Devrim watched in horror as a chasm formed where the sky bridge once was. The rest of them had made it safely inside, but Aurora, Zan and Gandr had been cut off by Deragona's vicious move. The Emperor watched in horror as the three fell toward the earth. He managed to catch Aurora's eyes as she dropped helplessly. Instead of horror, her face contained a final smile just for him.
At the last possible moment, a familiar-looking portal opened and engulfed the trio before disappearing as quickly as it came.
"What did the dragons do to them?" Junayd asked, appalled.
"I do not think that was the dragons," Devrim responded, pointing at the spot where the three had disappeared. He looked around to realize that the prince, princess, Eira, and Brinn had all disappeared. The two of them should do the same.
The Emperor and his guard descended the stairs as bells rang out around the castle. It was the second portion of the warning system which had been implemented. While the horns meant to seek shelter inside the castle; the bells meant to get out as quickly as possible.
Devrim realized he had already messed up the job his wife had given him if things went badly. "Did you see where Mairwen went?" he inquired of Junayd as they hurried into the lower levels of the palace.
The soldier shrugged. "I am sorry, Your Majesty. She and the prince ran past me when the tower broke apart. I—" both men lunged to one side as a large part of the stairs they were descending came crashing down toward them. The wall before them broke apart and they could clearly view the chaos outside.
In the courtyard beyond the tower, servants and guards were pouring out of the castle at a break-neck speed. A violet dragon, one of the ones who had been hovering behind the Dragon King and Queen, was digging her razor sharp claws into the bell tower toward the center of the palace. The last clear tone rang out before the structure cracked and crumbled, causing hollow, metallic bonging as the metal bell made its journey to the ground.
Another dragon, an albino one, was breathing fire through the open windows on the second floor, catching tapestries and other furniture on fire. The palace was ablaze.
Devrim looked on in horror before another rumbling sound pulled him from his shock. "Get out of the gap!" he called to Junayd. They were still a ways above ground level, but the integrity of the tower was slowly giving way.
The two men climbed over the rubble into the exposed glowstone passage and then peered out toward the grassy courtyard below. Parts of it were charred and smoldering. "Have I mentioned how much I hate heights?" The soldier lamented for the second time that day.
"Do not think too much," Devrim assured him. "Tuck and roll when you land and hopefully you won't break anything."
"Helpful but not encouraging," Junayd wiped the perspiration from his brow.
Without another word, they went plummeting to the ground. Unlike the Empress, no portal appeared to keep them from hitting the earth. Devrim managed to land his body at the perfect angle to roll like it was the most natural thing in the world. Junayd was not so lucky.
The strong soldier cried out as he gripped his right shoulder with his left arm. Devrim hurried over to him. "You did it wrong," the Emperor stated.
"I realize that now," Junayd said through clenched teeth. "Perhaps you can give me lessons when we are not in mortal peril."
"It's a plan. Can you stand?" Devrim helped lift the General to his feet. The man groaned, but it seemed his injury was limited to his shoulder and ribs.
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Despite the destruction, there was not the carnage Devrim had expected to see. It seemed the dragons were solely intent on retrieving the dragon heir and not human annihilation. That was mildly comforting. Still, there were injured and panicked people everywhere.
"Direct people out of gates," he ordered Junayd. "I will help get others out of the palace while I look for Mairwen."
With all the volume he could muster, Devrim tried to bring some order to the chaos. He asked each passerby who was calm enough if they had seen Mairwen. None of them gave an affirmative answer. His quest seemed hopeless.
A scream broke through the chaos and caught Devrim's attention. Up inside the palace, smoke was pouring out of a second-story window to the Emperor's left. A woman was buried in the grey billows.
"Help!" Candela begged as she coughed through the smoke. Devrim rushed underneath the window, ducking below a low flying dragon. The large lizard spotted the man and swooped at him. The Emperor drew his sword and swung at the beast's reaching talon. The violent collision shook the man's body.
Pulling back his blade, the Emperor could see a nick in the steel, whereas the sand-colored beast had no damage at all. 'That's not good,' Devrim realized with wide eyes. The dragon snarled at the opposition and used two of its massive digits to flick the Emperor against the palace wall.
