CHAPTER 43 #2
The horses buck, their heads swaying around, and the rumbles of their snorts are hushed by the whistling of the wind.
But also, the grumbling of the ground. The dragon's scales and spikes glisten like snakes that swivel along the ground.
They rise and fall in the sand, diving deep. Into the unknown.
My hands fall to my sides, steadying my balance as the sand dragons make circles around us. Some have spikes that stick out from the sand, higher than the horses. My stomach drops, turning and twisting in pure fear.
I don’t know how to fight a dragon. I’m unsure if the horses can help against them. We have eight horses, eight of us. The dragons… completely clueless on how many there are. The sand makes it seem as if hundreds are under us, waiting to feast. But with the night sky, it makes us vulnerable.
“Ren…” Theon’s voice trembles, his hands stretching wide to avoid falling. “What do we do?”
“Shit, I don't know!” I stutter, watching the dragons' bodies roll as if they are a part of the world.
“Can your dragons help?” Kaine shouts, holding onto his and Theon’s horses.
My eyes widen, focusing on the horses’ wings that stretch and fold repeatedly.
“Get on the horses!” I cough, shielding my face from the sand storm the dragons have now created. “All of you, get on them and fly away!”
“What about you!” Theon grips my shoulder. “We can’t leave you!”
I glance towards my Fireninze and the Ice horses. “I can’t leave her. Or the others.”
Without hesitation, Dryden is already trying to climb one of the Lasyius, making my lips roll together, trying not to laugh at his multiple failed attempts.
“How the hell do I get on one!” He raises his arms.
“Go help him! Help the rest of the chosen to leave.” I nod towards Theon, who scuffs as he slams his hands against his legs.
“Damn it Ren, I can’t leave you!” Theon exhales, rubbing his hands frantically through his hair. “Kaine, get the others on our horses. We have three that can fly, get those who want to leave out of here!”
“You two better not die!” Kaine shouts, hustling over to Dryden to help him up on Theon’s horse, as well as Death.
Pyreon climbs up on his horse, he is bonded with the Lasyius.
His silver-blue hair, shaved on the sides and twisted along his scalp, catches in the breeze.
He helps Hyroe up, who begins to hold onto him tightly, clenching his eyes with fear.
“We will meet you at the finish!” Pyreon shouts as they jolt into the air, the gust from the wings almost knocking us off of our feet.
“Kaine, take Koen!” I shout towards him before he climbs his horse. He pauses, glancing between Koen and I.
“I am not going anywhere,” Koen snarls.
“I’m out!” Dryden lifts with the horse, screeching as he wobbles side to side. I hear the laughs of Death as they soar away. I might not kill him, but the fall from that horse will if he can’t control it.
Theon cackles. “If I die, watching him try to ride a Lasyius and completely failing was so worth it.”
“We won’t die!” But as I say that, an enormous, scaly tail whips at my feet from under me and my back slams against the ground. I let out a groan, sand digging into my skin and irritating my eyes.
I roll to my side, eyes flickering open despite the burning pain of the sand scratching them.
That's when I see one of the sand dragons diving over me.
Its golden eyes are locked onto mine as its head swivels, steadily watching me.
Its scales, yellow yet rusty, are a perfect blend to hide in the sand.
This one has transparent wings, large ones up top and a few small ones.
But as it dives into the sand, the wings go flush against its body.
With force, I rise to my feet, noticing Kaine struggling with his horse.
The Lasyius’s hooves kick off of the sand, knocking Kaine to his back, and it flies upward.
The horse’s wings beat against the air, kicking up more sand as one of the dragons flies out of the land.
The dragon's mouth is wide, razor sharp teeth ready to devour the horse.
Its scales are sharp and pointed, glistening like a dark-charred stone. This one has no wings, just a slithering body.
Save the horse.
I call out to my dragons and within a heartbeat, they emerge from my stones. The light brightens around me, highlighting the other dragons who are coming for us in every direction.
“There are too many!” I cry out to Koen, watching him leap onto one of the dragon’s backs, riding it as if it were a horse before piercing it with a dagger multiple times.
The fire of the Fireninze's mane blazes, brightening the night for us to see.
I can hear her breathing, rumbling in her chest as she prances over towards me.
My dragons that soar towards the dragon that is inches away from the Lasyius, launch their elements against its enormous body.
A piercing hissing sound and roar escapes the dragon's mouth before diving back into sand, just in time for the Laysius to leave untouched. But also, leaving Kaine here.
“I suppose you are stuck here with me!” I yell over the rumbling sounds of the sand towards Kaine. His hands are in his hair, watching his horse fly off without him.
“Look, I love you and all, but I hate dragons.” Kaine raises his chin to the night sky. “I’m going to be eaten. This is how I die… it was nice knowing you all!”
“You are not going to die! Not on my watch.” I take a step towards my horse, allowing my body to rest against her. My chest rises and falls rapidly, unable to control my nerves.
They are never in packs.
