I crouched into a defensive stance, not sure what to prepare myself for. “The skeletons come from the pool,” I explained. “I don’t know what else.”
The pool continued to widen, stretching to the back corners of the walls.
“He could be summoning an army,” Isaline said.
I glanced at Dormir, who was pointing to me, the pool, and then stretching his arms out and flapping them.
I furrowed my brow. “You want me to fly into the pool?” I called.
He shook his head. He stretched his arms out again and flapped them like wings, then pointed to the pool. He put his hands in front of him and moved his fingers like fire.
“Something with wings is coming from the shadows?”
He nodded vigorously, then pointed to each of us.
The inky surface rippled violently.
Nicholia gasped. “No … that’s impossible!”
A nose broke the surface, then claws. Dragon claws. A dragon’s mouth and face, but no scales protected it, only moving shadows that shifted like the wisp of smoke on the wind, no wind blew around us.
“A wraith dragon!” Nicholia shouted. “We cannot defeat him alone. We need all of the dragons! Rowen, go get the others!”
“It will be half a day before any of us return!” he said as the creature continued to claw its way out of the pool. “You’ll be dead by then.” He turned and looked through the open doors. “But I can send a message through the trees.” He disappeared into the sunlight.
“Are they like us?” I asked, my eyes darting around the room for any sign of Gerard.
“They used to be, but like humans, dragons also have dark sides,” Nicholia explained, making his way around the edge of the room for a different angle. “They served darkness and serve it in death. Though, unlike us, a wraith dragon can only heed the orders of their master.”
“Gerard has to be somewhere near! He has to be saying an incantation! If we can stop him before he finishes, maybe the dragon won’t make it out.” Like a fool, I tried to run up the icy stairs, only to curse myself and fly up them instead.
“We better hurry,” Rowen called, flinging the nearby door open.
The wraith dragon roared, and the sound felt like a million souls screaming in torment pierced through my chest, making my blood run cold and stealing my breath. The dragon was massive, bigger than Nicholia, and I knew he was right. Three dragons against this massive dragon—we didn’t stand a chance. I hardly counted in their numbers. I didn’t know how to truly fight yet, but I never imagined we would face a creature such as this.
I flung the library door open and then ran to the next door and flung that open.
“He isn’t down here!” Isaline shouted.
“I can’t get to the back rooms,” Nicholia reported.
“I’m going to get Dormir,” Rowen said.
I stopped and ran to the top of the stairs. “I’m at a better vantage!”
The wraith dragon had his entire upper body out of the hole now, and it went right through Dormir like a ghost. The dragon already filled the entire entrance of the castle and if it made it out of the hole, it would destroy the entire front of the castle.
“Act fast!” my father called.
I couldn’t hesitate this time. I spread my wings behind me and jumped from the landing, hand outstretched toward Dormir. He began to sink. I could see into the void. Gray men and women with sunken faces and skeleton fingers stood in a horde, clawing at the surface as though pleading for their chance to enter the mortal realm.
I snapped my wings out at the last possible moment and plunged my hand into the darkness. I grasped Dormir’s prison, but a chill ran through me like I’d never felt. The pool of darkness seized my hand and held on.
I saw my kingdom in ruins—the castle a smoldering pile of ashes, nearby homes burning or completely decimated, people lying dead in the streets, the faeries wailing for their loved ones. Bodies of dragons lay scattered among orchards or meadows.
Despair crept into my heart, and I longed to dive headfirst into the darkness. I wanted to let it swallow me up. I let myself imagine how I would feel to leave this world.
Another screaming roar from the wraith dragon broke my thoughts of misery, and I lifted my gaze to see my mother yelling at me. I blinked heavily. Everything felt so slow. She waved her hands, motioning me toward her.
Another blink and movements began to speed up.
A third.
A fourth.
Finally time resumed, and I pulled the cage from the pool. I flung myself toward my mother, holding Dormir close to my chest, and collapsed against the stone floor gasping for breath.
“You completely froze!” my mother said. She grabbed me under my shoulders and dragged me into the adjoining room.
The wraith dragon reached a clawed hand out, shattering the floorboards beneath his claws as he grappled for us. I rolled to my knees and opened Dormir’s cage.
The instant his feet touched the floor, he returned to his normal size. He staggered and fell to a knee.
“Dormir!” I flung my arms around him and held him tightly.
“Ow, ow, ow.”
“Sorry!” I let go.
He smiled weakly, but relieved. “Just … give me a moment. Going from tiny to big …” He put his hand on his chest and rubbed hard. “And that place …” He shuddered.
“We don’t have time!” My mother shoved us both as the dragon’s hand burst through the doorway and barely missed us. “We need to get outside and burn this place down with Gerard inside it.”
I took Dormir’s hand the instant he reached for me, and we climbed out the broken window and ran outside. The faeries had returned and were battling the undead, but they had discovered my patch of ice and all stood on it, surrounded by skeletons as they fought. Those soldiers who were left from the castle fought alongside the fae.
Dormir smiled. “I wish the others had joined us.”
