The Dragon's Kiss

"You'll have plenty more chances."

Unfortunately, Calix's words turned out to be painfully accurate. 

Every night for the next week, the Dragon Emperor and his consort received visits from unwelcome, violent guests. The Kel that had once felt conflicted about killing another human suddenly found herself in a near-constant state of kill or be killed.

And it was almost sickening how quickly she adapted.

"Ugh, is it just me, or have the attacks started getting closer together?" Kel yawned, ripping her knife out of a man's chest and letting him fall to the ground.

"It would seem so," Calix agreed, retracting his own weapon from the bloody corpse in front of him. 

Just as they were pushing the bodies off the edge of the terrace attached to their room, Thane and Lucy burst through the door.

"I'm so sorry we're late!!" Thane exclaimed, only to pause when he saw the last body falling into the ocean. "... But I guess you guys got it figured out, huh?"

Lucy stepped up next to him.

"Are either of you injured anywhere?" she probed, her gaze lingering on Calix's red-smeared cheek.

"None of this is mine," he informed her, wiping the blood on his face away.

After confirming the Emperor was fine, Lucy then immediately approached Kel and began carefully inspecting her body. Calix wasted no time joining her.

"I'm really fine, guys," Kel sighed. "Why are you treating me as if I'm the most fragile one here?"

At her words, the two halted their examination and all three of them turned to Thane, who was rubbing his tired eyes, his nose still red and swollen from a previous attack.

"Eh?" he tilted his head, stifling a yawn.

"... Nothing." Calix replied before turning back to Kel. "Anyway, it looks like you're unharmed."

"We already know who keeps sending these guys, so couldn't we just go straight to the source?" Kel was unable to hold back another yawn after seeing Thane's. "I'm getting a little tired of this."

The Emperor shook his head.

"Of course, I can just kill Altair and those other council members," he explained, "but we need to know how deep and twisted the roots run before we start cutting."

"Yeah, yeah," Kel mumbled, flopping back on the bed.

She could understand why the Emperor wanted to find the root of the problem before taking any action. It was clear that someone with great power--basically, a member of the royal family--was behind everything. 

But soon, the entire royal family would be shipped away from the continent or disabled and scattered to prevent any uprisings. If they couldn't cut off their underground source of power before then, they would be forced to deal with a much larger uprising later on.

And by then, the rebellion would run so deeply through the Empire, that it would be impossible to cut it all out.

She knew that, but with all the time they'd been spending fighting off assassins, they hadn't been able to do any proper digging.

Their meeting with the previous king to discuss whether he'd prefer banishment or disablement was wholly unfruitful, as the man couldn't stop shivering like a wet puppy under Calix's scarlet glare.

Well, Kel couldn't say it was entirely unfruitful. They were able to remove, without a doubt, the previous king from the list of possible suspects. There was no way that man was harboring any sinister intentions.

More likely, it was one of the previous princes that was leading the underground group of rebels. Narrowing down to the correct prince was proving to be a difficult task, however. And even if they caught the culprit, driving him into a corner wouldn't be any easier.

Kel sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

They needed someone on the inside, themselves. Or else they'd continue running around with assassins and never truly make any progress.

"Hmmm," Calix hummed thoughtfully, seating himself on the bed next to Kel. "Your friend seemed like he was eager to please me, so maybe I should finally give him a chance to be useful."

Ah. It seemed the Dragon Emperor had arrived at the same conclusion.

As soon as the sun broke over the horizon, Calix called for Taegus to be brought to them.

"Isn't this a bit.. indiscreet?" Kel questioned him as they sat at a quaint tea table on the terrace. "He won't be an insider anymore if we out him like this."

"I'm too exasperated to really care," Calix shrugged, staring out over the sea. "He can figure that part out, himself."

Kel couldn't help but snort at the situation. The Dragon Emperor, who usually always had things planned out with incredible detail, had seemingly given up. She could tell he just wanted to get the whole thing over with and move on to-

Kel gulped.

After things were wrapped up in Pandreia, they'd be moving on to the White Mountains.

In the bustle of assassins and sleepless nights, the looming snowy mountains had been pushed from the forefront of her mind.

But, perhaps, Calix had not forgotten so easily. 

Hopefully, the man wasn't having second thoughts now about his agreement to go with her given the state of Pandreia. Things could be just as precarious in Vitocia, so his presence there would end up being essential.

She looked over at Calix, but his expression was completely blank as he watched the waves slowly working their way to the shore. If only she could read minds instead of wielding fire.

Regardless, now was not the time to worry about the White Mountains and winter solstice. The sooner they unraveled the mess in this seaside territory, the sooner they could discuss their next plans.

And, just as she'd resolved, all thoughts of those snowy mountains far away in the North were forced to the back of Kel's mind once again as Thane announced Taegus's arrival.

"It's a pleasure to be summoned, Your Majesty," Taegus bowed deeply in front of them. "And Your Highness."

Calix didn't so much as nod at the man's greeting. Rather, he flicked his eyes to the empty chair at the table.

"Sit," he ordered.

"... Of course," Taegus rose from his bow and quickly slid into the seat.

He folded his hands neatly on the table, his lips curving into a polite smile.

"For what reason have I been called?"