Siege of Stormholt

The Siege of Stormholt is a battle in Azura's Invasion of The Five Kingdoms, in which the army of Empress Azura of Ducitora attacked the castle of Stormholt, where the armies of the Five Kingdoms rallied together in order to fight back against Azura's army. It is the final battle in The Crown & The Flame series.

Prelude
After Kenna Rys of Stormholt's visit to Ducitora, the Iron Empire, ended in disaster, Empress Azura renewed her campaign to conquer the Five Kingdoms. To get to the other kingdoms, she had to go through Fydoria or Abanthus, and she chose to seize the weaker kingdom of Fydoria first. After capturing Fydoria, she turns her sights on Stormholt, and reveals her plans to Raydan Lykel, who unbeknownst to her is working as spy for Stormholt. Raydan also gains valuable information about Azura and her lightning powers from Lia, the empress's daughter, and he can choose to bring her to Stormholt, where she can help Raydan teach Kenna how to counter Azura's magic. The night before the battle, everyone gathers at Stormholt Castle to prepare. Recruited allies who will participate in the battle include Helene Leventis, Hex, Master Anu Rhuka, Rowan Thorn of Thorngate and others.

When the day of the battle came, Azura and Jorrin Kal meet Kenna, Will Jackson and Dominic Hunter outside the castle. Azura is amazed upon seeing Kenna's Dragon Armor and the strength of her army, but still advises her to surrender, telling her how she has no chance of winning, but she makes it clear she will not surrender, and that she's not afraid of Azura. When Azura asks Kenna if she liked the "little gifts" the empress sent her (by which she meant Lightning and Thunder the assassins), Kenna tells Azura that she and Raydan "broke" them. Kenna then asks Azura what she thinks of Raydan, to which she replies that she's quite impressed, and that his skills match his reputation. If Raydan kissed Azura, she is flustered when Kenna mentions it. Azura then leaves with Jorrin, but not before telling Kenna she ensured the queen's fallen general Leon Stirling was given a proper burial befitting a mighty warrior.

The Siege
Then, Jackson notices there's no one in sight, no troops, archers or scouts. He thought Azura was keeping her troops beyond the horizon, assuming she will attack at mid-day, but then they realize he was wrong, and Azura's troops had already arrived by marching around them, and they are now in the woods. The three of them dash back in and order the troops to prepare for battle. Before they know it, the castle shakes, and they find that Azura has brought siege weapons along, which they have not known about until now. They realize that the troops Jackson encountered in the grasslands was a diversion, and Azura must have sent the cannons and trebuchets by ship and landed to the west. Kenna decides to strike first, as she knew the castle walls will not last long being bombarded.

Once the gates are opened, the Allied forces charge out in a wedge, straight for the Iron Empire's scattered front lines. Dom and Sei transform into dragons, and while Dom torches some trebuchets, Sei goes after Azura. If Anu is recruited, he incinerates a company of archers attacking Dom. If the Phoenix is recruited, he takes out some more soldiers with an exploding gunpowder barrel. If Anton is recruited, he helps Sei deal with the soldiers attacking her. If Kenna has the Ram's Head Mace, Kenna kills a towering Empire soldier, saving the Nevrakis troops.

Then, she is blocked by some riders, but Whitlock sets off a flare gun, and the riders are driven away by a shower of flaming arrows fired from an auto ballista built by Hex. While Whitlock and Hex keep the Empire cavalry busy, Kenna charges on, and if she has the energy pistol, she either stuns or kills some enemy soldiers, as well as destroying a trebuchet with it. If Val Greaves rallied the Fydorian troops in Ennan, they will join the battle. If Kenna has the iron claws, she uses those to break through a shield wall put up by Azura's royal guards.

Meanwhile, Azura manages to hold out against Sei's blasts of fire, and Sei is getting tired, so Dom joins in. Also, the Allied forces have almost reached Azura, and that is when she begins to use her lightning powers, taking out several Allied soldiers. No matter how Dom and Sei blast her with flames, they can't break her shield, and when one of them pauses attacking, she drops her shield on his/her side and fires lightning bolts, killing more Allied soldiers. Realizing how invincible Azura is, Kenna decides to retreat, but they are surrounded by a battalion led by Jorrin, who says he admires Kenna, and once again asks her to surrender. By this time, Azura has gone mad with power and wants to destroy Stormholt and kill everyone.

