Imperial

Chapter 59

Almost immediately, a black and green dragoness lunged at me. Barely dodging out of the way in time, I snapped at her angrily.

But she merely snorted at me, her yellow eyes gleaming in faint amusement.

Baring my fangs at her, I raced towards her, raking my talons down her back. But it barely did anything. She did not even grunt in pain, as she peered over her shoulder at me. With a low chuckle, she rose further into the air, not so much as bothering to attempt to get me off her.

"Do that all day, hatchling," she purred, smoke coiling from her open jaws. "You're only wasting your own energy." With another rumble of amusement, she turned away from me, instead focusing on Rutilus.

Irritated, I stared at the black and green scales in front of me. No matter how hard I tried, I barely drew any blood at all. As much as I had grown over the past so many months, I wished that I was bigger. At least then, I wouldn't seem as feeble and weak against her.

The only chance I'd have against her was if I went for her wings. Her wings and underbelly, possibly even face. Anywhere else would be useless.

Gritting my teeth, I flexed my talons, aiming for her wings.

As though she knew what I'd been doing, she surged forwards - just out of my grasp. But a loud yelp told me that it was purely coincidence; she'd chosen that point of time to attack Rutilus. Narrowing my eyes, I raced towards her, yet again aiming for her wings.

This time, I was successful. My talons raked against the green and black membrane. Hard enough to draw blood, but not to tare. Even so, the dragoness no longer seemed amused as she turned towards me yet again, her fangs bared in a furious snarl.

Flaring her nostrils, she scoffed, "Do you think that you can -"

Suddenly, she yelped in pain, interrupting her sentence. Her yellow eyes narrowed, glaring at me, than turning towards Rutilus - who I realised was clinging to her wing, his talons creating small punctures.

Before she could attempt to shake him off, I lunged towards her. Not intending to hurt her, but to distract her as Rutilus continued to wound her wing. For a few moments, she snapped at me, her talons slashing at the air behind me, before turning towards the red and gold drake.

My eyes narrowed, and I raced towards her other wing. I was vaguely aware of her grumbling a threat to Rutilus, and hear him cry out in pain even as my jaws latched onto her wing membrane.

Blood dribbled into my mouth, the bitter taste impossible to ignore. Instead, I clamped my fangs even harder on her wing, and an ear-piercing scream was my response.

Before I even knew what was happening, something latched onto my tail, immediately pulling me away. Moments too late did I realise that the dragoness's jaws were clamped on my tail. Squirming, I attempted to wriggle free, attempted to snap at her jaws and get away but my efforts were proven pointless as she swung her head, flinging me into the air.

For a few moments, I fell through the air, dazed. Wind screeched past me, pushing me further and further away from the black and green dragoness.

Snapping my wings open, I slowed down, finally taking control of my flight. Rutilus and the dragoness seemed to be fighting one on one, with the dragoness suddenly seeming more vicious and dangerous before. Not letting him attack - instead doing all of the attacking herself.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the Dragon King and Kronx fighting each other in a blur of gold and brown and dark blue. Transfixed, I watched as they snapped at each others' throats, doing everything they could do to injure the other.

As I watched, Kronx raked his talons against Argon's scales - drawing blood. The Dragon King wrinkled his snout in a snarl, as they continued snapping at each other.

Quickly, it became obvious that the Dragon King was winning; Kronx was slowly being driven further and further away from us.

I stared after him, wishing that I could help. But against Argon, I would be but a fly, barely doing any damage. The only way I could help was to keep fighting the black and green dragoness, alongside Rutilus.

Snarling silently, I raced back towards the dragoness. She had not yet noticed me, as her head snaked after the red and gold dragon darting around her.

Instinctively, I lunged towards her wings yet again. My talons sunk into her wing membrane, and I could see the spines along her back stiffen as she slowly twisted her neck around to peer at me with her gleaming yellow eyes.

"Back at last, are you?" She tilted her head, her voice taunting me. "You took your time."

Without any warning, she snapped her wings against her flank; shaking me off with ease. Her nostrils flared as she leaned closer to me. It was all I could do to not edge away - because if I did, I'd show weakness. 

Much to my relief, Rutilus flung himself onto her head, shifting her attention towards him. Her yellow eyes narrowed as she tried to examine the red and gold drake whose talons were reaching for her eyes.

Furious, she raised her talons, using them to wipe him off her head. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but notice the way that she did not outright attack him. She'd merely flicked him away - when I would have expected her to yank him off, and start lashing out at him fiercely.

"Fools!" She hissed, swinging her tail at me. Raising my wings, I shot away from her, but not before -

A muffled thud could be heard as her tail connected with my flank, dazing me. Breathing heavily, I stared into the distance, focusing on my wing beats. Trying to remain aloft as caught my breath. Even now, her main focus had been to stun me. Not hurt me.

It made no sense.

My eyes narrowed. What was she trying to achieve? Sure, she was starting to attack us more now, but it was almost as though she was trying to be gently. Trying not to hurt us. But... why? Was it simply because we were still hatchlings, as she'd called us earlier, or another reason entirely?

Releasing a sigh, I readied myself to attack her again when movement caught my attention.

I could vaguely make out a black shape racing towards Kronx and Argon. Blinking, I peered closer as it, only to sigh in relief as I realised that it was none other than Raegon.

I should have known he'd be nearby! The reason he'd left his wing was because he would be stalking the imperial wing, to finish what he started. Of course he'd be here! And now with him here, there was a chance that we could win. After all, out of all of us, he'd had the most experience in fighting the Dragon King.

Around me, the battle seemed to slow down as more and more dragons noticed him. Even the imperials dipped their head in respect, some even murmuring his name as a greeting. How many of them had he helped keep out of the Dragon King's talons, even if only temporary?

A furious snarl from Argon interrupted the silence. It was as if it was a command; all of the imperials started to continue fighting. Nonetheless, I knew that like me, the black and green dragoness was now paying close attention to the Dragon King's fight as Raegon took his place beside Kronx.

Perhaps we really did stand a chance.

*~*

1305 words

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