Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 251: Draconic II

Chapter 251: Draconic II

Her siblings quickly nodded as they agreed with Leonora’s orders, finding no issue with them. Even Alistair, who should have been in charge, was content with letting Leonora take the lead.

"But I can..." Daphne’s voice trailed into nothing as Leonara and Alistair charged in the direction of the dragon without a single look back.

The dragon flew overhead, roaring and spewing flame as it cast its ominous shadow over Wethstadt, causing the townspeople to panic. Daphne was left spluttering at Leonara’s back as all of them followed her into the town.

Then, Daphne’s mouth fell open in horror. Around the street lay the fallen bodies of knights and civilians alike, charred beyond recognition as they failed to escape the dragonfire. The rare strong stone buildings of Wethstadt had fallen, most likely knocked over by the dragon’s mighty tail.

Daphne wanted to retch at the smell, but she breathed through her mouth and tried to compose herself. The air was thick with smoke and ash, paired with the scent of blood.

Screams of fear and despair echoed through the air, along with the wailing of helpless children.

Then, someone caught sight of them.

"It’s the royal family!"

"They’ll save us!"

"Slay the dragon!"

"Please, save us all!"

"You heard Leonara," Silas said grimly, a far cry from his usual playful self as he watched his twin sister vanish into the chaos. She was skilled; he had to believe she would be fine. Meanwhile, he and Luis had to survey the area to decide the best path for them to take to corral the flames most effectively. "Daphne, be a dear and stay out of our way."

"I can help," Daphne protested weakly. "Please, let me."

"Silas, give Daphne a chance," Drusilla cajoled, her voice syrupy sweet. "After all, she has powers now! I believe she’ll perform admirably if she goes with you!"

Luis frowned. "Drusilla, Leonara ordered her to stay out of the way. Besides, Daphne had just discovered her powers. She’s not trained. If anything happens to her, how will we explain it to King Atticus?"

Drusilla frowned, not expecting her half-brothers to argue with her. They hardly interfered with her plans before; Drusilla learned that the easiest way to get their approval was to simply not cause them any trouble in whatever scheme she cooked.

But King Atticus’s overprotective nature was a looming shadow that none of them could escape from. If Atticus was willing to fling Alistair through the dining hall for something as mild as a verbal insult, any injury dealt to Daphne in the course of today would have led to their immediate deaths!

"Go back to the palace, Daphne," Silas said. "We can’t afford to look out for you. You can wait with Blanche for news."

Daphne opened her mouth, but now, Luis was the one who cut her off as he caught sight of his worst fear.

"We don’t have time to argue about this. Silas, the fire is reaching the granaries! The fields can’t be allowed to burn!"

With that, Silas and Luis both rode off to where the flames were the most ferocious. The strong winds caused by the dragon’s wings were causing the flames to spread even further, and Daphne realized the urgency when she saw how quickly the flames were devouring the wooden structures.

Daphne watched them closely, her eyes widening in horror as she watched them let go of the reins to focus their magic through both hands, herding the flames away from the precious stores of grain.

The flames were so hot that Daphne could feel them even from such a distance. Sweat began to bead on her skin, but her younger brothers were seemingly unfazed, diving headfirst into the chaos, their entire bodies seemingly glowing a bright red as they fought to contain the blaze.

At that moment, Daphne realized that they had a point. While she had just awakened her powers, she had not trained them to the extent that they could be actually useful in such a horrific disaster. Back when Francessa Seibert’s float caught fire, she recalled needing to expend so much effort and energy to contain it.

With flames of this caliber, she would only be a burden if she went with them. It was the equivalent of bringing a barely minted page to war, instead of an actual veteran knight.

"Don’t be disappointed, Sister Daphne," Drusilla said conspiratorily, "If you choose to help them, I promise I’ll keep quiet about this. After all, you’re also one of King Cyrus’s children. You should be helping!"

Daphne could only scoff in reply. Drusilla probably hoped that Daphne would burn to death in an attempt to stop the flames. Then she would be allowed to marry Atticus without obstructions.

"Aren’t you going to help the crowd get to safety? Why are you still here?" Daphne demanded in response. Even from her spot, Daphne could see many townspeople screaming in fear as they ducked beneath the rubble, looking towards the two princesses for help.

It was highly dangerous, for they could be crushed to death, but it was better than getting burnt to death by dragonflame like the rest.

Drusilla collected herself with a haughty sniff, finally deciding to proceed with her task.

"I am about to do just that, but I can’t help being worried about you, Sister Daphne. Silas had a point; you are not as skilled as us, which makes you a burden."

Drusilla had a sorry pout on her face, but there was no denying the victorious glint in her eyes as she prodded on Daphne’s sore spot. Nothing could make up for Daphne’s lack of training all these years.

"It’s best for you to follow me, so I can keep you safe. If not, you’ll need to go back to the castle. Please understand, this is for your own good!"

Daphne bit the inside of her cheek, wanting to give Drusilla a tongue-lashing. It was one thing to hear this from Leonara and her younger brothers, but Drusilla? If not for Daphne’s kindness and Atticus’s prowess, Drusilla would be deader than the fallen townspeople.

"Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine," Daphne said with gritted teeth. "I’ll be helping the townspeople too. After all, like you said. I am one of King Cyrus’s children and was also called to help. It’s better to go through with my responsibilities than to try and evade it with mindless chatter, wouldn’t you agree?"

With that, Daphne rode off, not waiting for Drusilla’s response.

She might not be as skilled as her siblings, but there was no way Daphne would let herself be sent back to the palace in disgrace. She could at least help escort the townspeople to safety!

Yet, she had severely underestimated this seemingly simple task.