Raydan is able to distract Azura long enough for the Allied forces to escape back to the castle, along with the exhausted Dom and Sei. However, Kenna then discovers one Nevrakis soldier trapped outside, and she can choose to rescue her. Then, while Kenna and Jackson are trying to figure out the next course of action, Azura's forces manage to break into the castle via the secret passage, so Kenna decides to retreat to the throne room.

The Duel
Shortly after, Azura appears in the hallway, and her soldiers force the remainder of the Allied forces into the throne room, where Kenna challenges her to a duel and she accepts. Dom tries to convince her to change her mind and let him fight in her place, but she replies that this is the only way, and there's no way Azura will let anyone else face her other than Kenna. Kenna also decides to use Azura's overconfidence against her. Val, Whitlock, Sei and Annelyse also come to wish Kenna luck. Then, she turns to face Azura, and the duel begins.

Kenna is able to dodge the first few lightning bolts, but then Azura is able to harness a flash of lightning from outside and use it against Kenna. Remembering Raydan's anti-magic lessons, Kenna is able to deflect the lightning bolt away. Azura then fires more bolts, which are all deflected by Kenna. The Iron Empire soldiers are stunned by Kenna's display of power. Kenna then advances on Azura, but Azura grabs her by the throat and flings her across the throne room. She struggles to get up while Azura advances on her and mocks her. Then, Azura raises her shield as Kenna lunges at her. Using the other spell she learned, Kenna attemps to break the shield with her failing strength, but her sword stops just short of Azura's stomach, while Azura zaps her with lightning and continues to taunt her.

Just when all hope seems lost, Azura tells Kenna that she is nothing, and that proves to be a fatal mistake for Azura, as she underestimated Kenna's determination. Using all her remaining strength, Kenna finally forces her sword through Azura's shield into the flesh beyond. She then rips the sword out and Azura collapses to the floor. As Jorrin makes his way toward Azura, she begs him to go to her, but Lia stops him, telling him to let her go. Azura tries to convince Lia that the people of the Five Kingdoms will destroy her, and Ducitora will crumble, but Lia tells her mother the reason she lost is because she doesn't know these people, and that Ducitora will endure and share their bounty with the world. Azura curses one last time before finally dying, her body crumbling into a pile of dust. Now the new empress, Lia announces the unconditional surrender of the Iron Empire, which Kenna accepts, and everyone cheers.

Aftermath
The next day, Kenna is in the throne room thinking of her late mother when Luther appears, saying he wanted to congratulate her, but she vanished so quickly after the battle, he didn't have a chance to do so. He also tells Kenna he has a great deal of respect for her. Just as she turns to leave, Luther suddenly stabs her in the shoulder, revealing his true intentions. He tells her that war is the Nevrakis family business, and now that the Empire is defeated, the Five Kingdoms will submit soon enough. Diavolos either stays loyal to Kenna or chooses to betray her, depending on how Kenna treated him throughout the book. If Diavolos stays loyal, it is up to Kenna to fight Luther with him or let him deal with his father himself. If Diavolos betrays her, Kenna can kill them both herself or scream for help, and Sei comes to torch them.

Kenna can choose to marry someone (including Dom, Raydan, Val, Annelyse, and if they are alive, Tevan or Diavolos) or stay single. If she chooses to marry someone, the wedding takes place a week later. Before that, Sei and Anton tell her they will be returning to the Dragon's Spine, while Whitlock says he will be returning to the Foundry to rebuild the city. He also tells Kenna that Hex will be facing a Technocrat tribunal for her crimes, and Kenna can recommend mercy, a harsh sentence, or leave it to them to decide. Zenobia and Diavolos (if he's alive) talk to Kenna about their family and Abanthus, when Adder suggests giving the kingdom to her. Kenna can choose to hand Abanthus back to the Nevrakis, cede the kingdom to the Black Asps, or get both sides to rule the kingdom together. Aurynn promises that Fydoria will do its utmost to ensure the alliance of the Five kingdoms remains strong, and that her mother's life's work will never be undone. A year later, Lia has returned Leon's body, and Jackson is the new Crown Guardian. The series ends with Kenna sparring with Dom, just like how they did at the start of the series.