Page 297 of The War God’s Favorite

Shareen had to look away, she couldn’t take it anymore. It was painful to hear her brother, to hear them call her name, again, and again, and again, like madmen. She couldn’t utter a word though. If she did, she would have broken down too. She was a strong woman, and few things could shake her, but this was one of those things. Cassandra like this, and Kairen breaking over it. They were used to death, they always had been. But this was worse. Even more unbearable. It wasn’t possible to accept it, not like this.

As she was avoiding the scene, Shareen caught sight of something else - some movement underneath the pile of rocks. She frowned and walked towards it. As she got closer, a sound resonated from it, like the groaning of some injured beast.

“Oh, by the Gods...” she hissed.

She pushed a couple of rocks with her feet and, sure enough, a black eye peered through. It was moving, but they were merely tremors. The Second Prince was groaning, pinned under a mountain of rocks. He didn’t look human anymore, his body had been crushed by the weight of the rubble. His dragon blood was just doing whatever it could, inside and out.

Shareen didn’t even have enough energy in her to delight at his pitiful situation.

“Even the Gods don’t think you deserved an easy death,” she muttered.

Slowly, she removed one rock after another, until his head was completely out. His skull had been crushed, his head taking on an odd shape that was nothing close to normal. But the red scales were still appearing here and there. Shareen grabbed a rock that was about half the size of her fist, gauged the weight a bit in her hand, and turned to him again. She brought her face down to his so he could hear her.

“She killed you,” she whispered. “You’re going to die knowing that a slave woman beat you, and another woman finished the job. You tell the Gods if they dare send you back here again, I’ll kill you over and over every time, just like the damn cockroach you are.”

Then, she raised the rock and smashed his face. She raised it again and smiled with satisfaction, and smashed him again. Once just wasn’t enough. She had chosen a flat, not too heavy one on purpose. Shareen hit him over and over again, looking into his eyes each time she raised it, channeling all the rage she could into each hit. His dragon blood could try as much as it wanted to keep up, but she’d just keep going. There was so much that needed to be thrown in his face. All the suffering he deserved, everything. It came through in each blow from that rock. His blood splattered around them, on her hands, her body, and on her face. Her grip didn’t loosen from around that rock, no matter how much it hurt. Each groan of agony he uttered offered a bit of relief, that some justice was being done for those who had suffered.

Shareen wanted to be sure he saw it all, that he died being able to see and know that he had truly lost. She kept smashing his face until nothing but a bloody crater was left. Only then, did her shaking hand let go of the rock. It tumbled down, landing with a lonely sound on the ground.

Just then, the Princess let out a long sigh of relief. She didn’t say a word, but for a second, she thought about her siblings, her brother, her nieces and nephews. Then, Shareen grabbed the body and, with her last bit of strength, took it out of that graveyard and threw it on some open ground. Krai and Sire both growled furiously, but before they could react, Shareen took a deep breath in and exhaled her fire. The corpse started burning immediately.

That bastard didn’t deserve any physical reminders of him to remain in this world.

Once it was all over, it became quiet in the Arena again. There was a silence hanging over the place, casting a shadow despite the clear sky. It just didn’t feel right. Shareen looked around at the deserted Arena. This place was empty most of the year, and when it was in use, it was just to showcase death. Now, it had served its purpose one too many times. The Princess let out a long sigh. Maybe all of this was meant to teach them something. That it was time for change.

Shareen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wiped off the blood dripping down her chin, and with a heavy heart, turned to her brother. Next to him, Krai was still waiting there with its head low, not moving.

“Kairen. We have to go,” she said.

She was expecting her brother to ignore her, but he stood up slowly, still cradling Cassandra against his chest. Both dragons turned their heads and watched him go ahead, before following in his steps as he slowly left the Arena. Shareen looked on after her brother. She glanced one last time towards the ashes and the pile of rocks before spitting on the black dust and turning to follow her family to leave this place.

They walked slowly back towards the Palace, neither of the dragons looked like they even had enough strength left to fly. Krai was closely following Kairen, and even when the dragon had to switch to the roof of the narrow corridors, its steps were heard clearly right above them. Sire hadn’t followed them back inside. The Blue Dragon parted ways with them, heading for a more familiar area of the castle. It was easy to understand the Blue Dragon had other humans to be more concerned about.

Shareen didn’t dare say a word while they walked. After such a long and violent battle, it was odd that everything was so quiet inside the Imperial Palace.

“Brother! We...”

Anour stopped talking, his eyes going down to the body in Kairen’s arms. The young Prince’s eyes widened in shock, and soon overflowed with sorrow.

“No... She...”

No one answered him. He gasped and covered his mouth, not daring to move when Kairen walked past him. The youngest Prince raised his eyes towards Shareen as if to ask, but he couldn’t formulate the words. She glanced at him briefly, and then they both followed the War God.

“The...fight outside is over,” said Anour, almost in a whisper.

They could hear it. From far above the Imperial Palace’s walls, the cheers of soldiers could be lightly heard. Shareen wanted to go out and slap them one by one. There shouldn’t be any cheering right now. Not after what happened, the tragedy that had unfolded. She didn’t want to hear those idiots.

“Where is Mother? And Missandra?” Asked Shareen.

“They’re with Roun,” said Anour. “Missandra was badly injured, but Lady Kareen found an Imperial Healer to look over her, and Phemera, too. He said they will both make it. Everything had quietened down here, so I came out to see... Lady Kareen had said we should hide and wait, just in... Just in case.”

Shareen nodded. Their mother had probably prioritized Missandra and the baby’s safety.

“Can you go get them?” she asked.

Anour glanced towards Kairen, worried, before turning back to her.

“Are you sure?”

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