“What are you going to do, now?” she said.

Cessilia had read her lips more than she had actually heard Jisel’s voice because of the chaos around, but that was enough. She already hated that woman, but now, it was clear Jisel wasn’t surprised by the situation at all, and perhaps she had even planned some of this.

Jisel smirked again, and sent a new wave of her darts. Cessilia raised her forearm, and felt one more pierce her arm, but the rest bounced back on the scales that had appeared from her previous injury. Cessilia took the four out and sent them toward Jisel. To her surprise, that woman didn’t try to dodge them. Instead, she raised her arm, exactly like Cessilia had, and let them pierce through. Then, she lowered her arm, revealing her smirk behind it, and took those darts out.

“N-no...”

Red scales appeared on Jisel’s arm. A shiver went down Cessilia’s spine. She had always had a gut feeling about this. That Jisel was something else, someone more dangerous than she appeared to be. There really was no mistake. This was the very same phenomenon that had scales appear on Tessa as Lord Yebekh managed to inflict some minor injuries on her. Jisel had dragon blood too. But how?

However, her enemy wasn’t ready to let Cessilia ponder much longer. She prepared a new wave of darts and threw them. Cessilia protected herself immediately with her arms again, but this time, no pain came. She realized her mistake one second too late. She wasn’t the target. Ashen was.

The darts had stabbed the King’s exposed arm and nape, making him lose his focus and grunt in pain. This was the opportunity his enemy had been looking for.

In front of Cessilia’s eyes, Rohin’s sword violently impaled Ashen.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 20

Everything else suddenly disappeared around them. Her horrified eyes could only see the blood streaming out of the injury, and the two men who had stopped moving, one’s sword plunged deep into the other. A vicious smile appeared in Rohin’s eyes as he thrust his sword a bit deeper, making Ashen grunt in pain. The King was trying to hold on, still glaring at his rival, but the pain had to be unbearable. The blood was already dripping at their feet, soaking the soil like Ashra’s had before.

“Your Majesty!”

People screamed in horror as they discovered the scene one by one.

Cessilia was the first to react. This time, her vision was blurred except for one thing: Ashen. She had to save Ashen. Ignoring Jisel, all her questions, and her pain, she ran like hell toward Ashen and his brother. Sabael appeared right at the same time as her, on the other side. He swung his sword at Rohin, forcing him to back off, while Cessilia grabbed her lover to pull him away. Despite Rohin releasing the sword’s handle, the weapon remained lodged in Ashen’s abdomen as he fell back into her arms.

He was still conscious, which was a miracle given the large injury he had just sustained. Most people would have passed out already, either from the shock or blood loss. It only took one look for Cessilia to know he was in critical condition, though. He was pale, and the injury was as bad as she had thought. It was obvious he wasn’t able to continue fighting; he’d be lucky to survive this. She glared at Rohin, who, amused by his win, was now fighting Sabael and trying to get past the Royal Guard to finish the King.

“Save the King!” someone shouted.

The news resonated inside the cave. Those who weren’t too absorbed by their duels couldn’t help but glance over, and a lot of the fighters became dispirited by the view of their injured monarch. Their will to fight got drowned by the King’s defeat, and in just a few seconds, the Yekara people were able to secure their win. Only a few of the very best fighters, including Tessandra and Sabael, were able to continue fighting, keeping their opponents back, but everyone else was losing. Cessilia glared back at Jisel, but that woman was still standing there, a smirk on her face as if the chaos around had nothing to do with her.

“You can’t win against me, Princess,” she chuckled.

“No,” retorted Cessilia, her voice filled with anger, “th-this is the last t-time I’m letting you get away with this. Th-the next time we cross p-paths, I’ll kill you.”

Her furious green eyes put an end to her rival’s smirk. Cessilia could be really scary, and right now, she was as frightening as a dragon. She was down on her knees, her injured lover on her lap, but it was as if she was dominating the whole room. No one dared to approach her, either. She was like a dragon protecting its offspring. Jisel stepped back, sensing something was wrong. They should have been enduring a complete defeat, but neither the Princess nor her allies were acting like they were in trouble.

Cessilia quickly tore a piece of fabric from her dress to bandage the wound, applying pressure to prevent more blood from flowing out.

“...Nana, look after him, p-please,” muttered Cessilia, slowly standing up.

