I felt the world shake around me before I woke up. An explosion rumbled and fear gripped my heart as I sat up in bed, hearing screams and smelling smoke. Another explosion went off and it felt as if the palace was going to crumble from underneath me. I ran to the veranda to see a display of lights and explosions throughout the colony. Disbelief stopped the reasoning in my mind.
I thought that it must have been a terrible dream. However, the faltering of the floor beneath me, and the icy sweat that beaded the back of my neck played against that theory. I whirled around as intruders broke into my room. Pasting myself against the railing, I gripped it and placed one leg over the side, intending to climb down the side of the palace. Explosions rocked from the inside of the palace, shaking me and loosening my grip.