Chapter Four – Attacked

Stavros’s POV 

Flashback - A Month Ago

“What are those?” exclaimed Damon, drawing our attention to the darkness that enveloped us, covering us like a blanket. It was late afternoon, and we had arrived at the southern boundaries of Aromania to check on the sentinels stationed there. Two of them died after poisoned arrows pierced them from the sky. We scanned the vicinity but found no one. 

We were about to head back to report to King Georgios when Damon stopped us. 

Following his line of vision, we gasped with surprise to see almost twenty to thirty large winged dragons weaving through the clouds almost thousands of feet above us. 

“I think the Dragons are planning an attack on Aromania!” cried Leandros Vasiliou, who also had fled with us from Lucania ten years ago. 

“Where’s Zephyrus? We should stop them right away before it’s too late.” I surged ahead, following the movement of the giant-scaled beasts as they prepared for descent. 

“I’ll call him right away,” said Damon. There wasn’t a minute to spare as they descended upon us at a faster rate. They were fearsome, their wingspan momentarily blocking out the pale afternoon sunlight. Their brown scales glinted in the sun, turning a deep red, similar to the color of blood. Even from a distance, their sharp talons and fierce eyes glinted with purpose. It was obvious they were here to fight us. I knew from experience that there were hundreds of them waiting to attack. This tiny group was just testing the waters. 

“It’s Dragon King Gavriil,” muttered Isaak as we waited to attack them the moment they landed. 

A gasp of horror left everyone’s lips while anxiety pooled in my stomach. We all knew how cruel King Gavriil was. This wasn’t the first time they had attacked us. King Gavriil always had an interest in Aromania. After two unsuccessful attempts, we had expected him to give up, but it seemed he planned his move this time. 

“I’m sure he’s the one who attacked our sentinels,” said Damon. More warriors arrived with Zephyrus, and we released a sigh of relief. Now we could defeat the dragon king. 

They circled the boundary, looking for a place to descend. 

“What’s the plan, Zeph?” I sought advice from my Alpha. 

“We will capture King Gavriil and demand an explanation for their sudden arrival here. If they attack us before, we will slay them. They shouldn’t cross the borders and enter Aromania,” yelled Zephyrus, and we surged towards the boundaries. Beyond it were the foothills of Mount Aramus, the highest peak in the area. It wasn’t part of any territory and therefore the safest place to fight the foe. 

The dragons landed way ahead of us, only three of them transforming into their human form to face us. 

“That’s King Gavriil and his son Drako,” informed Isaak. I checked them out with interest. Who was the other dragon in human form? Within minutes, they were ready in bulky silver armor that glinted in the sun. With elaborately crafted spears in their hands, they approached us, ready to attack. 

There was no scope for explanations. It was obvious they were here to fight. I could hear King Gavriil barking orders in a language I knew nothing about. 

It was Draconic language, and I wondered what they were up to.

“I don’t think they’re here to fight! If they wanted, they would have charred us to death from up above. They didn’t need to land,” muttered Zephyrus, and we rushed ahead to face them. We had no time to think of their motive. 

“Attack,” said Isaak, and we aimed our poisoned spears at them. 

“Stay back or get killed!” I yelled, targeting the young dragon who was beside King Gavriil. They paid no heed to my warning and continued to approach us. 

“What do you want? Answer or face us,” snarled Damon. Didn’t they understand our language? 

Isaak aimed his spear at the weak belly of the dragon warrior in front of him and it hit its target. The dragon fell to the ground with a thud. It angered King Gavriil, and he grabbed our warrior nearest to him and held him hostage. 

“Lead us to your king or get killed!” yelled the furious dragon king. 

“Why do you want to meet King Georgios? What do you want from him?” demanded Zephyrus. 

“I have an excellent offer for Aromania. I’ll spare your lives if you accept my proposal.” 

I seethed at his unfair demand. “Leave our warrior and go back to where you came from. Aromania isn’t up for sale!” I snarled at him. His beady eyes glittered as they settled on me. 

