The night cracked open.
His wings spread wider than the towers, blotting lantern-light, his scales glowing molten like rivers dragged across black stone. With each beat of his wings the air shook, embers scattering like meteors. Then he opened his jaws.
Flame poured out in a torrent.
The sky turned white. Streets lit like forges, rooftops melted, soldiers screamed as their armor welded to their skin. The wards that should have flared up were gone—snapped with the fall of the obelisk—and the city was naked beneath his fire.
"DRAGON!" voices roared. The cry raced through the capital faster than his flames. Panic tore through the districts. Wolves bolted into alleys, serpents coiled and thrashed, boars bellowed prayers to the King. None of it mattered. Kaelis flew low, his laughter rolling like thunder as he burned entire rows of houses in a single breath.
Above him the Nova Sanctum struck.
The ship moved without sound, its shadow sliding across the mountain like doom itself. Then the cannons fired. Blinding spears of energy screamed down, ripping holes through barracks, splitting towers, setting streets into chaos. Explosions rolled one after the other, deafening, relentless, each strike throwing fire higher into the night.
The city turned into a frenzy. Guards shouted, commanders bellowed, horns blew. Orders drowned in the roar of fear. Refugees trampled each other in blind flight. Smoke swallowed the banners that only hours ago had flown proud.
Lucian moved through it like water.
Space folded at his steps, twisting alleys wide enough for him to slip through unnoticed. Where soldiers tried to regroup, he collapsed the air around them, bodies snapping inward like clay crushed in a fist. Where commanders rallied their packs, he cut lines through reality, severing them from their troops in a blink. He wasn’t fire. He wasn’t noise. He was precision, tearing the veins of the city apart while all eyes stayed locked on the dragon above.
Lucy was the shadow at his side.
Her blade drew arcs of black fire across the night, cutting through squads before their weapons lifted. She moved with ruthless calm, every strike placed, every movement clean. Serpents dropped in coils of ash. Wolves gasped before their heads left their shoulders. The wards had fallen; now the defenders followed.
The capital bled from every direction.
At the palace steps, Karl still stood. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
The Dragon King’s molten gaze burned down on him. Kael’s golden aura pressed hard, heavy, waiting to strike. The crowd had gone mad behind them, panic swelling like a tide. But Karl only grinned wider, his claws curling with faint flame.
"Well," he said loudly, tilting his head to the sky where Kaelis roared, "looks like your roof’s on fire."
The King’s eyes narrowed. Smoke curled from his jaws. "Mockery won’t save you."
Karl’s laugh was sharp. "I’m not trying to be saved. I’m just enjoying the view."
Kael stepped forward, his aura blasting across the steps. "Brother—"
But Karl darted back, twisting into flame. He vaulted down the stairs, laughter spilling after him. Guards lunged, spears flashing, but his claws snapped their shafts like twigs. He slipped into the crowd, fire trailing his steps, every shove and swipe pulling more eyes from the palace.
"Catch me if you can!" he shouted back, his voice sharp as his grin. "But don’t trip on your own throne!"
The Dragon King roared, the sound shaking stone. Soldiers scrambled after Karl, breaking formation in fury. Kael’s eyes blazed as he leapt to follow, his cloak snapping like wings.
And just like that, Karl had what he wanted.
The palace guard poured after him, leaving the gates thinner, the square scattered. The King stayed rooted at the top of the steps, but his fury rolled across the capital, pulling yet more strength away from the districts that needed it.
Karl vanished into the burning streets, his laughter trailing through the smoke.
Lucian felt it even from blocks away. He didn’t need to see his brother’s fire to know. The distraction had worked.
He pressed his palm against the air, space folding outward in violent waves. A street of boars rallying with their commanders collapsed inward, the cobblestones snapping like glass under pressure. Blood sprayed, bones broke, then silence. He turned without pause, eyes fixed on the next cluster.
Lucy covered him as the wards sputtered their last sparks. Archers lined a rooftop—she swept her blade once, flames devouring the building beneath their feet. It crashed down in fire and ash, taking their screams with it. She didn’t flinch.
Above, Kaelis looped back. He cut through the palace towers, his tail smashing one to rubble, flames drowning the square. The Nova Sanctum’s cannons answered, pounding deeper into the eastern quarter, making the ground quake under every shot.
The Dragon King’s roar thundered again, but even that could not pull the panic back into order. Monsters scattered. Some ran for the palace, some for the gates, some simply into the fire. None stood.
Lucian and Lucy reached the high road that wound toward the palace. Smoke poured around them, the sky glowing with Kaelis’ fire. Lucian paused, his gaze lifting toward the throne towers above. He spoke without turning.
Lucy sheathed her blade for the first time, her hands steady. "We regroup?"
"Yes." His eyes narrowed faint. "Karl’s drawn them far enough. He’ll be moving here."
As if on cue, a streak of flame tore across the lower street. Karl burst from the smoke, claws glowing, laughter spilling as guards chased close behind. His grin widened when he spotted them, teeth sharp.
"See?" he shouted, barreling toward them. "I told you I could make an entrance."
Lucian raised a brow. "You call that an entrance?"
Karl skidded to a stop near them, spinning on his heel to flick flame at the guards still charging. They recoiled under the blast, giving him a moment’s breath. He smirked, hands on his knees, panting between laughs. "Whole damn city wants me dead. I’d say that’s effective."
Lucy’s gaze flicked past him to the flames clawing higher over the rooftops. "You bought time."
Karl straightened, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Bought it, stole it, same thing. Where’s my applause?"
Lucian’s eyes didn’t shift from the palace. "You’ll get it when this is finished."
Karl huffed, smirk cutting sharp again. "Cold as always."
Above them Kaelis roared, diving low enough that the wind from his wings blasted the street clear. The Nova Sanctum followed, its cannons already glowing again.
The plan was alive. The capital was breaking.
Lucian stepped forward, his cloak rippling as space bent around him. Lucy walked at his side, her blade sliding free again, black fire licking its edge. Karl fell in step with them, claws twitching with fresh flame.
Together they moved toward the palace.
Behind them, the city panicked. Above them, the dragon burned. Ahead, the King waited.
And the night screamed with the sound of war.