Chapter 70 Confronting the Queen
Elara's POV
I tackled Queen Morgana. We crashed to the ground.
"Lily, run!" I screamed at my sister. "Get to the castle! NOW!"
Lily hesitated. "But..."
"GO!"
She ran. Good. At least she'd be safe.
Queen Morgana threw me off easily. Even without magic, she was stronger than me.
"Fifty seconds," she said, standing up. "Then my powers return. You can't beat me, little seamstress."
"Maybe not." I circled her. "But I can try."
"Why? What's the point? You've already lost everything."
"No." I lunged at her again. "You took everything. You used me. Used my sister. Used my love for Drakon to destroy us all!"
Queen Morgana caught my fist. Twisted my arm. I cried out in pain.
"Yes. I used you. Just like I used everyone." She shoved me away. "Did you really think you mattered? That you were special? You were a tool. Nothing more."
"And Lily? You promised to let her go!"
"I lied." Queen Morgana smiled that cruel smile. "I was always going to kill her. The moment the war started, I sent orders. Your precious sister was supposed to die screaming while you watched."
Rage exploded in me. Pure, burning rage.
I attacked without thinking. Punched. Kicked. Clawed. Used every ounce of strength.
Queen Morgana blocked most attacks. But I landed a few hits. Her lip split. Blood trickled down her chin.
"Better," she admitted. "But not good enough."
She swept my legs. I fell hard. Air rushed from my lungs.
"Forty seconds," Queen Morgana said. "Then I kill you slowly. Make you watch while I burn everyone you love."
I tried to stand. My body wouldn't cooperate. Too exhausted. Too damaged.
"You know the funny thing?" Queen Morgana knelt beside me. "I almost started to like you. You reminded me of myself at your age. Desperate. Willing to do anything to protect family. We're not so different."
"We're nothing alike," I gasped.
"Aren't we? You chose your sister over thousands. I chose revenge over peace. Both selfish. Both destructive. Both convinced we're right."
"I didn't want this war!"
"But you caused it anyway. Your maps. Your intelligence. Your betrayal. This war exists because of you, Elara. Just like I planned."
The words cut deep. Because they were true.
All those deaths. All that destruction. My fault.
"Thirty seconds," Queen Morgana said. "Any final words?"
"Yes." I met her eyes. "You forgot one thing."
"What's that?"
"I'm not alone anymore." I smiled through the pain. "I have people who care about me. People who'll fight for me. People you can't manipulate or control."
"Like who? Your Dragon King? He flew away. Abandoned you to save his castle."
"He didn't abandon me. He trusted me to hold you here. To delay you." I laughed. It hurt. "And I did. The explosives are defused by now. Your plan failed."
Queen Morgana's face twisted with rage. "You insolent little..."
"Twenty seconds," I interrupted. "Better start running."
"I'm not running from you!"
"Not from me." I pointed at the sky. "From him."
Drakon dove from above. Dragon form. Massive. Furious.
He crashed into Queen Morgana. Knocked her away from me.
"TEN SECONDS!" he roared. "THEN YOUR MAGIC RETURNS!"
"Elara!" Thorne ran up with Faye. "Can you stand?"
"Barely."
They helped me up. My body screamed in protest.
"The explosives?" I asked.
"Defused," Thorne confirmed. "All of them. You bought us just enough time."
Queen Morgana stood up, laughing. "Five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One."
Dark magic exploded from her. More powerful than before. Angrier.
Drakon transformed to human. Stood between me and the queen.
"You can't protect her forever, Dragon King," Queen Morgana said.
"Watch me."
She attacked. Drakon blocked with his own magic. Golden dragon fire met dark death magic.
The two forces crashed. Exploded. Knocked everyone nearby to the ground.
"She's too strong!" Faye shouted. "We need to retreat!"
"No," I said. "We fight. Together."
I summoned my golden light. Weak. Flickering. But there.
Added it to Drakon's dragon fire.
The two magics combined. Gold and gold. Light and flame.
Stronger together than apart.
"That's impossible," Queen Morgana breathed. "Your bond is broken. You can't combine magic through a broken bond!"
"It's not completely broken," I said. The golden thread between us pulsed. Glowed. "A piece remains. Enough to fight together."
"Enough to beat you," Drakon added.
We attacked as one. Our combined magic slammed into Queen Morgana.
She blocked. Barely. Stumbled back.
"You think this changes anything?" she screamed. "I have an army! Thousands of soldiers! You've won nothing!"
"We've won each other," I said. "And that's enough."
Queen Morgana's eyes blazed with hatred. "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"
Her soldiers charged. Hundreds of them.
We were surrounded. Outnumbered. Exhausted.
But we stood together.
Drakon and me. Side by side. Connected by the thinnest thread of our bond.
Ready to fight. Ready to die. Ready to face whatever came next.
Together.
"Ready?" Drakon asked.
"Always," I said.
The soldiers reached us.
And the real battle began.