Chapter 13

7.8K 319 42
                                    

We were rushed down into the catacombs, which was hard to remember its paths, but after fifteen minutes of walking before coming into a door, I could tell that this was a huge area. Grandma unlocked the door with a golden key that she took out of her pocket, twisting it but letting it stay in there. She placed her hands on an holographic pad that came out from the wall and spoke some language that I couldn't quite figure out, but after the voice recognition was passed, I heard a few clicks and a loud buzz before the door slid inside and moved to the side, revealing a room that had a completely different to the ambiance here in the catacombs. It was more homey which made me feel at ease despite the situation going on up above.

Octavian sat on a couch next to me in silence. I didn't know what to think of this. Had I not come to this country, the palace wouldn't be in danger. But they brought me here, and my presence seemed to offend them to the very core of their beings. I wondered what was going through their heads, the rebels. They must be ridiculing me, thinking that I was never going to be a great ruler. The thought was enough to stun me into silence. That and the sudden explosion that made the room quake a bit, startling me out of my thoughts. I looked at Grandma, worried and fearful. The explosion didn't seem to faze her; she acted so collected and gathered that I didn't see one bit of terror in her face. If she was hiding it under that mask, she was very good at upholding it to shroud her true emotions. She was a Queen, after all. She needed to look strong so that others could feel confident as well. She radiated strength, despite her fragile stature.

The hours to which the attack lasted seemed like forever; we had waited a long time before a guard came to guide us out of the catacombs. Jack was the first ahead while I stood at the back. When we entered the Conference room, it was still intact, still just the way we left it. I anticipated for the outside to be worse, but when the guard led us out into the hall, nothing seemed to be touched or broken.

"There have been several casualties on both sides," the guard informed the General. "Five of our own were slaughtered and countless have been shot. We've taken the injured to the infirmaries for cell regeneration. They should be patched up in about twenty minutes."

"And what about the palace? Did they breach through the walls?"

"They somehow managed to disable the watch towers' range of sight which was probably why there was no alarm to warn us further. We found them hiding anf attacking from the gardens. Luckily the damage to the palace was minor; a few windows have been smashed and there's a ditch right in front of the maze where some of the rebel casualties were found."

"And the King's Temple?"

"The temple is perfectly intact, sir. We are currently trying to figure out how they were able to disarm the towers so that we can reboot its system and change the codes to become more complicated to hack into. We should have it back online in a few hours, so we've put our men on every single angle of the palace walls."

"Good; have men on watch inside of the towers and activate the minefield outside of the palace walls. We need to protect the crown and the Princes and Queen."

"Right away, sir." The guard vanished to do his duties as he was told. I heard Grandma let out a shaky breath and I turned to her. I pulled her into a hug, mainly because I knew we both needed on. I have never been that close to death before. I knew they came for me, and they could've possibly taken Grandma away to use her to lure me to their faction. I hugged her even more at the thought.

"Dear," she breathed, "too tight."

"Oh," I apologized as I let her go, "sorry. I just thought we were goners."

"Nonsense, we're fine. We're going to be fine." She smiled, the corners of her eyes expressing wrinkles that showed her age.

"Hey," Octavian said as he turned me to face him. He cupped my face into his hands as he gazed into my eyes. "Are you alright?"

A Dance of Princes (The Heir, Book 1)Where stories live. Discover now