LOGINShare
Sacrifice
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Drum beats. There they were again--ricocheting off of her internal organs, rolling around in her mind as if each of them was a giant boulder, careening into her mind with every slam of stick onto skin. Nya stood on the daise with her family, her hands literally tied to her sides, her feet bound beneath her gown so that no one in the audience could tell that she had been forced to attend the ceremony against her will. Of course, the binding was also to prevent her from taking action against her father as he went through the motions of selecting the next person who would die at the hands of the angry dragon.
Related chapters
Dragon Moon The Girl
Nya didn’t want to walk into the room where Alsys and her family were saying goodbye, but she couldn’t tell the young girl no, either, not when she’d requested to see her. She truly hoped this didn’t get to be a tradition, that every time they chose a new sacrifice, she would have to meet with him or her before they were taken to The Point. But then… if she had her way, there would be no more sacrifices. Alsys would be the last.
Dragon Moon A Morsel
The march to The Point was even more miserable than it had ever been before, except for when it was Gavin who was being led along by the soldiers. As Nya walked with her family, under close guard by a detail of soldiers, though she wasn’t bound as she had been during the ceremony, she dreaded every step she took. Her stomach was twisted in a knot so tight, she thought she might vomit at any moment, not that there were any contents in her stomach except for acid. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, she’d been so upset about the events of the ceremony
Dragon Moon Escape
It was time. Six more months of training with a shield had given Nya the confidence she needed to finally put her plan into action. Even though Rok shook his head and told her she was going to get herself killed, she couldn’t wait any longer. Not only did every month that passed result in another death, from one kingdom or another, it brought her closer to becoming the ruler of her own kingdom. Once that happened, she’d be under such close scrutiny, there was no way she’d be able to sneak out of the castle and escape the sight of the guards in order to get to one of the neighboring kingdoms where she could hide in wait for that bastard dragon.
Dragon Moon Horsing Around
The window went up slightly before it gave a small squeaking sound, just the slight whine of glass being disturbed by wood. Nya held her breath, her eyes focused on the young men sleeping on the floor. The noise was nothing like what she’s seen in her mind’s eye as she’d played the scenario out a few times; it didn’t match the versions of reality where she was caught by the sleeping servants, who did nothing to stop her but sounded the alarm so that she’d be met outside by a legion of the king’s guard. Instead, it was just a whist
Dragon Moon Into the Night
The swaying lantern swung back and forth, casting odd shadows as the boy approached Nya’s hiding spot. In her mind, she saw, as long as she didn’t breathe until he walked past Warrior’s stall, she wouldn’t discover her hiding there in the darkness. But he was walking so slowly, by the time he was standing directly in front of her, Nya’s lungs were burning. She needed to take a breath. If she did, she knew he would hear, and then, she’d have to deal with him in a way that would not be beneficial to the young man with the lantern.
Dragon Moon Scoping Out the Location
It was easier for Nya to find the location for the sacrifice than she expected it to be. She figured it had to be near the castle, but not within the grounds beyond the large wall that surrounded the village that served the king and the castle itself. Allowing the dragon to fly freely that close to the royal family’s home was akin to inviting him to roast the king and his family if he saw fit, and considering the disposition of this bastard, she wouldn’t put it past him. Surely, the king of Goodhorn was not so stupid as to put his family in jeopardy.
Dragon Moon Attack
Nya didn’t have to stand there, hidden in the trees, gazing at the sky for long. Only a few moments after the guards made it from the castle with their prisoner in tow, fastening him to a large rock that looked more like an altar than the place in The Point back home, the night grew quiet. All of the animals stilled. The bugs stopped their chirping, night birds flew away or hid in their nests, and any predators out crawling through the high grass on the mountainside quickly dove for their burrows. Seconds later, the sound of large wings disturbing the air drew Nya’s eyes skyward.
Dragon Moon Slate
“Who the hell are you?” Nya asked as she blinked against the fog. The man, dressed in a black shirt, open wide enough at the collar that she could see a tuft of dark hair across his chest, black pants and boots, all of it with red piping along the seems, with dark hair and intense dark eyes, staring at her with a smoldering glare, paused several paces in front of her. The fog seemed to dissipate for a moment, and behind him, Nya could see nothing but the jagged tops of the mountain. No trees, no plants, no buildings, no animals. No dragon.
Latest chapter
Dragon Moon Epilogue
A wedding ceremony was the official way to mark the coming together of Nya Gould and Slate, the Dragon King, the joining of the two kingdoms, and the uniting of two people who loved each other more than anything, but for Nya, all of that was declared long before she walked down the aisle to take Slate’s hand beneath an azure sky and a trellis full of roses.Transferring the power of the Heart of Magic to him hadn’t been something she’d had to think about, once they’d left Frindom the day that the dragons had defeated Beelzanborg once for all. As soon as the magic had gone back to its rightful owner, the entire mountain-bound kingdom had shifted. The mountain itself had split open from the top, the rock tumbling away from the town inside, and the dark black rock and red glow transformed as the city was exposed to the light and the sun. Velvety green trees and grass grew up all around
Dragon Moon Reunion
The flight from Beelzanborg to Frinwood didn’t take nearly as long as it had taken to get back to the dragons’ lair, and this time, as Nya rode on Slate’s back, her thoughts were of seeing her family again. While she still harbored some ill feelings toward her father for not being completely honest with her about the Dragon Moon Festival, she did look forward to seeing her mother and her sister.More importantly than that, several of the young people who had been chosen as sacrifices over the years were flying back to Frindom with her, most notably Gavin and Alsys. Nya couldn’t help but smile at her friend as he sat atop the back of a blue and yellow dragon, a huge grin on his face. He was excited about seeing his parents again after more than a year. While Alsys hadn’t been gone nearly as long, she was crying tears of joy atop the purple and silver dragon that took her home.
