As I walked across the lawn, more soldiers gathered around. No one spoke. It was like they were waiting for me to break the silence.
I needed to get up higher. I went to a wall tower and climbed, emerging on a parapet that surrounded the palace. Below me was a sea of soldiers, their faces turned up to me under gleaming helmets, waiting.
“I…” I started, trying to find the right words. If I had known I would be making a speech, I would have been better prepared. “I am an aswang.”
A ripple of tension spread through the air.
I continued. “Prince Qian of Jade Mountain is right. Your queen is a monster, and I don’t have much time left. In a few hours, I won’t be your queen anymore. But I will not use that as an excuseto hide. I stand with you now. It is my duty to protect my people until my last breath.”
“We stand with you, Queen Mahalina!” A shout burst up from somewhere near the back, and a flurry of others followed, cheering me on.
I glanced at Lucas, who nodded once, encouraging me to continue.
“An army has come to our door,” I said. “If we do not open it, they will try to break it. They claim they want to liberate you. They claim that you are captives. They claim that you are beholden to a demon.”
Roars of protest swept through the lawn, and my heartbeat quickened in my chest.
“They will not stop once I am dead. And I will not surrender. This is my home. This isourhome. I will stay with all of you. Even if they burn Biringan to the ground, I will not abandon you.”
A young soldier at the front called out, “We will fight for our aswang queen!”
Aswang queenhad a certain ring to it, and other soldiers repeated it until it became a full-on chant.
Voices rose up, and soldiers thrust their fists into the air, crying it over and over again.
No sooner had the chanting started than a voice cried out from the watchtower above. “Incoming!”
There was a tremendous boom, and then the chanting stopped, as it felt like the whole world shook.
A fireball streaked like a comet and hit the side of the palace,sending debris flying. Lucas yanked me back just before a piece of rock fell exactly where I had been standing. He wrapped me in his arms and turned his face to the darkening sky. “They’re bombing us,” Lucas gasped.
Another series of booms shook the palace, each one so loud, I was amazed the palace was still standing. Overhead, a gigantic shadow flew by, and I distinctly saw it had a rider.
Lucas immediately leapt into action. “Captain Aquino,” he screamed over the parapet, to the same guard who had tried to stop me in the hall. Her own fire blazed in her eyes. “You know what to do.”
Captain Aquino nodded once, then bowed to me and started shouting orders.
Everyone burst into action. Jade Mountain was here.
Lucas took my hand again and pulled me back as encanto soldiers summoned their magic, light gathering in their palms.
“I’m not leaving them!” I said, pulling against Lucas’s grip.
“I know, but we can’t stay out of cover. We have to get to a stronghold. You’re no good to anyone if you’re out in the open.”
Lucas rushed down the battlements, but there was a whoosh above us. A winged horse covered in glistening green scales streaked overhead, quick as lightning.
“Longma!” Nix called, pointing to it.
The longma’s dragon wings tucked up into its body, and it dove toward us. A masked rider on its back stood on the stirrups, raised a fireball swirling in his palm, and threw it down.
The fire exploded in front of us, drenching the battlement in a wall of fire. Lucas skidded to a halt, and I crashed into him. Heheld out his arm to shield me. The fire burned so hot and large, the small hairs on my face felt as if they had been singed off.
The wind buffeted around us when the longma and its rider zipped across the sky. An entire cavalry of them circled above, raining down fire while my soldiers below summoned barriers, shielding most of the attacks.
“This way!” Lucas called, turning us around and running back the way we came.
Amador, now in the lead, tripped and fell on her long skirt, and Nix rushed to help her. Amador swore as another bomb exploded close to her, and when she was on her feet, she reached down and tore off the lower part of her dress, leaving it behind. We all took off toward the outer bailey.
