Imperial

Chapter 44

Sunlight shone through the cave as the sun steadily rose above the horizon. Other dragons were curled up around me, although the cave was much too small to fit all of the newly freed dragons. Most of them were outside, either hunting or scouring the skies for any signs of humans.

In the few days that Raegon had been gone, we'd managed to travel around the area, in search of a cave where Soriak could heal safely. This cave was further away from Fehïrk - what would have bound to have taken days had we been walking. Fortunately, Kronx had managed to carry Soriak here, thus saving quite a bit of time.

I glanced towards the pale green dragoness. Curled up tightly, her flank rose and fell with each slow breath. Both of her wings were spread open, absorbing the heat of the fire easier. No longer was the membrane torn - but they would still be too weak to aid her in flight, even if her bones were still broken.

Arching my back, I slowly rose to my feet. Stepping around each dragon delicately, a cool breeze confronted me when I reached the entrance to the cave.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, threatening to bring rain. Yet dragons still darted across the sky enthusiastically, a rainbow of colours that shimmered across the sky or weaved between trees. All of them enjoying their first taste of freedom in years.

A flash of blue caught my eye. Whipping my head around, I spotted a sky blue dragoness darting towards Thorak. I instantly remembered her to be the other dragon that had also come to Ukurauis - and the only one to remain on the ground when I failed to take to the air.

"Have you hunted yet?" she asked the dark grey dragon, but did not wait for him to respond. Instead she immediately added, "you should! The deer around here are delicious. So much better than the ones near Fehïrk, which would seem to be impossible!"

Thorak dipped his head, almost hesitantly "I'll be sure to -"

His pale eyes flashed with irritation when the dragoness cut him off. "Have you searched the area yet? Did you see the lake? Its huge! And its got so many fish in it!" She shivered in excitement, before continuing to ramble. "And the ground! Despite having so many leaves and twigs on it, the earth is so soft! Nothing like the fields at Fehïrk."

Had she not been free before, either? I'd always presumed that she'd been captured before I had hatched, like most of the others. Perhaps she had, like me, hatched in captivity. But... if that was the case, then how had she been able to fly so easily on the journey to the human city?

I sighed.

Immediately, she whipped her head towards me, her dark blue eyes widening. "You," she breathed, awe filling her voice. "Argentum, right? I'm Caelum... Have you seen the lake yet?"

"No," I shook my head. Since arriving to the cave yesterday, I had only hunted and rested. Until now, I had not had the chance to go exploring the area. 

Wings fluttering excitedly, Caelum circled around me, before gliding away. Swinging her head around, she exclaimed, "Follow me! You can come too, Thorak!"

At the mention of his name, the grey drake stiffened. Pale eyes blinking, he glanced towards the cave almost longingly. Wanting to settle down, and rest. "I'd rather not," he stated, tearing his gaze back towards Caelum, only to find that she was gone. Exasperated, he released a heavy sigh.

Rumbling quietly in amusement, I followed the sky blue dragoness. For a newly freed dragon, she was rather fast - especially if she had hatched in captivity, like me. Nonetheless, I caught up with her easily, gliding through the forest. Thorak trailed behind me reluctantly, his gaze raking across the sky. Undoubtedly on the look out for humans.