Page 220 of The White King's Favorite

“O-over there,” said Naptunie, pointing in her direction.

“Oh, easy!”

“Easy?”

“Okay, cross your arms. Chin down.”

Naptunie obeyed by mere reflex, but before she could say a word, she suddenly felt Darsan grab her, her feet lifted off the ground, and the very next second, her body was thrown toward the sky.

Her terrified scream echoed above the battlefield, which moved quickly under her. She saw hundreds of eyes looking up at her, all with the same dumbfounded expression. She vaguely heard another voice shouting and, way too quickly, she found herself descending way too fast in Tessandra’s direction. Nana screamed again. The young woman lifted her eyes, opened them wide in shock, and dropped her weapons just in time to open her arms and receive her. The shock was violent, but somehow, Tessandra managed to catch her and they only stumbled a couple of steps back.

“Holy dragon shit, Nana! What the actual fuck?!”

Nana didn’t even have the voice to answer. She was still trembling and, when Tessandra let go, she fell down to her knees, all her strength leaving her body. He had just sent her flying across the battlefield!

“Darsan, you crazy fuck!” Tessandra shouted. “Wait until this is over, I’m going to fucking kill you! Are you alright, Nana? Do you need to throw up? I’m so sorry...”

“I... I... He just...”

“Yep. That’s Darsan for you. I’m sorry, he used to play that with his little brothers, I don’t think he realized you’re not exactly made for that kind of game...”

A game? That was as fun as a game for him?! Naptunie tried to keep herself from crying and, with Tessandra’s help, she got back on her feet, just in time when her brother appeared next to her.

“You stopped them,” said Sabael, looking out of breath. “Good job, sis.”

“Why did that dumbass send you here?” asked Tessandra. “Please tell me there was an actual reason, or else I swear I’m going to murder him.”

“Y-yes,” nodded poor Nana. “I-I have a plan...”

“Oh, thank the gods. What is it? Don’t worry, I promise I’m going to kick his ass and tell him to never do that again...”

While trying to catch her breath and get back to a normal heart rate, Naptunie quickly explained her plan to Tessandra, who nodded all along. They glanced around at their side of the battlefield, agreeing to her plan.

“That’s a good plan, Nana. Leave me and the boys to it, you and Sabael can work on the side to create more smoke and make sure the Yekara who escape this area are either captured or forced back here. Darsan, Kassian, and I will have no problem if those guys are hindered by the smoke, we may even be able to force them to give up.”

“I doubt that,” said Sabael, “but I agree, that’s a good plan.”

“Where is Lady Bastat?” Nana asked. “I thought we could ask her for some fabrics to create large fans and direct the smoke...”

“She’s injured, so she was sent to the back, but we can ask the Sehsan, I doubt they will refuse,” explained Tessandra. “They are two streets down, trying to coordinate everything with your tribe. We need to get things over with here soon, though, I heard it’s getting ugly up there, and I’m itching to check in on Cessilia too.”

Just as she said that, a loud dragon growl echoed far above them. They turned their eyes toward the castle, where Jinn’s red body was furiously attacking one of the towers. It had destroyed half of the brick walls, leaving only a bit standing. Nana’s face got paler again, imagining Cessilia up there facing a dragon. Next to her, Tessandra was squinting her eyes even more, surprised by something she thought she had seen. A silver streak. It was very small and faint, but she was almost sure she had seen it.

“Cessi...”

“Come on, Nana,” said Sabael. “We should get moving as fast as we can!”

“Go,” nodded Tessandra.

Giving her one last look, Naptunie quickly left the area, running after her older brother. Tessandra got down on one knee to grab her swords, the blood already washed away from the blades by the rain. But just as her fingers grazed the ground, she felt something. She froze. It was extremely subtle, but she felt a very faint shake coming from the ground. A second one, shortly after. Her fingers tightened up around the handles. ...An earthquake? She slowly stood up, listening. The sea was streets away from here, but she could hear it raging furiously. The waves crashing against the island were somehow getting... louder. It was abnormally strong. Tessandra began to breathe more heavily, sensing something was coming. It was as if the battlefield around her had been reduced to a silent, slow background, while all of her senses and instincts were focused on a bigger danger. She glanced up at the sky, only catching dark clouds and at times, blinding lightning bolts. Still, she couldn’t shake that feeling. Trying to ignore it, and feeling the enemies gathering around her again, she raised her arms, preparing to resume the fight. She noticed how her hair was standing up under the armor’s leather.

Suddenly, she heard it. Forgetting all about the fight, Tessandra turned around, her heart beating like crazy. She hadn’t dreamed that too, had she? Her eyes fixated on the skies, on the horizon, she waited, restless. She heard it again.

This time, she turned to Kassian, yards away from her, as if to confirm she wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t going crazy. The Prince had stopped fighting too, with the same shocked, torn expression. He had heard it too.

Chapter 28

Back in one of the castle’s highest towers, Cessilia’s fierce fight against Jisel and her Red Dragon had gotten more violent, more... beastly. Combined with the Princess’ new appearance, she was also seemingly much stronger.

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