Page 41 of Curse of the Midnight Dragon (The Moonlight Dragon #2)

Celestina

The time I spent at the ball sped by. Soren and I socialized with so many courtiers, their names and faces blurred together. We danced a few additional sets together, turning down invitations to dance with others—shockingly rude, but neither Soren nor I wished to dance with anyone else. And we enjoyed refreshments with Soren’s lovely sister Princess Priscilla.

Despite the fun I was having, I was anxiously waiting for the evening’s end. The sooner we could get our plans into motion, the safer everyone would be.

Our travels toward the border would begin as soon as we left the ball. Soren didn’t want a battle with dragons to take place in the middle of a busy city where hundreds of innocents would be harmed, which made moving me away from Sukoon our priority. While we’d been doing our part on the diplomatic front, Raya and Gray were prepping for travel.

Soren hoped the dragons didn’t attack until we reached the border. He wanted to use the conflict with Queen Beatrice as cover and let the dragons roast some of Queen Beatrice’s undead warriors for us, maybe even get those undead warriors to go after the dragons. According to him, complicating the conflict by making our enemies split their efforts would benefit Fein’s position.

Going against the dragons— my dragons—didn’t feel right.

I hoped I’d be able to talk to Trace and the others and convince them that I was happy with Soren, that this was my life, my choices. If they’d listen to me, truly listen, I believed they could accept that, while I didn’t live with the clan, I’d always be looking out for them. But the vision I’d had of the dragons destroying everything in the city and killing my loved ones kept replaying in my mind.

I still hadn’t told anyone about it. Not that I needed to. I was sure Soren and Gray and Raya were already picturing something similar in their own minds.

The “how” we planned to fight a kingdom of dragons—if my attempts at diplomacy didn’t work—was a trickier matter.

Soren’s ancestor had been the one to decimate the dragon population after the War of the Magics. He’d done it by having his warriors ruthlessly kill any dragon they encountered, young and old included, destroy dragon eggs, and burn dragon villages. His goal had been extinction.

“We can’t do that. That’s barbaric,” I’d warned during our earlier planning session.

“King Frendrik the First did what he needed to do to protect the vampires,” Gray quickly pointed out. “He did it to create a safe haven, a kingdom for the vampires.”

“He tried to wipe out a magical species!”

“The dragons killed scores of innocents,” Gray said as if that excused the massacre that had followed. “And none of the vampires could trust that the dragons wouldn’t attack again.”

While I understood the need to protect one’s own, the wholesale killing of a species—a magical species at that—wasn’t right. It would never be right.

At the ball, the quartet played a lively waltz. The three dance floors were so crowded, several of the pairs bumped into each other.

“That’s the last song of the evening,” Soren said with obvious relief as he took my hand and led me toward the double doors that opened into the royal apartments. “We’re done. If we slip away now, we can be on our way as soon as I finish briefing the king regarding our plans.”

“Thank goodness.” The back of my neck had been prickling with worry for the past several minutes. “We need to lead the dragons away from the city.”

Soren’s hand had just touched the door handle when a loud crash, like the shattering of a thousand mirrors, reverberated in the ballroom behind us.

And then the screaming started.

My movements felt painfully slow as I turned around. Soren’s arms went around my shoulders, holding me back. Three dragons had broken through the glass ceiling. They flapped their massive leathery wings while breathing fire, burning everything beneath them.

Chaos erupted in the ballroom as courtiers, nobles, and guests dashed for the doors. The screams increased when people caught fire. The King’s Guards flooded into the space from every corner. They herded guests toward the exits while holding their shields above their heads, as if those thin metal pieces could stop dragon fire.

Soren’s grip around me tightened.

“This is happening sooner than we anticipated,” he said. My heart was beating faster than it should while he sounded so damned calm. “We need to get you out of here.” Soren tugged me toward the doors.

“Your parents!” I tried to hold my ground.

“Will get themselves to safety.” He threw the doors open and pushed me through.

“Your brother!”

Soren slammed the doors closed, muffling the destruction exploding inside the ballroom.

“Can fend for himself.”

“But I need to stop them!” How was I going to stop rampaging dragons without getting roasted myself? They weren’t searching for me. They weren’t attacking only the armed guards. They were killing indiscriminately. “I could use my growly voice.”

“Will they hear you over all that screaming?” Soren shook his head. “I can’t take that risk. I won’t take that risk with you.”

Gray and Raya ran up to us in the elegant corridor. They wore battle leathers and traveling cloaks. Raya thrust a traveling cloak at me. “There’s no time for either of you to get changed.”

“The horses are ready,” Gray reported. “There’s a change of clothes for each of you in their packs.”

“Do you think the dragons can sense you?” Soren asked as he helped drape the cloak over my shoulders. “Do you think they’ll know if we leave the city?”

I had no idea. “I’m going to have to show my face.”

“No. That’s not going to happen.”

It would if I used my growly voice to compel him to change his mind. But I didn’t want to do that. Not yet. He’d always been so careful not to issue orders that compelled me to do whatever he said. Another idea came to me. “Amaya. We need to find her. She can help.”

“She’s likely out there helping them destroy us.” Gray gestured toward the ceiling.

