Imperial

Chapter 57

Something prodded my flank, and I was dimly aware of a quiet voice calling my name. 

Drowsily, I blinked open my eyes, only to be confronted by Rutilus. His gold eyes were bright and eager, staring down at me as his talons still continued to prod my flank, urging me to wake up. Get up.

"What is it?" I hissed, slowly climbing to my feet. Especially given that we'd be attacking the city soon, I'd rather have had more rest.

"Kronx said that we can go hunt," the red and gold drake explained, already hurtling towards the edge of the cave.

Still weary, I trailed after him, careful to avoid stepping on other dragons - which proved to be a difficult task. The cave itself was barely big enough to hold all of us, and in order to rest, we'd had to sleep on top of each other. Not the most comfortable, but better than being spotted by the humans.

"Can I come?" A soft voice echoed through the cave. Caelum. Perched by the side of the cave, the sky blue dragoness was watching as intently. 

Rutilus hesitated, his gaze darting towards me. "Don't see why not,"  he shrugged, spreading his golden wings the moment he escaped the depths of the cave. Still eager to hunt. 

Snorting in faint amusement, I stepped outside the cave. Warm sunlight washed over me, and a cool breeze brushed against my scales as I launched into the air. Following Rutilus, I climbed higher and higher into the sky, and I glanced down at the ground.

Dappled with different shades of green, the forest was almost refreshing to look at. Its vivid green colouring hinted at a good climate - with plenty of sunlight and rain to help it flourish. Colourful birds darted from tree to tree, their songs turning into cries of alarm as Caelum followed after us.

Further away, mountains loomed into the sky. Not quite in the distance; I could make out each ledge on them easily.

"Over here!" Rutilus called, and I spotted him soaring towards the mountains. Curious, I chased behind him - although still keeping an eye on the forest, watching for any sign of prey. 

Numerous times, I spotted a deer strolling between the endless trees. But the red and gold drake only led us away from them, taking us towards the mountains instead.

Yet another deer escaped my sight, and I sighed. "I thought we were going to hunt?"

"We will. But first..." Rutilus's voice trailed off, and he quickened his pace as we neared the mountains. Wasting no time, he swerved between the peaks, urging us to follow him. Both confused and curious, I trailed after him. Warily watching both the sky and ground, knowing that humans weren't too far away.

Finally, we slowed down as we neared the other side of the mountain range. Ahead of us, I could see the ocean glistening under the morning sun. And in front of it... My breath caught as I realised why Rutilus had taken us here.

"There it is," the red and gold drake murmured, staring down towards the human city.

Unlike what I'd expected, it was nothing like Ukurauis. Especially from further away, there seemed to be nothing dark about it at all. Even the rocks used to create each building were not dark, but instead a more sandy colour. And the few buildings that towered into the air were not wicked. Instead, they rose into the air in a majestic manner.

The whole city itself was almost breathtaking. Perched right beside the ocean, with a river coiling through it, I could understand why it was often referred to as the ocean city. Boats were bound to have been swarming that river, and from what I could see, the humans had somehow made channels of water that ran through many of the streets. Never would I have dreamed that the humans were capable of such beauty.

Too bad that we would be destroying it in a matter of hours.

"Its not as scary as I thought it'd be," Caelum remarked, her dark blue eyes glistening with excitement. "Oh, I wish we could go closer! I can't imagine what it would look like!"

"No," I growled quietly, scanning the city from afar. Already, we were so close. Any closer, and we would most likely be captured. It was a wonder that the humans hadn't seen us yet - but I was grateful. "We can have a closer look at it later."

"We should hunt. Kronx might come looking for us soon," Rutilus murmured, although his own gaze trailed away from the city reluctantly. But he said it in a way that made me realise that he'd gone against the ancient dragon's wishes when he'd brought us here.

Kronx would undoubtedly be furious if he found out. My stomach clenched.

The blue dragoness reluctantly sighed, turning away from the city. With a dip of her head, she gestured to Rutilus to lead the way back to the cave, and for a few minutes, all of us were silent. Contemplating what we'd seen. 

Behind us, the mountains started to slip away, and forest were directly beneath us yet again.

"Do you reckon that we'd be able to defeat Erakor without burning the city down?" Caelum asked, breaking the silence. Her head was tilted inquisitively as she glanced back behind her almost longingly. 

"Probably not," I answered. After all, it would be a close battle - and we would need to use fire to guarantee our success. Chances were, there would not be much of a city left after we were done with it. But perhaps we'd get lucky and find that the city retained some of its current splendour.

Beside me, Rutilus rumbled in agreement, leading Caelum to sigh yet again. A hint of smoke trailed from her nostrils, as she peered behind her yet again.

This time, she slowed down. Confused, I glanced at her, but she was staring in the distance.

"Look!" She exclaimed, her voice slightly shaky. As though she was excited - but also scared. "I think there's a dragon over there."

Squinting, I followed her gaze. Sure enough, a dark dot was outlined against the sky. My heart lurched. The humans had seen us, and now they were coming to capture us. Snarling in fury, I glared at the approaching figures.

"Go!" I roared at Caelum, meeting her gaze urgently. Her excitement was rapidly ebbing away, replaced with fear."Wake up the others. Tell them that the humans have found us!"

Her eyes widened. Wasting no time, she turned tail and fled. Sending for Kronx and the rest of the wing.

"Argentum," Rutilus murmured, staring at the distant specks that were rapidly increasing in size. "There are no humans on them."

But despite his remark, his molten gold eyes were bright with alarm. Terror, almost.

Confused, I stared back at the approaching his figures. He was right - and I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or horrified.

Because as they approached, it quickly became obvious that they were all massive - around Kronx's size. Each of them had a secondary colour. All of them were imperials. 

Which meant that they were the imperials wing, and somewhere among them, was the Dragon King.

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1268 words

Here we are, a bit of action!

Releasing chapters should definitely be a little bit faster now - if all goes well, Chapter 58 will be out tomorrow.

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