war without knowing that Aerith was safe. 

"Father, I can't..."

"You will," his words leave no room for argument, "sound the full battle alarm, seal the inner gates, get every warrior to the western wall."

"But father..."

He didn't stop, "The women, children, and old ones, move them underground." Father kept barking orders even as he coughed badly.

"Father," I interrupted him again, "you don't understand, I can't..."

"The kingdom comes before your forbidden lover."     I clenched my fist, ready to defy him, when he laughed, "Waste all your strength trying to fight my command, then you'll die before you even protect your lover from getting burned." His command tightened around me. I glared at him as I felt magic wrapped around me, preventing me from teleporting, preventing me from doing anything else except fighting for the kingdom. I hated him more, not because he had stopped me, but because he was forcing me to choose duty over the woman I loved. Maybe I should have killed him long ago or let Thalion keep poisoning him; that way, I wouldn't have to be told what to do. He coughed violently, blood spilled from his mouth, and his body staggered,

"Your Majesty!" Vael, his second in command, rushed toward him and caught his arms. "We need to bring you somewhere safe." Father wiped the blood from his lips.

"No, I should protect my people not hide."

"Your Majesty!" Vael called in worries

"I said no." his gaze swept across his sons. "You will fight till our last blood."

"Yes, we will, only when you are safe," Drayen said. My eyes snapped to him; for the first time, I saw genuine affection in his eyes. He cared for Father. Perhaps he wasn't as heartless as the other two. Before Father could make a decision, the first war drum sounded. That sound alone was enough to shake the entire palace, and another followed. The sound traveled through the kingdom; the drums of war were never a good sound. It's either you returned with some part of you gone with the war, or you returned on your deathbed. My heart pounded. Outside the dining hall, chaos erupted; guards ran through the corridor, servants screamed, and doors slammed open. Orders were shouted, somewhere beyond the palace walls, the kingdom was waking to the nightmare of invasion.

"Get your armor!" the chief of warriors shouted from the corridor. "Every warrior to the Eastern gates! Protect the people, especially the vulnerable ones." I looked toward the windows; smoke was already rising in the distance. The invasion had begun, not tomorrow, not on the king's birthday, not after it. It was now, the entire Kingdom was collapsing into war, I turned toward the doors, my body still couldn't resisted father's command, I could still feel his command pressing against my dragon, I hate it but I couldn't fight it, I wasn't ready to risk taking the violent that comes from breaking his command, so I ran, I left the dining with my brothers, the corridor were filled with people, women carrying children in their arms, they aren't dragon's children, they are children from other creatures, somehow, a small smile spread across my face, one day, Aerith and I will have our own children wrapped up in our arms while watching the stars. I laughed at my stupid thought as I ran further towards the exit. I could still see servants dragging bags behind them, old men leaning against walls as guards rushed past, children crying, mothers shouting their names. The palace that had always felt untouchable suddenly felt like a cage, a cage surrounded by enemies.

"Move!" I shouted, "Clear the Eastern corridor!" Warriors rushed past me; my brother followed. I could hear the distant roar of dragons, then came the screams. My stomach twisted. I had seen war before; I had never been afraid of one, but this was different, maybe because Aerith was somewhere inside this chaos. I reached the armory, a warrior threw my armor toward me, I caught it effortlessly, strapped the chest plate into place, then secured my sword, my dragon roared inside me

'We are not leaving Aerith,'

'I know,'

'Then find her.' he growled in my head.

'I will, but first, I need to break Father's command without bleeding to death.' he went mute; I think he understands for the first time that, if we focus on defying Father, we might not have any energy left to save Aerith. I closed my eyes, trying to push against the command, hoping the command must have weakened since I was no longer standing in front of Father, but pain exploded through my skull. I gritted my teeth as the command tightened around me like a chain. Father's command was stronger than I expected, I couldn't teleport yet, maybe I should go to the battlefield first then withdraw after a while but before I could decide anything, I felt something, it was Aerith's emotions, brushing against my mind, fear and confusion, she must have heard the chaos outside my chamber.

