“When a Dragonair first takes their second form they must take to the sky – the first flight. They leap from atop the tallest mountain and fall; in this moment there is no guarantee they will learn to fly; indeed, some perish but if they survive and rise into the sky? The dragons, Idris and Vaska, lift their heads to the sky and turn it to fire.”
Excerpt from the Dragonair Chronicles.
Chapter 33
Wren was on fire from within. She was slipping in and out consciousness by the time they rode through the gates to Helena’s home. Darkness kept flashing across her vision, torn up with flashes of fire across her vision. She might’ve been screaming, too, but it was hard to be sure, hard to focus. In one moment, she saw someone running towards her, their features blurred. Their arms wrapped around her, a sense of warmth flooding through her, dulling the pain if only for a flash.
It surged again seconds later. Her back arched as a scream tore from her throat, real this time, scraping up from within. The fire flooded through her again, tearing up her inside. Her magic was spiralling, pushing against her skin, wanting out, a release she couldn’t define or make happen.
Clarity returned briefly again as she felt herself being lowered down to a cold stone floor, a figure looming over her. A hand rested on her cheek. That warmth again making their features sharpen just a little more. Lorca.
“You need to let go, Wren. You have to stop fighting,” he said urgently. “Let go.”
“What’s happening to me?” Wren cried out. “It hurts.”
“It’ll stop hurting if you let go. Your body wants to shift. You’ve done it before, so your body knows what to do and only now your mind is afraid. It doesn’t have to be. You’re a dragon, Wren. It’s who you are.” He stroked her cheek with this thumb. “I’ll be right here.”
He pulled away and the darkness rushed back to consume her. She screamed again, her body writhing on the floor, helpless to the fire raging inside of her.
Let go.
She clung to those words like they were her only hope, to hold onto her mind that was tearing apart at the seams. Lorca knew her magic, knew that fire that roared within her. He hadn’t abandoned her and he trained her, calmed her, stood by her. So, she pictured his face in her mind, made every detail exact.
Then she closed her eyes, resisting the urge to fight the pain, to scream and thrash. She tried to picture the fire inside of her, blazing all around her, closing in. So, she held out her arms and yanked the fire inwards, surrendering to it.
She screamed again, only it wasn’t a human scream.
It was a dragon’s roar.
The fire was gone; instead, there was a quiet hum within her, a peace where the pain had been. She opened her eyes to see Lorca standing before her, smiling. What she realised was that he suddenly seemed smaller before her, as though she was looking down at him from a higher position. In his arms was a polished circle of metal, as large as his chest, and he held it up to her.
A golden dragon stared back at her.
She blinked, slowly and the dragon blinked too. It was her. A long face with two distinct horns that curved back to her back, along with a ridge of spines that ran from the crown of her head and down her neck. She glanced behind, seeing the spines run all the way to her tail, too, where they fanned out. She looked at her wings, tucked neatly at her back. Slowly, she started to unfurl them when Helena suddenly strode forward.
“Might I advise to keep those tucked? I’d rather this room remain undamaged,” she said softly.
Wren tucked her wings back in place and looked to Lorca. In his dragon form he’d spoken to her in her mind, so she wondered if she was able to do the same.
Can you hear me? She called out in her mind.
Lorca winced. “Uh, yes, I hear you.”
She snorted softly and brought her head down so that her gaze was level. How do I turn back?
“Picture your human form in your mind, on drawing your magic deep within and exhale,” he said, reaching out so his hand was placed against her cheek. “Breathe.”
Wren closed her eyes. In her mind she saw her fire burning all around her, like a ring of it. She held out her hands and touched the fire, letting it rush across her arms and flood over her skin. She let it settle over her and then she pictured her human form materialise before her. She released the breath she was holding and drew her magic inwards.
Pain flashed through her body but in a blink, it was gone. She opened her eyes slowly and looked down. Her normal hands were stretched out before her. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to Lorca.
“I did it.”
He yanked her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her, squeezing her like she was about to vanish before his eyes. Desperation trickled through her mind. She blinked, realising the emotions drifting through her mind weren’t hers – they were his. She pulled back, searching his gaze, which darkened with confusion, unsure to what she was doing.
“What’s wrong?”
She cupped his face. “I can sense you.”
He smiled. “Dragons were always good at that. Your parents drove my mother mad with that, always able to read her when she wanted to hide it.”
He didn’t pull away from her touch in a hurry. Helena approached, so Wren dropped her hand and stepped back, her cheeks flushed. She quickly turned to Helena.
“What the hell was in that area?” She tried – and failed – to not sound accusing.
Unperturbed by Wren’s tone Helena remained calm. “Demons.”
“What?” Both Wren and Lorca exclaimed.
“This city has many vices and not all demons look like the beasts you’ve encountered. Some look very human,” she explained. “I was curious to see if you would sense them or react.”
Anger rushed up within Wren. “You saw what I did with the demons when we rode to the city – wasn’t that enough?”
“They weren’t like the ones in the city. I needed to know what would happen if you encountered them,” she explained, as if that answered everything. “Tonight, there will be a meeting here of close friends. I’d like for you to attend.”
“Will we find out what happened to my people?” As she spoke a memory flashed to her mind. Ellies face. The blood drained from her face. “I saw my sister!”
“What? Where?” Lorca asked, stepping to her.
Helena frowned. “Where?”
“Back when I sensed the demons and everything happened. I…I think I sensed her, so I turned around and I saw her. She was on the street and she saw me. I have to go back. I have to-“
“Whoa, calm yourself. If you saw her there then she’s owned by Lauri, which means you can’t just walk into there and take your sister out. Not without serious consequences and having this city shut down, which Lauri is more than capable of doing, half out of spite, half of pride.” Helena side. “Not now of all times. This city is about to rip itself apart and you absconding with your sister would be disastrous. We’re not ready. It’s too soon.”
At once Helena’s eyes widened, as though she’d just said too much. She groaned, her hand to her face, her shoulders tightening. A quiet string of curses fell from her lips.
“What do you mean ‘we’re not ready’?” Lorca pushed; his attention sharp on her. “What is going on?”
Helena looked up, glancing around, as though soldiers might just leap out from the shadows at any moment. She looked cornered, her eyes guarded as she drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
“Revolution.”
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