Rebellion

They Are Coming

Adam froze. Like, literally froze. Not even his eyes moved. I clicked my fingers in front of his face, but he didn't even twitch. Startled I looked around. Everything had frozen, even the wind.

"Hello Amy,". I smiled softly.

"Hello Kyros. What's the matter?". The infinity dragon folded back his wings, cocking his head to look at me intently.

"I came to you for two reasons. Firstly, I owe you my thanks. My family is reunited in the air. Clia and I owe you our eternal thanks. We can once again fly among the stars together,".

"Is it true?", I asked. "That when you die you turn into a star?".

"Yes. The rest of you and your dragon's life force combines to form a star,". I nodded my thanks as he continued.

"I came to warn you. There is a traitor in your ranks. One you will never suspect,". He faded as I leapt forwards.

"Wait! Who?". Kyros smiled sadly as he disappeared. I turned to Adam, who had now unfrozen.

"We should probably go over the plan with the others,". He nodded as we headed to the throne room.

My Anchemi and I were discussing a few last minute plans. I spoke first:

"Your squadrons must stay in formation for as long as possible. It's the best form of protection and we are better trained. Use your elements and don't hesitate. They won't for us,". Cherry nodded.

"Do you think it was a good idea to arrange our squadrons in elements? Our plan bases on them not realising that a whole squadron can be destroyed by an opposite element,".

"It should be ok,". I responded, thinking of Kyros. "One other thing, there is a traitor in this room. After the battle we will discover who it is,".

"You should have told me this,", Phantom said, affronted. "I could have helped you".  

"How do you know?". Barney asked, linking his hand with Cherry's.

"Because Amaris knew the exact time to attack us. The time half of our strength are injured in a suspicious attack at night when they were all drugged. Their autopsy came back positive with Alaceir - the drug that makes you sleep like the dead,". That was true, but I felt guilty for not telling everyone about Kyros. It was my special thing. I had been talking to a God. I savoured that thought as we all headed out to the army.

The army amassed on the landing ground, different squadrons flying in different directions. A throaty roar brought my attention to the right as Quaem dropped to the ground. The nearest dragons shifted to make room for his huge bulk.

"What news?", he asked, his voice gruff.

"Amaris' army is just flying over the desert. She seems to wish to attack us immediately,". I nodded towards the desert, where a dull smudge was on the horizon. "The Academy is completely destroyed and she has triple the number of troops. Morale is low, but at least there have been no deserters,".

Quaem nodded. The sunlight glinted off my armour, the colours on my sword shimmering in the light. My Anchemi were similarly dressed, but they were taking care of their own sections of the army. I hesitated, before saying softly, so no other dragon could hear me:

"Quaem, I need to speak to you,". We moved away from the army, towards a dense mass of trees.

He looked at me enquiringly as I leaned closer to him.

"If Electra and I fall today-". Quaem stared at me, cutting me off to say:

"Don't tempt the fates. You must survive,".

"If we do fall, and don't say otherwise - we both know we need a contingency plan. If we fall, but win the battle, I want you to be King,". His protests fell on deaf ears as I turned away, glancing once more over the ranks of the army before I mounted Electra. This battle would be the ultimate battle. But hopefully not the final battle.

We rose steadily through the air, the sound of wingbeats deafening. There was no muted conversation, no jovial banter as we watched the opposing army fly into position opposite us. Electra and I hovered in front of the army, and I drew my sword and raised it into the air. All eyes turned to me. I hesitated, before calling out to them.

"Look at you, my brave warriors! You are defending the palace, protecting the innocent from Amaris. She slaughtered two thousand eggs, personally. Two thousand lives. We all know what we must do. Defend or Die! Defend or Die!". The army echoed my shout, roaring those words in a deafening crescendo again and again.

Electra and I flew into our position in the army and I took a moment to reflect on how far we'd become. My father would be proud. From claiming a power and a token, fulfilling an ancient prophecy and finally, defending my country from the rebellion. It was a lot for one girl to do.

                                                                          A girl could die happy knowing that.