You may, was all she said in return.
Down here, my queen.
He angled his wings to the left, circling down over one of the many ruins that dotted the length of my country. The remains of an amphitheatre revealed themselves as we grew close enough to land.
I must hunt for food for Fern, Auren informed Viridian.And find her shelter. Humans are not as hardy as dragonkind.
I went to snort at that, then realised everything she said was true.
Food, I would be honoured to supply, Viridian insisted,but shelter…He strode across an open expanse, then seemed to disappear as he reached the side of the circle.Can be found down here.
My feet dragged, wanting to pause to inspect each one of the bas relief sculptures we passed. They were of dragons and humans, that much I did see, but not what they were doing. Down a ramp we went, then entered a lower level of the amphitheatre. The gloom had my feet slowing, but a trickle of fire along Auren’s jaws revealed a large, empty space. Mostly empty, I realised, as we drew closer to the centre. The floor was inlaid with incised markings that created a complex wheel I did not understand at all, but Auren did.
This is one of the great halls of my people.She moved closer to the centre, following the markings with her eyes.It was a place where ceremonies were performed, dragon and human alike.
For now, it is shelter,Viridian replied.Stay safe and dry here. I will return with food and kindling.
Bringing Fern food, providing her with fuel for a fire. My dragon stood beside me.These are not gifts you may use to buy my time, my regard.
Never, my queen.Viridian’s head dropped low in what felt like an approximation of a bow.Others of my kind may have forgotten what a dragon queen is, but I have not. To serve is a pleasure all on its own.
Without another word, he turned to walk back up the ramp, leaving the two of us standing near the centre of the floor design. The far off sound of thunder rumbling made our inspection of the inlay seem somewhat ominous.
What is this, Auren?I ran my fingers along the channels carved neatly in the stone floor.And why does everything lead to this centre point?
Like the petals of a flower, stone was carved into a series of spiked lobes around a circular centre, the slightly raised dome bisected by six equal cuts.
Much of this knowledge has been lost.The dragon sounded a little distracted as she came to stare over my shoulder.I was hatched in a nest of stones that were saturated with my mother’s memories and yet I…
Her talon extended, raking along the thin lines, only for her pad to catch on one of the sharp petals. With a snarl, she jerked her claw back, but not before a drop of blood dropped free. I watched it fall as if in slow motion, one perfectly red droplet. My mouth fell open as I felt the stones themselves begin to shake. As the blood hit the centre stone, the lines widened and then shot backwards, revealing something else entirely. Some mechanism whirred and from the hole in the floor, a milky crystal appeared, carved in the shape of an egg.
A Tanis egg…
Her reverential tone had me staring at the crystal, then the dragon, the gleam of the stone lighting up the room. This was reflected in her golden eyes as her claw shot out, snatching the egg from its pedestal. Bright, bright light, that’s all I remembered, before the ruins fell away, replaced by this.
“She comes!”
It was a human’s voice that heralded the incoming danger. People strolling along the streets, looking at market stalls, talking with their fellows, all turned as someone came sprinting up the main street. I didn’t recognise the clothing, the hairstyles, but fear? That needed no translation and I soon saw why.
“Gods above…”
My curse was drowned out by the thunderous sound. Surely that was coming from the shaking ruins? Dimly, I was aware that perhaps I should be doing something about standing beneath tonnes of rumbling rock, but the vision forged on. Smoke anddust billowed in the distance, heralding a landslide or earthquake or something.
No, her.
Just as Lumina and Frostmere came barrelling out of the plumes of steam they created together, this dragon emerged from a swirling maelstrom of her making.
But it was far more catastrophic than mere steam.
Clouds crackled and snapped like water droplets dancing on a hot skillet, lightning flashing, thunder rumbling as the dragon zeroed in on the town. People screamed, went running to their homes, or just to get away, and I envied them that. My feet were stuck to the ground, unable to move for a second as I stared at the queen dragon who had come to destroy this town entirely.
I thought the silver dragons gleamed bright, but their cold glittering scales had nothing on this queen’s. So bright it hurt to look at her directly, though that was down to more than just the colour of her scales. Her size was so immense my brain fought to conceptualise it, unconsciously making comparisons between this queen and every other dragon I’d seen and still unable to comprehend how a dragon that big could exist.
Only for her massive jaws to open, scooping up people, buildings, everything in her wake.
“Laila, run!”
A face I’d never seen before, yet felt completely familiar appeared in front of me, breaking the spell I was under. The older woman gave my shoulder a shove and that’s all it took to get moving. My heart was beating so fast, my lungs sucking in oxygen in preparation for just this. Hands slicing through the air, I took off after the woman. Past collapsing buildings, leaping over rubble, I spared a glance for those screaming and crying, but the woman kept me running.