“Then let’s do this the hard way.” He stabbed our warrior and cast his limp body away. 

We went crazy and attacked the dragons together in unity. Some of them took to the sky to breathe fire on us, but we were faster. We targeted their weak underbellies and eyes and brought them down to the ground. Being swift, agile, and skilled warriors, it didn’t take us long to defeat them. More dragons arrived to support them.

King Gavriil captured Leandros, and we stopped. “Stop or I’ll kill him,” he threatened us. 

“If you harm my Gamma, I won’t let you escape alive. We’ve defeated you. Go back to your dragon land!” yelled Zephyrus. The dragon king didn’t budge, and I couldn’t stand and watch him kill Leandros. 

I surged ahead and captured his son Drako and held him hostage. There was utter chaos as King Gavriil went crazy. 

“Let Leandros go or I’ll kill your son.” He tightened his hold on Leandros, while his eyes changed color, turning crimson. I knew he was about to change into his dragon form and burn us to death with his fire. 

“I’ll burn you to death if you harm my son. Let him go,” he hissed, but I held on to the young dragon with all my might. 

“First release Leandros.” He didn’t, and I saw red. His spear scraped Leandros’s neck, and I did the same to his son. Drako thrashed against my hold, shifting into his dragon to kill me. It was impossible for me to hold on to him. He whirled around and spit fire at me, making me jump away and throw the poisoned spear in my hands at him to save myself. 

The spear entered his open mouth, slicing into the soft inner lining and striking his throat. He choked and his eyes pushed out. Before I could take the spear out, the poison entered his body, and he fell to the ground, his body turning blue as he closed his eyes forever. It happened in the blink of an eye before it could register in my head. 

“No! It can’t be. Drako!” cried his distraught father, leaving Leandros and rushing to his dead son’s side. 

I froze at the spot, watching what I had done. I hadn’t meant to kill him. It was an accident, an act of self-defense. Guilt washed over me, and I glanced at Zephyrus, who shook his head in dismay. I knew what was going to happen. The dragon king would kill me. 

“Drako, wake up, son. Drako, you can’t die on me!” he cried, picking up his dead son in his arms. Zephyrus pulled me backward with him when the distraught dragon focused his eyes on me. 

“You killed my son! He was the only heir to my empire!” he cried furiously, his voice echoing around. The sun was about to set, but a cold blanket of air enveloped us, shrouding us in a cloud of haze. It was impossible to see properly. 

“I didn’t want to kill him. He attacked me first, and I defended myself. That’s all.” I stepped backward, but the third dragon in human form stepped forward in front of me. 

“You killed our only heir, wolf! You’ll pay for this!” His sly, beady eyes swept over me with malice reflected in them. Before I could ask Zephyrus who he was, King Gavriil barked his orders at him. 

“Thanos, kill him with your sorcery. I want him dead. It’s the only way to please me.” 

Zephyrus stepped forward to make him see sense. “Stop this right now. Don’t you think you are responsible for your son’s death, King Gavriil? You attacked us. You captured my Gamma. Why didn’t you stop your son from attacking my beta? He just defended himself from his attack. You can’t punish him for that,” said Zephyrus, wedging himself between me and Thanos, the sorcerer. 

“I didn’t kill your wolf. Your Beta killed my son. My shaman, Thanos, will carry out my orders.” My blood curdled at the mention of the word. I knew how dangerous these shamans could be. 

“It was an accident, King Gavriil.” He turned a deaf ear to my pleas. 

“Thanos!” he growled, in a fit of rage.

“I can’t kill him, my king. It would go against my coven. I can curse him if that will please you.” I staggered backward while there were protests and chaos all around me. This was so wrong. How could they curse me for no fault of mine?

“Curse him then! It should be the worst curse possible.”

“No, you can’t do this. I’ll call King Georgios right away,” warned Zephyrus, snarling to attack the shaman. His body lifted off the air to evade Zephyrus’s attacks. His eyes glittered as he directed them at me. 

“No one can save you now, Beta Stavros.”