Flames leapt towards the starry sky. Plumes of smoke billowed upwards from the burning Lorr. Felix raced down the mountains, taking in the destruction that lay before him. Right across the city, buildings burned. And above it all, the dragon flew.

Felix reached the edge of the city. A crowd of people were flowing out of the gate, all pushing and screaming to try and get away. They were the lucky ones, the ones who had been able to avoid the fires. Some soldiers were scattered amongst them, abandoning their posts and their duties. The walls of the city were empty of the troops who were supposed to be patrolling them.

Felix pushed his way through the crowd, going against the flow. His sword was sheathed at his side, his cloak pulled close around him. A part of his mind cried out to think about Braydan, about what had happened, but he forced it away. He couldn’t focus on that now, not when his city was under attack, not when Xavier still posed a threat to Caedan.

The crowd thinned out once inside the gates. Felix looked forward, seeing the palace far ahead of him. It was still relatively undamaged. Hope bloomed in Felix’s chest. Maybe Caedan was still alive, maybe Felix still had enough time to save him.

Felix ducked under the eave of a standing building as the dragon flew overhead. He needn’t have; no flames leapt from the beast’s mouth at the moment. Felix took in the dragon as it flew. It was magnificent, and terrifying. He watched it swoop towards something on the ground, fire flowing out of its mouth as it moved.

Felix turned back to the palace, running faster. He needed to reach it soon. If Caedan was still alive, Felix needed to make sure he got out of the city. Hopefully the dragon would be too intent on destroying buildings and defeating soldiers to notice them fleeing.

He was halfway to the palace when he saw the dragon approach it out of the corner of his eye. The beast leapt out from among buildings, its giant wings carrying it in a direct line towards the palace.

“No!” Felix screamed in frustration, trying to sprint faster, pushing someone to the side. The dragon slowed to a hover beside the palace, opening its great jaws. Fire poured out in a steady stream, and Felix watched as the building went up in flames.

Felix stopped, raising a hand to his face. How could he have let this happen? How could he have failed so badly? He was so tired, and Braydan’s death hammered at his mind as much as he tried to keep it out. The fire continued to eat into the palace, burning it all. Was everyone dead? Caedan, the Generals, the Paladins? Was Kaesyn dead? He didn’t see how anyone could survive such a beast.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Felix dropped his hand to his side, his resolve strengthening. Some of his Order, his family, could still be alive, could still be trapped in the city. There was only one way he could help them now. He needed to kill the dragon.

As his hand moved to the hilt of his sword, he heard a voice calling out. “Master Felix! Felix!” He turned on his heels, to see Kaesyn racing towards him, waving her arms to get his attention. Felix felt his heart skip a beat, and he ran to meet her.

“Kaesyn, what happened?” he demanded as he reached her.

“Prollans, Master, they attacked the palace,” she said. She was out of breath, and parts of her arms showed burns. Other than that, she seemed uninjured, much to Felix’s relief. “They released the dragon on the city. They killed Krillan, Master.”

Felix felt a hammer hit his heart. Two brothers lost on the same night. “What about the others? The rest of the Paladins?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see any of the others. I just found General Erion and he ordered me to escort him.” She pointed over her shoulder.

Only then did Felix look behind her. Erion was there, with a couple of dozen soldiers around him. He was uninjured, not a scar on him. Felix walked towards him, watching as half his soldiers split off and ran back towards the centre of the city.

“General, it is good to see you alive,” Felix said.

Erion turned to him. “Master Felix, I’m glad to see you. Your apprentice was worried. Where is Braydan?”

Felix hesitated for a moment, wondering how much to say. “He is dead, General,” he said.

Erion arched an eyebrow, looking closely at Felix. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. Xavier has killed the Emperor.”

Felix kept his face still. He couldn’t let Erion know that Braydan had told him of the plan. If Erion learned the truth about the Paladins’ involvement, he would never trust Felix. “What of Ingmar?”

“Also dead. Killed by the Prollans. I was lucky to escape the palace before it turned into that.” They both looked to the centre of the city. The palace still burned, parts of it beginning to crumble inwards. The dragon was nowhere to be seen. “Come, Felix, we must get out of the city.”

“But what about the dragon? We need to kill it.”

“No,” Erion said as he began to walk away from the palace. His soldiers fell in behind. “We won’t be able to. I have sent some of my men to round up troops and attack the beast, in order to buy us time to make our escape.”

“What of the common people?”

“They will have to fend for themselves for the moment. If they move swiftly, most of them will be able to make it out of the city, and if we are lucky the dragon won’t leave here.”

“Where will we go?”

“East, to Certus. There are still some people out in that part of the Empire who will be loyal to me. We must move swiftly. Trust no one. Xavier will do whatever it takes to kill us now.”