Apex [Imperial: Book 2]

Chapter 5

No one spoke after Amaroth's revelation. Even Terraz remained silent, despite his seemingly loud yet rebellious nature.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked, watching the blue and white imperial hopefully.

But Amaroth merely shook his head, his turquoise eyes glittering. "All I know is what Argon told me. He didn't know where the humans had taken you."

But... what if he did? If Amaroth claimed that he was not a bad dragon, then could that mean that maybe, he might have rescued us? It was strange to think about - I'd have most likely blindly followed the former Dragon King, and joined in his wing without a second thought. "Would Argon have rescued us had he known where we were?"

"No," a sharp answer, offering no explanation. The blue and white drake did not so much as glance at us, as he soared further across the sky. I couldn't help but notice that his wings seemed tense despite being the wind sweeping past the stretched membrane.

Rutilus and I exchanged a curious glance. Why would he react like that? He hadn't even tried to explain! And the way even his voice had seemed frosty! It made no sense.

Querra sighed, noticing our confusion. "Argon refused so much as going near human settlements - yet alone rescuing dragons. I doubt he would have even rescued his own son," she explained, flicking her tail towards Terraz. For a split second, her yellow eyes flickered with rage. "That's also one of the few things Amaroth did not agree with."

But I'd barely heard her last sentence. Instead, I stared at the bronze and green drake, unsure of what to think. He was Argon's son? It was almost impossible to believe, and yet, I could see resemblance. His green eyes were almost identical to the former Dragon King's. Even his earthy bronze scales seemed only shades darker than Argon's gold ones.

He shuffled uneasily under our stunned gazes, clearly no longer enjoying the attention.

"You had to tell them that?" He grumbled, glaring at Querra.

But the black and green dragoness merely shrugged. "They would have found out sooner or later."

Terraz grumbled under his breath, although he did not even attempt to argue with Querra. Instead, he remained trailing after us, his green eyes lowered towards the ground - trying not to catch any of our gazes.

Confused, I tilted my head. Did he not like being Argon's son, or did he simply not want us to know? It was impossible to tell, especially since he refused to so much as look at us.

Exhaling slowly, Rutilus quickened his pace. His expression was carefully guarded, but I could have sworn that his gold eyes still gleamed with curiosity - as though he too, was intrigued by Terraz's dislike of us knowing who he was.

"This way," Amaroth sighed, not at all surprised by the bronze and green drake's reaction. With a flick of his tail, he directed us across the lake.

From above, it seemed even bigger. The surface rippled gently under the cool breeze, yet still reflecting the sky above. Clear enough, that I could see our silhouettes reflected in it - even mine. For a long moment, I stared at my reflection, admiring the way my silver and black scales glistened under the sun. To think that months ago, there were only traces of black, as opposed to the black streaks across my scales, and my mottled silver and black wings.

"Where are we going?" Rutilus's voice jolted  me out of my daze. That was something I should have asked. Amaroth had told us that we were going to Craigor's Point - the most northern point of the continent, where I presumed we were now, but other than that... As of so far, he hadn't been to specific.

Beside the blue and white drake, the Querra tensed, her yellow eyes narrowing. Her jaw clenched, as she turned stiffly towards Amaroth. Did she know where we were going? Why was she so tense? Did she not want us to go wherever Amaroth was taking us?

Finally, the blue imperial broke the silence. "Home."

The moment he uttered the word, I stiffened. There was no way that he meant taking us back to Kronx - not after just arriving here. No - what he meant was his home. But to say it in a way to suggest that it was our home as well...

A low growl escaped me. There was no way that their home would ever be my home. My home was with Kronx, and the rest of my wing. How dare they suggest otherwise! Did they really think that we'd be more than happy to consider this place home when our wing was elsewhere? Anger surged through me.

"That's why you brought us here," Rutilus growled, his voice cold - echoing the fury that was shooting through my veins. "Not just to teach us, but try to convince us to join your wing."

"You are right. We would like you to join our wing," Amaroth agreed, still leading us over the lake. He did not so much as falter as he continued, instead steadily gliding on the breeze. "But that is not an option right now. You have your own wing to care for."

I was not sure whether to growl or relax at his words. After all, he'd just stated that he wanted us to be in his wing! Yet, at the same time, he understood why we weren't even interested. Did he hope that we'd willingly join his wing in the future?

After a brief pause, the blue and white drake continued. "Craigor's Point is a home all imperials, no matter the wing," he explained, still staring out in front of him. "A place where they can stay - and know that other imperials can not harm them."

"Did that change when Argon became Dragon King?" I tilted my head curiously, waiting for his answer. Despite not seeing why imperials would need a place where they could all call home, I couldn't help but wonder if the former Dragon King had stayed to those rules.

"No. There were some things that Argon knew he should not even try to change," Amaroth explained, although beside him, Querra snorted - as though that wasn't completely true. Confused, I glanced between the two dragons.

It was the black and green dragoness who declared, "he made it his home. After all, why not - especially if more and more imperials were joining him."

She did not need to add that by settling here, he took away the imperials' supposed safe-haven, making it not an option to go to in order to escape him.

"Down here," shooting a forsty glance towards Querra, the blue and white drake suddenly spiralled down towards the lake, spreading his wings at the last moment to skim above the surface.

Knowing that I did not really have a choice, I followed him. A shudder ran down my spine as cold water brushed against my wings. But despite being cold, the sensation was oddly satisfying, especially with the splashes of water created every time I so much as touched the lake's surface.

Abruptly, Amaroth slowed down, fanning his wings out beside him. Now much slower, he landed on the bank, his blue and white body a stark contrast to the forest around him.

But there was a gap in the trees, one just wide enough for a large dragon to squeeze through. Beyond it, must be the cave which Amaroth referred to as home. Craning my neck, I tried to peer through the trees, and catch a glimpse of the cave.

Instead, I saw a ripple of dark purple and yellow - and even ginger and white. Straining my eyes, I peered closer. But there was no need, for only moments later, two dragons burst through the forest, watching us curiously.

"Perfect timing," Amaroth grunted, his voice full of wry amusement as he regarded the two dragons in front of us. "Argentum, Rutilus, I'd like you to meet Vorak and Aeris."

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1348 words

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