Dragon's Blood

Chapter Two

        Akari's ears rang with the explosion once more, her mother's words echoing in her mind.

Itov di Sivath tluog ve dastudr.

The language of the dragons. She sat up on the plush bed, hand pressed to her chest to calm her racing heart. Her mother was gone. She was alone. But she had to find her father, the only one who could take care of her.

"You're awake." Sanguis entered the room, eyeing her with concern. "Are you well?"

Now that there was light, and she was able to clearly see her saviour, Akari could better appreciate his strong features; the sharp eyes that had kept her tethered to reality, the soft hair that fell in cascading waves of crimson only to burn to a black at the ends and the strong arms that had carried her to safety. Most noticeable were the bandages that encased nearly every one of his fingers, as well as most of his forearms. Akari was ready to peg it on some weird fashion statement, but then she remembered how his hands had felt.

"I think so." She answered, but her heart wasn't in the words.

"There's breakfast downstairs if you're hungry." Sanguis offered, but the thought of food made her stomach drop.

"I'm okay." She sighed. "More than anything? I just want to get out of this town."

"Alevia." Sanguis answered shortly, and Akari's eyes narrowed.

"What was that?"

"It was Draconic. 'As you wish' or something similar."

"Can you teach me some? Draconic?"

"I can teach you some. Though there is someone else I can introduce you to who is much more fluent than I."

Akari's eyes widened as she hopped off of the bed. "You mean other dragons?"

"Yeah." He glanced over his shoulder at her, and his eyes mirrored slight amusement.

"So we're going to see other dragons..." Akari's excitement waned as quickly as it had flared. "I'm only Half though..."

"So?" The red dragon frowned at her hesitation. "That makes no difference. Even a half dragon is a dragon."

Akari's cheeks flushed at his words. "Thanks."

She trailed behind him as he descended the stairs and down into the lobby of the hotel. Akari's shoulders hunched into her scarf as she imagined Sanguis carrying her into such a crowded place. Embarrassing.

"It's going to be a while before we see very many other dragons," The taller dragon explained. "Those that I know stay far away from human civilizations."

"Will Sivath be there?"

"Gods no." Sanguis exhaled sharply. "No one has ever really seen Sivath. He is even more isolated than the rest of us."

"Oh." Akari couldn't help the disappointment in her voice.

"Don't sound so discouraged," Sanguis assured. "It is far from an impossible task. Especially if you truly are his daughter."

"So what kind of dragon are you?" She asked brightly, wanting to get away from such heavy topics.

"Um-" His words were halting. "I'm a Blood Dragon."

"A Blood Dragon!" Akari exclaimed. "So you can use blood magic?"

"Yes. But I won't use the blood of others. I almost lost a close friend that way."

That explains all of the bandages and scars, Akari noted casually.

"And I'm a Psych Dragon."

"More specifically, psychokinesis. With adequate training, you can learn to control objects with just your mind."