Two weeks later.
 
How the tables had turned, Kai thought, as he stood in front of Sehun on the evening before the battle, letting Sehun put on his armour for him, tightening straps and checking the fit of the metal and tough leather. As he had once guided Sehun's through the rigours of court manners and dressing in Enchancia, Sehun was now preparing Kai for a different kind of battle. Sehun stepped back with his brows furrowed in concentration, and had Kai swing his arms and move around to make sure the armour did not restrict his movements, and when he was finally satisfied, he gave Kai a reassuring smile.  "And now I feel like a warrior again, worthy of you," Kai said lightly, trying to ease his own nervousness about the idea of his pregnant mate in battle. A week ago Sehun had took Kai to meet Arkan, his mother's peer and Kai had a long chat with the dragon telepathically, showing his concern for Sehun partaking in the war, the dragon had assured Kai that it would be alright, Sehun was a born warrior and Arkan himself had promised to join the fight if they couldn't handle it themselves with the help of Blink . All they needed to do was for Sehun to call for him through Blink's mind, but it still didn't make him feel less nervous. "You have always been a warrior - even if when you're a dwarf, your preferred weapon is your words and your wit - and it is I who strive to be worthy of the honour of being your chosen," Sehun replied without guile. Kai shook his head. "Oh, my love. How could you ever think that?" He took Sehun's hands in his. "If we win this battle, and I have regained my throne, I would like for us to be properly married– for me to bear your mark, a sign of our love, according to the custom of your people, just like how you wore mine." His eyes briefly darted to the mating mark on Sehun's neck. Sehun's eyes widened. "You don't mean... the wedded union rune? You would bear my mark on your wrist?"  "Yes, the rune. And of course I would," Kai replied, and the words were barely out of his mouth before his husband leaned in to kiss him soundly. And what a kiss it was, the warmth of it sustaining him through the journey up the mountain under the cover of darkness, and carrying him forward despite the nerves he was trying not to show. Everything was going to be alright! Kai told himself. Namjoon and his troops would be waiting for them at the gates of Enchancia's capital. Kai had sent a message to his cousin, and had explained the details of the war and had asked Namjoon to prepare for it. With two kingdoms on his side, Kai was almost certain they were going to win this war. Sehun had suggested Kai to ride Blink with him. Even though Kai protested and wanted to ride a horse, he still followed Sehun to the edge of the cliff where the rest of the soldiers were all looking at Blink with wide eyes, some with fear while others with astonishment. Kai was aware that a week ago, Sehun had sought out Arkan's advise to tell his people the truth and the dragon had encouraged Sehun to do so. Sehun had told his people the truth about his mother's heritage the next day and that included having a dragon and being able to carry a child in his womb.  To Kai's astonishment, the people have accepted the truth about their King surprisingly well. and it had warmed Kai's heart when the people promised to serve Sehun as long as Sehun was willing to continue ruling them. To them it didn't matter if their king have another kingdom, a dragon or growing a child in his belly. The problem with riding double on a dragon was that dragons weren’t built well to handle safety measures to begin with. From what he'd learn, there were reins wrapped around the snout of a dragon, sure, but if something were to happen and the rider was thrown, those reins were useless. Holding on meant dangling weight that a dragon wouldn’t be able to balance and both man and beast would end up tumbling to the ground. Logically, Kai understood that. If something went wrong, the rider would just have to fall and hope the dragon was well bonded enough to to catch them– just like how Blink saved Sehun. The Dracolanders saw that as an acceptable risk. Kai was not at all a fan and was quickly regretting his decision to fly. Blink stood at the edge of a cliff,  Sehun on her back, feet pressed in the right places to keep him steady, and hands gripping along the spines of her neck. Sehun didn’t use reins. He didn’t need them. He had bonded and learned to ride without them. That didn’t make Kai feel anymore confident. Blink roared, the sound carrying into the mountains in an imposing way and the Ildans warriors roared back, responding to the dragon as they shook their weapons above their heads with an insane excitement. Kai watched the scene and shook his head with a smile as he joined Sehun on Blink's back. Kai was splayed out on Blink's back further down to help distribute the weight between two full grown men. It was nothing like riding double on a horse where Kai was pressed tight to Sehun's body. Kai just had to hold onto the natural groves and divots of Blink's hide and trust her. Kai felt ready to puke at any moment. His grip on Blink increased enough that his arms shook with the force of it. “Ready?” Sehun called over his shoulder. “No!” Kai choked out. “Then here we go!” The first drop of gravity pulled at Kai's stomach and he wanted to scream, but couldn't do so in the presence of Sehun's army, afraid to lose face . Blink hopped off the edge and glide down to the bottom. He shut his eyes tight, buried his face into Blink's hide, and hung on for dear life. Wind whipped by him and every time the