“Yeah. Your destructive power is quite a match, at least,” scoffed Tessandra.

“B-but I did a useful thing, right? This way, we can push the odds toward our side and get their attention away from the castle!”

“We came with the exact same idea, only you beat us to it... At least we got what we wanted.”

Things were indeed getting a lot more heated where they stood. The three of them were almost standing in plain sight, but their enemies didn’t even have the luxury to bother with their presence. The Yekara were, just as they had predicted, completely thrown off by their main residence being attacked. Many were running inside or out, trying to save some of their belongings, while others were trying to find ways to tame the blue wildfire created by Naptunie. In fact, they might even have been more scared by the impossible colors of this fire, which kept burning despite the rain. Not only that, but several smaller explosions were following at irregular paces, the fire probably finding its way through the building for more things to combust... Sabael sighed.

“I’m thinking that’s your influence doing scary things to my little sister,” he whispered to Tessandra.

“Don’t blame it on me, I don’t push such ideas onto our Nana!”

“I just wanted to help!” insisted Naptunie, visibly getting embarrassed. “It’s not that complicated either, really, only basic geology applied to some chemistry, and a bit of... well, anyway, I can take care of myself! S-so, is Lady Cessilia alright? And His Majesty?”

“They left for the castle a while ago, and I sure hope so,” nodded Tessandra.

All three of them turned their eyes toward the castle, witnessing the exact moment when Jinn the Red Dragon suddenly wreaked havoc on one of the towers. Several large stone bricks fell to the side, destroying more of the castle or the island it stood on before loudly splashing in the surrounding body of water. Tessandra grimaced.

“Fucking untamed dragon... That beast might become a serious problem if he keeps going.”

“Wait, that dragon is not one of yours?” exclaimed Sabael.

“You just realized that now? It’s not, that bitch Jisel is the owner of that one. No wonder he’s such a pain in the arse... Teenage dragons are the absolute worst, they have no self control, and this one doesn’t even have a proper master either. A real nightmare. If something happens to that bitch and he goes on a rampage... But don’t worry, I’m sure Cessilia will be able to handle it. She grew up with eight dragons around, this one is just a brat waiting to get his scaled butt kicked!”

“Shouldn’t we go and help?” asked Nana, sending anxious glances at the castle.

“I’m not too worried about those two,” Tessandra shook her head. “That stupid Red Dragon wouldn’t be causing such a mess if he wasn’t angry or had gotten to his prey already. It looks fine so far... Heck, I bet Cessilia is the one unleashing hell inside right now. No, we should go and help Kassian, Darsan, and our dragons. From what I saw, the situation isn’t exactly the best on their side, and I do not want the Yekara to get reinforcements from the outside. We’ve got enough on our plates here already.”

“That’s true,” nodded Sabael. “They might not all be on the Yekara’s side, but if word got out that the doors are open, more people will try to sneak into the Capital, which will only cause more issues. If they get in, those fights may not stop even if His Majesty wins. We need to calm the people outside.”

“Will Sir Darsan be alright?”

“Drop the Sir, Nana. But yeah, that idiot could probably use a hand. He might be strong, but even he can’t guard a whole bridge by himself if he’s overwhelmed by the numbers... Let’s just trust Cessi and her man will be alright and regroup with Kassian and Bastat first. Nana, I suppose it’s no use to tell you to stay out of it?”

“I’m coming with you!”

“Got it. But please let us know next time you blow something up. Sab and I were seconds away from rushing inside that building too!”

“Oh, sorry...”

“Alright,” chuckled Sabael. “Let’s go before they notice us for real.”

If the Yekara had noticed the trio, nobody would have done anything to stop them. They were still busy trying to control Naptunie’s devastating fire, and hardly succeeding at all. Nana even had a little satisfied smile on as they heard a couple more explosions behind them while running toward the other end of the island. They did get into quite a handful of fights on their way, though. There wasn’t a single peaceful street anymore. Most of the time, it was only people running in one direction or another, barricading their houses and shops, but Tessandra and Sabael did have to stop to get between mercenaries and the locals they were trying to rob several times, or to help some citizens that had managed to corner a Yekara soldier. Strangely, Tessandra’s armor was acting like a flag, as everyone they ran across immediately recognized the light green dragon scales, and many even cheered for them.

As they kept running, they crossed paths with more and more people. In each street, there were men standing in front of doors, ready to defend their homes, or people fighting off those that were now considered invaders. Needless to say, the trio was often welcomed, but not always really needed. The Yekara were either running back to protect their main residence, rushing to one of the main battles going on, or simply struggling to handle an infuriated group of folks. The fight looked like it would go on for a while, without really any clear winner. It was too scattered, too disorganized. Despite their advantage in numbers, Tessandra could see the locals were struggling, only trying to defend their own houses and not bothering to pursue them once the Yekara had given up. Their best luck would be to prevent them from regrouping. Right now, the island’s unique architecture was working in their favor, forcing the troops to divide into small numbers and launch small attacks in the many streets. Tessandra and Sabael were doing their best to get rid of those they could, but they were also aware that the situation probably wasn’t as good elsewhere; many people had decided to hide in their homes rather than risk their lives, which seemed fair. Pans and pitchforks could only get them so far against seasoned fighters.

As the three of them got closer to the downtown part of the Capital, the chaos intensified; this was clearly the second epicenter of the battle, and soon, Tessandra and Sabael found themselves constantly fighting to push their way through while also protecting Nana. She had grabbed a small dagger along the way, but she only used it in extreme cases of self-defense, or to assist her brother or Tessandra when it was safe enough for her to. Naptunie was in no way a fighter, but she was smart enough to evaluate the risks, and find herself safe spots to hide behind them. Her smaller frame, compared to Tessandra or her older brother, was also helping her get past some groups of soldiers without being noticed. She quickly managed to find herself in the midst of their allies, where Kassian had taken control of a group of half-experienced fighters.

