Imperial

Chapter 9

It was not just landscapes that slipped past; time did too. By the time we reached the looming peaks of Rutilus's mountain range, the moon was hanging boldly in the sky, accompanied by lots of glittering stars.

"There it is," the red drake sighed in relief, pumping his wings faster in excitement. "Not far now!" Molten gold eyes glowed eagerly as he surged forward enthusiastically. I blinked, staring beyond the dragon, and at the mountains beyond. The mountain range itself was impressive - huge, looming rocks capped with snow on the peaks. But it was what was beyond them that had caught my breath.

I had never seen so much water.

An endless plain of dark blue liquid, the surface rippling under the silver moonlight. Even from afar, it was beautiful as it reflected the moon's glow.

"That... That is the ocean?" How could something be so daunting and endless, be so calming at the same time? It simply astounded me.

Ahead of me, Rutilus chuckled. "You should see it during the day. No, at dawn - that's when it looks best." My gaze jerked back towards the bright red drake. Already, he was far ahead, swerving through the peaks already. Even Soriak was closer to him than she was to me. Not wanting to be left behind, I chased after them.

"Such a rush," I complained as I caught up to them. But then, I quickly mumbled, "Well, I suppose it gives us time to rest and eat." It was odd to think that we had been free for almost a whole day, and still had not hunted. Several times, my stomach had churned with hunger, but I had ignored it. After all, I had been too focused on getting here. And ignoring it was not hard, having been on the verge of hunger my whole life.

"Perhaps we should rest on the beach; the sand is soft and good for the scales," the red dragon mused, gold eyes bright.

Soriak turned away from Rutilus. "You can go and get your rest later, but I'm going to hunt," she explained, "I've almost forgotten how fresh meat feels on my tongue." Her blue eyes glimmered sadly, but I snorted. Never had I hunted or tasted fresh meat. Only the tasteless scraps of leftovers that the humans had bothered to give us.

Casting an apologetic glance towards Rutilus, I followed the pale green dragoness out of the mountains. There would be deer lurking in the forests beyond - big, tasty deer, or so at least that was what the red drake had told us. Perhaps his wishful thinking had clouded his judgment, his memory, but regardless, I knew I would enjoy it. So far, it seemed everything in the wild was a lot better than anything the humans had ever given us.

Calmly, I glided through the sky, back the way we had come. I realized that I had unconsciously already started scanning the forests beneath me. Excitement surged through me with each rustle of a branch as I checked to see if there was any prey.

Finally, I was drawn towards an deer-like creature. Wandering through the forest, it moved at a steady pace. But there was something different about this elk; it was unlike any I had seen so far.

Narrowing my eyes, I observed the elk carefully. What should have been a chestnut coat was instead dark brown, and its warm brown eyes glowed faintly in the dark. Drifting closer, I caught a glimpse of its branch-like antlers – also bigger than a normal elk's.

Interesting, I mused, slowly picking up speed as I trailed behind the elk. With an eager screech, I raced towards the elk, skimming above the treetops.

But now alerted to my presence, the elk bolted. Snarling in frustration, I chased after it, talons ready to snag it from the forest. Yet despite my speed and power, the strange elk had an advantage.