“I can make the rest of this area ice,” I said, keeping on topic. “The skeletons are starting to appear on the parapets,” I pointed out.
Dormir looked at the walls. “Where’s the armory? I’m a pretty good archer myself.”
“That tower.”
He grabbed me and crushed his lips to mine. “I know it’s not the right time, but you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” He grinned and took off across the battlefield.
Nicholia was already in his dragon form, and Father was in the middle of transforming. Mother transformed the instant she was outside as well. I spread ice across the ground while Nicholia and my father flew into the air and breathed fire at the castle.
The mindless skeletons were completely oblivious to the dangers of the ice and stood stupidly as it spread up their legs, keeping them in place. The faeries cheered and easily took them out with the swipe of a scimitar or sword.
I glanced up at the parapets in time to see Dormir shooting his arrows and slaughtering even more skeletons. I wanted to stare at the way his body moved, the confidence in his gentle eyes, but we were still in the middle of a fight I wasn’t sure we could win.
I transformed into my dragon and took to the skies, spreading the ice all the way around the castle. By the time I had finished, the building was already engulfed in flames. It was bittersweet. I knew it had to be done, but I had hoped we would have been able to return the beautiful structure to the fae queen, to Dormir.
I gasped, remembering Dahlia’s acorns. Without hesitation, I dove through her burning window and grabbed the nightstand in which the acorns had been stored. I dropped to the ice and returned to my human form long enough to yank the drawer out and open the burnt box. I only hesitated a moment before opening the lid.
Inside, all of the acorns were in pristine condition.
I held the box close to my chest, then turned to face the cas
tle as crackling started.
The roof collapsed, and we waited with bated breath.
The top floor collapsed.
And then nothing but fire.
“Did we do it?” Dormir called from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder. He leaned his hands on the edge of the parapet to get the safest view.
But the wraith dragon’s screaming roar tore through me again, and a new kind of dread froze my bones. I faced the rubble and watched in horror as the wooden beams shifted until mighty wings spread out and the largest dragon I’d ever seen shook off the last burning pieces of the castle.
He looked directly at me.
“How do we defeat a wraith dragon?” I asked. I shoved Dahlia’s treasure in my pocket and took off running up the steps to Dormir.
“I don’t know,” Nicholia called down to me. “Attack with all we’ve got?”
I nodded. “Then we attack.” I stopped beside Dormir. “Shoot it with everything you have. Get your archers.”
He snatched my wrist as I turned, pulled me to his chest, and kissed me. “You better come back.”
“You won’t lose me, remember?” I grinned. “I should be worried about you. You don’t even have any armor. Give this to Marigold.” I tossed the box of acorns to Dormir and transformed.
“What’s this?”
“Your reason to live! You better make sure my sister gets that, or else …” I let it hang as I joined my parents and Nicholia in the sky.
The four of us dove and blasted fireballs at the dragon. They seemed to strike, but it was almost as if the smoke surrounding the dragon extinguished the flames and the blows didn’t land. Darkness began to surround us, and it was only then I glanced to see the sun setting. We were losing daylight, which meant more shadows for Gerard to play with. He still hadn’t shown his disgusting face.
The dragon stretched its wings as if it hadn’t moved them for centuries. Mother landed on the ground a safe distance away. The earth trembled and shifted as she used her magic to manipulate the earth so it would clamp down on the dragon’s feet and legs. Enormous boulders began to spring from the ground.
The wraith roared at her, then beat its mighty wings, kicking up the surrounding dirt and easily breaking its mighty claws from the earth. He opened his mouth, and a purple light exploded toward Mother.
She pulled her wings in front of her face, using them as a shield against the otherworldly fire. She gasped and beat her wings feverously, taking back to the air. “His fire burns beyond heat!” she called to us.
A crackling purple ball exploded between us, hitting me in the face like thousands of needles that pierced through my scales. I tumbled in the air but somehow managed to catch myself.
“We need to attack all at once,” Nicholia said. “Follow me.” He dove, then curved wide, spiraling down toward the dragon and releasing a flurry of fireballs.
Father followed, then me, exhaling as much of my breath as I possibly could at once. Mother took up the rear. The fire hit in a fury that even caused the wraith dragon to stumble, though we couldn’t tell if there was any damage.
And then the dragon took to the sky.
“Look for a weak spot,” my father said.
Against the night sky, the dragon appeared to be only a shadowy cloud moving across the stars.
“I can barely see him.”
“Because he has no blood,” Mother explained. “We can’t use our eyes to see him.”
No sooner had she said that then an explosion of light lit up the sky and exposed the wraith dragon’s location. We all turned. Father was the closest, and he extended all four sets of claws before diving at the dragon’s back. Nicholia aimed for the dragon’s chest. The dragon bit into Nicholia’s neck but screamed when Nicholia’s back leg hit something, and something dark began to drip.
Another ball of light came as soon as the other faded, and I turned to see Dormir standing on the ground. His hands were cupped in front of him, and floating over them was a familiar purple stone.
I grinned.
That cheeky boy had the spring stone.
