Chapter 53

CHARLES

As soon as Felix found out that Mila was missing, I took my dragon, Hades, and flew to the forest where she was being held. I knew that it wouldn’t be long until he figured out where she was, and I wanted to be ready.

Mila was tied up and chained to a stump in the middle of a clearing in the trees, and the gang and I watched the perimeter closely. I had decided not to tell the gang about the possibility of dragons being involved–I knew better than to reveal the secret, and besides, I didn’t want to frighten them off.

I sensed Felix running towards the clearing before anyone else did, and took to the trees to hide.

Felix easily fought his way through the weaker members of the gang, slinging his sword around. He was a good fighter, I was willing to give him that much credit, but he was also making simple mistakes, allowing hits that should not have touched him.

I smirked as I realized: Mila made him desperate. And desperate people did stupid things, like showing up to a rescue mission with a single weapon and without an army.

It was just Mila, Felix, and Joseph on this mountain. Three easy kills and no one would be the wiser to what had happened. My own involvement would be completely erased, and the throne would be mine.

Which was exactly why Tiger had the private instructions to kill Mila as soon as possible after Felix arrived. Ideally, she would have a long, drawn-out death in front of my brother, and he would suffer from the same fate.

I watched as Joseph freed Mila from the stump. She was clearly weakened from the cold and the concoction of drugs she had been forced to inhale over the last two days, and barely had enough strength to cower behind the stump. I rolled my eyes as Joseph ran towards the fray, on a mission to help my brother.

Tiger, eager for bloodlust, raised his knife, intent on stabbing Felix in the back. I opened my mouth to cry out when Mila did it for me–racing towards the man with a newfound burst of energy. I would have been impressed if I didn’t hate her.

Then Tiger’s knife plunged into her gut, and I was on the move.

Mila was clearly mortally wounded–it would take a large amount of care, both medical and magical, to bring her back from this one. And next to her on the grass, Felix was also bleeding out, suffering from that same affliction.

Mila’s face flashed with horror and betrayal before she collapsed on the ground. Good. She would die in despair, knowing that her supposed lover had been lying to her for their entire relationship. And Felix would die knowing Mila hated him.

Two down, one to go.

I charged towards Joseph, knowing I could take him down in just a few swings. He looked at me in shock as I approached him, giving me just enough time to get the first swing in.

FELIX

I had never felt this kind of pain before.

Whether it was the severity of the wound or my own proximity to Mila, something was different about this injury. Mila had already collapsed on the ground, and I was losing blood at an alarming rate. I felt dizzy and unsure on my feet, a dangerous place to be in the middle of a fight.

There was also the matter of Mila’s face right before she passed out. She was furious–no, disgusted–with me. The secrets and lies were all too much for her.

I tried not to think about it and focused on the battle in front of me.

My blood ran cold when I turned to see Joseph fighting in hand-to-hand combat with none other than my little brother.

“Felix!” I had never heard such desperation or fear in Joseph’s voice. “Call Ignatius!”

I sent out a blast of magic, summoning my dragon to the battle. There would be time for explanations and apologies for the secret to Mila later. I needed to save her life first.

The sight of Charles’s malicious grin as he took another swipe at my best friend filled me with enough rage and adrenaline to start running. I held my sword high and swung it down between the two men, startling both. From above us, Ignatius’s roar shook the trees.

I heard screaming and cursing from the gang members as dragonfire spewed down on the trees. Several of the men got burnt to a crisp immediately, while others had the sense to start running.

Ignatius was a smart dragon, thankfully, and easily snatched up the runners in his claws. I winced at the sounds of their bodies hitting the tree trunks.

Joseph was starting to falter in his combat with Charles, and I tried my best to help him while keeping one hand on my stomach.

Another roar came from the skies. I looked up in time to see a silvery-gray dragon with large, batlike wings emerge from the clouds and extend his claws towards Ignatius’s throat.

Hades, my brother’s dragon. The two dragons got along about as well as Charles and I did.

Above us, the dragons battled. Their fire consumed several trees, and whatever gang members had been left after the first round of flames were instantly destroyed–including the man who had stabbed Mila. I cast a desperate glance over to where she was laying on the ground.

Her eyes were fluttering open and shut, and from the look on her face, she couldn’t quite believe the battle in the skies above her.

Charles slashed Joseph’s leg, causing my friend to cry out in pain. I easily knocked Charles’s sword out of his hands and pushed him to the ground.

I held my own sword high as I approached him. He scrambled backwards on his hands, trying to find a way out.

I had never wanted things to turn out this way, had never wanted to fight my brother to the death.

But times had changed.

As I raised my sword, Hades swooped down and scooped Charles up in his claws. He opened his great jaw to breathe fire onto me, but my Dragon Knight senses kicked in and put a shield around me, Joseph, and Mila. The fire bounced off us, spluttering out.

“Charles!” I yelled at my brother. The roar of the wind and the dragons’ wings made it almost impossible to hear. “Never return to Fresonia! The whole country shall know of your treachery!”

Charles merely waved at me as Hades soared into the sky. Ignatius made a feeble flap, as if to follow the traitors, but I commanded him to land in the clearing to help the rest of us.

As soon as I lost sight of Charles and his dragon, I collapsed on the ground.

Joseph caught me before I hit my head. He examined the wound on my stomach and his face twisted.

“Is it bad?” I asked, trying to force a teasing tone. Joseph merely looked nauseous as he grabbed cloth from Ignatius’s saddle bag to wrap the wound.

“Mila… first…” I managed. Joseph looked at me with despair in his eyes before running over to help my fiancée.

I had no idea if he made it back to me, or how we got out of the forest.

My world went black, still, and cold.