body beneath him tilted to adjust, he was prepared to plummet to his death. The trees and rocks rushed by in a blur, the vista below them spreading out farther than Kai had ever experienced. It was awe inspiring and beautiful, leaving a tingle racing along his skin. The wind whipped his hair around erratically, the ends of it stinging his cheeks. He’d never experienced such speed before. No horse could possibly keep up with even the casual glide Blink kept them in. Kai's lips parted in awe as he gazed at the mountain side, the fields in the distance, and the hazy dots of the city. It was at that point the moment was ruined by a bug flying into his mouth. Kai hacked and spit, only to have that spit get caught by a gust of wind and slapped him in the face. He spent a few minutes trying to wipe his face off while still hanging on appropriately. Sehun was wheezing laughing and it warmed Kai's heart to hear such sound coming from his husband. Smiling, Kai had officially decided that he love flying with Sehun and mentally vowed to make his husband laugh even more in the future. Blink slowed down after a while. They rode in a moderate pace above the warriors on foot, untill they finally reached outside the city, where Jimin would  create portal that would take them directly into Enchancia's capital. The warriors of Ilda did not have the luxury of the bountiful stables of Enchancia, with only a handful reserved for the lords. That had not posed a problem in the past, for Ilda had always taken up a defensive position in the war, but that would have to change now that Ilda was to be the aggressor.  They had left the safety of the city once the sun had set, and now it was midnight, and almost full dark, but that posed no problems for the warriors of Ilda or for Kai and Jennie, who could both see perfectly well in the dark. There were ten thousand men marching below them, and seven thousand more waiting in the city as reinforcements, the full weight of Sehun's army below him, and Kai could only hope that he was not leading them into slaughter. The mountains of Ilda were still looming behind him, but already he could feel his magic singing in his veins, stronger than he had felt it for months. The other Enchancians must have felt it too, for their movements were swift and sure when Jimin flung open a portal that cut through the wards around the heart of Enchancia's capital –his own wards, that it seemed Junmyeon hadn't even bothered to replace– so sure he was of his dominance.   Kai and Sehun flew through, followed by Joo-hyun, Seulgi, Minseok, Jennie, Jongdae, Yifan and the rest of Sehun's knights, then wave after wave of Ilda's soldiers on foot, as quietly as it was possible for an army of that size to move. The portal had brought them right to the gates of Enchancia where Namjoon and his troops awaited them, he only shared a nod with his cousin before turning his attention back to the gates and the moment Kai went through, he was hit by the full force of his magic filling up his body, now unfettered by the pull of the adamas. Its return was so sudden that Kai reeled from the headiness of it, and as he struggled to get a hold of his magic a second sensation hit him - the overpowering stench of rotten things.  He did not need to look around to discover the source of the smell. There was a heap of mangled bodies right outside the city walls and dead bodies in various states of decay hanging off the gate, and all along the city's walls were severed heads stuck on pikes. The heads should have been black with rot, but instead they had been perfectly preserved by magic so that all could see the agony and fear on their faces and recognise them -  some of the townspeople who had been friendly with Kai and Im Yoona, the Duchess of Ironhide, that had supported Kai in his quest trade between Ilda and Enchancia. Kai had blasted the gate off its hinges and a sizeable hole in the city wall with it before he even knew what he was doing, his whole body shaking with rage. Most of these people had not even been soldiers, but Junmyeon had murdered them and desecrated their bodies just because he could.  Enchancian's soldiers were swarming towards the gates now in defence of the city, and it was only Sehun calling his name urgently that stopped him from burning all of them into ash on the spot. With a wave of his hand, Kai put up a shield that blocked off the initial magical blasts by the guards, then spoke up in a voice that would carry all the way to the castle, "I am Kai, son of Heechul, and the rightful King of Enchancia, come to reclaim my throne! If you would pledge your loyalty to me, flee to your houses and bar the doors, so that you may live; but if you chose to stand in my way and defend your false king I will show no mercy, for any man or woman who has seen the depth of Junmyeon's cruelty and still swears loyalty to him does not deserve my mercy." "You heard your prince! Harm no child, and shed no blood of those who are willing to surrender," Sehun shouted out to his men, then met Kai's eyes. "But of those who would oppose us - spare none." Some of the Enchancians guards began to back away, but others charged forward with their teeth bared, the Uxtans and Sehun's men surged forward through Kai's shield to meet them with a mighty roar. Shouts and screams of pain filled the air immediately, blinding flashes of magic and clashing metal spreading through the throng as the two armies fought. Blink flapped her wings as she readied to land, taking down a good number of Enchancia's army with her. She landed successful, tilting her head down for them to hop off and Kai instantly j