“She wasn’t the last dragon,” I say with a low, vicious snarl through sharpened teeth. “Iam.”
Part 5The Red Dragon
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Icrave destruction. With this overwhelmingrage, the magic sealed away in my veins unleashes itself, erupting with such intense heat that it threatens to swallow not just me, but the whole world.
Jyn in her glorious dragon form stood taller than the most opulent buildings of the Pearl District back home. She was longer than eight carriages lined up back to front, muscles thick and posture poised. But if she was huge, then I’m massive.
I tower over the emperor and his men, nearly half the size of the adjacent mountain. My body wraps around the atrium three times, my tapered tail whipping and crushing anyone in its path. I suck in a sharp breath, a wealth of power coursing through me.
My sharp claws dig into the ground, scraping up stone and dirt and roots. My jagged rows of pointed teeth are fiercer than any blade. It’s my own scales that bewitch me the most, a deep and vibrant ruby that stands in stark contrast to the snowstorm flurrying around us. The emperor has an army of no fewer than a thousand men, but they know as well as I do that they stand no chance against the red dragon of old.
I am His Majesty, King of the Skies. My rage knows no bounds, and there will be no salvation for those who’ve crossed me.
This is who I was always meant to be. Feeling the stretch of my skin into diamond-hard scales, the shift of my fingers into deadly claws, and the whip of the wind through my crimson mane is as natural to me as breathing. An old glove, a familiar outer robe I once thought lost, a warm bed at home after years away.
I lash the end of my tail against the mountain wall, the force so mighty that it crumbles and gives way. An opening—and the only mercy I will show to those with enough sense to abandon arms and escape with their lives. It’s not long before more than half of the emperor’s men drop their weapons, tripping over one another as they flee.
“Where are you going?” the emperor howls behind a wall of his most loyal guards. “Traitors! Return at once or I will have your heads!”
I stare him down, relishing the full-fledged fear in his eyes. This is the face of a man who realizes too late that everyone must get their comeuppance. No amount of status or gold or influence can protect him now.
“Don’t just stand there!” he screams. “Kill him!Now!”
Their attempts on my life are pitiful. I’m too great, too mighty for their pathetic weapons. With one bat of a colossal claw, I crush his men instantly. Their screams are wasted on me, drowned out by the sound of their bones being ground to dust underfoot. I pick them off by the mouthful. The lucky ones die quickly, torn to shreds between my unyielding jaws. The unlucky ones are swallowed whole, awake for their every dying second.
These fools were born and raised in a time where dragons were long thought lost. They know not the enemy they’ve made of me. Whatever luck these pitiful creatures had that saw to our initial demise is gone. Now, I will be their reckoning.
A few of them manage to nick me, stabbing at a point between my thick red scales. It’s their mistake, however, for they can’t retrieve their swords from my hide. A quick twist of my body sends them flying, their skulls crushed and their limbs twisted the wrong way. Most are dead before they even hit the ground.
Before long, I have the emperor cornered. I purposely saved him for last. The emperor has his back pressed against the mountain wall, his knees trembling. I can hear his heart railing inside his rib cage; his breathing is fast and shallow. A mighty ruler, now reduced to a quivering rabbit facing his doom. It’s his turn to know endless fear and pain. To feel hopeless.
And I will savor every moment of it. I will not rest until I have wrought on him the same pain he has caused me.
Terror has an awful stench, equal parts sour and bitter. It’s worse than curdled cow’s milk mixed with soggy day-old market meat and horse piss. And now it radiates off him in endless waves.
“H-have mercy,” Róng begs.
I fight the urge to rip his head off on hearing the word. Mercy? After everything he has done to my family? The gall of this man.
It’s time to put him in his place.
I snatch him up in my jaws, my teeth shredding through his golden silks. But I’m careful not to give him any fatal wounds—he doesn’t deserve a swift death. He screams, beating my face with his closed fists and kicking his legs out helplessly, his crown falling away.
“Please! Release me, and I will never pursue you again!”
I turn instead and carefully move toward Jyn’s body. My heart hurts as I pick her up as gently as I’m able in my claws, careful not to scratch her. I take a deep breath before looking to the sky. A new sensation—hope—brews deep within my core.
Flight comes to me as easily as breathing or walking. I launch into the air, the rest of my long body trailing behind me like a vibrantred cord. It feels good to be one with the clouds once more, surveying the lands from up above. Thousands of years ago, I blessed every one of these mountains, streams, and rolling hills. It’s a bittersweet return without Jyn.
If only my heart were not broken, I might truly enjoy it all.
Róng screams himself hoarse from my mouth, giving up only when we make it out to sea. I’m unsure where we’re headed. All I know is that something is pulling me in this direction, an internal compass. I can feel it tugging at me, leading me east—leading me home.
The coastline is now a distant dot on the horizon, long stretches of endless blue sky reflected in the salty waters below. I soar through the clouds faster and faster, chasing after some unknown target. When the island finally comes into view, I instinctively begin my descent, the warm earth welcoming me like an old friend.
It’s paradise, hidden away from the rest of the world by thick fog and rough seas. The rich bamboo forests provide the perfect amount of cover. I land near a large lake, all manner of beasts gathered around. There are fei and yayu and a number of other species drinking peacefully from the water’s edge. They move aside as I approach, but I detect no threat of danger from them.
