When the guards stepped forward, I felt my hands trembling. But Kieran's necklace glowed with a stronger warmth, as if reminding me of his strength. Then I heard a voice in my mind—not my own voice, but one deep like distant thunder.
"Do not be afraid. I am with you."
It was Kieran's voice. Or was it Nyktis'? I could not tell. But it gave me strength.
My trembling stopped. I looked at Falkar with a gaze filled with a new challenge.
"You are wrong, Falkar," I said in a strong, steady voice. "You are wrong about everything."
The confidence on his face began to fade. He had not expected such resistance.
"Take her now!" he ordered sharply.
But before the two guards could seize me, a massive explosion thundered outside the palace. The roar of a black dragon filled the sky of Nevis. Nyktis was here. And Kieran was with him.
I looked at Falkar and saw fear creeping into his eyes for the first time.
"I told you…" I whispered as chaos spread through the palace. "You understand nothing about loyalty."
I rushed toward the window to witness the sight that would destroy Falkar's illusion of an empire: the black dragon soaring across the sky of Nevis, and its rider—the prince—standing upon its back, ready to burn the world to save me.
But it was not the sight of Nyktis flying across Nevis that froze the blood in my veins. It was what I saw on his back.
Kieran was not merely standing; he leaned forward, defying the wind, his black hair whipping like a banner of war. Yet the most terrifying sight was below him: the soldiers of Nevis—my soldiers—were firing arrows and bolts toward the black dragon and its rider.
"Stop firing!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, but my voice was swallowed by the noise of battle.
Falkar stood beside me, smiling with a victorious grin. "Look, little one. Look how your people defend their kingdom against this monster."
"You are lying to them! You are the one turning them into killers!"
The guards flooded onto the balcony, their weapons aimed at me. They were men I knew—men I had trained beside once. And now their gazes held no recognition, only suspicion and obedience to orders.
"The princess is under the enemy's influence!" Falkar announced. "Take her inside!"
When one of the guards stepped forward, I did not hesitate. I ducked and surged forward, using the combat techniques my father had taught me.
"This is treason, Falkar!" I shouted as I rushed toward the edge, where Kieran was dismounting from Nyktis in the courtyard below.
"Treason is standing beside our enemy!" Falkar replied, anger beginning to devour his calm.
I looked down and saw Kieran fighting, his sword spinning like a storm as he blocked dozens of soldiers. It was a deadly dance—every movement precise—but the numbers were far too many. Even the Black Prince could not hold forever.
Then something unexpected happened.
Another roar, filled with pain and fury, thundered across the sky.
Glacir.
My white dragon.
He was trying to shatter the barrier that had imprisoned him, his blue eyes blazing with rage. He could feel me. He could feel the danger surrounding me.
At that moment, Kieran lifted his head. His gray eyes met mine.
In a single glance, we exchanged a thousand words. I saw his worry for me, his determination, and something… like pride.
Kieran shouted words I did not understand, but Nyktis did. The black dragon spread his massive wings, stirring a storm of dust and terror.
In that moment of shock, I grabbed the balcony railing and threw myself forward.
It was a mad leap—but it was a leap of faith. Faith that Kieran would be there to catch me.
I fell into the open air, the wind screaming in my ears, and the image of his gray eyes was the only thing I saw.
But it was not the wind making that sound in my ears. It was the sound of my destiny rushing toward me.
When I fell from the balcony, I did not think of death. I thought of Kieran's gray eyes. I saw a terror in them I had never seen even on the battlefield—followed by an iron will that refused to break.
Before I touched the ground, I collided with something solid and warm.
Nyktis.
He had not left. He had been circling beneath me, waiting for that moment.
I landed roughly upon his back, gripping his cold scales. There was no time to think—only the instinct to survive.
"Elianna!" I heard Kieran shout, fighting his way toward me through Falkar's men who tried to bring him down. He cut through them one by one, his eyes fixed on me.
Nyktis dipped and soared into the sky, dodging the arrows aimed at him.
From above, I saw the entire picture: Glacir breaking the chains that held him captive, Falkar's men surrounding Kieran, and Falkar himself standing on the balcony, his face twisted with rage.
Nevis Castle—my home—had become a battlefield. And the cruelest part was that my own soldiers were fighting on the traitor's side.
"We must land!" I shouted to Kieran, but the wind swallowed my words.
Kieran looked upward and released a sharp whistle—a signal for Nyktis to descend again.
But Falkar was faster.
"Fire the flaming arrows!" he shouted. "Kill the black dragon!"
From the towers, arrows dipped in flame shot into the sky. They were not aimed at Kieran this time—but at Nyktis.
One struck his wing. Fire devoured a large feather. Nyktis roared in pain, and our balance faltered for a moment.
Kieran looked at his dragon's wound. Then he turned to me, and in his eyes I saw a painful decision.
"No!" I screamed when I realized what he intended.
But he had already leapt from Nyktis's back, plunging into Falkar's soldiers to distract them—sacrificing himself to save us.
Nyktis, despite his wound, continued flying away with me, following Kieran's last order to protect me at any cost.
Below, Kieran fought alone against an entire army.
And in that moment, as I flew away from the battlefield, I realized the truth: I was not afraid of death.
I was afraid of losing him.
The true traitor was not Falkar—it was my own heart, which had betrayed my mind and surrendered to the love of my enemy.
Nyktis carried me far away from the battlefield of betrayal and tears.
But I did not weep for the homeland I had lost.
I wept for the hero who had sacrificed himself for me.