The panic room was larger than Quilla had expected, though she should have realised. This was the Royal Palace, after all. They didn’t do anything small here. Compared to other parts of the Palace, though, it was small.
The room was split up into several smaller parts, almost rooms themselves, only the lack of doors between them making them all part of one big room. There was the main section which was furnished with several chairs and a dining table. Further back was a kitchen area and past that was the storage area. At the very back was the sleeping area with half a dozen double bunks. Off to the side, across from the storage area was a lavatory area with only a curtain for privacy.
Hang and one of the Kingsguard—Greminy if Quilla remembered his name right—stood by the main door. The other two Kingsguard stood by the kitchen. The Queen and Annai sat beside each other at the table, sobbing into one another’s arms. Pastrin and Ned sat side by side in two of the chairs along the wall. Pastrin was slumped over, his head in Ned’s lap. Quilla, herself, sat near those two.
They had all spoken almost nothing since arriving what seemed like hours ago. Quilla was sure it hadn’t actually been that long, but it might as well have been. They weren’t likely to be leaving here any time soon.
A short while earlier, the sounds of crashes had come from above. It had been like the Palace had been collapsing on top of them. Maybe it had. Quilla had been certain there had been screams mixed in with the crashes as well.
How many people were dying while they hid away here?
They should have killed Lidda Plavin a week ago. To hell with rules and bureaucracy. Sometimes, faster action was needed, and this had been one of those times. The decision to wait had cost so many lives.
Including the King’s.
The sight of his burnt corpse was etched in Quilla’s mind. Watching him blister and burn away had been almost as bad as watching Tianna and all those horses die under the dragon’s flames. She had always found him a kind man, and she would miss him. She even felt a little bad for the Queen.
With the King dead, Cerus was the new king. But Cerus wasn’t here. Quilla wasn’t sure who would be in charge here until Cerus returned, but she suspected the Queen would maintain control once she’d gotten over her initial shock. Whether that would be a good or bad thing remained to be seen.
Of course, they had to survive first, and that didn’t seem very likely.
Hours or minutes later—or more likely somewhere in between—there was a knock at the door. The Kingsguard sprang to attention.
Hang held up his hand while the other three gripped the hilts of their swords. “Identify yourself.”
“Princess Gabriella.”
“Your Highness!” Hang retrieved a key from his belt.
The other three did not remove their hands from their sword hilts.
Hang nodded to Greminy, then unlocked and opened the door. Gabriella stood there.
The Kingsguard all relaxed.
Gabriella stepped into the room and looked around.
Pastrin sat up, then hopped to his feet. “Gabby, what’s happening?”
“Yes,” Annai said, wiping away her tears. “Is that horrid woman dead?”
Gabby held up her hand. “One moment. Sergeant Merrin, report.”
“Not much to report, your Highness. We came straight here. No casualties or injuries.”
“I thought I told you to get them off Palace grounds.”
“Yes, your Highness. The Queen wanted to come here, and with the dragon flying above, I deemed this the safer option.”
Gabby glanced at the Queen with a frown. “I see.”
The Queen dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Now, Gabriella, will you tell us what is happening upstairs?”
“It’s not good,” Gabby said. “Not good at all. Lidda Plavin is riding the dragon and together, they’re burning the Palace and the grounds. You shouldn’t have come here. You should have done as I said and got the hell off Palace grounds. You would have stood a better chance.”
“Orders now, your Highness?” Hang asked.
“We get the hell out of here.”
“But surely if we go out there, the dragon will burn us, too,” Annai said.
“Would you rather be buried under the rubble of the Palace?” Gabby said. “We might survive a few days if we’re lucky, but they won’t be comfortable days. This room was designed for hiding from human invaders, not dragons.”
“Going outside doesn’t seem a very good option either,” Pastrin said.
Gabby shrugged. “You’re right, it isn’t, but if we leave, we have a chance. Rudiger’s sword seems to have an ability to protect against the dragon’s fire. If we can get back to him…”
The Queen stood up. “Agreed. We will leave here and head to Lord Fonivan. Is Thilin with him?”
Gabby stiffened. “Thilin? No, he’s...to tell the truth, I’m not entirely certain where Thilin is. I think he was on the roof with the archers when the dragon breathed on them.”
The Queen fell back into her seat with a wail. Another wail escaped Annai’s lips.
“I’m...sorry.” Gabby’s face scrunched, and she sniffled.
Quilla put a hand to her face. Gods, Thilin too? He was so young.
