It was like my voice was the command for the Kellso to start their attack. Before, they were silent and unmoving. Now, I could feel the swarm of them pushing through the darkness, becoming louder with each passing second. Their pounding feet against the roof and their loud battle cries sounded like an unpleasant song that no one would pay to go and see.

"There's... many," Naxan said. I peered through his eyes at what he was seeing, and my chest clenched harshly. The roof of the Academy was rippling in waves with the Kellso on top of it. One thing I noticed about this was they were not leaving the roof. They had no way to get into the Academy unless they jumped down onto the balcony my group stood in front of. What were they doing up there?

"We should get off of this level," Ronan said as he pulled on my arm. I silently nodded my head as I followed after him with the others trailing behind me. It wasn't even moments later when I heard the sounds of dragons screeching above. I stopped when I heard this, my mind racing a million miles a minute. My group stopped to stare at me, but I paid them no mind. My skin prickled like bugs were crawling along my skin, and I knew whose stare it was coming from. I wasn't sure why Kayne's father had such a negative effect on me, but he did. He made my skin prickle, and when he was near me, my shadows hissed out venomously. It reminded me of what I felt when the Kellso were near. But maybe my imagination was acting up because the Kellso were quite literally knocking at my door.

"Twoleg!" Naxan's voice boomed in my head. "Get out!"

I regained control over my footing at Naxan's urgency. Pushing myself forward, I grabbed onto Aelric's arm and raced down the stairs with Ronan and Danazzo following behind. We only took a few steps before the Academy tremored with the outside assaults. I had to grab ahold of the wall beside me to steady my feet. The walls around us shook and crumbled as another blast struck the Academy. Dust and lose rocks fell from above and settled onto my skin. The Academy was slowly breaking apart.

That's when it hit me, why I was so confused about the Kellso being on the roof, why the army wasn't fighting back. They weren't fighting because their battle hadn't begun. It was their intention; to wait and let us kickstart their plan of action into motion. We were helping the enemy.

"Aelric, call off your dragon. We're helping the Kellso get inside!" I shouted as I looked to the roof of the Academy. Aelric's face went slack with realization, which turned into a blank stare as he communicated with his Ceosil dragon, Tezzy.

Nax, already hearing about my findings, rushed to deter the other dragons from their warpath, but he was too late by this time. I watched from Naxan's eyes as the surrounding dragons of all different colours sent out multiple blasts onto the Academy's rooftop.

"Run!" I shouted out to my group as the roof caved in around us. Large pieces of debris fell from the sky and crashed harshly at our feet as we dodged out of the way. I feared the falling stone would smash in the heads of my team members, but I hoped it didn't happen. As the noise settled down and we were a safe distance away from the top of the Academy, I looked up. There was a large hole in the Academy's roof.

All went still as the dragons realized after the fact of what they've done. The air was plumming with a cloud of thick smoke that choked out the brightness of the moon. Nothing could be seen from the aerial view. I wondered if the Kellso had been killed and we won the battle. But I was ignorant to think such things.

I could sense them even before they started to pile in through the exposed rooftop. Swarming black shadows fell through the weak point of the roof. The Kellso had infiltrated the Academy. The black sky was lit with orange and red as dragons of fire tried to eliminate any more Kellso from reaching inside.

"We need to move," I said as I pushed Aelric in front of me, leading down the stairs. From all around, everyone could hear the unmistakable cries of the Kellso. I wasn't sure if it was a battle cry or from the pain of fire licking at their skin, but it was enough to make me flee from their location.

Luck was on our side as my group made it to ground level before engaging in a fight with the Kellso. Unfortunately, there were no other dragon riders to greet us at the bottom.

"Naxan, where are the others? We need them in here." I said as I scanned the large area.

"Many groups outside. Making their way in."

"And Kayne?" I asked, hoping for an uplifting answer.

"Don't see him," Naxan said through the bond. "Don't see storm dragon either."

My stomach became heavy as I remembered what Kayne told me just before the Kellso attacked. "I hope you can forgive me one day." But forgive him for what? My mind was reeling with confusion as I thought of his words. Was he behind the attack? No, he couldn't be. Why would Kayne fight with the Kellso? What reason would he have for that?

Pressure on my arm had me snapping out of my thoughts. I gripped my sword tighter, ready to swing at whatever touched me until I realized it was Baylen.

"You look terrible." Baylen gave my arm another squeeze before releasing me.

I scoffed, training my eyes on the stairs where the Kellso's screams were growing louder. "I was just at the front of the battle lines. What do you expect?" Unlike myself, where my dress was shredded and full of dust, Baylen's suit was untouched by dirt or grime.

More bodies pooled in through the front doors of the Academy and came to stand beside us. We may have a chance now.

A Kellso body came plummeting through the air, landing in front of the stairs with a sickening crunch. To my surprise, the black rock-like body hobbled onto its feet and limped its way over toward our small group. "Salic." It hissed as it came closer towards us, walking directly toward me.

"Shut up," Baylen said as he came forward with his sword in hand, bringing it down over the creature's head. The once-formed body crumbled into a pile of stone as its life ended. "I'm getting tired of hearing that," Baylen said lowly by my ear as he came back to stand beside me.

"You're not the only one."

More bodies began to fall from the stairs, creating a large pile of bodies with outstretched hands reaching toward us. Others were smarter and descended the rest of the stairs, climbing over the rise of bodies forming. Here we go. I gripped my sword tightly in my hands as I faced the oncoming Kellso.

"Salic." The word was chanted throughout their ranks as they met us in battle with our swords raised. I took down two bodies immediately alongside my comrades. Faster than I thought, the floor was becoming littered with the enemy. I kept an eye out for my team. All seemed to be doing well so far. I wouldn't say I was happy, but I was relieved. We couldn't afford to lose anyone on our side.