“This is weird behavior for them, right?” I squint, trying my hardest to see Koen as he kicks one of the dragons he just killed.
“It is!” He tosses his curls out from his face, heaving from exhaustion. “We have only seen two together. This is unusual!”
Is it me?
Without hesitation, I jump, throwing my leg over my Fireninze and gripping her mane.
It's as if she senses what I am thinking and lunges forward, my body shifting backwards as I let out a gut-wrenching scream.
My foot slams into her, and my body bounces as we pick up speed, dodging dragons everywhere.
We soar over one, her hooves digging in the sand before they lift, and I stare at the dragon's body slithering over the sand like a snake.
“Serene!” I hear Koen shout, followed by a sudden groan.
My heart seizes as I glance back, and through the strands that whip against my face, I see the tail of a dragon beat against Koen before he lunges to the ground.
“Is he okay!” My voice rips through the chaos.
Theon and Kaine rush over to him, holding his body up before they both nod towards me.
Good. Okay, he is fine. He will be fine.
I need the dragons to follow me.
We charge through the sand, away from the three men I care deeply about.
I feel the ground trembling underneath us and I know it’s working. They are following us. They will be safe. The other horses will be safe.
The dragons want me. But why?
“I need to understand why they are after me!” My eyes clench, focusing so hard to connect with her, begging for her to speak to me.
“Let me show you.” The Fireninze slams her hooves down, kicking up rust-colored dirt all around us.
My chest slams into her and then back, catching my breath as my heart rate speeds up. My hands tremble, not from the ground, but from the uncertainty of what is about to happen.
“What the hell are you doing!” I jump off the horse, walking to meet her face and hold her. “Do you want us to die!”
“They won’t kill you.” Her hooves kick against the ground as she takes a step back before trotting around me and giving me a nudge with her face to move forward.
She’s gone mad.
Florian and Koen are right, she is as stubborn and hardheaded as me.
My eyes widen, catching sight of the dragons that spring from the ground, their wings catching the light of the fire from my horse. The others lift above the surface before allowing the sand to swallow them whole again.
My lips part, trembling as I try to steady myself. My dragons finally catch up to me, swirling and hovering around me. The one of fire, lighting the sky around me and the one of ice, cooling my body down from the scorching temperature of the desert.
Even though it’s night.
It’s a brutal place to try and survive.
I see the pathway the Gods gave us for the race right behind us, hoping and praying Theon, Kaine, and Koen have left to continue the race. I need them to be safe.
“It’s time.” The voice of the elder hits me like bricks, almost knocking the air out of me. I haven’t heard the voice that led me back home in what feels like forever, and now that she’s back, I know it’s important.
A crimson red light blasts from the sky, fire raining down directly on… me. Through the flames, I see Theon and Kaine coming to a slow walk as their eyes are wide in fear. Koen falls to his knees with his hands in his hair.
They didn’t leave me. But they should have.
They shouldn’t worry. They should know I’ll be fine. I won’t burn. And I can’t die, not as a Fallen Ember. Not as a Deskyiara. Koen knows that. The only way a Deskyiara can die is if the arrows or blade forged in the lava from the darklands pierces my heart, or if a damn dragon eats me alive.
Let's hope neither of those things happen today.
The flames flicker with an azure hue, casting soft tones of blue around me, and the trembling stops. The dragons halt.
But they surround me.
My chest rises and falls. My eyes frantically search everywhere, turning on my heels to circle around. Then, a dragon's nose pushes through the fire and hovers over me.
Its rust-colored neck swivels upward, almost touching the heavens, I swear of it.
The spikes reflect the fire around us, and its scales shimmer with a golden color that reminds me of the sun.
When the wings come into view as it makes its way through the wall of fire, my heart plummets, fear almost killing me.
This one is enormous. Larger than the one of the Darklands.
Then the dragon's neck arches down towards me. Its head tilts side to side, studying me. “Why do you keep running away?”
My chin lifts high. I’ve talked to a dragon before, I can do it now. Don’t show fear.
I just don’t want it to eat me.
“Why do the dragons keep trying to kill me?”
“We are not. We are here to remind you of the gift from the Gods. You need us. We need you.”
I stumble back, the nose of my Fireninze catching my fall.
“How do you know what my gift is!”
“Has Koen, the dark one, found the book hidden in the archives?”
My shoulders relax, heart racing. “How did you know—” I stutter, taking a deep breath. “How do you know anything about Koen? The book?”
“Your dragons…” The dragon tilts its head side to side before blowing hot steam through its nose. “Also, your horse. We all communicate. We all know what is happening within our Realms.”
“I don’t understand! How is this possible! How can I talk to you and no one else can?”
“That is part of the gift the God of Fire chose for you, he knew your sister would betray you. He saw the war that was coming. He wanted to protect you.”
My fingers dig into my forehead, scanning the ground in pure shock. “Why is my gift so important to you all?”
The dragon lowers its head, hues of turquoise and yellow glistening in its eyes. “Because your gift is the only thing capable of saving the dragons. Saving us all.”