“I-I will!” Naptunie nervously stuttered, rushing to the King’s side.

Very focused, she took over putting pressure on the wound, trying to ignore the fights going on very close. In fact, a lot of people had given up on getting out of there and gathered around the King instead to protect him. As Cessilia stood back up and looked around, she spotted Bastat’s father, lying on the ground with his throat sliced wide open. Her heart sank. Not only that but everyone on their side was heavily injured, dead, or fighting to survive. The Pangoja were powerful because of their money, but in this situation, they were also helpless against the skilled Yekara. With the uneven numbers and the Yekara’s skilled fighters, those who supported Ashen were bound to lose. Still, Cessilia was impressed. Instead of trying to run away again, or trying to change sides, all the people from the other families were slowly gathering around them. They were protecting the King like a defensive wall, even if it wouldn’t last long. Opposing them, the Yekara people had received orders to not let anyone escape, thus they were gathering in a semicircle, their backs turned toward the cave’s exits. A few steps behind their ranks, the Yekara Leader was boasting.

“The King is dead!” he shouted. “Prince Rohin is the new King!”

“Not yet,” grunted Sabael.

Given the difference in strength, Naptunie’s older brother was doing amazing against the Prince. He didn’t have as much strength and was losing when they had to challenge one another’s arms, but Sabael was compensating with his speed and impressive movements. He had begun to use Tessa’s signature twin swords style, which was a lot of help against Rohin’s massive sword.

However, he wasn’t meant to win this fight. The Prince was merely toying with him, and although Sabael managed to hold his own for a while, it was clear this wouldn’t last. Rohin was progressively winning ground, and pushing the Royal Guard back, getting closer to his goal: Ashen. However, Cessilia was still standing between him and her lover. While Tessa was doing the work of three men in keeping enemies at bay, the Princess was standing very still, her eyes fixated on Rohin, not even watching the fight but just him.

When Sabael was forced to step back once more, losing his balance, she suddenly grabbed his shoulder, and with a swift movement, pushed him further back. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Sabael himself barely understood. One second, he was about to lose and get sliced in two, and the next, he was falling back, a woman’s hands on his and taking his swords from him. He didn’t even comprehend what had happened until he fell on his ass, and looked up at Cessilia’s back. The Princess now stood in front of him, wielding his weapons. In other circumstances, his ego might have been severely wounded, but right now, he was in complete awe. Even the bystanders like Naptunie who had been able to watch the scene from a different point of view were amazed, and trying to grasp what had happened.

Cessilia had taken Sabael’s spot and weapons, and was now fighting Rohin as if she’d been the one fighting him all along. To her opponent, though, the change was a major blow. Cessilia was stronger, faster, and much more skilled. Rohin, who had been winning one second before, was now frowning and struggling to keep up, slowly stepping back. Cessilia’s hands were animated by fury. She was glaring at him, and forcing him to back off like a goddess of wrath. The Prince’s mighty stance from earlier had vanished, and he was now fully focused on the fight, realizing he had underestimated this woman greatly. Whilst he had been toying with Sabael earlier, he was now unable to hold anything back, lest he fall beneath Cessilia’s attack. The fight was impressive, and the strength used sent chills down everyone’s spines. Those two were beyond the realm of normal humans. The Princess was moving and using her swords at incredible speed, yet not losing in strength, each of her attacks more violent and fascinating than the one before. Rohin was a good fighter, but one could see from his dark expression that he was struggling. Cessilia was rivaling his strength, and bent on not letting him catch a break. Bit by bit, he was forced to back away, and his pride was taking several blows at each step conceded.

“You... damn whore...” he grunted between his teeth.

Cessilia didn’t even seem to hear. She was winning this fight, and people around were even cheering for her. The King had fallen, but the Princess was pushing the enemy back, and the feeling of revenge was thrilling. Cessilia’s ardent fight was bringing back the fighting spirit of many, and some who had managed to keep up were now fighting back twice as hard. It didn’t seem like their defeat was so certain anymore, at the very least. Behind enemy lines, the Yekara Clan Leader had also stopped smiling. Cessilia standing strong against his champion was a major blow to his plan. He glanced at Jisel, and the woman prepared more needles, aiming at Cessilia this time. She threw them at full speed toward Cessilia, but just when it seemed the scenario was about to repeat itself, Tessandra appeared between them, and with one blow of her sword, knocked all the needles out her cousin’s way. She glared at Jisel, a smirk at the corner of her lips.

