Draygon Inferno | Book 2 | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Nine

           Wren shook his head when Idris drew their hands back to their sides, the flames no longer extending from their fingers. Siobhan watched Wren carefully, wondering if he would simply sprint into the flame and allow it to consume him. When he stepped forward, she grabbed his arm.

"What did you feel?" she asked.

"Nothing good. And yet . . . I don't think it was bad either."

"I. . ."

"Let's go, Siobhan. You said it yourself, we can talk after this is settled."

Wren ran forward, Jaeda and Idris following in close pursuit. They ran toward Draygon, their feet kicking up scorched earth in their wake. Siobhan watched as the fire circle that had protected them from the battle began to shrink inward. Flames twisted and snapped within itself, crackling upward, and yet it made no smoke. There was nothing drifting into the sky, only the ripples of heat ribboning upward. She gritted her teeth, turning away from the flames, and ran after the others.

The fire walls continued to rise beside them, filling any empty gap it could. The Crimson Cloaks still within the city walls didn't know what hit them before the flames were upon them and guiding Siobhan down the murky streets of her once home. Her heart sank at the sight of the Draygon sleeping within their tomb pods, same as the mages inside the spires. Lifeless, empty, their lives sustained by the power shifting through their pods.

As they ran past, the pods opened, the Draygon inside rushed forward into the flames. They didn't stop despite the flames consuming their bodies and sending them to their fiery death.

"Can you keep the flames from hurting the Draygon?" Siobhan wasn't sure if Idris chose to ignore her or if they simply couldn't hear her. Either way, nothing changed. The Draygon continued running to their deaths in the fiery walls guiding Siobhan to the woman who was behind their deaths. Siobhan could sense the tears readying to free themselves from the crooks of her eyes, tears she knew she couldn't fight back. It was anger and sorrow and guilt all in one. "Please. If you can't keep the Draygon from burning then stop the fire. We'll take our chances in a fight!"

Wren looked back at her, still running. "Idris, can you keep the Draygon from burning? Take only the Vanguard, hurt no one else."

"That I cannot do. Any who touch the flame shall meet their end. If I were to lower the flame walls, we wouldn't make it to the palace."

"Then we need to run faster," Wren said. "Okay Siobhan? Run faster."

"Aye. Faster." She roared and gripped her staff, willing her legs to speed up. Her muscles ached, her lungs burned, she wanted to curl into a ball and cry at the loss of her people, but by the Goddess she ran faster. She ran so fast she soon passed Wren and Jaeda, joining Idris at their side. The wyvern didn't cast her a glance, they continued to run seemingly unaware she was even there. Stones of the roads of Draygon felt as though they slipped beneath her boots, but it wasn't the stone slipping. It was her, the worn soles of her boots unable to keep up with the speed of her sprint. When she stumbled she pulled herself back up and continued to run. All her endurance and strength were being tested in one solid swoop and Siobhan feared there wouldn't be energy left for Kaylis. But she had to get to the palace. She had to get to a place where the Draygon would no longer hurl themselves into the flame. How many would Kaylis sacrifice to make a point? All of them?

"You're going to pay for this, Kaylis." Her gasps for air did nothing to stop her words. She narrowed her eyes and screamed when she saw the steps leading into the palace. Siobhan bound them two at a time and exploded into the one hallowed halls of her childhood home, ready to swing at any awaiting Crimson cloaks. The flames ended at the door and Siobhan slid to a stop. She turned around to see the last remnants of fire fade away and expose them to the surviving Draygon marching onward.