The Traitor of Inlustris

LV

King Rasmus' pacing got everyone on edge. He muttered under his breath, cursing Antonella and all Flambers by her side. No one, not even Prince Linus, dared interrupt his burst of rage.

The other two kings shuffled about, uncomfortable about the situation. I sat alone by the table, staring at the smooth surface, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

I was sent to Potentia Flamber with a goal. I needed to get in and come out with Antonella's head. Instead, she only fixed the crown on her head and swung her blue flames my way. Staring down at my burnt arm was another bitter reminder of my failure. I should have worked quicker, tricked her, and killed her like I was meant to do.

Now the chances of getting The Allicere to the top were slim. I needed to get Antonella's head, and fast.

"Father, we must plan another attack," Linus interrupted. "They need to recuperate. We must take that in our advantage."

"Did you not see what just happened?" King Rasmus bellowed. "The abomination wields dark magic. We need to do a whole new plan if we want to succeed. Our weapons can only do so much to her."

He pressed a hand over his creasing forehead. Linus pursed his lips and sat down opposite of me.

"Prince Mahli," he started. "Are you sure you hit her with the spell?" His eyes pleaded for his beliefs to be true. That perhaps my recount of the events were somehow false.

I knew what I saw. Antonella got a whiff of the smoke, was blasted with darkness, and yet she remained conscious. She wobbled about, but she was not thrown off. Her magic was stripped off for a few minutes before she regained her strength, and then she bursted into blue flames.

I shuddered at the recent memory.

"She even said it, Your Highness," I mumbled. I held onto my burnt arm tighter to my chest. "Once the effects wore off, which weren't more than ten minutes, she was a ball of blue flames."

"Out of everything, flames," King Rasmus muttered. He threw his arms in the air. "We were so close!"

"Your Majesty, I apologize," I said. "I should have done the deed quicker. I had no idea she could do that."

King Rasmus turned to me. His nostrils flared, but eventually he sighed.

"I can't blame you no matter how much I want to." He shook his head and sat back down at his assigned seat: the king's seat. "You were just as clueless as us. You've proven yourself loyal time and time again."

I gulped remembering all of my horrible deeds. Remembering kept me up at night, but it was needed. One day I'll be able to look back and be grateful for my bravery and sacrifice. For now, I would have to deal with the haunting screams of every victim.

"This is all Antonella's fault," King Rasmus growled.

A brume started vibrating on the table, and King Oskar excused himself.

Silence engulfed us once more as we tried to formulate a coherent thought to plan a stronger attack. The Inlustris was still in Antonella's clutches, and we had to defeat her in order to bring justice for Caeleste.

"There must be something we could do..." King Davian trailed off. The man, clothed in a dashing ruby red suit, was stiff as King Rasmus eyed him up. Davian was never one to suggest the wisest of ideas, thus always being tossed to the side.

"The Tenebrae doesn't work on her," Rasmus pointed out. "Magic is useless. We need to outsmart her and find the Inlustris on our own."

"A distraction?" Davian suggested.

King Rasmus looked like he was about to curse King Davian into the Inferos when King Oskar burst into the room, holding his brume in front of him.

"Look at what she did!" He cried.

The hologram showed smoke trailing up into the sky. Debris covered the area, blocking the place to the point where I couldn't recognize the town or kingdom. Judging from King Oskar's worry, I gathered that it was his kingdom, destroyed.

"The bomb," he said.

King Rasmus stared at the brume hologram, a scowl forming on his face. I wished to get out of his way immediately.

"My palace was destroyed," King Oskar whispered. "My wife, my kids...no one is responding."

"King Oskar, my deepest apologies," Rasmus started. He stared at the hologram for another moment, taking in the carnage before he looked away. "This is why we must put a stop to Antonella."

I shifted in my seat, wanting to disappear. The rational side of me wished I never got involved with Caeleste, but I reminded myself why I was in this position. I would put everything on the line for my kingdom. They deserved someone who would go the extra mile to get them to the top. Someone that would fight to bring them food, water, shelter, education, jobs, and more. They had suffered long enough.

"Alright, what about we strengthen our army?" Linus said. He stood up and paced around the room in a similar fashion to his father. "We create a distraction like King Davian said. Let's obliterate her stupid army and get inside."

"How do you suggest we do that if Tenebrae doesn't work on her?" A vein almost popped from his forehead as he yelled.

"We wouldn't be casting it on her, Father. We would be casting it on our soldiers to attack harder. Then we swoop in and take the Inlustris."

King Rasmus breathed in deeply, closing his eyes for a second. He looked ready to explode, but, at last, he sighed.

"You know what? We can try that. We can kill her entire army. She won't have defenses left. We won't be able to contain her fire, but we can distract her."

"Yes," Linus sighed. "We can do this. We just need to cast a more advanced spell, but we can do it."

King Rasmus slammed his fist on the table. "Bring me the spell book. We have work to do."