A Draton Isles Tale : Book 1 (complete)
As the Kingdom of Riteron sacrifices itself in war, King Darius must give up his only child to his most trusted knight. Princess Sapphire, true heir to the throne of Riteron, was sent away to be raised amongst...
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I allowed the dragons some resting time as the young fledlings gorged themselves on fruits. I stepped to the side, mind aching with revelation and confusion.
"An army will not be easy to compile," Alatnor said feom behind me. His insufferable presence was a thorn in my side.
"I know that."
"We are a peaceful clan, Taurus, this will be no easy battle," he continued, ignoring whatever it was I had to say "there will be resistance from within our own ranks and-"
"I know! Thank you very much oh wise one, but I do still live there and am completely aware of the utter lack of the art of war amongst our kind! This is going to be rough and dirty and many of us will die, but guess what?! If we don't try something, Buphas will kill us all anyway after he devours all the humans, including my damn, all powerful companion!" I turned and found ice slowly covering the ground where I stood, starting beneath my feet and devouring the ground.
Growling, I took off into the air and flew fast and hard in the vague direction of the isles. I had had enough of this nonsense, I needed to get to Sapphire before it was too late.
I flew higher until I burst through a cloud, and explosion of snow and ice showering down. I caught a glimpse of the other dragons further back and continued on. Alatnor carried the earth dragons and the fledglings on his back, the other dragons flying close by.
I carried on in silence, my anger slowly fading as my body tired. When I saw the Isles I headed straight towards the mountains, eager to rest in solitude before moving on to find Sapphire. I sat at the mouth of the cave and let my wings and tails fall limp.
As I turned to look over the valley and recoiled in shock at what I saw. Had I not just been there in person, I would have thought this island was the rogues' home. Devastation was everywhere. I saw the rest of my group fly over the mountain range, and even from this distance I could see the shock and rage in their postures.
I leapt from the ledge before my cave and flew down to the valley. As I rounded the bend, a roar ripped through my chest before I had even fully processed what was happening. Rogue dragons were everywhere. They polluted our valleys and lakes, they had forced themselves into the healing caves, and everything felt like it was on fire. I snatched the closest rogue up in my claws and threw him into a tree, satisfied with the crunch of bones. I dive again, picking and throwing the dark, rotting bodies aside.
A few younger dragons rounded up the injured and fled for the mountains, the healing dragons desperately trying to temporarily close wounds on the surface, hoping their patients would live for a more thorough treatment. My body went on autopilot, jaws snapping necks and wings beating back surprise attacks. I fought hard and fast, desperate to save those who still lived. Dead bodies piled up quickly and I prayed their numbers outweighed ours.
For a moment, I stilled. Battle raged on around me but I was stationary. I looked ahead and there I saw it. The familiar flicker of flames leaping between the scales of the winding red dragon. I reared back on my haunches, slamming forward into the ground i a sudden burst of movement. Ice shot from the ground in front of me, racing across the valley and piercing her body. Unfortunately, I missed her twisted heart, but I was already racing forward for another shot.
"Agh!" She screamed and turned, turning blazing eyes to me "you!" she hissed. I almost stumbled over myself when she said that single word. She had not spoken in over 17 years, not a single word of any kind.
"You speak," I said, dumbfounded. My body was still brimming with rage but my mind was reeling with hurt and confusion.
"A slip of tongue could have ruined years of work, so I simply did not speak," she replied as if 17 years of silence was nothing. " It was quiet easy too, you were always a bore." I growled loudly, ice slithering across the floor. She hissed in return, her flames growing.
"I trusted you with my life, treated you like family. All this time you were plotting against me!" I yelled. Her face dropped and she pouted.
"Not against you, my dear, but against that little witch," She curled her body and sat up calmly amidst the battle, as if we were just meeting for lunch.
"She is as much a part of me as my own skin," I replied.
"Really?" she asked, tilting her head thoughtfully to the side "from what I saw, you only merely tolerated her." Shame rolled over me, hitting me deep in my core.
"Unfortunately, my loyalties lied with you for many years, blindsiding me from the person who truly needed me and who I should have entrusted myself to."
"I know," she grinned wickedly. I narrowed my eyes and leapt up as a burst of fire shot from her body. I huffed as her flames singed my feet and dived down to grab her. She writhed in my claws, her body nothing but a vessel for fury and hatred, stoked by the fire she was gifted with. I threw her to the lake, dousing her flames momentarily but she crawled out, smoke drifting from her scales as she re-lit her body.
"Soria, why are you doing this? If its about the ceremony-"
"It is exactly about that ceremony! Everything changed that day. When your precious child was suffocating me, I was given insight into what my futures may hold. And in many visions, I stayed loyal to you and her, and in every instance, I died by her hand. I may be weaker than the rest, but I will not allow a child to be the end of me!" She screamed.
I was taken aback by the revelation. Because of her own twisted self image, she would destroy us all. I could not allow it, too many innocent lives were at stake because of an ego.
"I'm going to kill you!" I screamed. I focused on the river of the water and shards of ice shot out of the water, racing towards her. She rolled out the way, building her flames to beat back the ice. Her body darkened slowly as she moved and my concentration faltered, the ice quickly falling into puddles and splashing to the ground. When she turned to me, she was almost completely black. Dark shadows of flames coated her skin and her eyes were wild fires. She was rogue.
"Not if I kill you first," she said, her voice sounding raspier, like the roaring crackle of a forest fire rather than the gentle flames of a hearth that I had known so well. Again, I was still as my brain tried to catch up, trying to match the monster before me with old memories of my friend. I watched as she ran for me, tracing the sharper, angrier movements of this creature, and laying them over the fluid twist of that memory.
Only when a searing heat pierced my chest did I move. I bellowed and threw my body sideways, dislodging her from me. Blood seeped between the plates of ice coating my chest and I almost fell limp right there. But I pushed the pain aside and walked over to her. pinning her beneath me before she could slither away.
"You are not Soria," I said swiping at her throat, pressing my claw against it. She cried out and screeched as I let cold seep into her skin. She fought back, her fire melting my ice, layer at a time, revelaing the sensitive skin underneath. I reared up and slammed into her throat again and she choked violently as I pressed against her.
"You disgust me," I spat in her face. My vision was blurring, sometimes seeing as many as three of her at once.
"You loved me once," she croaked as I swayed above her. I shook my head, focusing my energy onto her.
"Never again," with one final slam, I cracked her neck. Her flames died out just as the darkness pulled me under.
I know theres only 2 days until this chapter is due but, I love it so I'm giving it to you now and you'll get another on Wednesday (Sapphs POV).
Let me know what you think and tell me your predictions for what will happen next!!
