The Fae Prince

Chapter 14: Glacies

Haley

The sound of wings beating against the air fills our ears as we watch a large mass of midnight blue scales fly closer and closer to us.

"Oh, dear God in heaven," I whisper as I watch with wide eyes.

The beast lands a couple hundred feet away from us, blowing wind in our direction from the flap of its wings and causing us to stumble back slightly. At least Cathy and I.

The queen smiles brightly and lifts her gown before running forward.

"Halitus Ignis!" The Queen squeals in excitement.

As she runs forward, the dragon clambers around her and walks toward Cathy and I.

"It's gonna eat us!" I scream as I hug Cathy close to me.

The dragon lowers its head until it's flat against the ground, it's neck exposed to Cathy and I. It's mane, which is made of some sort of tissue connecting bone-y scales, flattens and the spikes on its body lay against its body so that it's smooth.

"What does that mean?" I ask the queen as I look from the dragon to her gloomy expression.

"She's submitting herself to you," the queen explains, "It means she likes you."

I laugh slightly before letting go of Cathy. A warm feeling of acknowledgement blossoms in my chest, and without a second thought, I walk forward and place my hand gently on the dragons snout, petting it.

"Hi there, girl," I whisper, "My name's Haley."

I'm touching a dragon. A dragon.

The dragon purrs and shoves her snout deeper into my hand. When Cathy tries to walk forward to touch her, she growls. The queen shushes her and moves forward as well, but the dragon stands to her feet and raises her head to the sky, letting go of an ear piercing screech. When she brings her head back down, she stretches her wings out before bringing them around me to form a barrier between me and the queen and Cathy. 

"Why is she doing this?" I ask.

"I believe she's acting in response to your blood," the queen replies from outside the dragons wings, "I'm assuming she smells the heritage it carries. The original faeries often befriended dragons and kept them safe from hunters."

I place my hand gently on the belly of the dragon and pat it.

"It's okay, baby, you can move your wings," I whisper.

Instinctually, I shut my eyes and place my forehead against her belly, projecting my emotions onto her. She starts to ease up on the wing barrier and eventually lifts it entirely.

Cathy and the queen are standing tense, seemingly ready to attack if the dragon were to act out.

"I think everything's okay," I say, gently stepping away from the dragon, "What's her name?"

"I named her Halitus Ignis," the queen replies, "She breathes ice."

"Halitus Ignis means breath of fire, but she breathes ice?" I surprise myself with my knowledge of the terms, making a mental note to ask about that later.