Imperial

Chapter 12

"Why? Why did you tell me this?" I had stopped completely, ignoring the cool water surrounding me. My attention was solely on the dark blue drake- Kronx. Even when Rutilus's head jutted out of the falling water, I held Kronx's gaze.

Amused, the dark blue dragon shrugged. His silver eyes shone like stars as he stated, "I told you that I would tell you, just before the humans interrupted. So why not now?" He kept hovering in the air, not even attempting to land. Nor did he want to, I realised as I watched him. Each wing beat was effortless, and he enjoyed being in the air.

"Thank you," I did not know any other way to respond- that was polite. How easy it would be to start questioning him. What did he want from us? It had to be more than pity. Especially since he had told us he'd get us when the moon was at his highest, and had just given us his name.

Somehow, I knew that we would be with him for a while. And while I was grateful for his superior presence and protection, I still did not know how to react. Or why he'd be with us.

As though guessing my thoughts, Kronx spoke once more. "You still wonder why I told you," his deep voice was filled with amusement. "Would you believe me if I said I was lonely? That's what centuries of isolation does to a dragon. Please forgive me if I am a little excited by the fact that I have company once more!"

My eyes widened, and I suddenly wanted to blurt a tsunami of new questions. "Centuries, by yourself? Why? I thought you said dragons travelled in wings?" There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, needed to ask him. But Kronx was already speaking.

"Dragons do travel in Wings. And not just travel, we live in Wings. I do not because Arg-" he broke off, his silver eyes hardening. Even his voice went cold. "Because of several reasons that I may or may not tell you some day," his silver eyes hardened, and he turned away. The conversation was clearly over - obviously the dark blue dragon did not want to talk about why he was not in a wing. But I couldn't help but wonder what he had been about to say.

Nonetheless, I watched as Kronx slowly disappeared in the sky, to whatever place he had in mind. I did not doubt that he would fetch us a few hours from now, even if he did not answer certain questions. I sighed, turning back towards the waterfall.

Rutilus's head was still sticking out, his gold eyes wide. "Now that is a dragon full of mysteries," he remarked, slowly retreating into the cave so I could leap in. With a reluctant glance towards the direction where Kronx had disappeared, I bunched my muscles, and sprang into the cave.

All too suddenly, I had to skid to a halt, trying not to slam into Rutilus. The red drake was leaning against the far wall, his body curled up to fit inside the cave. But as I soared inside, his gold eyes widened in alarm, and he did his best to scramble out of my way. I narrowly missed him.

The cave was smaller than I expected. Barely able to fit both of us, but it would do. Even if it was only for the night, we were safe. Hidden in a cave behind a waterfall, I doubted that they would find us. But then again, they had proven to be very good at finding us. We'd have to ask Kronx about it tomorrow.

"Soriak should be here," Rutilus murmured as I curled up against one of the rocky walls. His gold-flecked wings rubbed against my back, but I did not mind. I actually quite liked the contact – reassurance that I wasn't alone.

I had rested in worse circumstances, as well as in smaller spaces. As small as this cave was, it was still comfortable. Cosy.

"I know," I sighed, my amber eyes darkening. She had given herself up so that we could both be free, but it didn't feel right. Most of the time, she had been quiet, but that didn't make her any less important. And now, she was gone. Given up her freedom, and probably her life, so that we may remain free.

For a few minutes, silence rang through the cave. Presuming that the red drake would not respond, I closed my eyes, listening to the falling water outside the cave. The sound was relaxing, soothing my tense body, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I slept. But I did not mind. Sleep, I needed sleep.

But then, Rutilus's voice pierced the silence. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have taken us so close to where I was captured," he grumbled bitterly. Such sorrow and guilt coated his voice.I opened my eyes and glanced at him. His head was slumped on his forelegs, golden eyes dark. "Of course the humans would go back where they found me. And Soriak... I'm a fool."

"No," I protested, knowing that he had tried to take us somewhere safe, and to find his mother. "We wanted to go somewhere where one of us was familiar with the area. Having been in captivity for the shortest time, and having a mother to return to, it only made sense to come back." As I spoke, I realised how true it was. When we had escaped, we were not worried about where humans might search for us, but about finding somewhere safe to stay, even if only for a few nights.

Stretching my wings, I held the red drake's gaze firmly. Rutilus sighed, lowering his head once more. Sorrow and pain filled his eyes, but he didn't protest. His eyelids drooped shut, but he was too tense to be asleep. It was not hard to tell that he still blamed himself for the pale green dragoness's sacrifice.

Softly, quietly, I murmured, "She will be ok, and we will rescue her. We will rescue all of them." A promise. Something to work for. Acknowledging that while we were free, we were not going to leave the others and let them die. Soon, we would go back, perhaps with the giant dark blue dragon, and rescue them all.

Rutilus blinked open a molten gold eye, his black pupil fixating on me. Gone was the sadness, the pain, the guilt, instead replaced with determination. "We'll rescue them before we go looking for my mother," he agreed, his gold eyes flaring. "She can spend a few more months without me."

Maybe it would have been better to find her first, to have another dragon help us. But what if she was too worried for Rutilus to let him help let the others escape? And what if she took years to find? She could be anywhere.

So I held his gaze. "So be it," I agreed, and once again, silence settled over the cave. Suddenly, I was very aware of the water flowing outside the cave. Focusing on that soothing sound, I rested my head on my forelegs once more. Not knowing, or caring what would happen when the dark blue dragon came back for us, I allowed sleep to take me by its grasp.

A seething Soriak filled my dreams that night, hating me for letting her be captured.

§

1243 words

I know, a short chapter. A really short chapter.

For those reading Queen:
Updates will be dramatically slower. They won't come to a complete standstill, but they will be a lot slower to what they will be. This is because I will be trying to ready the first so many chapters of this book for a competition in April, and also finishing this book ASAP.

While I do not expect to win this competition, it should bring me one step closer to publishing - which is what I am aiming for. :D

Once I've finished this, I will spend a lot of time finishing Queen for you guys!

Thank you!