Chapter 29
Well, it was a good run while it lasted.
Lorgan’s nostrils flare, huffing in the scent of me.
Even with his injured shoulder, he manages to rip my left arm tight behind my back, pinning me against his body.
The only way he could be able to use his mangled arm is if he’s a Bloodsinger: a strong form of blood magic that lets you manipulate the blood of a body, willing movement with your mind.
I hate to think what someone like him enjoys doing with a power like that. It’s odd he hasn’t used his magic on me yet, but I’m not waiting around to find out what that experience is like firsthand.
“It’s too bad you wrecked my good hand. I could have really showed you a good time before I killed you.” His threat crawls along my neck with his repulsive breath.
He reminds me exactly of the kind of company Chet fucking keeps. I’m going to die killing this disgusting waste of space if it’s the last thing I ever do.
My right hand is free, allowing me to flick my wrist, signaling Pip to release the blade from my bracer, just like we practiced. I reach around my side, jamming the dagger right into his dick, which is revoltingly hard, making the tiny thing an easy target.
The dagger in his hand slits my neck slightly as he timbers backward, cursing with furious pain. Good for me. The braid was a clever choice, or he’d surely have shorn my hair asymmetrically.
A familiar, sticky warmth trickles down my chest. I’ll deal with that later.
I tower over Lorgan, looking down on him with uninhibited disgust.
“I hope you enjoy that Petrifying Kiss. You fucking sicko. It’ll be the last time your small dick is ever hard.
” An evil laugh bubbles from my chest. I feign a pout.
“There’s no way you’ll get the antidote in time; we’re too far out.
” A wicked grin dances on my lip as I purr, “It would be the civil thing to slit your throat, but where’s the fun in that? ” I shrug.
His breathing shifts to short gasps. The blood that pours from his dick thickens to mud, then hardens to solid stone.
“You’ll fucking die for this!” he rasps between crunching coughs, each inhale scraping grit across solidifying crimson mortar.
“Been there, done that. Death takes me out for dinner now, thanks to you lot.” I wink, garnet sludge squelching as I wrench the dagger from his crotch. My lips curl into a sneer as I wipe his disgusting filth off my blade on the remaining leather of his pants.
My undivided attention pivots to Chet.
His eyes are wide with terror, unable to look away as Lorgan rasps his last breath.
I fetch the blade from above Chet’s collarbone, thankful I missed his carotid artery.
There’s no chance I’d escape the Commander severing my head for killing her son; their combined plotting likely put me first on her suspect list. I use my Sangre magic to heal the wound from the dagger, knowing well the paralysis will still take time to wear off.
I can’t leave a scar on him as evidence now, can I?
I pick up my remaining weapons, cleaning them on Chet’s cloak.
He doesn’t protest, given he’s barely breathing.
Taking small, pitiful gasps. Lucky for me, he isn’t totally paralyzed; I didn’t account for asphyxiation in my plan.
I notice a quiver at his lips, signaling the toxin is wearing off. Time to go.
I freeze.
Even my heart seems to still.
My every cell lulled by the crackling frequency from before, now soaring in the clotted clouds above me.
Thrump. Da-bump.
Each thundering beat of wings zings electric impulses, thrumming through my nerves, harmonizing with the alluring siren call.
Overhead, hues of lavender dance in leaves that quiver and quake.
Then drafts of wind bellow, swaying me like wheat in a brewing storm.
I coil my arms around a tree, narrowly avoiding being whisked away like a leaf clutched in a gale.
Branches snap.
Trunks bow and buckle.
An iridescent dragon splinters the canopy, folding the forest like the binding of a book to reveal her enormous form. Dwarfed trees cower in her wake as my neck cracks, craning to look up at her.
“Bathed in blood already, I see.” Her voice cuts like daggers, flaying the fluffy parts of my brain.
“You’re the dragon from my dream,” I breathe, eyes pooling wide in awe.
“I have been waiting for you for a very long time, Nebulight. I grew impatient for you to find me.” She pauses, tilting her head to fully take in the sight of the carnage I’ve wrought.
“I see you decided to have all the fun without me.” Her sharp voice slashing through my mind becomes less rattling with each word, but no less sarcastic.