Gabby straightened up. “I’m sorry, your Majesty, but we have to leave now. I loved Thilin, too. And Father. But the building could come down on us at any moment. We must leave.”
The Queen nodded slowly.
Gabby motioned to Ned. “Ned? Your help please.”
Ned jumped to his feet. “Of course, your Highness.”
“Gather swords for everyone. There should be some in storage. Pastrin, help him.”
Ned nodded and hurried to the storage area. Pastrin followed.
“Quilla, how are you doing?”
Terrible. Scared to death. Expecting to die any moment. Those would have all been true responses, but they wouldn’t do any good. Quilla stood up and took a deep breath. “Fine. Ready to go.”
Ned and Pastrin returned a moment later, Ned hugging several sheathed swords against his chest, while Pastrin carried several sword belts. They handed swords and belts to the Queen and Annai.
Ned brought a sword to Quilla. “Ever use a sword before?”
Quilla shook her head. “Afraid not.”
“Not to worry,” Ned said. “I figured that was the case, so I brought you the lightest one.”
Pastrin handed her a belt.
“Put the belt on,” Ned said, “and I’ll show you how to attach the sheath.”
Quilla started to strap on the belt.
Annai finished attaching her sword to her belt. “What good will swords be against that dragon?”
“They’ll be useless,” Gabby said. “But we might be facing other things as well. Lamaën and those renegade guards are still out there, too. We all need to be ready to fight for our lives.”
Quilla got her belt on, and Ned then attached the sheathed sword. “There. Hopefully, you won’t need it. If you do, the trick is to shove the pointy end into your opponent.” He gave her a weak smile.
“Right!” Gabby said. “Hang and I will lead. Ned, Pastrin, you two come next. Then your Majesty, Annai, Quilla, the three of you. The remaining Kingsguard will bring up the rear. Ready? Let’s go.”
Hang opened the door, and they headed through the wine cellar and up the stairs.
There was smoke in the air of the lower floor of the Palace. Luckily, it didn’t take long to reach one of the servant exits. Quilla was coughing and retching heavily by the time they got there. Thankfully, there were no dead bodies lying about like she had half expected to see. If there had been, she suspected she would be doing worse than coughing.
Hang opened the door a crack and peered out. “Looks clear.” He opened the door all the way.
The cold fresh air was a huge relief, and Quilla breathed deeply of it as soon as she stepped outside. Then she breathed in smoke once more and coughed again.
Annai gasped.
The east wing of the Palace was on fire, and the west wing they had just come out of was ablaze on the upper floors. Worse, the grounds around them were scorched. The gardens were gone. Only a few burning husks of trees remained here and there on the grounds.
“I admit,” Gabby said, “I’m not sure the best route to take from here.”
“North gate?” Hang said. “Not much out there, but it’s closest.”
“Before I came to find you, the dragon attacked the north gate. I don’t know if it exists anymore.”
Hang pointed to the southwest. “Looks like there’s still woods standing over in that direction. We can head west and then south. Hopefully, we can stay under cover long enough to reach the west wall. From there, hopefully we can make our way to the south gate. Any idea where Rudiger is?”
Gabby shook her head. “No idea. He said he was going to keep people alive.”
“Then my recommendation is what I just said, your Highness.”
Gabby nodded. “We’ll do it.” She turned to everyone else. “Keep low and near cover if you can, but don’t stray too far. We’ll try to move fast, but whatever you do, don’t draw attention to yourselves. If we find any other survivors along the way, avoid making too much noise, and encourage them to stay quiet too. Right, let’s go.”
They made their way west, keeping to the edge of the road. The servant building was still intact, as were the kennels and stables past that. Beyond those, the government buildings were on fire.
The streets were littered with the scorched bodies Quilla had feared seeing in the Palace. Not just people. Horses and dogs too. Annai was the first to retch and vomit. Pastrin and Quilla soon joined her.
The sun kept passing behind the clouds. Every time it did, Quilla shivered and looked up, constantly afraid it was the shadow of the dragon flying over them.
But there was no sign of the dragon.
There was no sign of anything living. No survivors. No Rudiger.
They turned north, past some surviving gardens, then to the open grounds. The woods Hang had pointed out earlier were just up ahead, up the hill. They hurried forward.
Several shapes came out of the woods. Men in armour. Palace guards. Lamaën stood at their front, no longer wearing the armour he had been wearing earlier.
“People are so predictable,” he said. “Leave an area untouched and they don’t question it. They head straight for it.”
