Eliana tightly gripped onto Hanara’s arms. She stared at the door then looked at Hanara.

“Go. Now!” she screamed frantically, hearing the footsteps of the knights coming near. Hanara shook her head.

“Mother. We–”

“I can’t follow you. I won’t be able to go far. You need to take your baby brother and leave!” Eliana panted, the sunfire burning beneath her ribs. She clenched her jaw, praying she wouldn’t spit blood in front of Hanara. Eliana quickly turned to Tael, who was worried about them both.

“Take her! Now!”

“No! I’m not leaving without you, Mother!” Hanara defied. Tael hesitated.

“Do it, Tael! Now!” Eliana said, her lips trembling, wishing Hanara would not defy this time. Hanara cried as she tried to speak, but choked back words. Tael’s throat closed, but she forced herself to move — duty weighed heavier than tears. Tael grabbed Hanara without hesitation.

“No! Mother! I’m not going!” Hanara screamed. Eliana smiled through the pain.

“Fly. Fly and protect your brother. Princess, don’t waver…” Eliana whispered to herself. Tael rushed behind the bed, toward a hidden wall panel opposite the entrance. Her fingers found a carved seam. She yanked a hidden trigger. The stone creaked open, revealing a narrow dungeon staircase. Hanara stared at Eliana, refusing to close her eyes, refusing to forget her mother’s face. As the door shut, Eliana’s body gave in—blood wet her lips at last. She panted as her bedroom door was kicked open. A knight, not Tait, entered. A different commander. Eliana smirked and turned to him.

“Find the princess now!” the commander commanded.

“Yes!” the knights behind him answered. Eliana burst into laughter as she looked at them.

“I should have known never to trust the entire army… For his own mate to open doors for someone else… I wonder, Commander Shane. How did it feel when my father burnt your arm?” Eliana asked. The commander, Shane, slowly turned to her with a deep sigh of hatred. He smirked as he walked closer to her.

“Your father was a monster. One attack wiped out our entire frontline. I was glad to see his daughter share his fate,” Shane answered. Eliana laughed despite the fire burning from within. Zilant quickly shoved through the knights and entered the room. He looked everywhere, searching for Hanara, wishing she were safe, but all he saw was Eliana, bleeding.

“No… This isn’t what was supposed to happen,” Zilant trembled, staring into Eliana’s eyes. Eliana gave Zilant a bittersweet smile. Zilant dropped to his knees. His breath hitched as he stared at the woman he was too late to protect. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out — only her final words echoed in his mind.

“A child born into such a broken empire… I only wish you could change it one day. If not, she’ll know nothing but sorrow,” Eliana murmured. Zilant cried as he stepped forward to her. Tait suddenly burst into the room and grabbed Shane’s armour.

“How dare you defy my orders?! The order was to just ask–”

“Your father knew. You were too weak to strike, so he sent me to follow. Who would have known that you found a way to finally enter the Phoenix Clan?” Shane said, grinning with cruel satisfaction. Pale, not from fear but betrayal, Tait’s hands trembled. He had believed the mission was mercy. But this… this was a massacre. He knew now — this was what the Emperor had wanted all along. He let go of Shane’s armor and turned to Zilant, who was crawling to Eliana. Eliana’s body convulsed once, and then — with a burst of firelight — she disintegrated into ash. Tait quickly scooped Zilant away from there.

“Zilant!” Tait screamed, covering Zilant from seeing any more of this. Zilant couldn’t stop staring at the place where Eliana had stood. The weight of her loss crushed him, and all he could do was cry.

“Princess is not here!” one of the knights said. Shane glared at Eliana’s ashes, cursing her.

“That cursed phoenix. Search the entire palace now!” he demanded. The knights scattered all around the palace, searching for Hanara and Hansel.

Beneath the palace, Tael ran through the dungeon corridors, heart pounding, carrying Hanara, until she reached the end. She opened the door above her after putting Hanara down. Hanara cried as she wished to return to her mother. Tael peeked out, scanning for any signs of movement. Once the coast was clear, she turned to Hanara. She grabbed Hanara’s shoulders.