“She wouldn’t—” But I didn’t know that. She’d warned us that this would happen, but she’d also made it clear that her loyalties would always remain with the dragons.

“She was with Cullen in the ladies’ retiring parlor not that long ago,” Soren said. “They were…” He flicked the thought away with a wave of his hand. “We need to find them. Follow me. We can use a servant’s passage to get there without entering the ballroom.”

Soren slid open a panel in the wall and took off jogging down a long, undecorated corridor. “Gray! Fetch my sword.”

“Not happening. I won’t be leaving your side with those dragons in the palace,” Gray said as he kept pace with Soren.

“The dragons are too big to get into the passageways. Get my sword.”

“You’re forgetting they can take human forms,” I reminded all of them. “The attack on the ballroom could be a diversion.” I didn’t recognize any of those three dragons that had crashed through the ceiling. Dragons shaped as humans could be entering the palace even now.

“Even more reason that I need a weapon.”

Gray grunted and handed Soren one of his twin blades.

“I’d give you one of my daggers,” Raya said, “but I’m guessing you’re wearing at least one with that fancy suit.”

Soren nodded as he skidded around a corner.

I was breathing hard and close to stopping to put my hands on my knees. I wasn’t used to running like this. Also, these flimsy slippers weren’t meant for mad dashes around the palace.

Raya slowed her pace to meet mine. “Lose the shoes.”

“What?”

“You’ll do better barefoot.”

“And what will I do once we reach the horses?”

“Let’s get you out of the palace alive first.”

“The dragons won’t kill me.” I was fairly certain of that. If the dragons had crashed through the ceiling a few minutes earlier, I would have still been in the center of the ballroom. And dead from that blast of fire. Maybe the dragons had written me off as a lost cause. Maybe they’d realized that I wouldn’t help them fight against my friends. And they’d decided to take me out along with half the city.

Oh! I wanted to scream. All of this was happening because of me.

I should have never left the plateau!

“Focus on surviving,” Raya cautioned. She must have noticed that I’d started to spiral into a panic attack. “We’re in crisis mode. Don’t think about anything other than living to see the next minute. And the next. And the next. Now is not the time for big picture thinking.”

A few yards down the hall, we ran into Cullen. He stumbled and Soren caught his arms.

“What the hell happened to you?” Gray demanded. Cullen looked as pale as milk. His neck was raw with a barely healed wound and bloody. His clothes were disheveled and soaked through with blood. “Did the dragons already get to you?”

Cullen shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.” He could barely stand, but he didn’t need me telling him that. “Where’s Amaya? She can stop the attack.”

Cullen looked away from us. Soren shook him harder.

“Answer Sky Girl. Where did Amaya go? We need to find her.”

“I scared her away.” He closed his eyes and trembled in silence. When he opened his eyes, he looked even more frustrated and defeated than before. “She’s left the palace. And the city.”

“Why would she leave?” I demanded. I found it hard to believe she’d leave just as the clan started to attack.

“I asked her to stay. With me. Here. I scared her.”

He wanted her to…? “She’s the one who attacked you?”

He touched his neck. “This wasn’t an attack. It happened in the heat of—” He straightened. “Never mind. Our parents, Soren. Are they safe?”

“The King’s Guards surrounded them when the ceiling came down. I’m sure they got whisked off to the underground passages and are on their way out of the palace.”

“And Pris? Did you see her?” Cullen’s voice grew more strained.

“Pris is no wilting flower. She can take care of herself.” Soren sounded so sure of it. I hoped he was right. “Besides, Tristan that King’s Guard she allows to crawl into her bed never strays far from her side. She’ll be well protected as she directs efforts to tend to the wounded.”

“She allows who to do what ?” Cullen shouted. “Never mind. As long as she’s safe.”

“She’s tougher than you give her credit for,” Soren said as we moved quickly down the hallway.

“I hope so.” The palace shook with a loud boom. “Sounds like the guards pulled out the cannons.”

A cannon could shoot a dragon out of the sky. “I need to get out there. I need to command the dragons to stop before anyone else gets hurt.” Especially the dragons. There were so few of them…of us …left already.

“Celestina.” Soren turned his head to the ceiling as if keeping himself from shouting at me.

“If I can talk to them, I can stop them.”

“They might kill you,” Soren warned.

“Or take you,” Raya added.

“I think we should let her do it,” Cullen said. “It might be the only way to stop this before the entire city catches fire.”

Soren’s outraged gaze shot to his brother’s. “I can’t put her at risk.”

“It’s a risk you have to make if it means saving your kingdom.” I put my hand on his arm. “You told me that you were loving me and using me. Let me do this.”

“Dammit, I did say that.” When he looked at me, his eyes hardened. “But I was wrong, Celestina. I can’t. I can’t use you in any way that puts you in danger. Every instinct in me is demanding I take you down to the underground passages to get you out of the palace using the same route my parents are using.”

“But your honor won’t allow you to run while your kingdom is torn apart. Mine won’t, either. Let’s do this together, Soren. Let’s stop the dragons from destroying your city.” I swallowed hard. “Please.”

His jaw tightened as he gave a stiff nod. He held my hand so tightly, my bones ached. But I didn’t want him to loosen his grip. I never wanted him to let go.