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"Alright, guys stand back. I got this," Bai smirked confidently.
Bai's figure began to glow a crimson shade of red and grew into an enormous figure that bared a tail and wings. Corrine could feel her stomach turning as she realized what Bai was turning into. He was turning into a dragon. When the light faded away, what was once a teenage boy had transformed into a beast coated with shades of warm-colored scales with massive wings and talons.
Bai inhaled a deep breath and spat a pitiful stream of fire into the pile of sticks that Andrea had gathered.
"That was rather anticlimactic," Andrea scoffed.
"My bad, I'll burn down the whole forest next time," Bai boomed.
"Would you keep your voice down!" Eros whispered aggressively. "We don't know what could be following us."
"Oops, my bad," Bai whispered back, but it did no good. His voice still echoed through the trees. The dragon glowed the same crimson red and shrunk down into the size of Bai. "But dude you gotta admit that was pretty fucking awesome."
"Was that really necessary?" Corrine spat at Bai. "I hate dragons."
Bai put his hand over his chest as a hurt expression washed over his face. "That hurt, Corrine. That really did," Bai teased.
Corrine gave Bai a punch in the arm. "Shut up."
Bai glowed again but this time shrunk to an even smaller size. When the light disappeared, Corrine could see that Bai had turned into a little bunny.
"Is this better?" Bai asked, batting his eyes up at Corrine.
"Go to hell," Corrine laughed.
"Is that a little bunny?!" Aurelia shrieked with joy.
Bai's eyes grew wide as Aurelia raced over to corral him in her hands.
"Aren't you just the cutest thing," Aurelia said in a high pitched baby voice. Aurelia scooped Bai into her hands and cuddled him to her cheek.
"Okay, I'm done," Bai stated and turned back into his human form, his face still smushed up against Aurelia's.
As soon as Aurelia realized that she had been holding Bai all along, she released and pulled away while her face turned a rosy pink.
"Alright, play time's over," Nizhoni chuckled. "We need to figure out what the hell we are doing."
"Fair," Axel stated as he tossed another log onto the fire. "I know someone probably should've asked this earlier...but do we have like a map or something princess?" Axel snarked at Corrine.
Corrine walked over to her horse and pulled a rolled up piece of paper out of one of the satchels. "Hey, I know I'm new at this whole quest thing but I'm not an idiot," Corrine shot back. She took the edges of the map, spread it onto the ground and placed a couple rocks on the corners to hold them down.
Corrine pointed to the kingdom at the far left of the map. "This is Aireviel, we're we started." Corrine continued to drag her finger along the path that was marked on the paper. "We have about another day of forest before we enter The Realm of Beasts."
"Beasts? Like as in big ugly giants and all that?" Kai asked with wide eyes.
"Honestly," Corrine exhaled. "I have absolutely no idea."
Axel scoffed and rolled his eyes.
Corrine could feel annoyance bubble within her. "What is your problem, Axel? If you have some sorta problem you should speak now or this will be a long haul."
"I just don't see what you've done to earn trust from any of us. I barely know you and I'm just supposed to follow your orders?"
Corrine brows furrowed with frustration. "I'm trying to help you and all of our kingdoms!"
"Why?" Axel asked, throwing his hands up in the air. "I thought rich royals only cared about themselves?"
"We are all royals! If you want to believe that all princes and princesses are stuck up and selfish well then you're bashing yourself too. So I would think twice before you put down others you don't even know yet and for the record, I don't even have to know you to give a shit."
Axel took a seat under the far tree and leaned up against the trunk. "Carry on."
"Thank you," Corrine huffed. "As I was saying, we don't really know what to expect from The Realm of Beasts so we need to be on high alert. After we pass through there, there is a neighboring village we should be able to take refuge in."
"We should be able to stock up on supplies too," Aurelia pointed out. "The people in that village are very friendly. My family and I have been there before."
Corrine nodded as her finger reached the end of the shoreline. "Then we reach the Black Sea, where we will find Morana's island about 10 miles out."
"And the waters?" Kai began. "Nothing good can lurk in those depths I suppose? My Grandfather's kingdom doesn't even go that far. He told me it's too dangerous."
"I'm assuming that he is very much correct about that," Corrine agreed. "If I were you, I wouldn't expect anything good until we reach the village."
"And what about Morana? What's our plan for her?" Andrea asked.
"She isn't near as powerful on the mainland than she is on her island," Nizhoni explained. "I wouldn't expect her to attack here but that doesn't mean she won't send something to do the dirty work for her."
"Nizhoni is right. The island will be the most dangerous part but that doesn't mean getting there will be a breeze. I say we burn that bridge when we get there." Bai added.
"So we are just going to improvise with this evil mistress?" Andrea asked in disbelief.
"I wouldn't say so much as improvising but I do believe we should focus on one thing at a time." Corrine finished.
"That's foolish!" Andrea exclaimed. "You said that she most likely won't attack but that doesn't guarantee it. What if she wants us dead from the get-go?"
"She needs the amulets, therefore she will let us come to her. Yes, that doesn't mean that other things will try to stop us in the process but it does mean that we won't have to worry about her until we reach the island."
"Fine," Andrea surrendered. "But if that bitch kills us in our sleep I'm coming back to haunt your families."
"Well, then we just won't die," Bai joked, stating the obvious. "I'll take first watch tonight."
"Alright, we should turn in," Eros said as he tossed his blanket on the ground to lay down on. "Things only get harder from here on out."
Everyone followed Eros in making their beds on the hard ground. Heavy sighs filled the air as their tired bodies finally rested into the dirt.
"Does anyone smell something burning?" Axel asked, sniffing the air. Axel could feel an intense heat on his left leg. He carefully sat up and looked around only to see that his pant leg had been too close to the fire and flames were now creeping up the seams. "Holy shit! Kai!"
Kai quickly sat up and blasted Axel will a surge of water, too much water. Axel, who was now drenched, wiped his eyes and pulled his soaked hair from his face.
