The Healer ✔

Chapter Fifteen

Blue flame erupted from Gaizma's throat, spewing into the air like a fountain. Instinctively, Elora gathered her magic, creating a wide shield of black in front of them. It reminded her of the first time she had met Nyal when she had shielded him with her wing.

She could feel the heat of the flame through her magic, wincing at the feeling of it on her skin. She heard the others gasp behind her, feeling them shrink closer to her. Gaizma roared and the flames dissipated, the heat fading into the cool breeze.

"How dare you!" he cried, waving a clawed hand through Elora's dark shield. The magic faded in an instant, revealing a seething Gaizma on the other side. She gathered her magic once more, pushing with all her might.

It hit the gigantic dragon in the chest, shoving him away from the huddled group. Yararanje's words echoed loudly in her head. My daughter, I don't believe you can do this. He won't kill you, but your friends would surely die. He sounded like he genuinely cared for the people she journeyed with, but she knew it was fake. All he cared about was getting her to safety. He didn't want her to waste her energy on trying to save her friends.

Gaizma bared his teeth at her, showing off sharp fangs that could tear through her skin with ease. "You won't stop me," he growled, taking a thundering step forward. "You can't."

She threw him to the side with her magic, watching him flop to the ground with a smug feeling welling in her chest. She pushed Nyal and the others back, trying to distance them from the threat. "Face me," she said, spreading out her inky wings. "You will not take them."

Gaizma pushed himself up, shaking his head at her. "Oh, Elora," he sang. "How naive you've become. It's a little sad, really." Scales covered every inch of his skin, shining in the sunlight. He conjured flames in his palms, the orange light dancing in the air.

Elora gathered her magic, prepared to fight off the fires. The light in the dragon's palms went out with a hiss as a stream of water shot around his hulking form. As she watched, the stream of water swung back around to stop next to her, where Nyal had stepped forward.

Ragen and Mikhail stood on the other side of her, the latter halfway through his transformation into wolf form. She hadn't even heard them move, she'd been too focused on Gaizma. "You should leave," she whispered, voice coming out in a rush. "If you stay, you may die."

"I'm not running from this fight," Nyal replied. "You need me."

"I need you alive!" she snapped.

He pursed his lips. "I will be."

"We're staying too," Ragen added, Mikhail growling next to him, "I doubt we'd make it far if we ran now anyway." She hissed in a nervous breath but said nothing more. Nothing she said would make them leave. It seemed that they would fight with her until their final breath.

Gaizma roared, the sound hurt her ears, and launched towards them. Mikhail jumped forward before Elora could move, meeting the dragon before he could reach the others. The lycanthrope jumped, claws out and landed against Gaizma's chest. His jaws clamped down on the dragon's shoulder, pulling at the scaled skin.

Elora took the opportunity to scramble back, pushing Nyal and Ragen along with her. She watched with wide eyes as blood sprayed from Gaizma's shoulder. He screamed, head tilting back towards the sky, and grabbed at Mikhail.

Mikhail let out a yelp as Gaizma grabbed his neck with a clawed hand. He ripped him from his shoulder and threw him through the air as though he were an insect. He rolled along the grass, coming to a stop metres from them with a whimper.

"Mikhail!" Ragen cried, trying to run towards the fallen wolf. Elora grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back, trying to convince him with only her gaze to stay back.