Watty's Shortlist 2023
"I have been waiting a long time to meet you."
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When two warring kingdoms hear of a magical object that will end the conflict once and for all, two rival heirs embark on a quest to retrieve it and bring their...
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"Mmmrgh," Aila groaned. "You have to find a better way to wake me up."
As Ember had shifted, Aila's blanket had disappeared, which left her shivering and feeling as if she'd been submerged in the cold river again. The dragon - now irritatingly in his human form - grinned at her.
"Cold?" He asked, as a mischievous glint formed in his crimson eyes.
Aila made an incoherent sound.
"Have a lie in, I'll get breakfast."
"Ten minutes is not a lie in!" She yelled, as his larger form rocketed into the sky. He was back within what felt like three minutes, and she took the food gratefully.
"Fire?" She was feeling more awake and the magic was beginning to stir, begging to be used.
"Yes."
"Are you going to push me into a volcano?"
Ember smirked. "Tempting, but no."
A kind of suspicious glee was shining in his features, and Aila doubted whether perhaps her suggestion would be better than what he had planned.
"Okay, so where are we going today?"
"We'll train here today," he shrugged.
Aila turned around slowly, taking in the open air above them and the hexagonal room she was in. There were pillars at the edges, and a pedestal in the centre upon which a fake chalice had once rested. She took in the priceless artifacts lacing the walls, the history-filled shelves framing the room, and the intricate patterns of dragons on the pristine marble floor.
"It's a good place for our lesson today," Ember explained upon seeing her confusion. "You need to be able to use your powers regardless of where you are, and this place will neither burn nor freeze."
"Freeze?"
Ember smiled. "You're going to create a shield of fire."
"Huh?" Aila turned.
She yelped suddenly as the man before her pushed ice-cold air her way, so glacial that goosebumps immediately bristled on her arms and her teeth began chattering.
"Wha..." she shivered. "St...stop please."
"Fire, Aila. Focus."
Within her mind, she began cursing the dragon in front of her, wondering whether she'd have actually preferred the volcano. She braced her hands in front of her, trying to steady them and ignoring the tremors that racked through her.
She focused, diving deep within herself - so deep that she could feel exactly where the magic below her skin was flowing, where it was concentrated. She pulled on the well within her, feeling some tingling in her fingers, though she couldn't determine whether or not that was due to the storm Ember was waging against her.