Dragon Moon Fallen King
“Slate!” Nya shouted, helping lower the dragon king to the ground. She bent down next to him, not sure what to do. The arrow still protruded from his chest, near his heart, and the blood was spreading quickly. Staring into his eyes, she thought about the Heart of Magic. “Can’t the stone save you?” she asked. “Can’t you call upon the power from the Heart of Magic to heal you?”Slate looked at the arrow like it was a pesky insect only there to annoy him. He grabbed the shaft of the arrow and pulled it straight out with a grunt, letting it go as even more blood gushed from the wound. Shaking his head, he said, “I cannot do that, Nya.”Her eyes widened as the last chance she could think of to save him began to slip from her fingers. “What do you mean? It contains all of the power in the universe! Sur
Dragon Moon Arrows
It was no surprise that Ruby was a bright red, shiny dragon with no black on her as Slate had, which seemed to make her scales even shinier and brighter the closer they flew to the sun. She was also smaller and more nimble. Nya kept her head down, near Ruby’s neck, as the dragon was going at full speed, in a rush to get Nya back to the battlefield, and it seemed evident Ruby had been wanting to fly for a while. Nya wondered how it had been determined who would stay behind before and who would go, but then, it appeared that Ruby was a maid, not warrior. She flew like someone who would be good to have in battle, though, and Nya was glad that she was in such a rush to get where they were going.Sounds of the battle unfolding met her ears before any of the dragons came into view. It was clear that Beelzanborg was still launching their massive fireballs at the dragons. As they neared the border of B
Dragon Moon Stoned
“You can’t really be thinking of drawing that sword on me, can you?” Nya asked Gator as his hand hovered above the hilt of his sword.An awkward grin spread across his face. “Of course not,” he said. He pulled his hand away. “That’s just… reflex.”Her eyes went to the weapon and then back at him. His hands were away from the weapon now, but he was still standing uneasy. “I have all the magic in the universe at my disposal. It wouldn’t be smart for you to try and fight me. Besides, I already beat you when I had no magic.”Gator laughed. “You can’t actually think you beat me, can you? I mean, honestly, you know that I let you defeat me so that you would feel strong enough to go after the stone, so that Slate would be convinced that no
Dragon Moon Traitor
The ride back to the lair took hours, but without having to stop and lay low as she had with Slate on the way to Beelzanborg, it wasn’t nearly as long as it had been going. As Nya flew on Gator’s back, she looked down at the ground and saw a slew of people pointing up at them, some waving, others gazing curiously. How long had it been since anyone had seen dragons flying in the daytime? How long had it been since a dragon, other than Slate, had flown over these villages? None of these people could’ve possibly been alive the last time the dragons were able to fly. To the people staring up at them, she imagined it was both terrifying and awe inspiring.She wondered what they had thought when the enormous thunder had flown over earlier, especially if they had seen the people on their backs. Did they begin to realize that the people who had been taken by the dragon during the festival w
Dragon Moon Thunder
The two dragons glided along for a few hours before Slate began to descend over a field in the territory of a kingdom closer to his own lair and far enough away from Beelzanborg that the soldiers who were clearly rallying to come after the Heart of Magic couldn’t reach them--yet. He touched down in a field of golden wheat, catching the sunbeams and sparkling like each stalk was made of a precious metal.Nya climbed off, the dragon, her blood still pumping hard through her veins as she considered all that had just happened. The Heart of Magic was safe in her bag, which meant she controlled all of the magic in the universe. It was both a hefty burden to bear and a tantalizing bundle of possibilities. If Nya stopped to think about all that she could do with that sort of power, she would never be able to hand it over to Slate, and he’d certainly regret not having taken it the first time she o
Dragon Moon Power
The look on Slate’s face said it all as Nya stood there with the Heart of Magic tight in her fist. The soldiers’ faces told her that they recognized that it was too late, that they had let the magical gem fall into enemy hands. One of the soldiers held a sword to Slate’s throat, his hands trembling. Nya hadn’t even realized that he was under their control until the tip of the sword pierced his skin, and a tiny droplet of blood rolled down the edge.“That belongs to me!” An angry voice growled from the crush of troops near the doorway. “Do you honestly think you can just waltz in here and take it from me?”It was clear, despite his disheveled appearance that the angry man with bedhead shouting at her from across the room was the king of Beelzanborg. He was in the middle of an array of troops who were obviously mean
Dragon Moon Magic
Visions flashed in front of Nya’s eyes as she tried to rectify what she’d been seeing for the last several days with the scene before her now. All along, she’d thought she’d been seeing Slate in his dragon form in chains, but that wasn’t what she’d been seeing at all. It was this other dragon, the one rising up in front of her now. He looked anything but happy as his nostrils began to flare, and it was quite obvious this dragon’s duty was to protect the Heart of Magic, which Nya could no longer see as it was hidden behind the dragon’s large back.“Hi there,” Nya said, her voice quivering as she moved slowly in front of the door. She’d planned to bare it, but now she felt it would be better to leave it open. Something told her anyone who knew exactly what was guarding the gem would think twice before coming into the room. “Take it easy