I didn’t know if he’d taken it from Gerard, or if Gerard had a fake one and Dormir had the real one the entire time. Whatever the truth, I was grateful for Dormir’s help, and I was hopeful we could actually win this.
Nicholia tried to break free, but the wraith had a firm grip on his neck and shook his head side to side. Nicholia grunted, clawing at the wraith’s chest. Father landed hard on the dragon’s back, and Mother and I struck opposite sides. Only then did it drop Nicholia. The wraith wheeled his snarling head around and snapped at my father.
Nicholia tried, and failed, to extend his left wing as he hurtled toward the earth.
“I’ve got you! Transform!” I dove for him.
“You can’t get me in time.” He grimaced and tried to guide his descent with his right wing but ended up falling into a spiral.
“Trust me!” I yelled.
Nicholia’s massive form shifted until he was only a man. I extended both front legs toward him and grasped at the darkness, opening and closing my claws in a blind attempt at catching him.
I missed.
My legs slammed into the earth, sending me into a tumbling roll. I dug my claws into the ground and skidded to a halt, then spun around, expecting to see Nicholia in a heap, broken and dead.
But he sat on the ground with a small group of horses around him.
I got to my feet, staggered until I got my footing, then ran toward him.
“I’m alright, Elisa,” he called to me. “Apparently he is a friend of yours.”
I slowed to a stop. I stared.
Tao threw his head, and a long horn reflected the light of the moon.
“You really are a unicorn,” I said breathlessly.
Tao bowed, extending one leg forward. He turned his face to look in the sky.
My father roared, and I turned my gaze upward as well. The fight against the wraith dragon had moved, threatening a nearby town.
I looked at the unicorn. “Tao, can you help me get the villagers to safety?”
Tao straightened and whinnied.
He and the other unicorns took off at a swift gallop, and Nicholia motioned me to go with them, adding, “I can blow fire at the wraith from down here.”
I flew to the town and landed on the edge before a group of gawking onlookers. At my sides, the unicorns stepped into the light cast from open doors and windows. Everyone in town had come out to see what the chaos was all about, and more than likely, they were too shocked by the sight of dragons to realize they were genuinely in danger.
“You need to run now! Get everyone out before it’s too late!” I ordered.
“Who are you?” one of the men demanded, holding his wife to his side, his eyes wide in shock.
I transformed into their princess. “Crown Princess Elisa, or Aura the Favored Light.”
They all gasped and began to murmur.
“There isn’t time to explain anything. You must evacuate before—Ah!” One of the purple balls of dark magic demolished a nearby home, and the shockwave knocked us from our feet. “Get out now!” I yelled.
This time, everyone ran.
The unicorns ran about, guiding people into the woods, even allowing the townspeople to place their children on their backs.
Trusting Tao had everything in order, I transformed and headed back into the sky. Both my father and mother had wounds of their own, though none appeared to be life threatening. But there was barely any damage at all to the wraith. I imagined, to him, we were only like flies annoying a horse on a hot summer afternoon.
The wraith snatched my mother, and I slammed into his neck with all the force and strength I had. I clamped my sharp teeth on its neck and desperately tried to break his defenses, to puncture him, injure him in some
way. He reached a claw up and flung me away.
Another one of Dormir’s balls of light faded, but this time another didn’t follow.
I looked at the ground. Gerard stood with one foot on Dormir’s chest and a sword to his throat.
Twenty-Five
My entire life I was raised with the belief that dragons were monsters—giant lizards with a mind to devour livestock, burn down cities, and steal treasure. I’d been told one day I would be one of those mindless monsters. What I discovered, however, was that dragons aren’t monsters at all. They have a society, just like humans, are rather intelligent, but most importantly, have magic no one can predict.
As I dove for Gerard, with my sight set on saving Dormir, the speed of my dive suddenly accelerated, and when I tucked my wings against my body, I went even faster than I thought possible. I snatched Gerard with my claws and threw him into a nearby tree, then landed and put my hand on his body, keeping him in place.
He groaned and pushed against my finger before he focused on me and stopped moving.
“You’re done, Gerard,” I hissed.
“Wait!” He put both hands up desperately. “I can send it away! I can control it! It listens to me!”
“And what do you want in exchange?” I spat.
“The spring stone.”
“Why do you care so much about it?”
He opened and closed his mouth, then shook his head. “I need it.”
“For what?”
“Elisa, look out!” Dormir shouted, running across the field toward me with a severe limp. He clutched at his leg.
I looked over my shoulder in time to meet the claws that slashed across my body, lifted me into the air, and then threw me back down to the ground. My body broke trees as I rolled, and I wasn’t certain the cracking wasn’t only from the trees. My side screamed, and I struggled to get back to my feet, but my left leg wasn’t complying. The claws struck me again, and this time my body was being crushed under the weight of the wraith’s claws. The wraith hoisted me into the air and pressed one of its claws against my ribs. As it tightened its fist, the claw dug into me. My protective scales broke, and I screamed in agony as the claw buried itself deeper and deeper into my body.
The Dragon Princess: Sleeping Beauty Reimagined (The Forgotten Kingdom Book 1) Page 21
