I cried out as debris flew through the sky. Screams filled my ears as people tried to run to safety. Aircrafts kept whizzing about, dropping explosives like it was confetti. The ground shook as more land was destroyed.
I ran into the war zone.
"Ella, no!" Adonis called out.
Tears streaming down my face, I dodged concrete, tubes, pieces of burning furniture, and unrecognizable debris. I ran through the trees in hopes of finding cover. Through my trek, I saw my soldiers making their way to the border. They didn't notice me as I turned the other way; they were more focused on the attack in motion.
Bursting out from the forest onto the main road, I fell to my knees seeing my kingdom blown up to bits. I sobbed, grabbing a fistful of soil and threw it upward in a stupid effort to show defiance against the other kingdoms.
"Ella, you need to get up," Marisole whispered in my ear.
"It's destroyed," I sobbed. "They destroyed it."
Smoke and dust became one trailing up into the sky. The bright blue I was used to seeing was no longer there, it was replaced by a dull gray. I couldn't even recognize the kingdom in front of me, if it could even be called that.
"Your palace is still standing," she whispered, even quieter now. "Get up."
I didn't even try to fight her as she hoisted me back up. My head buzzed as more explosives were dropped. I covered my ears at the loud boom's. They were never ending.
"Your people, Ella," Marisole continued.
Blinking back tears, I remembered when it all started. The declaration of war. The uncertainty in front of me. The fears and anxiety that laced all my servants.
"Remember that a good queen does everything for her people, her living people."
I hiccuped and stared at the direction of my palace. My bottom lip trembled.
Remembering Theodora was like a slap to the face. I was so focused on gathering intel, I forgot I had other duties as queen. I had no idea how my people were dealing with the declaration of war. Inferos, I didn't even know how my servants were dealing with it, and they were at the nucleus of it. They were in the same building as the Inlustris.
The war was here. I couldn't turn back time and re-do it all over again. I knew the dirty tricks these kings did to fight this war, so I knew I had to fight back. I just hoped that I could save my people from horrible death.
"Ella, why are we here?" Adonis asked. The rest of the Bleeders, except Marisole, shared the same sentiment.
I stared at them with bloodshot eyes before running towards my palace. I heard them follow me. They yelled at me to get back, but they still continued forward. I ignored their words and jumped over fallen domums and raedas, getting closer to my goal.
People scrambled out of their fallen homes. They cried, screamed, and ran away in fear. I stopped to help an elderly woman stand back up. Her face was covered in dust from her destroyed domum. Tears fell down my cheek seeing her shaking form.
"Go, sweetie, my time has come," she croaked. I shook my head, wanting to help her wobble over to safety. She grabbed my hands tightly and pointed to the palace. I turned to see my home through blurred vision. "Save yourself."
I wanted to charm anything to get her out of there. I wanted to carry her on my back. I wanted to save her. She didn't deserve this end. No one deserved this end.
Aircrafts flew over us, a little too close for comfort. The Bleeders yelled for me to go back, but they were busy trying to move through all of the destruction.
"I can't leave you like this," I told the elderly woman. She smiled and tucked a curl behind my ear. It almost felt like I was a kid, back in my bedroom with Theodora putting me to sleep.
Before she could say anything, another explosive dropped sending us flying into the air. I used my magic to land safely, but the elderly woman was nowhere to be seen. I looked around, but there was no one in sight. I sobbed, wobbling around in an attempt to get myself together.
Potentia Flamber was no longer a kingdom. Everything collapsed, exploded, and crumbled. It was all in ruins.
"Ella!" I turned to see Adonis sprinting towards me. My eyes widened as a building started to collapse behind him. He didn't seem to notice it. His emerald eyes were focused on me.
"Adonis," I yelled. I reached towards him, trying to control the crumbling building. The building went against my magic as the explosive went through it. I screamed as everything toppled over him, crushing him.
—
I fell on my knees staring at where he was standing.
He was gone.
He was gone because of me.
"Ella," Marisole called. The rest of the Bleeders ran to me. I pressed my head on the ground, blocking out the noise of all the screams, the collapsing buildings, and the whizzing aircrafts. She knelt beside me. "Now is not the time."
"Adonis," I sobbed. The man who teased me like no other. The one who managed to make me smile during the toughest of times. The one who showed me the Earth, promising that I would love it. The one who was always there when I never gave him reason to pay attention to me.
I always dismissed him; always waved him off because I had other things to worry about. But he never stopped trying to get my attention, never disrespected me, and tried to protect me as best as he could. And in the end, I couldn't save him.
"Look at me," Marisole grabbed my face. She rested her forehead on mine. Her brown eyes flashed. "We are in the middle of a war; an attack. We need to keep moving." I nodded knowing she was right, but I didn't even want to anymore. "The people need their queen," she whispered.
She pulled away. I stared at the toppled building, where Adonis' body was trapped inside. The others didn't bother to say anything. They knew what had happened, but were too numb and afraid to speak.
I was about to apologize to the other Bleeders. I was the cause of a death. We lost a member due to my stupidity. I was so engrossed in getting to my goal, I forgot I was endangering others to get it. But another explosive beat me to it, sending us all airborne.
When we reached the ground again, Marisole grabbed my arm and hurled me to the front. I had no choice but to move forward, even though every ounce of my being wanted to go back and dig up Adonis' remains. Maybe he had survived the collapsing building. He was strong. He could have.
The other Bleeders didn't think so as they helped me move forward, away from the carnage and towards the palace. I figured they got the idea that the safest place was where the queen lived, except they still didn't know they were traveling with her.
A line of aircrafts went towards the palace, aiming at it specifically. My heart dropped as I saw the blurry lineup.
"No," I whispered. "They're going to bombard the palace. Run!"
My legs led me to the main road, the one that ended at the gates of the palace. A lump formed in my throat remembering how beautiful it used to be: covered in magnolias everywhere, people coming to and fro, guards protecting the palace but also being civil to the people, my people.
And now it was all in ruins.
A smaller dome circled the palace at a moment's notice. Courtesy of the general, I was sure. When I realized the extra level of protection, I yelled out: "Everyone, to the palace!"
People I hadn't even seen came out of nowhere, running to the palace. The gates swung open as an influx of people trampled in.
"Ella, they're gonna bomb the palace," Herc warned.
"They have a layer of protection," I panted. "We can go."
The aircrafts started bombing, but the dome didn't let it through. It stood strong as the first layer of defense. I waved the Bleeders and everyone running about to follow me.
The explosives still rained down, but none were able to penetrate. I knew it was a matter of time until it did, but I wasn't going to say anything.
"Help!" Someone cried. I turned to see a mother stuck under debris, holding out her toddler into the air. "Please take him."
"Go to the palace, I'll meet you there," I told Marisole. She nodded and beckoned the Bleeders to follow her inside.
I went for the mother. Dodging flying debris and maintaining my balance through the uneven ground, I made it to her side. My goal was to get the child to safety and get her out of her stuck position. I hoped I had time for all of the above.
As I picked the toddler up, pressing him to my chest, the haunting pop of the dome resonated through the remains of my kingdom.
The dome had collapsed.