“Let’s get out of here,” Tael said as she lifted Hanara up through the opening. Tael climbed up after and grabbed Hanara’s hand, dragging her to the indoor garden safely. There. The phoenix was there, waiting. Hanara shook her head.

“No… Mother–”

“Princess. This is not the time. I’ll divert their attention. You ride with Worish… Alone,” Tael uttered. Hanara stared at Tael, crying more from the words, trembling, wanting to defy.

“Tael… I cannot–”

“You must! Yelenis has already taken Hansel away. Now you need to go,” Tael interrupted urgently. Hanara hugged her tightly, wishing that this was all just a dream. Tael cried as she embraced Hanara one last time. “It was a pleasure serving you as my master… Princess Hanara.”

Hanara screamed at these last words before mounting onto Worish. Tael smiled at her with a wave before storming out of the garden and clanging onto the walls with her hands.

“Princess is over here!” she shouted, lying. She ran as fast as she could away from the indoor garden. Worish heard the knights stepping away from the garden until there were no more.

“Now!” Worish said as he charged from the garden and soared far from the palace, toward the mountains where only those who could fly were welcome. Hanara turned back to stare at the Phoenix Clan. Thick fire crawled over every inch of the home she grew up in, raw and wild. Her tears fell through the wind as she closed her eyes, knowing that everyone there could have either died or been taken away.

On the highest mountain, Hanara jumped off Worish’s back. Yelenis was standing there, protecting Hansel from going anywhere else with her beak. Hanara ran to Hansel and hugged him tightly.

“Ha-ba!” he giggled, clapping as Hanara scooped him up, unaware that their world had just crumbled. Hanara hugged him tightly, crying silently.

“Hansel…” she called softly, feeling alive in the moment with Hansel. Yelenis bowed and leaned to Hanara, whispering what may come. Hanara listened carefully this time. She stared at the nest around her, knowing that the Dragon knights would come there with their dragons, understanding that this wouldn’t end unless she prepared.

After the Dragon knights finished massacring the entire clan, corpses sprawled atop one another in a grotesque hill, their blood soaking into the scorched earth beneath them. Shane looked at Tait, who was clearly hesitant and bothered by this. Tait’s hands trembled as he surrendered his sword to the grounds of the Phoenix Clan. Zilant didn’t move. His gaze stayed locked on the smoking ruins, wings drooping like torn flags after battle. The place that once gave him shelter now lay in ash—and he had done nothing to stop it.

“This is… inhumane,” Tait mumbled. Shane scoffed as he looked around.

“This is how we earn respect!” Shane retaliated. Tait glared at him.

“A chance of respect?! They welcomed us with open arms! Instead of putting their swords to my neck, they gave us a place to stay and food to eat. They didn’t share our beliefs, but they still showed us respect!” Tait replied. Shane smirked at Tait’s naivety.

“You fool. They planned to poison your wine last night. If I hadn’t stopped them—” Shane sneered, eyes cold. Tait angrily punched Shane’s face. Shane fell to the ground and looked at Tait with a bloody lip. He spat in front of Tait, showing clear disrespect and disgust. “How can a Dragon-royal born like you be so weak?”

“If they were going to poison me, then Zilant would have been the first target. However, the Queen was very nice to Zilant,” Tait argued. Shane shook his head in disbelief.

“You’re naive, Prince. Although you’re the Crowned Prince, you’re weaker than your younger brother,” Shane replied. Tait stormed to him and kicked his face.

“Insult me again, and you’ll lose your tongue. Or maybe your head. I dare you,” Tait threatened. Shane bit his lip shut, with his nose bleeding down to his chin. Tait walked to Zilant and patted Zilant’s shoulder.

“Uncle… why did this have to happen?” Zilant asked curiously. Tait’s eyes watered as he knelt before Zilant.

“Zilant. We have to go now. We have to find the princess and prince… Before it’s too late,” Tait said softly. Zilant frowned at the thought of finding them.

“What if they get hurt too?” he asked sadly. Tait sighed and hugged him tightly.

“I won’t allow that to happen. If anything, I will take them under my protection,” Tait reassured him. Zilant couldn’t look at Tait confidently. “Just like how I took you in…”

“Uncle… I actually saw them…” Zilant mumbled. Tait froze as he looked around to see if anyone was listening. He leaned closer to Zilant.

