Sla…thar… come…to…sla…th…ar…A gigantic dark shadow loomed behind the narrow, foggy path. Leila was frozen where she stood. She tried to hold her breath as long as she could manage, the thick grey ash and smoke hurt her throat badly.Subconsciously, she knew that this might be another vivid nightmare, but still, she didn’t dare to proceed an inch. Some inexplicable power had drawn her to this place, and that power had something to do with the beast hidden behind the fog.“Who’s out there?” Leila asked frightfully, but her voice was strangely restrained and incapable of traveling far into the fog.The shadow grew closer, she could feel the connection between them grow stronger. She knew that it would not harm her. It flashed above her, then quickly appeared behind her, then at her sides. Still, she couldn’t catch a glimpse of the quiet, swift beast.Then, the sound of thunder rumbled low to the ground. The earth trembled, and the fog swayed forward. The beast landed behind her. With tr
Ben finally found the sack of seeds stored in the ship’s hold and brought it to the deck, where the dragon stood.They were a fascinating flower seeds and had to make sure that they were kept away from any exposure to rain.Extraordinarily, these plants wouldn’t flower in any season. Water could even damage their seeds. Only one element could make them thrive and bloom - dragon fire. Therefore, they were given the name fire dandelions. Ben swayed the seeds up to the sky. The dragon patted the wings and breathed out a gush of fire right to it. Fluffy puffs popped out of the dark brown seeds and flowered in full. Each dandelion bloom was as bright red as the kernel of a flame.The chromatic blooms floated in the air and carried away by the oceanic winds. They attracted a cloud of black ravens. They circled in the sky, blocking the sun’s rays. But not a single bird cawed or made a noise, as if they knew that they were conjured to complete a secret mission.Each black raven carried one
It was hard to distinguish whether it was day or night inside the cave. The air, however, was unexpectedly fresh, but damp and cold. Leila leaned over the bars of her cell and listened to the chilling wind rolling in the deep winding tunnels. It lightly brushed across the luminescent moss-covered surface and intertwined with the babbling of watery creeks.A new delivery of girls had been crammed into the cell on Leila’ right. She realized that these girls were different from those in the cell on her left. They didn’t seem to be the grey descendants of dragons, as they were lacking the common grey features - dark brown hair that gleamed under the moonlight, and oftentimes a pair of pale brownish eyes. Instead, there were certain peculiarities about them. Leila looked on with the help of a fluttering torch. Their skin was a mixture of gold and silver, and it vaguely glistened in the darkness, honey coloured hair mixed with white cloudy strands. She couldn’t see any visible signs of abus
Leila tried to pull away from his monstrous grip, but she was like a doe caught in the fierce teeth of a hungry wolf. Alpha Luca pushed her head down so that her upper body was flattened against the stone table. Her underwear was pulled down savagely, and to her despair, she was incapable of moving at all.Still, she didn’t even plead with the dreadful man who was assaulting her. Weak begging was useless at a time like this; not only would it fail at stopping what was happening, but it would also add fuel to the desire of a horny man. Her eyes quickly scanned over the messy surface of the stone stable. There were no sharp letter openers or pointy feathered pens. The only weapon was the arrowhead pinned on the picture of Thorn. But it was still too far for her to reach. Leila kept fumbling with her hands behind her back to hinder the master entering her, and wiggled her body, ready to move as soon as there was a chance to fly over to the picture. But she knew her chance would be smal
Starlight was a funny, fuzzy thing. It could be seen, touched, and felt, it was tangible enough, but could never be captured in a tiny little jar so Leila could always carry it at her side.Minutes in the cave felt like days outside. She had never realized how much she would cherish the chilly night air, the beautiful serenade sung by a nightingale, the resting canopies of forests under the shade of silver light, and of course, the moon itself. It was exceptionally round and bright tonight; a creamy yellow hue graciously shined upon the Misty Mountains, as if the moon was a token of a blithe reunion.Leila leaned over to hug her dragon prince as they flew in the breeze. His warmth melted away all the coldness she had gathered in the freezing deep cave. She pressed her flesh close to his scales as he took her out of the dense Needle Woods, passed over glittering ribbons of streams, and finally came to the residential quarters where the local villagers had dwelled for centuries. The dra
Leila got down from the bed and followed Ben out. She climbed down the steep wooden staircase as the orange afternoon sunlight flickered in her eyes.“Where is Thorn?” Leila asked.“He’s with Serlon.” Ben answered, worriedly.“How’s his wound?” Leila’s heart ached when she recollected the image of Thorn’s bloody injury.Ben remembered that the prince had forbidden him to tell Leila the truth about his condition. “The prince is fine,” he looked at the ground, “Serlon said that he just needed to check the wound routinely.”Leila was reassured. On the first floor of the inn, wooden tables and chairs were placed before a bar, barrels of wine were stacked up to the wall, and the crew of black wings were sloshing down tankards of ale. As Leila passed the hall to the entrance, they all nodded to her to show their respect. She nodded back to show her thankfulness. She was grateful to all of them for saving her life. It reminded her that she needed to check on the girls later.Ben leaped out o
In an extremely careful manner, squires were polishing their masters’ armors at the foot of the inner baileys. Black Wings were practicing their swords skills and advancing their own special talents. The back of the inn was not as crowded as its usually was since the prince had rented it out, leaving only the front bar open during its usual business hours.“Hugo!” Thorn rushed out into the inn’s backyard and called out, pacing across the earthy ground quickly, unbuttoning his tight boiled-leather jacket.“Bring Hugo to me. I’ll wait for him in the counsel room,” he ordered one of the nearby archers of the Black Wings, who was as lanky as a twig, “And tell the owner to drive all the customers out, this place is locking down.” He took a sack of gold out of his leather jacket and tossed it over to the archer.“Aye.” The archer bowed and moved off like a whoosh of wind.The dragon prince was irritable. His hunches were always correct, and at that moment, he had a terrible foreboding feeli
Leila immediately began to panic. Her mouth was dry, and her lower lip tasted bitter. Blood was rushing to her dizzy head.While her flute stone was safely placed on the windowsill, the flask containing Thorn’s blood was gone!She had searched everywhere in the room - the space between the bed and the wall, under the cover and pillows, the entire surface of the floor. But still, she found nothing. Strangely, the door to the room remained locked from the inside. Even the key couldn’t open it from the outside. Had it fallen out of the window?Leila leaned out to look below. The room was on the top floor of the inn, facing a narrow lane. From the deep darkness, she could tell it must be very late. Even the oil streetlamps were dying out. A line of potted plants were growing under her window, but she could not possibly see any farther into the night. She knew that the dragon blood was valuable, and Thorn had asked her to keep it safe. How could she lose it?Blaming herself, she left the r