Chapter 63 The Southern Kingdom Attacks
Drakon's POV
The executioner's axe hung in the air above Elara's neck.
Then war horns shattered the moment.
BLAAAAAARE! BLAAAAAARE! BLAAAAAARE!
"ATTACK!" Guards screamed from every direction. "THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM IS ATTACKING!"
Explosions rocked the castle walls. Stone crumbled. Smoke filled the courtyard. The ground shook beneath my feet.
"BREACH IN THE SOUTH WALL!" someone shouted.
"EAST GATE IS DOWN!"
"ENEMY SOLDIERS EVERYWHERE!"
I watched in horror as thousands of Southern Kingdom soldiers poured through broken defenses. They knew exactly where to strike. Exactly which walls were weakest. Exactly where guards were stationed.
The maps. Elara's maps. They were using them perfectly.
"Your Majesty, we need to get you to safety!" Thorne grabbed my arm.
"No." I transformed. Scales erupted across my body. Wings burst from my back. Within seconds, I was fully dragon.
"PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!" I roared. "EVACUATE THE COURTYARD! DEFEND THE CASTLE!"
I launched into the sky. Breathed fire at the advancing soldiers. Dozens fell screaming.
But more kept coming. Hundreds. Thousands.
They'd planned this perfectly. Attacking during the execution when all our forces were gathered in one place. When our defenses were focused inward instead of outward.
Another explosion. The west gate shattered.
More soldiers flooded through.
"DRAGON SHIFTERS, TO ME!" I commanded.
A dozen dragons launched into the air beside me. We fought together, breathing fire, attacking from above.
But the enemy had prepared for that too. They fired arrows. Iron-tipped arrows that pierced dragon scales.
One of my dragons fell screaming. Then another.
"RETREAT TO HIGHER ALTITUDE!" I ordered.
We flew higher. Out of arrow range. But now we couldn't attack as effectively.
Queen Morgana had thought of everything.
Below me, chaos consumed the courtyard. People ran screaming. Soldiers fought hand-to-hand. Blood stained the stones.
And somewhere in that chaos, Elara knelt on the execution platform. Forgotten. Vulnerable.
I looked for her. Found her still there. Still alive.
Enemy soldiers hadn't reached the platform yet. The guards had abandoned their posts to fight the invasion.
She was alone. Unprotected. With an army between us.
"THORNE!" I roared down. "GET ELARA TO SAFETY!"
But Thorne was too far away. Fighting his own battle. Couldn't hear me over the noise.
I needed to get to her. Needed to protect her.
But I was the king. I had to protect everyone. Couldn't abandon my people for one person.
Even if that person was my true mate.
"SIR DRAKON!" A young dragon shifter flew up beside me. "The northern wall is falling! We need reinforcements there immediately!"
"How many soldiers?"
"At least five hundred. Maybe more. They're overwhelming our defenses."
I looked between the northern wall and the execution platform. Between my duty and my heart.
Between my kingdom and Elara.
"Take half our forces to the northern wall," I ordered. "I'll handle the courtyard."
The young dragon saluted and flew away with six others.
I dove toward the courtyard. Toward Elara. Toward chaos.
Enemy soldiers saw me coming. Raised crossbows. Fired.
I dodged most arrows. Two struck my shoulder. Pain blazed but I kept flying.
I couldn't land yet. Too many enemies. If I transformed to human form, I'd be vulnerable.
But I couldn't fight effectively from the air while protecting ground forces.
Impossible situation. Just like Elara had faced.
Now I understood. How it felt to have no good choices. How it felt when every option meant someone you loved would suffer.
Another explosion. This one massive. The armory going up in flames.
They'd sabotaged it earlier. Sir Marcus's work. Now it exploded during the battle, taking out dozens of my soldiers.
All planned. All perfectly timed.
Queen Morgana had been preparing this for months. Using Elara's information to create the perfect attack.
And it was working.
We were losing.
"FALL BACK!" I commanded. "RETREAT TO THE INNER CASTLE! DEFEND THE CORE!"
My soldiers obeyed. Slowly. Fighting every step. Dying to buy time for civilians to escape.
I flew cover for them. Breathing fire. Creating walls of flame between my people and the enemy.
But I couldn't be everywhere. Couldn't save everyone.
A group of enemy soldiers broke through our line. Headed straight for the execution platform.
Straight for Elara.
"NO!" I roared.
I dove. Wings folded. Free-falling toward the platform.
The soldiers reached her first. Grabbed her. Started dragging her toward the breached gates.
I transformed mid-dive. Landed human-form. Drew my sword.
"RELEASE HER!"
The soldiers turned. Five of them. Armed and armored.
I was one man with one sword.
Bad odds.
But I'd fought worse.
I attacked. Fast. Furious. My sword sang through the air. One soldier fell. Then another.
But more were coming. I couldn't fight them all.
"DRAKON, BEHIND YOU!" Elara screamed.
I spun. Blade up. Blocked a sword aimed at my spine.
Kicked the attacker away. Turned back to Elara.
She was fighting too. No weapon. No training. Just desperate hands pushing at soldiers trying to grab her.
"GET TO THE INNER CASTLE!" I shouted at her. "FIND THORNE! FIND SAFETY!"
"NOT WITHOUT LILY!" she screamed back.
"WHERE IS SHE?"
"I DON'T KNOW! THE CROWD SEPARATED US!"
Another soldier attacked. I parried. Struck. He went down.
But It was tiring. Too many enemies. Not enough time.
"DRAKON!" Thorne's voice. "THE QUEEN! QUEEN MORGANA IS HERE! IN THE COURTYARD!"
I looked. Saw her. Sitting on a black horse at the edge of battle. Smiling. Watching.
She'd come personally. To watch her victory. To watch Drakenmoor fall.
Our eyes met across the chaos.
She raised her hand. Dark magic swirled around her fingers.
Not an attack spell. A shield spell. She was protecting herself.
"SHE'S GIVING ORDERS!" Thorne shouted. "IF WE CAN CAPTURE HER, THE ARMY MIGHT RETREAT!"
A plan. A desperate plan. But our only hope.
I looked at Elara. At the soldiers surrounding us. At the battle consuming everything.
"Go," Elara said. "Stop her. Save the kingdom. I'll find Lily. I'll get us to safety."
"You can't fight them alone..."
"I've been alone in impossible situations before." Her eyes met mine. Fierce. Determined. "I survived Queen Morgana's blackmail. I survived the bond breaking. I'll survive this. Now GO!"
She was right. The kingdom needed me.
But leaving her felt like dying.
"DRAKON!" Thorne shouted again. "NOW! BEFORE SHE ESCAPES!"
I ran. Toward Queen Morgana. Toward our last hope.
Away from Elara.
Away from the woman I still loved despite everything.
I transformed mid-run. Dragon again. Launched into the sky.
Flew straight at Queen Morgana.
She saw me coming. Her smile widened.
She raised both hands. Dark magic exploded toward me.
I dodged. Barely. The magic scorched my wing. Pain blazed.
I kept flying. Kept attacking.
Had to reach her. Had to end this.
Behind me, I heard Elara scream.
Not pain. Not fear.
Lily's name.
She'd found her sister.
And now enemy soldiers had found them both.
I looked back. Saw Elara and Lily surrounded. Outnumbered. Defenseless.
Saw a soldier raise his sword above them.
And I had to choose.
Again.
Always choosing.
The kingdom or my heart.
Duty or love.
Queen Morgana or Elara.
The soldier's blade began its downward swing toward Elara.
Toward Lily.
Toward death.
And I was too far away to save them.