As a new queen rises to power, the kings of Caeleste grow unrest. The Inlustris in their sights, they send an assassin to Antonella Feulune's palace, and the war is declared.
Inexperienced and filled with grief, Antonella sends off her fiancé on a t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Once I sent everyone to a designated room in the palace and drank a protein drink to get my energy up, I attended the general and his claims. They weren't too out there. I knew King Oskar went the illegal route to get soldiers from another land. That's why there were so many fighting the front lines; and I bet they were promised great things to do all the dirty work, if they survived it.
It was a shame.
"What spells are you using?" I asked. I settled into the queen's seat at the dining table, feeling odd for being there for the first time in so long. I didn't even remember how much time had passed since Theodora's passing.
"We've been trying every single spell in the book, Your Majesty," Uncle paced back and forth around the dining room. He ran a hand through his buzzed haircut, gripping his entire head hard. The mannerism reminded me so much of Father that I teared up. "They seem to have something to disarm magic before it even starts. Not even our own disarming spell works."
"I guess they learned from the first raid," I remarked.
"They learned a little too much."
"What can we do? If we're going to be infiltrated, we're as good as dead. We need something to counteract them." I leaned forward on the table, placing my arms on the wooden surface. For the first time ever, my body wasn't restricted. My clothes were still Ella, the Bleeder's. It was about the only positive thing I could find in the moment.
Philip entered the room, holding rolls of paper.
"What happened to Prince Mahli?" Philip asked as he unrolled the paper over the surface of the table. It was the map of Potentia Flamber, or what used to be.
"He disappeared. It was as if he was never there, but..." I trailed off. His brows furrowed as he stared at me. I knew he knew what I meant. Little Orpheus' body was proof enough of his presence.
"Look, Prince Mahli was a distraction," Uncle said, cutting through the tension between Philip and I. "They were using him to take our minds off their true plan. We need to come up with something, but I'm afraid that we won't have enough time."
The outside rumbled with more explosions. My breath hitched at the thought of being defeated. After everything I had done, I might still fall.
Potentia Flamber would cease to exist.
"Can we repair the dome?" I asked. It was a long-shot, but it could help us for a while until we figured out something to attack our enemies. We needed to fight back harder, and we couldn't stop until they kneeled before us.
If they thought it was alright to manipulate almost an entire land against a kingdom, then they were mistaken. If we were to fall, then we would fall armed with honor and sincerity, unlike them who wore greed like an embellished suit.
"It can take a while, and you don't have the energy to exude that amount of magic," he pointed out. "You put up quite the show, Your Majesty. There is a lot of my dear brother in you than you let on."