“You should learn to play fair, you snake bitch,” she hissed.

Jisel’s expression fell. While Cessilia was fully focused on her opponent, it was clear Tessandra would not let anything bother her cousin, even if she was fighting several people at a time herself. Sabael too was back on his feet and, despite his injuries, he was fully focused on protecting the Princess’ other side as well as Nana and the King. The fight was taking another direction, with the group opposing Rohin’s supporters refusing to give up. They were fighting bravely, still determined to protect the King and follow the Princess’ brave lead against the Yekara. Whatever their motive, those people were resolved to keep fighting. Sadly, though, it was already clear Cessilia’s side wouldn’t come out victorious. It was too late. Despite their attempts to stand their ground, they had been cornered on the wrong side of the lake, the exit behind their enemies, and too many had died already. There was no way out, and the opponents far outnumbered them.

“We have to get you and His Majesty out,” declared Nana’s uncle suddenly, very seriously. “We can’t let the Yekara win here. If His Majesty and the Princess make it, there will still be hope.”

“But how...” muttered Nana.

She had her hands full of blood and, despite being protected, she was near absolute panic. She kept glancing at Cessilia’s back. The Princess’ incredible fighting might have been fascinating and impressive to most, but Naptunie was one of the few who couldn’t help but genuinely worry for her. Cessilia’s arm was still injured by Jisel’s attacks, and even if she bested the Prince, there were many more people waiting on the sidelines to get to her. This fight couldn’t be won by one woman alone, even if she was the best fighter in the cave. Moreover, Naptunie had already guessed Cessilia wouldn’t fight anybody else. She was fighting Rohin because he was one person she didn’t care about killing, blinded by her rage, but what after that? There was no guarantee the Princess would want to keep fighting, and after what she’d seen, Naptunie could understand her wish.

She turned her head toward Tessa, who was fighting just as well as her cousin, now keeping two men at bay, more bodies already down around her. She was like a furious tornado, and no more fighters dared to approach her, choosing other opponents instead or carefully staying away to observe her movements, maybe looking for an opening that would never show up.

“Tessandra!” Naptunie called. “We need to get out of here...”

“...I know,” grunted Tessa between two clashes of swords.

Tessandra glanced at Cessilia, who was still fighting hard. Her cousin had probably heard that too, and from the way she was moving in the space, she was thinking the same. Despite her easily opposing Rohin, Cessilia was staying within an invisible space around their allies, meaning she wasn’t willing to go past a certain point. She was staying near the lake, most likely ready to evacuate that way. The issue was, only a couple of people would be able to go this way. Only the two of them would be able to swim their way out of there, and they couldn’t drag more than one person along. Sadly, there were dozens still around.

“Cessilia!”

As she called out to her, Cessilia suddenly turned around, spinning her whole body in a circle. Her swords made a wide movement around her, forcing Rohin to jump back before he got cut in two. He fell, landing on his side with a very pissed off expression. The distance between her and her opponent was now more than a few steps and, against all expectations, Cessilia didn’t choose to go and finish him. Instead, she retreated quickly toward the group.

“Everyone step back!” Tessandra shouted.

Her voice resonated like thunder in the cave, taking everyone by surprise and magically stopping all the fighting. All those on their side immediately obeyed, not because they knew what was going on, but because they felt compelled to by her imperious voice.

Meanwhile, Rohin was getting back on his feet, furious. That woman had bested him right when he thought he had finally won. He had thought victory was his with Ashen down and left to die, but this Princess had just ridiculed him, and incredibly easily too. Things weren’t meant to happen this way. The Yekara Clan had expected little to no resistance, and yet, those people were still standing by his rival’s side, even looking like they still cared about the injured King. It made no sense to him.

“I am the rightful King!” he shouted. “This bastard will die, and I’m going to take his place! Everything will be mine!”

“N-no.”

Cessilia turned around, facing him from a few steps away. She lowered her hands, her swords by her sides, standing tall ahead of him. She was like a large wall on her own, and everyone behind her was looking up to that one woman. Her green eyes had gone from a furious, fiery green to a color as cold as ice, like an emerald stone, staring at him like he was nothing. That look was the worst. She made him feel like an irrelevant insect.

Anger distorted Rohin’ s face, and he grabbed his sword again, running toward her.