The Dragon's Kiss

"You two." Ira pointed at Kel and the man who'd brought the message. "Both of you may leave now."

"No," the emperor cut in, abruptly standing up from his seat. "Let's all go."

Turning to the shivering man still huffing just inside the doorway, he added, "Call some of my knights too, will you?"

"R-right away, Sir!" The man saluted before dashing back out of the room.

"I hope that guy will be ok," Kel murmured to herself, watching him go. Among all the Dragon Emperor's rumored cruel deeds, she could easily imagine him running his servants to death as one of them.

"Where are we going?" Ira questioned as the emperor shouldered his mantle.

Without looking up, the emperor replied nonchalantly, "We're going out on the town."

Ira let out a slow breath before following his master. Although obviously annoyed, it appeared that he was used to such a routine.

Once the emperor had finished adorning his gear, he flicked the note card to Ira and walked over to Kel.

Ira's shocked reaction faded into the background as Kel focused on the emperor's suddenly extended hand in front of her face.

"Well, My Lady," he said, "Shall we go investigate Spencer Regan's demise?"

"His demise?" Kel gasped.

Without any further explanation, the emperor led her out of the palace and to a group of waiting knights and horses.

"I can ride by myself," Kel protested as he prepared to hoist her onto one of the empty saddles.

Ignoring her objection, the emperor gripped her waist tightly and lifted her on top of his steed. He climbed into the seat behind her immediately afterward, and bent close to her ear.

"I know you can," he whispered, "but it's rather out of character for you to do so."

Kel froze.

He was right; Princess Adriell wasn't particularly skilled in horseback riding.

Many of the princesses before her had learned, but the overprotective king never saw a good reason for his only daughter to engage in such activities. Besides, Kel, the other half of the princess's identity, was plenty skilled for the both of them.

It seemed the emperor had already begun to suspect that the Princess Adriell in front of him was more she appeared to be.

I'll have to be careful, Kel thought to herself. One wrong move and he may discover that I'm a different person altogether.

Shortly after the emperor mounted, the entire group set off. They galloped in silence toward the heart of the capital city.

As she bounced along, securely placed between the Dragon Emperor's arms, Kel worked up the courage to ask what exactly was going on.

"Um, Your Majesty," she said hesitantly, "what happened?"

"It appears," the emperor answered immediately, "that we're a step behind."

"A step behind who?" Kel questioned.

She felt the emperor's arms tense around her as he urged his horse faster.

"That's what we're going to find out," he finally responded.

Having made no more progress on understanding the situation than when they'd set off, Kel resigned herself to pondering quietly. The way the emperor had responded to the note and the mentioned Spencer Regan's demise meant that this had something to do with the Pantheon Masquerades.

Her suspicions on the matter were confirmed when the formation of soldiers came to a halt in front of the Seven Lions Inn.

There was a massive crowd already surrounding the building along with scattered remnants of objects Kel recognized from the masquerade room strewn along the stairs.

While Kel was busy observing the chaotic scene, the emperor jumped to the ground and, motioning a few knights to follow him, stormed inside the building.

"Do you know what's going on?" Kel whispered to Thane, who had positioned his horse right next to the emperor's.

"That note was from one of our spies," Thane explained in a low tone. "It mentioned that Spencer Regan has been dethroned and his entire organization left in shambles."

"In shambles? So the Pantheon Masquerades-"

"Not just the masquerades," Thane interjected excitedly. "It seems as if the whole underground network has met its demise!"

Kel's breath caught in her throat as she listened to the knight's explanation. She didn't know much about the empire's underworld, but she knew it was so deep and twisted that the Dragon Emperor himself had a hard time with it.

So who could have done this?

As if in response to her unspoken question, she happened to spy a suspiciously familiar cloaked figure disappearing into one of the side streets.

With all the turmoil around, it was difficult to be sure, but Kel's soldier's intuition told her that figure had an important role in Spencer Regan's sudden end.

Sliding out of the saddle, she took off toward the street the figure had run into.

"Princess! Wait! Princesssss!"

Ignoring Thane's startled calls, she nimbly wove her way through the crowd and skidded around the side of the building just in time to see the edge of a dark cloak fluttering out of sight.

The same scenario replayed every time Kel turned another corner. She was always just in time to see which way the figure had gone, but never actually closed any of the distance between them. It seemed that whoever was under that hood was purposefully leading her somewhere.

Regardless of the danger of a possible trap, Kel continued chasing madly after the figure. The only way to know where they were taking her was to follow them until the end.

Fortunately for Kel, that end came just before she reached the end of her stamina.

Her lungs were burning and feet dragging, but she continued making her way toward the old wooden building she'd seen the cloak disappear into.

She'd become horribly disoriented during the chase, thanks to Serin's unfamiliar street layouts, but she figured she was somewhere west of the Seven Lions Inn--nearly on the outskirts of the city.

Slowing to a walk to catch her breath, she approached the looming building. With each step she took, a pungent scent started to fill her nose.

It was a smell that Kel was already well acquainted with.

Fire.