“This bunch are horrible excuses for Elarians. I was afraid what they might do if they found the sacred nesting grounds.”
“This pet looks already dead. Shall I erase the remains for you? It's only fair you let me join in on the fun.”
I trail her gaze to Lorgan. Yep. He’s solid stone. Definitely dead.
Taking a stride back reveals Chet gulping up air. Thankfully, the chilling terror of my dragon seems to be keeping his tongue quiet for once.
“What about the other two? I am feeling a bit peckish.”
Her massive snout is square in shape; above are two piercing rainbow eyes slashed with black slits down the center. Her face is framed by spikes of varying sizes. The horns crowning the top of her head form two crescent moons facing each other, almost kissing at the top.
Her lips curl with a low growl, revealing eight-foot-tall fangs. Blue lightning brews in her throat, peeking through her teeth, casting an ominous shiver down my spine.
“If we kill that one, Commander Bragen will likely skewer my head on a pike. I could care less about the one passed out against the tree.” I throw a pointed thumb over my shoulder. “Dead one didn’t understand the concept of consent, hence his current state.”
Then I step over to Chet. Anger and dread swirl in his hollow green eyes. The blood staining the white streaks of his blond hair prickles me with utter delight. A vicious smile peaks at my lips as I savor the visual.
“Should we make this one beg for his life?” the dragon hisses in my mind with far too much shared amusement.
“As much as I do love to make a male beg, he isn’t worth the air he now breathes.”
I lower my head, releasing a snarl like a feral wolf.
“Know that you only live because of my mercy. Know that your life is a gift I will not give again. Your futile quest to kill me is over. Death knows my name. Yet she does not call it. And nor shall you.” I spit on his face before spinning on my heels, plotting course towards the gleaming dragon.
A maniacal smirk curves on my lips, snaring my momentum as my head hooks over my shoulder. “And I wouldn’t tell mommy dearest about this. She may very well disown you at the shame of your failure.”
I don’t spare another glance back. A thought congeals; perhaps we should finish off Brock just for the fun of it. The idea fizzles out as the dragon suddenly darts her head up, snapping to the side like she senses something.
“Quickly now. Get on my back. I will torch the evidence of the deceased. No time for snacking. I’m not the only thing looking for you in the woods.”
I’m not going to argue with those ominous words, nor bother wasting time thinking about what could spark fear in a monstrous dragon like her.
I back up to get a running start. Using the spikes on her legs as anchors, I hurl myself up her almost two-story leg before reaching her back.
Then I settle into position, resting my spine against the icicle spike that makes up one of her three lightning conductors.
My eyes drift down to see two curved spikes as the base of her neck, positioned perfectly for me to hold on to.
I watch a bundle of lightning arc out of her mouth, melting the stone carcass of Lorgan into a puddle of molten glass. I find myself wishing I had better control of my Chaos Magic so I could shatter him to nothingness.
“One day, you will. When that day arrives, you will be a fury to be reckoned with.” She dips, her legs crouching. “Now, hold on tight.”
“Wait, did you just read my thou—?”
And just like that, we’re hurtling into the sky. The muscles in my arms and legs screech, consuming all my strength not to fall off with the sudden momentum.
“Astute observation of you.”
“I was taught that it took at least a few days for that to happen, as the bond strengthens,” I scream over the air rushing past me.
“As I told you, Nebulight, I have been waiting for you for a very long time. Do not make me repeat myself again. You don’t want to see me when I’m cranky. Just focus on holding on for the next part.”
She extends out her four enormous wings, covered with iridescent feathers.
We fly straight up, slashing through blush and lilac clouds, the chroma of her scales shifting, reflecting the colors all around us.
An electric energy pulses within the spikes behind me, causes static to charge my willowing hair.
Her long tail is almost eel-like, with two thin ribbons rippling along the top and bottom, waving in the wind. My hair swirls in the gusts of her wings. She spins through the air, diving down to the ground, twirling around the other magical creatures flying around us.
Utter, careless freedom soars through my blood, melting the ice shackles of control anchoring my mind, shattering my glacial palace as my heart sings to life.
I’ve finally done it.
I’m an Ellian Knight.
The clouds remold around me, revealing the blotted outline of Sully’s smiling face.
An armored flying polar bear dives beneath us, as if Sully is here with me, soaring with pride.
