The Dragon's Kiss

News of the Serin Empire's first victory spread rapidly over the continent.

With the Mevani people already in shambles from the recent uprising and poor governance, the takeover proceeded smoothly.

The operation was conducted entirely by the First and Third Generals of Serin, with all word of the Dragon Emperor kept mute.

Where was he?

After personally defeating Mevani's king, what had happened to him?

The official declaration was that the Emperor was heading the movement from within the palace, too busy with his official affairs to make an appearance.

The truth, however, was a little different.

After collapsing in the royal hall, Calix was quickly moved to a bedroom, and guards were stationed outside.

The only two people allowed to go in and out of that room were Colonel Senf, who served as the Emperor's attendant, and one of the Serin military's doctors.

The Colonel and the doctor always seemed more perplexed each time they exited the room, however, as the Emperor continued to remain unconscious, suffering from a gory dragon-shaped hole in his back and some other unknown ailment.

Despite the obvious contempt from Serin's Generals, Kel remained free to roam during the takeover. She couldn't be trusted as her identity and relationship with the emperor were both uncertain, but nobody dared restrain her, out of fear of the Dragon Emperor's wrath when he awoke.

Still, she was kept in the dark regarding Calix and his condition.

After every head shake and firm refusal she received, she wished more desperately that Thane, Ira, Roland or Lucy were present. They could vouch for her, or at least slip her information about the Emperor.

"That's right! They can vouch for me!" Kel gasped as she had an idea.

She could write a letter to her old friends in Serin. That way, Ira could affirm her position with the Empire's official seal.

.. But how would she send that letter?

Communications had been temporarily halted for Mevani citizens, and the Serin military was in no hurry to assist her with anything.

Since Ira was quick on the uptake, though, he might send the right paperwork for her anyway once he received news of the Dragon Emperor's condition.

.. But that could mean waiting for at least a month.

Such precarious information couldn't be written on a piece of paper, so naturally, the Generals had dispatched a messenger to deliver the news of their leader's injury back to Serin's capital.

"Ugh! It's hopeless!" Kel shouted, kicking at a nearby wooden pillar.

She'd been sitting in one of the royal garden's gazebos nearly every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Dragon Emperor through the window of his room.

To her dismay, she'd never seen any activity in the room aside from the flickering candlelight at night while Colonel Senf kept the Emperor's bedside. She'd grown sick of the wilting flowers surrounding the gazebo as well.

Couldn't Leif at least have hired a proper gardener?!

Speaking of the late king, Kel never did end up seeing his body, but she'd heard it had been carried out of the hall in three pieces.

The tiny pit in her stomach of sadness at Leif's death was far overshadowed by her anxiety regarding Calix.

Perhaps it was better that everything had happened this way. So she didn't have any time to waste thinking of useless things like Leif's tragic end or which dungeon Adriell and her father ended up in.

And Dash. He had been pulled away and arrested with the others, but Kel hadn't inquired any further about his situation.

She didn't care.

Well, not as much as she cared about Calix.

A seeming solution to her problem caught her eye in the midst of her brooding.

Between branches of the garden's yellowing hedges, Kel noticed a pair of golden eyes, surrounded by tan skin, peering at her.

"T-Taegus!" she shouted excitedly, remembering her friend for the first time since they were ambushed in the forest.

If nothing else, her choice to go with the Mevani soldiers at that time seemed to have bought Taegus enough time to be rescued.

"I'm glad he's still alive!" Kel grinned as she jogged toward the hedge.

The man had withdrawn as soon as Kel noticed him, but he couldn't have gotten far. This was her chance to get a letter sent back to Ira.

Propping one foot on the bush's steady trunk, Kel propelled herself over the top, landing swiftly on the other side.

"Oof, I haven't moved like that in far too long," she groaned, rubbing her back as she straightened up.

Taegus would probably start laughing if he was watching her-

Except he wasn't watching her.

In fact, nobody was.

"Huh? Is he playing hide and seek?"

Kel whirled around, but there were no signs of another person in the row. There weren't even any tracks indicating that someone had been there recently.

Strange, Kel mumbled to herself, still scanning the area. I could have sworn I saw someone..

She stopped, noticing a distinct glimmer in the grass at her toes.

Without thought, she reached for it, only to yelp in pain the moment her fingers came in contact with the object.

Her heart jumped as she crouched down to better inspect the mysterious object.

"A moonstone?" she breathed, carefully parting the grass around it. "Did Taegus drop this here? But why would he-"

Unless it wasn't her friend that she'd spied through the branches after all. But she was certain those golden eyes had been familiar.

A feeling of disappointment settled over her as she realized she hadn't actually found her ticket to contacting Ira.

How could she help Calix now?

Wait.

Kel shifted her focus to the moonstone again.

A memory flashed before her eyes of the Serin library, and the Emperor breathing a sigh of relief as he clutched a moonstone in his hands.

He'd also been suffering from a strange illness at that time.

Kel's eyes widened.

"That's it!" she exclaimed. "I'm sure this can heal Calix!"

Gleefully, she reached for the stone again, pausing as she suddenly remembered the sharp sensation that came with touching a moonstone.

That wasn't the only problem, either. The wing, hall and door of the Emperor's chambers were all heavily guarded. She'd never be able to sneak past them all.

Finally, she'd found a way to help the Emperor, but...

"... but how can I get it to him?"