Its maw opened wide to reveal interminable rows of sharp teeth. 'At least my death will be quick,' Devrim thought. The beast was about to pounce when a hail of arrows rained down on the dragon.
Having seen the Emperor's plight, Junayd redirected the nearby archers to his aid. The arrows bounced uselessly off the dragon's scales, but the effect still worked.
"Run!" Devrim ordered as the sandy monster turned on the attackers. The soldiers scattered, leaving the lizard undecided about what to do. It decided, at last, to return to terrorizing from the sky.
The Emperor returned to the pressing danger of the lady-in-waiting. He held out his arms below the window. "You need to jump. I will catch you!"
Candela shook her head and arms frantically. "I cannot. Bella is caught under part of the wall. I will not leave her."
Devrim rubbed his forehead. "Do you have anything you can lower that, you know, isn't on fire?"
Candela disappeared into the smoke and returned with a cord from one of the curtains. It was decorative but thick and sturdy.
"Very good. Tie it off and lower it." The Emperor encouraged her. While she worked, he found a weak spot in the stone just above his head and thrust his sword deep into it. The blade was damaged from the run-in with the dragon, but it would still do for this purpose.
The rope came down and, as Devrim expected, it was too short for him to reach. Using the windowsill of the lower floor and the sword, the Emperor used his makeshift staircase to reach the rope and pull himself inside.
The room was filled with so much smoke that it was impossible to see. "Climb down. I will get Bella," Devrim said to Candela. He gave her a gentle push to accentuate his point. With the woman safely out the window, Devrim called out, "Bella!" He received no reply. The grey-eyed man dropped to the ground to get a better look and spotted his goal.
Bella was pinned by a fallen pillar and lay unmoving. The Emperor crawled to her and pushed as much of the debris as he could off her body. Finally, he was forced to stand to get the pillar's large capital off of Bella's calf. Her leg was in bad shape.
More cracking and sputtering from the surrounding fire made Devrim realize he had run out of time. He lifted the unconscious but breathing woman from the ground and raced toward the window. Their combined weight was more than the weakened floor could bear.
------
Outside Candela heard a profound crash as she waited for her sister and the Emperor to come out from the second story. She gripped her stomach and resisted the urge to vomit when she realized that the floor had caved. Not only had Candela been unable to save her sister, she had also caused her Mistress's husband to succumb to the flames.
When she turned to see what else could be done, the lady heard her name. "Candela! Help!"
From the lower window, Devrim emerged holding a broken but breathing Bella. "Your Majesty!" Candela gave a quick bow before assisting them. The Emperor was scraped up and his lungs were filled with smoke, but he otherwise seemed unharmed. "How did you survive that?" Candela asked with no small amount of wonder.
"I think a Fate was looking out for me," he answered easily. "We landed in a mess of cushions. I could not have aimed better if I tried."
Devrim caught the eye of a fleeing male servant. His arms were more than strong enough to carry the frail woman in his arms. The Emperor beckoned him. "Get these ladies to safety," he ordered. To Candela, he added, "Get out, get your family and keep going. I fear this is not a battle we can win."
The trio moved off as more of the castle was turned to ruin. It was amazing to realize just how large the palace was. Even for all the desolation, it was still more than half standing. But it would not be for long if the terrorizing continued.
Devrim dodged the flying debris as he continued to scan for members of his family. Instead, he saw Junayd with a host of people following him. Eira was beside him, looking more than a little embarrassed that she had lost Mairwen.
Junayd yelled over the chaos, "Your Majesty! The gnomes have barricaded the front gate. We cannot exit. Even if we do, they are sure to attack us, and most of these people are unarmed."
The Emperor did not answer right away. There were too many unknowns. And the things he did know were unpleasant.
"Sire? What shall we do?" Junayd pressed.
The word 'surrender' passed briefly through the grey-eyed man's mind but was quickly discarded. Surrender meant death for most if not all of them, and he knew it.
Just then a large explosion blasted behind the palace, sending up smoke that even they could see from the opposite side. In his heart, Devrim knew what it was and who must be there, but he had to push aside the thought until he knew for sure.
He pointed toward the smoke. "We go that way," he announced. "Perhaps the burst has provided another way out. Either way, it is our best option."
Without waiting, Devrim took off around the side of the palace. Only one thought repeatedly ran through his mind. 'Please be safe, Mairwen.'