White Empress, Ashes of Love Sequel

Chapter 35

His eyes slowly rose to the darkening sky, the thickening clouds. A deafening, ground shaking rumble increased in volume as lightening lit up the sky beyond the dense gray, cracking and booming, rippling the air surrounding them. All heads on both sides were turned toward the sky as the sound faded, the air calming to a dead, heavy weight surrounding them.

"What is that? What is happening?" he could hear Xufeng ask next to him.

Runyu's response was lost as soon as the huge, winged creature burst from the clouds, it's aim directed at the soldiers amassed on the other side of the clearing. A screeching roar emitted, causing most of the soldiers to drop their weapons and hold their ears before bright blue flames shot out of it's mouth, sweeping across the front lines, obliterating everything in it's path.

Chaos reigned on the other side of the clearing as the remaining men scrambled to retreat in utter confusion, climbing over each other to head for cover within the thick trees behind them. 

"That... would be Annchi," he said without looking at him. "Is she not beautiful?" he added absently as his eyes searched for her in the swirling gray clouds above. She vanished after decimating the line, but the distinct sound of wings flapping in the distance caused him to wonder if she would make another pass. 

"She's...a bit scary," he heard next to him, causing him to smile slightly before his eyes caught sight of the massive dragon diving from the sky, the intended target was the line of archers situated on the top of the mountain. 

Trees, boulders and bodies burst apart from the force of the blue blast, arrows flying toward the creature without much effect as it turned mid-air and hovered. The vivid blue color and the force of the bursts had faded significantly, causing the creature to fly slowly toward the side of the mountain, flying arrows increasing in number after it. A loud, pained screech and a disturbance in the beat of the wings caused Runyu to sit straighter in his saddle.

"Go," he heard Xufeng say, reading his mind, or so it seemed. "We'll attack before they can regroup," he said, raising his sword amid a loud roar from the soldiers behind them.

Without further thought, Runyu kicked the horse into a full gallop, following the direction she flew, his apprehension building with every beat of the hooves sounding below him. 

He raced to an unpopulated area near the end of of the parcel, the mountain coming to an abrupt end resulting in a cliff. 

The air was thick with the scent he alone could smell, mixed with something...almost metallic.

Blood.

He quickly slipped from the horse, his eyes scanning the rocky terrain as the sounds of battle became a distorted backdrop to the pounding in his head. Closing his eyes, he raised his arms, his primordial spirit calling to hers, panic beginning to swell within him as the scent and the distress he sensed increased.

She was in pain.

"Annchi," he murmured before incanting a spell to locate her, his magic reaching out to wrap around hers with no response. 

He immediately began to climb up the mountain, crawling, grasping, slipping over the jagged rocks as he called out for her. The scent surrounding him becoming stronger and more defined the higher he climbed.

His breath left in a swift whoosh as his eyes caught a flash of white, streaked with bright red, causing his body to scramble up and over a massive boulder into a small clearing where she sat cross-legged, her eyes closed, a stream of bright magic being transferred into her back from...

"Yanyou?" he gasped out, his eyes traveling back and forth between the two before he ran toward them, dropping on his knees in front of her.

His palm cupped her cheek, his eyes assessing her injuries.