“Where?” he whispered. Zilant met his uncle’s gaze, hesitant. Then, wordlessly, he lifted a finger toward the mountains. Tait followed it with wide eyes.

Before they moved to the mountains, Shane released a full-adult-sized dragon and a small baby dragon. Zilant mounted on the big dragon with Tait. Shane mounted on the small dragon with another knight. They rode on and headed to the top of the highest mountain, finding a phoenix guarding its nest. Worish screeched angrily at the dragons.

“Princess!” Worish screamed. Before Tait could say anything, Shane blew the whistle, and Tait’s dragon drew its breath of fire straight at Worish, injuring him badly. Hanara watched Worish falling to the nest.

“Worish!” she ran to him. His feathers were charred, blood seeping from his burns. Her hands trembled. Grief boiled in her throat, but rage was louder. She turned to the dragons—Zilant among them. Her eyes, once gentle, burned with red fire.

“How dare you step into sacred sky, cursed with fire? You will pay with your life!”

Her palm touched Worish’s wing. He smiled weakly.

“Go on,” he whispered. Then the fire inside her ignited. Yelenis gasped as the air around Hanara warped.

“Hana, don’t—!”

Too late.

The sky exploded. Tait quickly covered Zilant as a whole with the dragon shielding them with its wings.

“Ah!” Tait screamed in agony. In a heartbeat, the small dragon vanished into cinders—and with it, Shane and his fellow knight. Not even their shadows remained. After the ashes from the fire disappeared, the dragon landed on the nest, heavily injured. Tait and Zilant mounted off and looked at each other. Tait’s injury was bad. His back was completely burned. Zilant couldn’t believe that he had witnessed a deadly move that cost a life, and the result was injuries to those he loved.

“Uncle…”

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” Tait instantly asked. Zilant expressed sadness after the questions. He shook his head.

“But you are…” he mumbled. Tait smiled and knelt.

“Zilant, you’re more important to me than myself,” Tait replied. Zilant wanted to cry, but a sudden cry startled them. Zilant turned back and searched around. He ran to look at where the noise was coming from. He moved the huge eggshells away, digging through the ashes. And—

“Hansel!” Zilant called. Baby Hansel was crying on the ground, squirming for love. Zilant picked him up as best as he could and turned to Tait, who stared at them.

“He…”

“Uncle, we have to protect him. He should not–”

“Zilant, no one knows…” Tait reassured him. Zilant slowly understood and nodded.

“No one knows…” he repeated. Tait took Hansel from Zilant and walked to the dragon. Zilant followed and turned to the nest, wondering.

Hanara. I buried your parents’ ashes. I’ll make sure I protect Hansel and bring him back home.

Days had passed since the Phoenix Clan turned to ash. Hanara groaned as she finally woke up after incinerating the skytop.

“‘Bout time you wake up,” a man’s voice said. Hanara jolted upright, eyes darting around. She was surrounded by a mossy wooden cabin, its scent damp and earthy. She met his gaze.

“Who are you, and why am I here?” she asked. The man looked at her carefully.

“Beats me. Your stupid bird thought bringing you here was a good idea,” he said, discouragingly. Hanara slowly jumped out of bed.

“Then you know the bird. Otherwise, she wouldn’t bring me here,” Hanara replied. She narrowed her eyes. He did know the bird. The man sighed heavily as he observed Hanara from head to toes.

“You have your mother’s hair, but you don’t have her eyes. Your eyes are as red as rubies…” he explained. Hanara groaned.

“I definitely have my mother’s eyes. Wait– how did you know my mother?” she asked. He laughed.

“Heh. You’re slow-witted. Your mother isn’t… Did you get your genes from your grandfather?” he asked, mocking. She glared at him.

“For your information, both of them died the same way… Don’t you dare mock them as if you knew them…” she answered bitterly. The man paused, His hands dropped to his lap, as if steadying himself. His expression quickly turned into resentment.

“What do you mean… ‘the same way’?” he asked seriously. Hanara was tearing up, but she held it.

“Sunfire nectar.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 🪶 🔥 Princess, Don’t Waver ❄️ 🐉 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~