The Rise of The Dragon Queen

Chapter 9

The world around us grew dark and cold as Puff flew through the night sky. We were gliding over a large, sprawling forest when Vixia finally started to regain consciousness. She shifted a little and looked up at me, the back of her head resting against my chest. She shivered in the cold and I tugged at her cloak, trying to cover her more.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I should be," she answered, sitting up a little. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Puff has an idea. Anyway, what happened back there?"

"He caught us off guard. I didn't realize that he was on the dragon at first. I didn't even get a chance to do anything."

"Did he tell you how he got it? That dragon wasn't like Puff." Vixia shook her head and pressed her palm against her forehead. Her brows furrowed and she let out a sigh.

"No, but I can tell you he's gone off the deep end. He was trying so hard to wipe me out that he hit his party mates too."

"So, by the time I got up—"

"They were already dead," Vixia stated, finishing my sentence. I slumped and stared down at the forest below us while petting Puff. I was trying to make sense of everything when I noticed something about our surroundings.

Why does all of this look familiar?

"Puff, where—"

"Wait, I hear something." Vixia sat up, her ears perking up as she looked down at the forest. Her eyes were glowing as she scanned the area. "We're not alone."

"What do you—" I didn't even get the chance to ask before a giant ball of fire erupted from the ground, heading straight for us. I grabbed onto Vixia and Puff as tightly as I could as Puff did a barrel roll in the air. I felt the heat from the flames as they whizzed by us. As soon as we were level again, Vixia and I looked down. Another one was already coming our way.

Puff saw this and immediately rolled again, this time diving down toward the ground. Vixia and I screamed as we held on for our lives, and I could feel the blood in my knuckles follow the course of gravity. I opened my eyes to see that we were closer to the forest's canopy and that a large stone wall was in sight, lined with soldiers and mounted catapults. Vixia must have noticed the same thing because she reached out her hand past me, reciting an incantation.

Daggers of ice, conjured to freeze

Blades so sharp they cut with ease

Zelora, I request that you grant this power to me

So mote it be!

Just as she finished the lines, shards of ice emerged from a magic circle in her palm and shot off like arrows. Several soldiers collapsed, some even plummetted from the edge of the wall, and many of the shards struck the catapults, severing the ropes that made them functional. Their screams diminished as Puff began to ascend again, taking us further away.

"What the hell was that?"

Vixia shrugged.

"I don't know, but I don't think those were set up for us." She slumped again, resting her head against my arm. I held her close, unsure of what to say.

We finally landed not long after the incident at the wall. Puff chose a small clearing that was surrounded on one side by the forest and on the other by a mountain pass. I guessed we were somewhere near the edge of Zaledrid's border, but something didn't feel right. Once we were sure that Vixia could stand, Puff began to lead us toward the mountains. Vixia stretched as we walked and winced from the pain of her injuries.