'Ash?" Her voice entered my mind; I almost collapsed with relief. She was still safe.

'Aerith,' I responded almost immediately.

"What is going on?" I looked around the armory, warriors were grabbing weapons, Merek and Drayen where also grabbing weapon but where is Thalion, we all ran out of the dining hall at the same time but now, Thalion is nowhere to be found, I turned to one of the warriors ready to asked about Thalion, the drums sound echoed again at the same time, Aerith's voice came up. 'Lucien?' she called again when I didn't answer her first question.

'Sorry, the vampires have invaded.' I said softly, not wanting to scare her. She went silent; I felt her fear increase. 

'Where are you?' she asked.

'Still inside the castle, but...'

'Just tell me which side of the border; I could help you.'

'What?' I screamed through the mind.

'Yes, let me...'

'Shut up,' I cut her off. 'You have to go to the southern river now.'

'But...'

'I said no!' I growled, she sighed.

'Fine,' she finally agreed.

'Good, the war is spreading to the Eastern part of the Kingdom. I will look for ways to get to you.' Her emotions shattered everywhere. I knew she wanted to help; she thought her magic could help, but I wasn't risking her safety for this Kingdom.

'But what about you?' 

'I will be fine; just be safe.' Not sure if those words were true, but I know I will fight to come back for Aerith. I forced my voice to remain calm, 'Listen to me, Aerith, you have to get away from the palace,'

'But Lucien, I still think...'

'Southern, riverbank ' I cut her off, but my voice was soft, 'Please Aerith,' she sighed again,

'Okay,' I exhaled.

'Stay hidden, and don't come out till you hear my voice.'

'What if they found me?'

'They won't.' I didn't know if that was true as well, but I needed her to believe it. 'I will come for you, and you could summon your magic.' 

'I will wait!' That was her last word before the connection faded, I stared ahead, my heart felt like it had been pulled from my chest, I wanted to run to her but I couldn't,

"A few more times, and I will be with you, my love." I kissed my palm and pressed it against my neck, where Aerith's mark rested.

"Prince Lucien," a warrior approached me, and I turned to him. "The warriors are waiting." I nodded.

"Tell them, I'm coming." I stepped outside, the sight before me was horrifying, the sky above the kingdom was filled with smoke, dragons flew overhead, some were ours, others weren't, fire exploded in the distance, building burned, people ran through the streets, the vampires had breached the outer defenses, and beyond the smoke, I could hear their screams, my hand tightened around my sword, this wasn't a border skirmish, this was an invasion, a war, and someone had deliberately chosen this moment, I looked toward the palace, father was being escorted away, I didn't know how they manage to convince him but I think he wasn't going to fight, my mother walked beside him while my brothers were gathering their weapons, Drayen looked furious, Merek looked calculating and still Thalion was nowhere in sight. And I realized something: this wasn't just about what I did to Seraphina or Sebastian; it wasn't just about an attack from outside. Our family was involved in this; our family was already tearing itself apart from within, only waiting for the enemies to finish the job. I turned my gaze from them; the horn sounded, and I raised my sword. "Dragon warriors!" The army responded, "Fight!" As the command left my lips, I shifted my gaze toward the Eastern gate, then toward the southern river; my dragon stirred.

'Go to her,' I clenched my jaw, turning my head.

'Not yet.' My eyes focused ahead. 'I can't abandon the battlefield now; the kingdom will fall faster, and if the kingdom falls faster, then those monsters will rule the people, and Aerith would have nowhere to return.' I mouthed to my dragon, even though I knew we would flee this place, I was hoping one day I would bring her back, her and her people. If I can't save the kingdom, how will I fulfill my promise? My dragon roared beneath me, I looked toward the burning horizon, for years, I had trained for war, I had believe the battlefield would be where I prove myself but now I understand, today, I wasn't fighting for my father's approval, for mother's love, for the kingdom, or even to safe my brothers but for Aerith, for the future we had promised each other, for the life we had barely begun, I run forward deeper into the battlefield. "Let's fight till victory is ours."