The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Thirty-Two

I followed directly behind Darius with Genevieve, Finn, and Dove following us. I felt a tiny hand gently grab my hand and give it a squeeze. 

"It's nice to have you back." Dove smiled up at me, "Even if the circumstances aren't quite the best."

I returned the smile. "I can't help but agree." After all, six months of just being with my mother and the villagers had been torment after spending some time at the camp. Before I met them, I could handle Erstonia and the hate that followed. It was all a part of my life and I didn't know anything else. There was nothing to miss. After being at the camp and seeing what a true village should be like and how people should actually be treated, everything had changed. I could point out every wrongdoing the people around me were doing to myself and each other. The differences were painfully clear and I had longed to return, but the way Darius had sent me away kept me from continuing with that idea.

Darius led us from the main chamber we had been. The chamber had high ceilings that were nearly triple our height. The walls and flooring were made entirely of stone, scratches and dents in some of the pieces. Chains dangled from all angles, scattered bones in the corner. There was some straw strewn about the floor, especially in front of several doors that were all similar to the one that I had been behind. Against one of the doors were several small bodies that didn't quite look human. They were scaly with four legs each, but it wasn't quite a dragon. It being too hard to distinguish, I kept on. He directed us up the stairs in the far corner opposite the bones where I was surprised to see a large wooden door above us. 

"Are we in the ground?" I asked, curiously touching the door. I had never seen a door be above the entrance like this. I had only ever seen doors be in front where you could walk through, not climb through.

"Yes. The guards that run the dungeon like to fly out the door rather than walk. It's normal here." Darius glanced behind at us. "Prepare yourselves. We're going straight to the throne room, whether that means walking ourselves or being caught and being brought directly to my father. I'm not entirely sure what to expect once we get outside. There might be no one, but we might be surrounded. Just follow my lead, no matter what happens." He glanced up at the doors, motioning for us to fall back. "I just hope we have a chance to fight."

I was pulled back by Finn, who was grinning ear to ear. "He's gonna do it!" He began to laugh, punching the air with excitement. "I have a feeling this entire day is going to be like this."

"Never thought I'd ever be in a situation where I'd need to fight dragons." Genevieve started to smile. 

I never thought it either, which was strange given the news that I was, in fact, Allira. With what little time we had, I tried to think back on the past and remember any times where she gave me clues to who I really was but none were currently coming to mind. I would have more time to dwell on it when we returned. 

Darius inhaled a deep breath, beginning to transform. 

While I had seen it several times before, it had been months since I had seen it last. I was left in awe as I watched his arms turn scaly and grow larger. The blue started coming onto his skin, his claws digging into the wooden steps that led to the door. His wings weren't able to stretch out given the tighter space, but he adjusted them well enough. With one of his clawed arms, he reached out and effortlessly pushed the door open. As he walked through, we followed. 

I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting there to be on the other side of the door, but this wasn't it. The ground was white and fluffy, appearing to me to be like the clouds Darius had first flown me through. I bent down, surprised that it didn't disappear at the touch of my fingers. It was completely solid. The wonder of it made me smile, though my attention was quickly drawn to other things. The buildings here were ginormous! To look at the top of the dozens of buildings I saw around us, I had to lean my head entirely back. They were made of similar materials that we used back home, though the colors were different. They were orange, green, blue, and red.  I made a mental note to ask Darius about it later. While I was looking up at the top of the buildings, I noticed all the dragons flying around. Very few were on the ground walking around. They were all different colors, though none looked anything like Darius. He seemed bigger and brighter in his color.