Burning Flame

Chapter Fifteen

Solaris walked silently into the meeting, her back tense and her nerves on end.
The few weeks that she had spent with the soldiers had been brutal, and checking on a hidden hatchling could only help so much. Talking with young dragons wasn't exactly her forté.
She looked up to see Magma, Inferno, and Siege in the room standing in a small, hushed circle.
They were in Siege's hut, one of the largest and grandest huts in the entire kingdom... but only on the inside. From the outside it looked just as normal and boring as all the rest. The only difference was that it looked slightly bigger.
She wormed her way up between Magma and Siege and they stepped aside only enough to give her room.
"How is Blaze?" Magma whispered.
"He's fine. In fact, he's so territorial that I fear he'll become one of those gold-hoarding dragons." she laughed lightly.
Magma nodded and smiled, but her face immediately grew grim again as she looked at Inferno and Siege.
"You made it just in time," she growled, "Siege was about to tell us what happened back at Avalon. Remember what I told you about Dettra?"
Solaris nodded.
"And Siege has been taking a break for a few days after the ordeal. He told me that he wanted all of us to get together privately to discuss things," Inferno said, interrupting the easily heard conversation between Magma and Solaris.
"Why couldn't you just tell us after you got back? I've been running around from dusk 'till dawn just to keep your soldiers in line, and you get to rest after taking a relaxing trip to Avalon!"
Solaris glared at Siege and he rolled his eyes.
"It was hardly relaxing," he growled, "so just settle down and don't get your tail in a twist."
Solaris snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Then tell us exactly how things went down at Avalon and how they made it so stressful for you."
Siege bared a set of teeth at her. Then he turned his attention to Inferno and Magma.
Solaris didn't pay attention to his aggressive gesture. Instead her eyes skimmed over the old scar on his middle head, which seemed to have new gashes in it.
Why didn't he heal that?
She kept quiet as Siege relayed his trip to the King and Queen.
"I was treated reasonably well by the guards, and Jararracca was the same as she's always been..."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"...I made sure to put her back in her place. Then I visited Dettra."
Magma and Inferno listened intently at this point. Even Solaris couldn't help but to lean forward a little bit.
"She said she had no connections whatsoever and that she was completely walled off from the outside world. Well, she didn't say it in those exact words, but I'd rather not say her words aloud right now."
Inferno nodded and Magma let out a small sigh of relief. Solaris leaned back into a normal standing position, her shoulders and back relaxing ever so slightly.
"And what about the rest of the prisoners?" Magma inquired.
Siege growled.
"That's where things got a little... chaotic. There was almost a breach at Avalon's gates."
All of their eyes widened and Inferno tensed up.
"What!?" he hissed, "How?!! Who got past the guards!!?"
Siege's lips twitched and he clenched his jaws a few times before answering.
"Tiberius and Wrath."
"What!!!?"
Solaris, Inferno, and Magma all roared at once, and Siege shook his heads vigorously.
"But I stopped them, so there wasn't a breach! They're back in their cell!" he rumbled.
"How did they get out of their cell in the first place?!" Solaris snarled.
Siege glanced at her and suddenly he seemed to be fishing for some sort of answer.
"A few irresponsible guards let them out to fight and bet on who would win. It was between the Titans and two guards."
Magma shook her head.
"Let me guess... the guards died."
Siege nodded slowly.
"Like I said, they're back in their cell now, so everything is fine."
Inferno closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out slowly until his body relaxed and his eyes opened again.
"Thank you for this information, Siege."
"You're welcome, Your Majesty."
Then Inferno looked over at Magma. She nodded once and they walked out of the hut together, leaving Solaris alone with Siege.

She sidled away from him a little so that their bodies weren't uncomfortably close anymore.
"So... you're going to take your soldiers back tomorrow then, right?"
He snorted in amusement and looked down at her with all three pairs of eyes.
"So anxious to get rid of them! Fine, I'll take them back tomorrow."
"And... umm... maybe my soldiers, too? I sort of want a break of my own, you know."
Siege laughed and Solaris relaxed even more.
"Okay, fine. I'm only taking them for a few days, though."
"Agreed."
They stopped talking and suddenly a stillness hovered in the air. Solaris knew she should probably leave, but she had one more question for him.
"Do you want me to heal that? Those new wounds on your scar?"
Solaris watched as he tensed up again. He looked away and she immediately wondered what she had said that could've been so painful to him.
"No, I don't want these to be healed," he said bluntly.
"Okay," Solaris whispered.
She started to walk out of the hut when she heard Siege clear one of his throats behind her.
She stopped and turned to face him.
"Thank you," he growled softly.
She wasn't sure why, but immediately she grinned and her eyes softened just enough for him to see.
"You're welcome."
Then she walked out of the hut with a million different thoughts and feelings buzzing around in her head.
What just happened?!
She shook her head and suddenly her thoughts became crystal clear, but they weren't the thoughts she wanted to have.
They weren't the thoughts she expected to have.
They weren't the thoughts she allowed herself to have.
She growled and turned her back to the hut and the stubborn dragon brooding within.
It's just a passing thought. It'll be gone by morning.
Then she leapt into the air and soared into the cool, windy skies above.