15. Chapter One
Chapter One
I had been lying to my people about my whereabouts throughout the day.
As a recently marked chieftess, I felt guilty about it.
I should be open to them as their protector, but I still hadn’t mustered the courage to tell Baron what I was doing.
I guessed that didn’t make me a dutiful wife either, let alone a leader.
But I realized that the fae warriors of our small piece of the world of Osparia had traditions, customs so instilled within them, they would never find this acceptable.
They would never change their ways for the dragons that roamed through the Espien Islands—our islands.
Maybe I was the crazy one as I stood in front of one, talking out loud to her as a friend while I mulled over all the thoughts in my mind.
The battle between dragons and warriors had raged on from when I was a babe.
Before my time, the fae of our islands only had one view of the dragons—that they were vile bestial creatures that roamed our land and stole our food.
Over time, it became a tradition that if you slayed one, they considered you one of the finest warriors, the title being something to be proud of.
One of the customs that my people still lived by was simple.
When you became of age, you slaughtered a dragon to prove yourself worthy of being titled as a fae warrior.
But I had never viewed them as dreadful beasts.
If anything, I had seen a reflection of myself through Emeris.
Beyond that simple rule, we had lived peacefully amongst them since times of old.
I ran my hand up and down Emeris’s rough leather-like skin.
The light reflected off of her scales, making her almost look dark purple, although her color was black from a distance.
She nudged me with the side of her angular head, and I giggled, smiling up at her.
Her bright-yellow eyes met mine, and I admired her fierceness. That was something I needed more of.
“How about one more ride for the day, Ris?” She perked up at my offer, spreading her wings with a purr of excitement before she lowered her colossal frame down to the ground so I could get on her back.
I climbed on, and she nudged my leg with her snout to ask if I was ready as she inched toward the edge of the cliff.
I patted her neck, letting her know I was, as she spread her wings and dropped over the ledge.
Her wings caught the wind, and we were soaring into the clouds of the open blue sky.
My smile stretched across my face, and the wind tousled my long braided locks as Emeris’s powerful wings took us farther out to sea.
Once we were far enough away from home, we flew below the clouds and enjoyed the views before grabbing fish from the depths of the ocean and heading back.
My people believed I wandered out into the forest on hunting trips for food or resources to use around our homeland.
What they didn’t recognize was while I did that, I was riding the dragons they were raised to fear and kill.
After several long moments of playing in the clouds, Emeris free-fell to the water so close, the talons at the ends of each of her wings skimmed the water.
The cool mist on my cheeks made me laugh aloud and splash her back before I noticed it.
She was giving me a side glance, and I recognized her playful features.
“You better not.” I said it at the same time she dipped down, submerging us under the water.
I gripped her neck harder, holding on, and for a few moments, the world went silent as the rushing water flowed over my head.
Emeris whipped her fin-like tail once, twice, and then we were breaking the surface of the ocean once more.
The rush of air hitting my wet body and dripping hair sent a shock to my senses.
My skin pebbled while Emeris shot back up into the sky.
I rubbed her neck, laughing off the adrenaline rush, and her low purr back almost sounded like she was laughing with me.
Her head turned, and she glanced at me. I pushed my hair away from my face.
The black coal that lined my warm brown eyes smeared against my bronze-toned cheeks as I wiped away the water.
Soaring high, I glanced at the horizon in front of us and spotted something I’d never seen before.
At first, I thought it looked like a storm coming in from the distance, but as the large black specks grew clearer in my mind, I wished it were a storm rather than what I was seeing.
A small fleet of Ember warships was sailing straight toward the islands.
I pulled up hard on Emeris’s neck, launching her back up above the clouds, not wanting to be spotted by the Fire Fae headed toward our home, but it was too late.
Large balls of fire shot through the clouds, one after the other.
The only thing that kept us from being hit was the way the clouds glowed a faint orange before the flames broke through the bottom.
“Go, Ris, go!” I commanded; her wings beat faster, causing the air to shift the high clouds we were riding across.
Emeris moved so fast, the only thing I could hear was the whistling wind in my ears.
The minutes seemed like seconds through the panic of my racing heart.
Soon I could see our home in the distance, while the ships behind us were long left out in the sea.
I let out a shaky breath as Emeris landed atop the same ledge we fell from, and I leaped off her back and buried my head into her chest, wrapping my arms around her neck.
“Are you okay?” I asked, pulling away, dragging one of my hands down her, doing one full lap around her entire body and checking for any cuts or burns.
She nudged me with her snout, a loving gesture I learned from her from the many months we had spent together.
She blew out a puff of smoke in my direction, making me remember she was a dragon and not just my best friend.
Her leather-like skin was fireproof, considering she was a beast created to withhold the flames in her chest.
“Hilarious.” I rolled my eyes at her, and she nudged me again, almost as if she were trying to thank me for caring. I smiled, but it faded as I realized I had to tell not only Baron but all my people what happened today. And I did not know how they were going to take it.
The Emperor of Ember had wanted to strike the world of Osparia and take it for himself from the moment he sat on the throne.
The only thing stopping him was the Peacebringer being alive.
If the rumors were true, the Emperor took the vision the soothsayer foretold about the next bringer of peace, and no one could have guessed what he had planned next.
His cruel heart had no limits after what happened in Heavensreach.
I wouldn’t let my people do anything to Emeris or any dragon. There was a battle far worse sailing upon our horizons.