The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty Six pt 5

A moment of wordlessness filled the room with panting breaths as the spell circle's glow faded. Heartbeats pulsed through ears, about to overflow. Was it their own or another's?

"B-bring the king quickly to the anti-magic cell," Vrona instructed through a shaky voice as her knees met with the ground. Immediately, the medics came forward, bandaging Vrona's open wounds. Breathlessly, she finally announced:

"We've won."

Cheers rushed forward all around in unison, blasting through eardrums. Demons hugged and rested with relief. The second heir, Tahgaryn, who crept along the sidelines as much as he could, sighed and slowly walked away from the commotion. Or so was the plan, but a few demons on his way noticed his departure and swung an arm over him, forcing him into the celebration.

However, the celebration did not last as much as it nearly should have. For as soon as they relaxed from the influence of the battle and the king's magic, they noticed the odd buzzing in the air that lifted their hairs and sent chills down their spines.

"Why are you all looking like that? What happened?" Vrona questioned between breaths, noticing the sudden quietness and concerned gazes.

"There's an ominous air of magic," one of the rebels nearby stated, "And it's growing. What's going on?"

Suddenly, everyone turned their heads towards a vague sound of an explosion in the distance. At that moment, K'ra came forward and looked into Vrona's eyes, speaking in silence. K'ra had so far taken a passive role as a medic in this operation, tending to the other injured demons. And now, they stared at Vrona, communicating the possible familiarity of the explosion.

Closing her eyes and drawing her head back, Vrona shuffled her hair in frustration. She groaned and grumbled before a "Now?!" She was ready for a nap to say the least, and the thought of more exertion made her more fumed than anything else.

Her thoughts soon connected to Eial's sudden disappearance. Of course, the only reason he would have left was for the only other thing that caught his curiosity, the only other main thing that posed a threat to others. Was Drokn with him, too?

At the worst of her fears, the thought of a potential worst of an encounter, Vrona bit her lip. Luckily or unluckily, however, her pain that seared through her body masked any sort of anxiety she could have felt. In the case of the worst, she had to be there and see for herself.

What horrid timing. Taking and opening a vial from her belt, she steadily gulped down a green, thick liquid before smashing the glass on the floor in a fit. "FUCK! That's fucking awful!" she swore, shakily standing up with the help of the medics around her. Wiping her lips with the clean bandage around her knuckles, she commanded, "Whoever can still stand, follow me! We have one more bullshit of a situation to deal with."

It took a moment for the rebels to move, unaccustomed to the current mood of the former queen's. The rebels had only witnessed the side of Vrona that was cheery, confident, playful, intelligent, virtuous. Watching this Vrona, sloppy with her words, her unruly emotions, short tempered in sort of a juvenile way, it was quite a show to watch.

"I'll explain on the way, let's stop wasting fucking time and go," she groaned, and with the help of a rebel guard to hold her, she and many of the rebellion left the palace in flight.

K'ra inaudibly giggled at their friend's behavior while the rest took a moment to process after Vrona's departure. K'ra and several other medics stayed behind, tending to the injured. Explaining the situation of the explosion in the outer town to those who stayed back, K'ra wrote on a parchment for a nearby demon to read aloud.

After the explanation, K'ra glanced up and happened to make eye contact with Vrona's second son. Tilting their head, they saw the second heir caught off guard from the stare before he finally, quietly sneaked away from all the commotion and demons.