The Behemoth was gone.
For now.
There was a long silence as the Dragons stared at where their fallen foe had been. It was over. All were freed. They could return to their bonded ones--those that had them--and the others to their lairs.
Raziel lifted its head as the other Dragons looked at him with eyes full of thankfulness. Raziel snorted.
We all did this. Not just me, Raziel reminded them. Now, you are free.
Will we see you again? The titanic gray Dragon asked.
Yes, Raziel said. I bid you to find your human bonded ones. Join us in the human realm. But my lair is always open to you regardless.
There is one missing! Vozyth remarked, looking up at the now completed helix.
My mate, Iolaire. You know of the White Dragon. It was trapped as you once were, Raziel said.
It escaped, the titanic yellow Dragon whispered. I remember! So strong!
Yes, it is with Caden, the mate of my bonded one, Valerius. They brought the Behemoth back here for us, Raziel explained.
So brave to face the Behemoth alone, the titanic yellow Dragon murmured.
Iolaire was not alone. It had Caden, Raziel answered. You will understand what that means.
Speaking of which, Scylla said with a touch of anxiety, we need to return ourselves, Raziel. I worry for my Esme. She will have put herself in the center of the fight.
My Mei will have fought hard as well, Xipil said.
Illarion will have been by Valerius’ side in the thick of things! They need us, Mephous said.
They definitely need us! Lana agreed even as the titanic yellow Dragon made eyes at it.
Tez is a man of the people! He will have put himself between the innocents and death! Eldoron cried.
Yes, yes, we must be with them. They are in danger without us, Raziel agreed, needing Valerius so badly that it actually hurt with it. Raziel flapped its mighty wings and took off. Remember, Raziel called to the others, come find us!
Then they were streaking towards the lair like eight missiles. They formed the V-shape that they had when they had flown over the skies of Earth. But this time they were truly united and this feeling would not end when they reached their destination.
Sunlight
Valerius had never felt so cold in his life. Even when he had been mortal the first time and slogged through the mountains in a blinding blizzard he swore he had never been so cold. And he had to admit to himself that he was a little less used to experiencing extreme temperatures, or any temperatures really. Raziel had always kept him warm. The furnace inside of the Black Dragon made it so he could have run naked in Antarctica without discomfort. But no longer.
The hours of flying--naked--in Iolaire’s claws had drained all of the warmth from him down to his bones. It wasn’t just the cold of the upper air, but Iolaire’s scales as well. Unsurprisingly for an Ice Dragon, Iolaire radiated cold just like Raziel radiated heat. So though he was tucked as fully and tightly as he could be against Iolaire’s palm, out of the wind, the scales sucked up whatever reflected heat his body generated that wasn’t whipped away by the chill atmosphere.
I’ll know Raziel is back the moment my teeth stop chattering, he groused.
He tried not to think about how long that would be. Surely, the Dragons would be done fighting the Behemoth soon. And he didn’t have to be in the throne room by the mirror to have Raziel rejoin with him. All Raziel needed to do was return to the lair and then boom! They would be together again and his lips would no longer be blue. He was pretty sure that was true. Pretty sure. No, no, definitely sure. Definitely.
Raziel will be with me soon. I’m certain of it. Raziel and the other Dragons will defeat the Behemoth and then we will save Chione and all will be as it should be!
Yet those felt like empty words at the moment. He hadn’t heard a word from Chione--not a moan or cry--in hours or so it seemed. If he was cold, she would likely be ice with the loss of blood and poison. He turned his head so that he could peer between two claws over at Iolaire’s other hand.
The silvery blanket flapped around her. Her hair flowed back from her head. Her eyes appeared closed. Her tawny skin was pale. But it had been pale before they started flying. She likely had her eyes closed because she was resting. And the fact that she wasn’t reacting at all to the chill because perhaps the Sphinx Spirit kept her just as warm as Raziel would have kept him if Raziel had been there. Valerius blew air on his dead-feeling hands and rubbed them frantically together. He drew his knees up tighter to his chest. Maybe that would make him a little warmer. If nothing else, he needed to keep out of the wind. He looked over at Chione again. Other than the wind, she wasn’t moving at all. Was she still alive?
She has to be. Things cannot end this way!
And yet it had ended this way for countless people on the bridge and in the square that night. While he and the other Dragon Shifters had hid in the throne room, others had fought and died bravely. The Behemoth had taken at least its pound of flesh.