The first line was mainly composed of Royal Guards who had quickly understood that the King’s side was not with the Yekara people, and had allied themselves with the man wearing dragon armor, as well as the Lady of the Sehsan Tribe. Bastat was also fighting; the young woman had already switched weapons and was now using what looked like a long and elegant metallic rope, with colored, round weights at each end. She captured man after man with those, and threw them at the feet of the soldiers for the locals who only then had to finish the job. Her main task, though, was clearly to oversee the whole fight. While Kassian was at the forefront, at the center of the crossroads, Lady Bastat stood several steps behind him, towering the battle from what seemed like a large wooden box. She was regularly shouting orders, and Nana quickly spotted lines of archers on the roofs around them, all wearing the colored outfits characteristic of her tribe. Eluding the fights and slithering through the crowd, Naptunie ran to her.

“Lady Bastat!”

“Lady Naptunie? Where did you come from?! What about His Majesty? And Lady Cessilia?”

“They are at the castle! They are fine... we think.”

“Lady Tessandra is with you?”

“Yes! Over there!”

Naptunie turned around, pointing at the area she had left Tessandra at. Bastat nodded, looking relieved. Then, she helped Naptunie climb next to her on her wooden box, quickly showing her their current status. They were at the end of the street, right where the large and main crossroad of the city began. It was the other very large plaza Naptunie knew well, for the roads from the two bridges of the west lead to this, from the north and south part of the island respectively, and then spread like a spider’s web to all the smaller streets. On most days, there would even be a large market there, but right now, the whole place was a lot more chaotic than on a market day. In fact, Naptunie couldn’t even spot any of the familiar cobblestone pathways, all of them literally flooded with people fighting. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. She had stayed with Tessandra and Sabael so far and mostly witnessed one-sided victories, but right here, the fighting was much more violent, bloody, and deadly. Some people were even trampling on the bodies gathered on the ground, and on one side, a house had been set on fire, threatening to spread the flames to all the nearby habitations. People were trying to contain the fire, but they also had to deal with the Yekara soldiers trying to fight them from the other side. It was a chaotic fight. The only place where she could actually draw a clear line between their side and the enemy was the very center of the plaza, where there was a half-circle empty in front of Prince Kassian.

His fighting skills were nothing but matching his cousin’s; his movements were absolutely flawless. Even Naptunie and her non-existent combat training could tell his level was far above anyone else’s on the plaza.

“His Highness has been able to prevent them from going any further,” explained Bastat, “but we believe most of the Yekara have orders to seize control of this area. Luckily, we are not alone, the civilians are not having it, as you can see...”

Naptunie quickly analyzed the area, remembering the countless maps she had studied; it made sense for the enemy to want control of that specific area. Just like the other one her brother had almost died in, it was a major crossroad on the Capital’s island. If they could block it, people wouldn’t be able to access another area without making a large detour, and they would gain control of all the streets leading up to that place! Not only that, but burning the buildings, like they had begun doing, was another way to prevent people from fleeing. With the fire spreading, the locals wouldn’t even be able to use their back doors to get to the adjacent street if they had one! She frowned, annoyed. Prince Kassian was indeed doing a great job of keeping the Yekara from taking control, but both sides were stuck there, and neither was managing to overwhelm the other. Unlike in the streets, in a large open area like this, their close and well-trained ranks were a huge advantage for the Yekara soldiers, while the citizens were easily pushed back and cornered one by one. Bastat’s archers saved several lives while Naptunie was analyzing the scene, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“What do we do, what do we do…?” muttered Naptunie, thinking long and hard.

“Nana!”

Finally, Tessandra appeared next to them, looking out of breath, Sabael just steps behind her and still fighting an opponent.

“When the hell did you get here?!”

“I just did! Tessandra, I think we–”

A loud bang suddenly shook the area. Everyone lowered their head by reflex, before debris suddenly came flying down from above. Nana’s scream died in her throat as she felt someone grab her and push her against a wall.

“What’s happening?!” she cried, panicked.

“Stay there!”

She nodded. She wouldn’t have been able to move an inch either way. Tessandra was literally pressing her against the wall behind them, Lady Bastat on her left. Nana glanced over Tessandra’s arm to see the situation; it was as if something had exploded in the middle of the plaza, leaving a large hole in the cobblestones. The reason for that bang was found right above the hole: a large, round, and heavy-looking piece of metal full of large spikes. That horrible thing hadn’t just crushed a portion of the ground, but also a dozen people, some screaming and laying in their own blood, while those who had been injured but could still move were trying to crawl away, only to be attacked right away by the Yekara.

“They’re using fucking catapults!” shouted Tessandra. “Kassian!”

However, the Prince didn’t hear her, and was already rushing near the impact point to try and save those people. Naptunie spotted her brother suddenly running in the same direction.

“Damn it!”

Another bang exploded, even louder. The next one had hit a building, projecting more debris around, and injuring twice as many people. Naptunie screamed again, more horrified and terrified. Those things were blowing open whole buildings!

“They are aiming at the citizens!” shouted Bastat. “Everyone, reform the ranks, now! Mix with the Yekara!”

It was easier said than done. Although it was clear the projectiles were sent into their side of the crowds, the citizens just couldn’t run ahead of the Yekara, it was about as dangerous and risky. The whole area had turned from a disorganized battle into complete chaos, the crowd running in all directions in fear of the next attack. Another suddenly appeared, and Nana closed her eyes, afraid it was coming their way. She heard a loud noise, and felt the ground trembling again, debris collapsing above of her.

“Nana! You alright?”