“Your Majesty!” Hang yelled. “Your Highnesses! Run!” He drew his sword and launched himself forward. He didn’t make it far before he flew back through the air and landed in the muddy snow.
Lamaën swept his arm again.
Gabby drew her sword, as did the remaining Kingsguard.
Quilla fumbled for her own sword, not really sure what she would do with it, but she could try.
And then a shadow fell over them. This time, it wasn’t the sun going behind the clouds.
The dragon roared as it thudded to the ground behind them. Its warm, smelly breath blew over Quilla, the creature was that close.
Annai screamed.
The dragon took a single step towards them and extended its neck forward.
Two of the Kingsguard rushed at it, but it flicked its head to the side, knocking one over and impaling the other on one of its teeth. It pulled back, shaking its head several times and flicking its tongue until the Kingsguard’s body fell off.
Gabby threw her sword down. “All right, Lamaën, we surrender.”
Lamaën backed away with his guards. “Thank you, your Highness, but that’s not actually an option. We can’t really leave any Royal survivors, can we?”
The dragon repositioned itself so it was looking directly at them, but angled in such a way as to avoid lining up with Lamaën and his men.
Oh gods. It was going to breathe on them
Quilla ran in front of the Queen and Annai. “No! I’m the Catalyst! You can’t kill me. You need me. Pastrin, Ned, Gabby, everyone get behind me.”
The dragon extended its head towards Quilla until it almost touched her. Each of its nostrils was half her size. Its hot breath poured over her.
Quilla was glad she didn’t have anything left in her to vomit, as her stomach heaved. She tried to breathe calmly, slowly, but her breathing just increased its pace. Death had never seemed so close.
The dragon’s head rose above her head. The bottom of its jaw almost brushed her forehead. She followed it with her eyes, then glanced behind her.
The others all had their swords drawn. Gabby, Pastrin, and Ned all faced the other direction, watching Lamaën and his guards approaching closer. Annai and the Queen watched the dragon as its neck extended farther forward.
Shit! It was just going to reach over her and pick off the others. She hadn’t even thought of that. But surely so close, she’d still get scorched?
A yell came from somewhere to Quilla’s right.
The dragon’s head whipped round with a snarl.
A very large horse and rider were galloping towards them, the rider holding his sword aloft.
The dragon reared its neck and head back, and opened its jaws.
“Rudiger, look out!” Quilla yelled.
Flames shot down, engulfing Rudiger and Borisin, and melting the snow beneath them. But as Quilla watched, it became apparent the fire was deflecting around Rudiger and Borisin as they charged forward. It was like it was hitting an invisible shield surrounding them.
The dragon stopped breathing as they got closer. Borisin made a hard turn to the right just before colliding with the dragon. Rudiger swung wide, his sword slicing across the dragon’s rear leg.
With a roar, the dragon reared aside. Compared to the size of the dragon, it was a small cut, but the dragon screamed anyway. It spun round, its tail swinging perilously close to Quilla and the others.
Lidda Plavin clung to the back of the dragon’s neck. “Kill them! Get me that sword!”
Oh, for a crossbow, Quilla thought.
“Look out!” Annai cried.
Quilla spun round.
Lamaën’s guards had rushed forward, and were clashing with Gabby, Ned, and the Kingsguard. Pastrin stood nearby, his sword wavering in front of him.
From behind, Borisin screeched. Quilla glanced back to see the horse lying on his side farther down the slope. Rudiger lay on the ground, directly beneath the dragon’s leering head.
Quilla drew her sword. Or tried. It took three attempts to get it out, but it came free finally.
“Damn it,” Annai muttered.
Quilla spun round again.
Annai was pulling off several layers of skirts. “Don’t just stand there! You do it, too! You can’t fight in these skirts. Not in the snow!”
Annai was right. Quilla began pulling at her skirts.
Gabby blocked a blow from one of the guards. She then swung round to the side and stabbed the next guard over.
Quilla got herself down to just two layers of skirts and tossed the others aside. She could move more easily now, but had to be careful of the fabric on the ground from her, Annai, and the Queen. She held her sword out in front of her. The weight started to hurt her wrist almost immediately.
Behind her, the dragon screamed again.
In front of her, Ned stumbled and fell on his back. One of the Darker guards rushed at Annai, who tried to block with her sword. She succeeded, but her sword fell from her grasp.
The Darker raised his sword at Annai. Quilla tried to push forward, but Hang slammed into the Darker from the side, knocking them both to the ground. They rolled about in the mud.
