Fireborn

43 ¦ Our Darkest Hour

Seraphina and I raced towards the battlefield to face the raging beasts. In his draconic form, Lord Darius spewed frozen slush so cold that it burned through flesh and armor.

To fight off the Dragonborn hordes, Bragda fought with all her raging intensity. Metal clanged against metal as the enemy fell one by one and the battlefield ran red with blood.

Marcus and Alicia fought bravely by her side, slaughtering the drones with their giant swords. When one Warrior cornered Alicia, Marcus stabbed him in the chest with his massive horns. Blood gushed from the wound as he collapsed to his knees and fell face-first into the mud.

Whoa!

A fierce roar drew me back to my immediate surroundings. A Dragonborn Warrior raced towards us. She brandished a giant broadsword over her head and stared at Seraphina with abject rage.

"Traitor!"

Seraphina grabbed a spear from the bloody mud. With a grunt, she launched it towards the would-be attacker, skewering her in the heart. The impact sent her flying through the air and landing with a crunch.

Damn!

A second enemy drone grabbed me from behind. I leaped into the air and threw myself backward towards the ground, crushing him underneath me with an ominous crack. He groaned in agony as his arms fell limp by his sides.

Faster than a Minningen wildcat, I jumped off of him and thrust my sword into his chest, twisting my blade with a sickening squelch. He expired with an eerie death rattle and a final hiss.

My stomach twisted in knots as I stared at his contorted, broken body.

Is this what I've become? Retreating from the Warrior, I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. Can't think of that now. We have a battle to win.

I turned towards my friends.

"Wait," Seraphina said, grasping me by my leather bracer. "I have to morph into a Fireborn so that our friends don't attack me by mistake."

She never had the chance.

The ice dragon halted his attack and sniffed the air. His giant nostrils flared in anger. With a deafening roar, he took flight and flattened warriors on both sides with the backdraft. Each beat of his mighty wings created a windstorm more powerful than a hurricane.

Holy Hades, he's flying towards us.

"Seraphina, run! I've got this!"

I reached for one of the diamond arrows in my quiver. But Seraphina grabbed my arm and shook her head.

"This is my fight. I must confront him alone, Liselle."

I pushed her back. "You can't face him as a Dragonborn. He'll kill you."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

My throat clenched, and my next words came out in a pained croak. "Only a diamond arrow can kill him."

Seraphina shook her sleeve and out tumbled a glistening arrow into her palm. She raised her arm and hid the arrow in her sleeve.

Closing her eyes in concentration, Seraphina morphed into the form I'd least expected.

A Risan Sorceress.

No way! She won't stand a chance.

"Let me be the one to do it," she said. "He's my father. Focus on Lord Hesse."

Pursing my lips, I gave her a curt nod. The dragon landed with such a tremendous thud that the ground trembled in sympathy.

Upon impact, every Warrior fell motionless onto the battlefield.