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...
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"Her army is finished," Prince Linus announced.
All the kings celebrated the small victory. It was about the only positive thing we've heard in the past day. I stood by the side, watching Linus show the destruction from a brume projector. The bloody bodies of all the soldiers flashed through the hologram. I even recognized some of the faces.
When they showed General Feulune with a spear stuck to his back, I tried to hold in my gag. His brown eyes stared soullessly at us. That stare would haunt me for the rest of my life.
"Are you sure there isn't a single survivor?" King Oskar asked. He pursed his lips at the hologram.
The battlefield at the border of Potentia Flamber and Solennes Jubar was littered with bodies. No one moved. All were either impaled or dismembered. There was no chance of survival.
"Positive, Your Majesty," Linus said. "We barely had any casualties on our end. The spell worked."
King Rasmus chuckled. "Now Antonella won't have any defense. It's just her. Once we overrun her palace with our soldiers, we can sneak around and seize the Inlustris." A wide grin spread over his face.
If we were so close to getting the Inlustris, that meant I was close to providing for The Allicere. Mother and Father will be proud. I can finally inherit the throne and help the kingdom.
"We're close to victory!" Rasmus exclaimed.
"Father, we should enact the last spell." Linus pointed to the dark book.
Its writing and drawings seemed occult, but I didn't bother understanding where the magic came from. It wasn't an elemental magic, which meant that it must be some sort of advanced magic. Linus called it Tenebrae.
"Yes, let's end this," Rasmus said.
King Oskar and King Davian took a step back as the brume projector shut off. I followed them as King Rasmus and Prince Linus opened the book on top of the table. The air turned stuffy as they joined hands. I took a step back feeling the heavy presence of magic. I could never get used to it.
They began chanting. The words weren't in Flamberin, so neither the kings nor me could understand what was said. But we left it be. They knew what they were doing.
With their free hands, they touched the pages of the book. Both of their eyes turned black as their chanting grew in volume. King Davian shuffled beside me.
They lifted their hands, and threw a magnetic wave of magic through the opened door. For a second, black veins covered their necks and face before disappearing. King Rasmus sighed and closed the book as Prince Linus sat down.
"Someone must go to Potentia Flamber to seize the Inlustris," Rasmus declared. All the men turned to me. I nodded.
"We will try this again, Prince Mahli," Rasmus said. "Linus will transport you there with a spell, and retrieve you with the Inlustris. This time we expect better results."
"I will do my very best, Your Majesty. You need not worry." I bowed at him.
This was my chance to redeem myself. I had failed everyone by not being able to kill Antonella. I had only killed little Orpheus, but that wasn't the plan. I was hoping his death would make her fall to my knees and comply. Instead I awakened her darkness. This time I couldn't face her, I had to stay as far away from her as possible.
If she was ready to burn me with her dark magic, she wouldn't hesitate the next time she saw me. I looked down at my burnt arm. It scabbed horribly, but Prince Linus casted a healing spell on it to hurry the healing process.
"Prince Mahli, you will sneak into the palace. You know the place best, and I will speak with Antonella as you seize it. We will win this war tonight!"
