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.
