CHAPTER 181: THE KINGDOM IN TROUBLE

Drakkar

We were almost ready to take off when the word came in that Draegon had found a lead and Draegon, Draken and Vesper had already left for Muriel forest.

Princess

"When did they leave?" I asked the advisor who was told about their departure

"It’s been half a day now my prince,"

Half a day?

Well... Muriel forest is far away...

"Ariston," I turned to look at him

He was already on his feet, sword slung over his back, expression tight and carved from stone.

He didn’t speak—we didn’t need to.

We ran.

Both of us were ready to go after them.

The halls blurred past us as we bolted through them, footsteps pounding in sync.

Just as we turned a corner—about to reach the exit—the ground trembled, or perhaps it was the sky

I stopped mid-sprint.

So did Ariston.

The air changed. We looked at each other in horror, sensing that something bad was coming our way

It was subtle at first—like the breath of something massive awakening.

But it was wrong. Off. Sour.

My heart sank.

I turned my eyes skyward through the nearest window.

And saw it.

A line—thin at first—of glowing red, tearing across the clouds like a wound.

Then, the sky split.

And a giant eye opened above the horizon, watching, waiting, hungry.

"...No," I whispered, barely hearing my own voice over the thundering pressure that now weighed on the world.

Ariston’s breath hitched beside me.

I turned to him.

His eyes were locked on the sky, wide and horrified.

"She’s there." he choked out. "Isn’t she?" He began to panic, "Rael must have taken her to wherever the ritual site was for this eye!"

Panic.

Pure, unfiltered panic surged through me.

Aelin...

"We’re wasting time," I growled and shoved the nearest door open, "We go now!"

But Ariston didn’t move right away.

He stood frozen for a second too long, that look on his face—

Not just fear.

Grief.

He might be thinking that she was already gone but that was solely his fear talking. We didn’t know anything yet

"Don’t. Don’t go there in your head." I grabbed him and began to run again

We were halfway down the palace steps when the sky began to bleed.

It started with a sound. A deep, rolling growl beneath the earth—low, subtle. At first, I thought it was my imagination. A trick of panic whispering false warnings.

But then the ground trembled.

I halted mid-step. Ariston did too.

And we saw them, through the wall sized window

Stretching across the horizon in the far distance... a wall of darkness. No—not darkness. Movement. Swarming. Crawling. Charging.

A tide of monsters.

An army from the abyss.

My stomach twisted. My claws came out of my fingers out of instinct, eyes narrowing. "We need to go. If Draegon and the others found her, we—"

Ariston’s hand shot out, gripping my arm.

"No." He said firmly

I turned on him, stunned. "What the hell do you mean ’no’?"

His jaw was tight. "Drakkar... if you leave now—if we leave—the capital falls. The king’s gone. The older prince is gone. You’re next in command."

The thought didn’t even cross my mind

"We can’t leave her—" I knew he was worried about Aelin, so we had to go

"I know," he snapped. "I know what you’re feeling. You think I’m not dying inside too?! But if we run after her, what do we come back to? Smoke? Ruins? Graves? This is your kingdom, you have to be there for it!"

I said nothing. Because I knew he was right. I just never considered myself to be at the supreme power, even if it was for a short while. I knew it would be Draken if the ruler wasn’t there anymore.

But I never considered a scenario where Draken would be absent from the palace too and I would be the one in charge

It was a bit weird

The roar outside grew louder. The monsters were coming fast.

He turned away from me and looked out the massive hall window, where the sky was tearing apart above. Then he clenched his fists.

"She’ll make it," he said, more to himself than me. "She’s strong. Stronger than anyone gives her credit for. And not just in power. She’s strong here." He tapped his heart. "She’s changed."

I looked at him.

He was right. She had changed, everyone here knew how much she had grown.

I nodded. "Then we hold the city."

He gave me a sidelong glance. "Good. Because you’re the incharge right now."

My gut clenched at the words. "I didn’t ask to be—"

"Too bad," he said. "Stop thinking. Start acting."

***

We stood in the throne Room moments Later

I didn’t have time to feel the weight of the crown that wasn’t even mine.

The royal guards were waiting. The communication orb buzzed to life with the voices of commanders from the outer cities. Some of them were already under attack. Others were next.

"Get your people underground," I said. "No heroics. Protect your cities. We’ll buy you time from here."

Ariston’s voice was sharp beside me, taking over where I left off. He coordinated movements, gave direct orders. He looked every inch a general.

Usually demons would never take command from a human. But Ariston had a name for himself. He was a war hero and someone who was known to have never lost a fight.

His brawl with Rael would stay safe with me

"There’s no time," Ariston said, "Hurry," I could see the strain in his eyes.

I wondered how the three who left to search for Aelin were? Did they find something? I looked at the soldiers. Well they must have found something since the swarm of monster is coming from Muriel forest

!!!

Then came the sound.

Screams.

Real.

Close.

I bolted for the doors. "They’re here."

***

We stood at the Palace Gates. The whole place had become a battlefield

Ariston and I stood side by side.

He had his Sword in his hand. I had my claws out. Heart in throat.

The city stretched behind us. The abyss in front of us.

And then... they came.

Swarm of monsters. The fight began

The sky, the heart and everything in between began to hurt red as we charged them with fire to kill them

But then what followed scared the shit out of everyone who saw it

Three titans.

The first lumbered like a mutant brute—its arms dragging like deadweight, its chest splitting open to reveal a mouth full of jagged teeth and no face to speak of.

The second...

I could barely process it.

It looked like a giraffe—if a giraffe had been mutilated, stitched back together, and turned into a demon. It had no head—just a long, endless neck ending in a gaping, circular mouth. Acid dripped from it, hissing on the stone streets.

The third was worse.

A snake. No—part man, part serpent, its face smooth and eyeless except for a sliver of a smile stretched far too wide. Its coils crushed buildings beneath it as it slithered forward.

Back at the war, we had many huge monsters to fight. And the bigger they are, the harder it is to cut through them. And sarcastically funny how I never thought that the abyss might have something even bigger than what we killed during the war.

"Ariston," I said under my breath. "They’re as tall as the mountains."

He didn’t flinch.

"Then we fight like giants." He readied his sword.