An endless weight crumbles from my chest as I revel in the beauty of the moment.
My hair spins, its last strands freeing from the braid, joining in my liberation.
Calais ice, cerulean flames, and shattering lightning summon my Chaos Magic, tangling together in fractals of pastel rainbows. The feeling of everything around me seeps into my flesh.
I am alive. So very alive.
Black velvet ribbons flutter at the edge of my mind, sneaking through on the rift of my newfound freedom.
I picture a beautiful arched window of stained glass adorned with the night sky and close it.
I’m not ready for what those ribbons could mean, what lies hidden in their seams. Or how they’ve lurked past the defenses of my mental shield.
This magical moment isn’t for thinking. It’s for feeling - feeling alive and free for the first time, and I never want to let this sensation go.
White light shimmering in pastel rainbows leaks out from my veins, melting the remnants of my glacial palace, my ribs cracking, setting my heart free to soar.
We dip again, twirling and dancing, whipping the clouds up into new shapes.
“Now you’re just showing off,” I say in my mind, hoping the dragon below can hear my thoughts. That it’s truly that simple.
“We are a sight to behold. They should be honored by our presence.”
“I am noticing you are as large as your ego.” I smirk. She lets out a sassy huff, and I can’t help but smile. I would get a feisty dragon.
“You may call me Calais Lauoona Kaosa. Calais for short.”
“Calais.”
She growls. “Don’t butcher it. It’s pronounced Kah-lay.”
“Calais, I’m Savaé Entropaé. But I have a sneaking suspicion you already know that.”
“Good, your assumption is correct. Your true nature, Savaé, has been long awaited.”
“And I doubt you care to elaborate?”
“Patience, young one. All in good time.”
Figures. I’ve heard dragons love their secrets, hoarding them like treasure, I think to myself, despite how futile that seems now.
“There is only so much your young corporeal mind can handle. We do it for your protection. You’d be wise to be thankful for it.”
“Shit. Sorry. Still getting used to this whole hearing-my-thoughts thing.”
I close my eyes, enjoying the wind in my face.
Her movement pattern shifts, circling to land.
I notice within the shielded walls of my mind there are now white, effervescent ribbons wrapped around me.
My hand reaches out to touch them, sparking blue lighting, and I immediately know the energy belongs to Calais.
“Clever girl. Our bond is remarkably strong already. Because of this, I will be able honor you with an Arcane Glyph that will shake the realms. A gift foretold by the heavens.”
“Are you sure? I already kinda have my hands full with my Celestial Gift.”
“I promise you, you can handle more than you know, Nebulight.”
I’ve already caught on enough to realize not to waste my energy trying to ask about what any of that means. She lets out an unamused snarl as we land.
“I am honored. Thank you,” I finally reply.
“Better. Now, cement our legacy in ink. Tell the scribe my name.”
I slide down her leg to the ground. I’m met by her breath on my face, nearly knocking me on my ass. “You might want to clean up the blood on you. Can’t go around having all these little pets thinking I ate someone in front of you.”
Fuck. Double fuck.
My cloak. I hide behind her enormous leg and turn my cloak back to its normal position.
Grabbing some leaves and dirt off the ground, I attempt to wipe the blood off my face and battle leathers.
Why did these Celestials be dimmed things have to be white of all colors?
Someone clearly didn’t think that one through.
Calais lets out a sound that remotely resembles a chuckle.
I guess she agrees. I walk out from behind her leg and head towards the scribe.
“You still have blood on your face, and now you’re covered in dirt. You’re making me doubt my decision.”
“I doubt that with your foreboding ‘I have been waiting for you for a very long time,’” I say aloud, with as much sarcasm as she likes to chuck my way.
She huffs so violently behind me, she sends me stumbling forward. I turn around to glare at her, my fists snapping to my hips.
“You’re not the only one who gets to be sassy.” I think loudly in her direction.
She retorts by lowering her head and snarling her lips, showing off her treacherous teeth, gleaming larger than me.
“Okay, okay. Message received, loud and clear. Don’t pick fights you can’t win.” I turn, heading to the golden-robed scribe.
“Now behave, and do as I command.”
Geez. She’s worse than Sully was.
“I heard that.”