Dragon Witch ✔️

58 - Draconia

My head spun as I stepped out of the archway. Dozens of smells swarmed around me, smoky and sweet, cool and sour, all overlaid with some other scent that I couldn't quite pin down. It was the scent of another world, with another atmosphere. More than that, the air itself was different. Richer.

It was like having been on a mountain, breathing in thin air for ages, then stepping off into a sea-level town. I breathed more easily than I ever had. Before this, I hadn't even noticed the air wasn't quite right, but now I couldn't imagine going back to an Earth atmosphere without noticing the difference.

The sky was different, too; it was indigo, lit by a blue sun. Part of it was hidden behind wide, rocky planetary rings. The rings covered half the sky. This was insane. I was on another planet. I'd probably technically been on another planet at the Otherworlder restaurant and MMC, but those were just pocket universes. They weren't honest-to-goodness planets.

"Hey," Kyton shouted, shocking me out of my revere. He was a few feet away, being poked in the stomach by a green, multi-headed dragon.

I marched over and transformed into my changeling form. "Leave him alone."

The dragon's biggest head darted down to my level. A feminine voice slithered through my mind. Where did you find this beast? I've been looking for one this healthy for a long time. None of the ones in the market are worth anything these days.

"What beast-" My words caught in my throat as I spotted several crouching figures by the dragon's hindquarters. They were fairies, clothed in rags and covered in dirt. Thick chains ran from their necks to a harness around the dragon's middle.

I growled. "He's not a beast, he's a-"

Drakius interrupted me with a short laugh. "He's a pet, Illisnta. You know how these Otherworlders are--completely attached to their food animals. You'd have to travel off world to get a specimen like this. He's a first-generation wild fae." He nodded. "We need to hurry, we're on our way to the survival competition."

She bobbed several of her heads. Of course, of course. Are you competing this year?

He shook his head. "I wish we could talk longer, but we have to go." He headed down the street with one of the six-legged dragons at his side.

I followed with my friends, and the second black dragon followed behind us. Drakius started muttering about "talkative gate-keepers," but I blocked him out. The portal archway we'd just passed through was at the top of a wide street teeming with dragons.

Stony-scaled dragons the size of houses ambled along next to quick, kangaroo-like dragons with little hatchlings sticking out of their pouches. Enormous winged snake dragons slithered under swarms of miniature dragons with butterfly wings. The dragons came in a rainbow of colors, from blue to yellow, from dull gray to shinier than polished silver.

Their buildings were as varied as their inhabitants. Some were made of intricately sculpted glass climbing in spirals. Others were nothing more than giant hollow piles of rocks. Some shimmered with enchantments that made them blend into the background. Others looked like they'd been carved out of the side of a cliff.

Standing above all the towering buildings was one massive circular building that had to be an arena or stadium. It was made of black stone--something shiny, maybe obsidian--and it emanated a feeling of dread. We might die in that arena.

***

Through the colossal arena doors--which stood open to the street--all I could see was a mass of swinging tails and shuffling wings. The sounds of draconic voices skittered through my thoughts, making it hard to focus as we waded into the crowd. I heard scraps of conversation, only enough to figure out that we weren't the only ones dreading this competition.