Can Koen see that I am not dead?
“I will find you again, when the time is right.”The eyes of the dragon close before reopening. “This will hurt.”
“What will hurt!”I bellow out from the depths of my stomach.
And then it happens. The dragon sucks in air before letting out a blazing inferno of fire, soaring around me, scorching my skin but not burning me. I wince, my skin prickling as it feels like lava being poured on me. My arm aches from where the stone is, boiling as I tremble out to reach it, trying to do anything to take away the pain. But I can’t.Everything burns.
I hesitantly stare at my arm, seeing that my skin is no longer burnt, but glowing, and my loose strands whip at my face from the power of the scorching blaze. I notice stones are rising from my skin. The raven lines that were once under my arm rise up, soaking through my skin to become more visible to the eye.
My eyes widen as I hold in my breath, holding in the painful scream that wants to yell from within. One stone, a soft emerald green, emerges from my arm right under the silverish white. Then a sunkissed yellow, followed by a ruby red. At last, a blood orange.Five stones.All of them, scorching the absolute hell out of my skin.
I fall to my knees, groaning in agony, my back flinching forward as I gasp for air. Ash flies around me, swirling with the strands of my hair, and fire embers dance across the gravel.
“You will know what to do, child.”
The edges of my eyes burn with tears, sucking in air that won’t come when finally, the fire is gone. The dragon before me falls to the ground with a powerful thud, rocks kicking up in the air with impact as hundreds of people scream at the top of their lungs in the arena.
“A dead dragon!” a man blares in the crowd. “She killed a dragon!”
I heave, catching sight of people running, shoving each other out of their seats, fleeing for their lives as the dragon from the Darklands blazes a forceful fire against the shield that protects those on the outside.
The shield begins to burn, scorching a hole right in the middle as the fire travels down like a dome over us. The dragon snaps its gaze at me, its eyes of fire flickering with intensity before leaping outward. Its wings gust wind downward at us, and it takes off, soaring in the sky as the archers try to kill it.
But they miss.
And the dragon vanishes.
My sluggish body falls to the ground, staring above at the golden hour glow that begins to darken. Fire embers flicker in the air overhead and through my blurred vision, Kaine and Theon come into view. Their heaves and gasps are muffled as they pick me up, but drop me just as fast.
“She’s burning!” Theon shouts over, both of their eyes glued to their palms.
Kaine gasps in pain, twisting his lips as he hisses. His hands tremble around me as his brows pull together tightly. “My palms are boiling!” He glances over to Theon. “How is this possible?”
“How can I help?” Another man who was in the games with a shaved head and a midnight-black goatee rushes over to help. I wince as I try to move,to beg him not to touch me.
“Don’t touch her!” Kaine warns, trying to stop him with his trembling hands.
But as he picks me up, I can hear his gasps and him clenching his teeth to force through the pain.
He grabs my hand, pulling my body around him. “I can help. I can take her to the healing corridors,” he grunts before falling to his knees and then…ash floats in the air before my back slams into the ground.
I hear the gasps of those around me as I dig my elbow into the gravel, forcing my trembling body off of the ground. The sounds of boots tripping over another and gravel breaking underfoot echo around us. My eyes trace those in the crowd who rush out, staring at me as if I am a monster.
I’m the monster,not the dragons.
“She burned that man to ash!” a woman cries in the arena, her words silencing the crowd and those who have survived the first round of the battle games. “Kill her!”
Chapter 25
“The Realms are protected by the stones. If the stones shatter, it weakens the Realms protection. Which means, it’ll weaken the hunters. Never let them see this weakness.” - Book of Azure
“STAY AWAY FROM HER!” KAINE whips out his daggers, gripping them so tightly I can see the muscles in his biceps bulge against the dark, raven suit. The dragon scales along his chest crack with each movement as he slides in front of me. “I’m warning you!”
Guards sprint towards us, their metals clanging against each other as they circle around us. Through my strands that blow gently in the wind, I catch sight of ash mixed in with my midnight hair and close my eyes for a split moment.I burned him.
He diedjust by touching me.
My hands tremble as they hover in front of me. The ringing in my ears finally begins to ease as I gasp for air, but I also hold in the nauseating feeling of vomit wanting to make its way up my throat. My skin feels as if it's been scorched by lava. How the hell is this happening?
