OathBlade (Wattys2015)

72. Frozen*

Elery envied those on the boats.

She'd imagined a particularly peaceful flight like those she'd grown accustomed to, but forgot to factor in one issue: They could not possibly break ice from high above the water.

Instead she found herself clinging to his hair as he dove ever so often to crack his tail against the ice. The dragons did so in an ever-moving and unspoken pattern. They swept down to skim the ice and slap their tails against it, then take to the sky again before they could lose momentum. They approached from all angles, performing an aerial dance the likes no seryn had ever seen. She wished she could better appreciate it.

Days crept by with Elery falling asleep several times on his back. It wasn't until the fourth day that the dragons swept to the north to collapse along the north bank. Elery curled beneath Isandel's wing for warmth, and when the group had regained strength they met with the ships once more to continue their journey.

Midway through they found the ice became thicker. It formed strange and jagged peaks from whole waves that had frozen. The gaps between floes minimized until it became one large, jagged sheet. They flew beyond the ships in an effort to clear a path, letting the boats traverse what had already been cleared while leaving dragons behind to ensure ice would not damage the hulls.

"This is not a natural freeze." Isandel struck the ice with his tail. It cracked but did not shatter. He landed and sent a cloud of ice dust flying out around him. "This is a cast."

The other dragons landed and Isandel passed them to approach the water's edge. He craned his neck down to stick it his head beneath the water briefly. When he raised his head again he snorted and blew water in a fine mist out in front of him. "The ice extends to the bottom."

The scent of rot announced their enemy's arrival long before a word was spoken. A large dragon flew from the east over a ridge in the ice bearing on its back a single rider clad in a black robe. Behind it came a small army of corpses, unable to keep up with their leader as he flew at speeds they could not hope to reach even in life.

The ships continued to approach from the west. They were still mere specks but wouldn't remain so for long. "Fly out and tell them to turn north," she called. "I want those ships away from here!"

Several dragons gouged tracks in the ice as they ran to take off. The rest rushed toward the advancing line of corpses. They cast long shadows on the ground as they moved. The line broke around Elery and Isandel as they stood watching the corpse dragon and its rider approach.

"You just couldn't resist taking the short route, could you?" Taelin called from his perch atop the dragon. The decayed beast landed just out of their reach and while any of the ally dragons could have turned back to attack, they focused their sights on the enemies before them. "And it looks as though you've brought us an impressive number of new lives to save."

"I've brought you nothing but the death you and your twisted puppet master deserve." Elery drew her sword and slid from Isandel's shoulders.

Taelin shook his head as he dismounted his own dragon. "Cylphi knows you well. She told us—"

"You shut your mouth!" Elery snarled as she pointed her sword forward. "Cylphi told you nothing. That thing using her body speaks for her! You have no right to say her name with what you've done!" She let her aura seep out into the ice around her feet. It crawled along the minuscule cracks toward him, bringing into her a deep chill that cramped her stomach.

Taelin chuckled. "Attempting to use my own element against me?" He fixed his gaze on the ships retreating toward the north. "Oh Elery, you flatter yourself."