Only one other Darker guard remained and Gabby was fighting him. The two other Kingsguard lay on the ground. Quilla couldn’t tell if they were dead or alive. Pastrin was helping Ned to his feet.
And there was Lamaën, standing well back.
She could rush him. He was unarmed. Of course, he’d swat her aside with that power of his, or he’d age her to death with that other power. It didn’t matter. She had to try.
Annai stumbled against Quilla, apparently trying to avoid Hang and the Darker still rolling around on the ground. Annai stabbed down at the guard, but missed.
Then a force hit Quilla, just like the one that had hit her in the throne room. She flew backwards, hitting her head on the soft ground. She groaned. Her vision swam, but it cleared quickly. She sat up. She’d lost her sword somewhere. There it was. Several feet away.
Annai and the Queen had been thrown back as well, to either side of Quilla. Annai was getting to her feet, but the Queen was groaning on the ground.
Lamaën stomped through the snow up to the Queen. Annai ran at him, but flew backwards again. Lamaën swiped his arm. “You really do like to do this the hard way, don’t you?”
The Queen grabbed his leg. “You will pay for what you’ve done here.” She tried to pull him over.
Lamaën stood fast and looked down at her. The Queen gasped. The skin on her face smoothed out. Her fingers gripping his legs lost their wrinkles and straightened out. They shortened. As her hands got smaller, they lost their grip on Lamaën’s leg. The Queen’s body shrank as she got younger and younger, until there was just a squalling baby lying in a pile of clothes in the snow.
“Mother!” Annai screamed.
Lamaën twirled his finger in a small circle. “Go back.” He lifted his foot and brought it down on the baby Queen’s neck. The baby’s cries stopped.
Annai fell to her knees. “No!”
Lamaën looked directly at Quilla. He looked older—not old exactly, but the age he used to look before he’d de-aged when he’d killed DeSeloön. He was also panting heavily.
Oh gods. He was a wizard. Quilla didn’t know what kind, but he was exerting himself and tiring out just like a wizard would. And if he made contact with her…
He started towards her.
“He’s tiring! But if he touches me, he’ll gain power from me!”
Gabby stabbed the guard she was fighting and ran for Lamaën. She stumbled backwards suddenly, but wasn’t thrown back like before. She pushed forward as Lamaën swiped his arm.
Hang grabbed Lamaën’s foot and yanked him over. He fell face first into the mud, but Hang cried out as the other Darker he was fighting rammed a dagger into his side.
Pastrin and Ned rushed forward, but they were a ways back and Ned was limping.
Quilla ran out to the side of Lamaën, trying to get round him to help Hang.
Gabby leapt on top of Lamaën. She rammed her hands down at the back of his head, but he vanished and she fell over. “Fuck!”
With Lamaën gone, Quilla ran straight for Hang and his assailant. She kicked at the Darker’s side, but his armour cushioned her blows. Hang kicked at his face and was a little more successful. The Darker let go of him, and Hang scrambled aside.
Gabby stomped over and rammed her sword through the Darker’s helmet. He went still.
The dragon screeched and a wave of air rushed over them. It had spread and beat its wings. Rudiger was standing again, his sword raised, trying to fend the beast off.
“Get out of here!” he cried at them.
“We can’t just leave him,” Ned said.
Gabby lowered her head. “We can’t help him either. Too many have died today.”
“And we’ll be adding his death to that total if we go.”
“If we don’t, we’ll be adding his and ours.” Gabby sheathed her sword. “Quilla, help Annai. Let’s move while they’re distracted by the sword.”
Quilla hurried over to Annai, who was sobbing by her mother’s gown. “Annai, come on.”
“But Mother.”
“I know.” Quilla held out her hand. “We’ll mourn her soon. Please come with us.”
Annai looked up at Quilla, her face a smudge of tears and make-up. “Both Mother and Father.”
Quilla kept her hand out. “I know. Please, Rudiger can only hold the dragon off so long.”
Annai took her hand, and Quilla helped her to her feet.
“And Thilin,” Annai muttered as Quilla led her away. “Tianna. Zandrue. Sinitïa. All gone.”
Quilla put an arm around her and directed her into the woods after Gabby, Pastrin, Ned, and Hang. She looked back at Rudiger for a moment.
The dragon’s claw swatted Rudiger aside. He fell on his back many feet down the hill. The dragon moved round, blocking Quilla’s view.
“He’s a good man,” Annai said.
Quilla nodded. “Yes, he is. Sorry, Rudiger.” She held back the tears, and they turned back towards the woods.