I lost sight of Kayne's father, Danazzo, when a large surge of Kellso rammed into our ranks with tooth and claw. I didn't care for the man, but I didn't want Kayne to lose a father. So, I pushed forward where I last saw him, cutting down both stone-like creatures and demonic animals in my path. I lost track of the number of bodies I had knocked to the ground when I reached the middle of the battle. Danazzo was nowhere to be found.

I didn't have time to stop and look where he was as Kellso around me realized I was in the midst of them. My survival instinct kicked in as I realized I was surrounded. I became a whirlwind of black fabric as I engaged in a dangerous dance with my sword. Multiple Kellso were put down by my hand as I sliced and stabbed at the bodies around me.

Although my adrenaline was helping me win this fight, I wasn't sure how long I could keep this up. Alec's training could only take me so far.

"Salic." Again, the last name was hissed through the air, carrying over the ranks of the Kellso until it bounced back like an echo to where I was. Suddenly, all the Kellso turned to where I was, advancing in around me on all sides.

Stupid. I chanted in my head as I fought for my life against the Kellso. Realizing my mistake too late, I unintentionally cut myself off from my group.

"Navi!" I heard someone's voice shout above the chaos.

"Over here!" I hollered, spinning around and taking out two Kellso behind me.

The Kellso seemed to react to my voice as they repeatedly chanted the last name around me. I was being pushed back. The thickest of the bunch lay between my group and me. If I didn't get help soon, I don't think I would make it out of this.

Looking behind me, I noticed there was an opening toward the ballroom. "Naxan, get to the ballroom window. I'm trapped, and that might be my only way out of here." Naxan had been pacing outside the Academy, feeling useless as I fought inside where he could not reach me.

He took flight at my words and landed on the other side of the Academy. I felt the ground tremble as his weight settled on the earth, but he didn't pause for a second as he immediately went to hit the window. The walls shook and quivered against his assault, but the window was holding firm.

I ducked out of the way of one Kellso and brought my sword down over the next, creating an exit within the mass of bodies. I ran toward the ballroom, seeing Naxan at the window. The glass was slowly spidering with large cracks as he slammed into it once again.

"Keep trying, Nax. I'm okay for now," I said as I turned around to face the Kellso that followed in after me. A large demonic cat-like creature came in first, sprinting toward me at full speed. With claws outstretched and jaws wide open as it lunged at me, I stood at the ready. At the last second, I ducked out of the way, spinning to meet the beast once again. Its paws landed where I used to be, and as it clawed at the ground trying to gain traction, I rushed at it and used my sword to slice at the creature's hide.

The large cat stood on its feet for a few seconds before collapsing on the ground in a heap of fur and blood. There was a large gash in its side where its organs had fallen out of it, but it was still alive as it heaved for air. My fingers twitched at the sight of the wound. I felt the need to heal the creature bubble within me as well as the desire to tear it further apart. I went for the latter. I let my powers do the work as I stared at the large gash, the shadows within me hissing with delight as I sought out destruction and pain. With one fluid movement, I flicked my wrist outward, and the beast was torn in two. The shadows were louder than they had ever been before as they stared at the damage I, we, had done. I didn't even have to touch the creature for my powers to work. I thought about this as I marvelled over the situation.

My first mistake was made right at this moment. I paused. I stopped fighting.

Pain seared through my back as claws dug into my flesh. I cried out in pain and turned around to see Kellso barreling in through the ballroom entrance. My healing abilities took effect immediately as I brought my sword through the Kellso's torso. I had to back up a few steps from the energy wasted into healing my body.

Behind me, Naxan was fighting the window more fearsomely than before. I could feel his fear for me as he felt my energy dwindling, but I wouldn't stop fighting yet. I still had some left in me.

"Keep fighting, Twoleg," Naxan growled as another tremor shook the Academy. "Almost there."

As a reptilian creature advanced closer to me, I stuck my sword out in an attempt to kill it, but the skin was rough, and the blade merely grazed into it. Its thick skin acted like armour, something I wished to have right now.

Glass shattering to the floor caught my attention. Naxan managed to break through the glass. His snout entered the room, and all he said was "get down" before releasing his fiery hot breath onto the Kellso. Their screams of pain filled the room as their bodies burned alive.

I rose to my feet once Naxan said I was good to do so. I stretched out my hand to grip one of Naxan's horns surrounding his toothy maw, but something grabbed onto my arm and roughly pulled me away from him. My body slammed against the floor, and my sword went skirting in another direction. I looked up to see Danazzo standing over me.

"What are you doing?" I asked quizzically, regaining my footing and taking a few steps away from him. The shadows were on high alert as they hissed out warnings in my ears. Something wasn't right with this situation. I could hear Naxan growling outside as he dipped his snout lower to the small hole made within the glass. It was large enough for me to fit through, but not him. Realizing this, Naxan clawed and pushed at the weak point of the window, and slowly small pieces of glass fell to the ground. "Danazzo-" I began to say but was cut off by his tongue clicking.

"Guess again." Question after question ran through my head as I stared into Danazzo's unkind eyes. "You're like an open book, Navi. So easy to read." He laughed darkly as he took a couple of steps around me.

Everyone here knew him as Danazzo Mattis, Kayne's father. He was well known by the people of Pontheugh for fighting in the war against the Kellso. Everyone knew his name and his face; he was recognizable.

I stared into his eyes, and goosebumps trailed up my arms in uncomfortable trills of ice and heat. Something didn't look right in his eyes. They made him look inhuman. The shadows whispered in my ear, and for the first time, I could hear what they were saying.

"Kellso."