Dragoness's Star

12 | Power

Ashley dipped in her flight, high above the woodland forest, in her human form with bronze wings extended. Annie mirrored at her side, scanning the forest for Gade mages and dragon ambush artillery. 

Twenty feet behind them flew a thousand Ajax militants in their black armor, glinting in the sun.

"So, your mate is somewhere over there?" Annie said worriedly, staring at the fortress engulfed in smoke they rapidly approached.

Ashley was steely and impassive. "The royal army must have arrived extremely early. I will make haste."

Ashley shot ahead at the speed of sound. Hovering above the fort, she scanned the area for her partner. It seemed everything was over already; most of the fort was burnt to a crisp, and fire continued to spread, not remotely bothering the dragons. Ballistae lay smashed and scattered, and heaping corpses of men and dragons were piled up all around a massive hole in the fort's wall.

Ashley could smell her mate - a vague and sweet tantalizing smell - and she was sure he was alive. But seeing the carnage all around, she became very fearful she had come too late.

Ashley noticed a red-haired golden armored dragon much taller than the rest that seemed to smell something like her mate. 

Ashley's heart pounded. Rilee. She'd recognize that figure anywhere. Rilee was notorious for eating Gade mages and soldiers alive. 

Ashley landed on the ground gently directly in front of Rilee, stowing her wings away. Rilee was in the middle of giving orders to a squadron commander, and did her best to ignore Ashley's imposing and taller figure.

".... and take the other half of the army and get into the tunnels. It'll be a pain if we don't clean them up."

The squadron leader saluted and flew off towards the inner fort.

"Ashley, did you need something?" Rilee said, smiling innocently.

Ashley stomped on the head of a straggling Gade soldier like a tomato, who had been attempting to ambush her from behind.

"Did you..." Ashley said, eyeing Riley's mouth, "eat a man?"

"Just a bite," Rilee said. "I dropped him off somewhere over there."

Ashley blasted off towards the wall. She could smell him a lot stronger and found some of his dried blood.

Ashley's eyes glowed as she activated her hunter tracking magic - she could feel her partner's presence over the wall and at the forest - somewhere near the opening of the trees.

Ashley was there in a flash - her eyes combed the area, knowing her mate was somewhere before her - 

"Ashley!" A voice broke her intensive search. Annie was right behind her, sweating buckets from pursuing her.

"What do you need?" Ashley asked, refusing to peel her eyes away from the forestry as she walked deeper in.

"I think, uh, you should change your appearance. You're going to scare the living crap out of your mate."

Annie was right - Ashley looked like the ultimate grim reaper with blazing eyes, bronze armor, and a sword of ice at her side. Not to mention, she was immense in both magic aura and size, even for a dragon.

Ashley turned off her tracking magic, dissolved her sword and shrunk down to Annie's size.

"Yes, now that I'm helpless and, as humans call it, petite, it will help me find him," Ashley glowered.

Annie rolled her eyes. "You're not helpless, you're the baddest dragon in all the lands."

Approaching a rather deep ditch, Ashley became attentive. She was feeling something.

Out of the ditch rose a helmeted figure, brandishing a longsword.

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