The Desertlands seemed to be a stunning blend of the Serengeti and the Sahara Desert. A dream land only found in Caelisium.
“Do you see those ripples in the sand?” Kingston yelled from where he flew with Spartan, forcing me to glance his way. He pointed to a large section to our right where the smooth, buttery sand seemed to be carved in layers somehow. “This is the motherland of my ancestors. I know they are not natural!” he shouted over the whipping winds caused by the Dragons’ wings.
With a nod, I acknowledged what the chief was saying. We had to be close.Hewas probably somewhere around here…or was already gone. That sinister voice of doubt whispered in my mind, and I tensed, pushing the pessimism away.
I was going to find him, I had to find him.
“Try again,”Tharion encouraged once more.“Welcome it. Become it.”
The image he sent me engulfed my mind, and I closed my eyes, welcoming the face forming before me. Shadows of dusk spread over a sea of scales with two large, white horns that curled like those of a ram glimmering in the moonlight—almost glowing silver in their purity—accompanied by bright silver irises.
When the face vanished, I reached for the family tree, and instantly, the beating of drums returned. Our connections drummed and shimmered, their beats intensifying as I touched each and every one of them, looking for my next Dragon.
Knight, one from Dad’s Sky Legion.
Like four others, had answered my silent call from my mother’s womb, pledging loyalty to my father afterwards. Technically, he was mine, so I was here to find him.
Slamming against my ears, the tribal drums of war grew even louder, becoming overwhelming again and almost blinding me in their intensity.
Welcome it. Become it.
Instead of pushing it away, I fought through it, opening myself to them. The tribal song reached its climax, and then…and then… it stopped. The abrupt silence became louder than the song itself, until a single beat resurfaced. My own. Others joined in seamlessly, drums of war thumping together with mine. Beating as one.
With each thump, the energy grew stronger, and then it was suddenly on the move. My golden light rushed over the trunk and branches, rustling leaves as it dashed ahead where another light thrummed while it zipped through the tree.
It was him. He was here, and he was on the move.
“I got him! Go faster!”
My urgency sent all Dragons onwards, Harper and Evie yelping when Spike and Star shot forwards.
“What is happening?” Evie yelled at me, and I opened my eyes, focusing on the desert below us.
“We are chasinghim!” I shouted back, my eyes noticing the clusters of carved lines along the sand returning, the same Kingston had pointed out as unnatural.
“Where?!” Evie asked, flabbergasted, her hair whipping around as she searched the sky.
Glancing at her, I grinned. “Not above, below!”
Tharion’s speed became staggering just as my attention returned to the dunes. Lines cut across the burnt orange ground ahead of us, carving waves along it, and a cluster of tiny horns peaked through the desert.
I had no idea how Knight was doing it, but the damn Dragon was soaring under the sand.
The golden thread burst like a firework in my mind’s eye, rising above all others, and trusting an instinct I didn’t even know, I jumped to my feet, running full throttle over Tharion’s head. My boot pushed off his nose, and I lunged into the empty air just as the onyx Dragon burst out of the ground, sending waves of sand to fly all around us.
Arms flailing, I landed on his lower back as he shot upwards, narrowly missing Tharion when their paths crossed. My body slammed against his scales, but I couldn’t find my footing, my hands reaching and failing to grasp the row of small horns that rose like spikes along the center of his body.
The tips sliced the skin off along my chest and arms while I fell towards his tail, tumbling down rapidly. Throwing my right hand up again, I caught one of the small horns, managing to hold on and stopping my fall.
My blood clouded his shiny black scales. Yet, as fast as it seeped out of me, the sliced skin knitted together again, the wounds no longer found.
Knight roared, shaking his body to throw me off him. Fat chance in Hell. I had come here for him, and I was not leaving without him.
“Stop this!” I shouted, climbing my way up to his neck. I didn’t know if he could hear me through the ruckus he and the others were causing.
Kingston and the guard called at me to let go of the seemingly wild Dragon. He was like a bull, bucking and throwing his body in all directions to get me off him, but I wasn’t going to let go. I wouldn’t let go.
Now, if only the onyx Dragon could stay still long enough for me to connect with him.
