The Dragon King

Chapter 6

Heir Prince Dominic Fairmore of Vrinian

IMPERIAL CITY, VRINIAN

The castle is eerily quiet, despite some commotion outside the walls. Dominic can feel every hair on his body standing, silently telling him something is terribly wrong. He hadn't been asleep, but Jessa had been. However, they both move quickly to the Great Hall after being urgently summoned. Dominic doesn't have to guess. He knows if he is urgently summoned, it means that the mission has gone wrong. His wife is holding his hand tightly, giving what bit of courage she has to him.

The soldiers at the door open them, and they make their way inside, instantly seeing those who are already there. Both Dominic's parents are present, as well as Tatiana. Now Dominic is entirely sure this has to do with Antonio. At his throne, the king is slumped with his head bowed off to the side as he rubs his temples with one hand. His other hand has a tight and fearsome grip on the arm of the chair. The queen is at the king's side, with dazed and worried eyes and hands held tightly together in a white-knuckle grip.

Dominic glances at Tatiana, but she is staring at his father with a look of pure anger. She isn't just angry; she is livid. Clearly, Dominic and Jessamine have just walked in on an argument. "What is it?" He questions. "What has happened?"

The king looks up at his eldest son with tired eyes, only just noticing his presence. "Emberhelm is under attack...."

"Then we must send reinforcements." Dominic jumps into action or would have had he not been interrupted by his father.

"By a dragon." King Markus finishes, not fazed by his son's eagerness to help or that he assumed the attack by a human. He had expected a possible attack from the Tyrant King but nothing this quick. A dragon?

"But you don't mean...." Dominic starts, questioning whether the original beast that attacked Emberhelm all those years ago could still be alive. His father only nods, confirming a growing fear in the heir prince. "Antonio?" He hesitates for a moment, casting a slight glance at Tatiana.

The king shakes his head with a worried glance at his queen. "There has been no word yet. We don't know if he is in Emberhelm as scheduled or if he left."

"Or if he even made it at all," Tatiana grumbles with an icy tone that causes chills to run down Dominic's body.

"But why would the dragon attack now?" Jessa questions while walking over to Tatiana. "Why now, after all these years." She places a comforting hand on Tatiana's shoulder but looks up at Dominic's father, wanting answers.

"It was the mission," Dominic mumbles, more to himself, but he doesn't understand. "That can be the only logical explanation as to why it is attacking, but how can it even know?"

"We had no reason to believe that the dragon still lived. We took a chance, and it proved to be a wrong move." The king replies with a grievous tone.

Dominic stares for a moment, open-mouthed at his father, trying to wrap his head around the meaning of it. "Are you saying that the Tyrant King sent the dragon after Antonio?"

"And you condemned your own son!" Finally, Tatiana is starting to lose it, despite Jessa trying to calm her down. The king sends her a warning glance, but she is too far gone to pay it any heed. "No, you knew this was dangerous. You clearly knew there was a chance that the dragon would come after him, and you sent him anyway. Whatever you sent him after, whatever you wanted, you might have just paid with your son's life."

"Antonio knew the risks." The king returns, clearly not liking being challenged. "He knew the mission was dangerous and could go wrong. He always acts spontaneously and rashly. He needs to learn that there are consequences."