Clash of Captains

Chapter 26

The two girls jolted away from each other as one, already beginning to race their way down the rest of the mountain. They had already descended most of the way, leaving them one long stretch to sprint. Their strides matched almost evenly, resulting in the pair running side by side. Devyn snatched glimpses of Aneira as they ran. The blonde girl's brow was furrowed in pure panic, and she couldn't help but feel as if part of that was her fault. She forced the thoughts from her mind. Keep an open head, she demanded internally, urging her legs to move faster.

They reached the foot of the mountain at last. Devyn's legs were already aching from the speed they were running, but she refused to allow herself to slow as they descended the final hills and sprinted across the flat section that separated them from the mountain and the place where their dragons were waiting. Aneira stumbled at some point as they ran, likely from exerting herself so much, but she grimaced as Devyn stepped over to help, and so the dark-haired girl left her alone.

The place where they'd set up camp the previous night finally came into view, and with it their dragons. Devyn stared in combined amusement and bewilderment as she saw that the two reptiles were curled up together, napping lightly as they basked in the last dregs of the evening sun.

"Get up, you useless brutes," Devyn snapped as she finally slowed to a stop. Her legs practically gave out beneath her, but she ignored the discomfort and set herself to getting Twyl ready to fly. While the affection between the two dragons was admittedly rather adorable, Devyn didn't have any time to waste fawning over the sleepy pair.

The bulky mahogany dragon grunted in annoyance, wriggling himself out of his position as Aneira's dragon's headrest. He spread his wings and gave them a few flaps before tucking them to his sides and examining his surroundings. Devyn watched as his narrow pupils dilated, then retracted, as he woke up fully and carefully surveyed everything within his view. His gaze caught on the flames on the horizon and he let out a displeased snort, as if recognizing their dilemma. Twyl finally stepped up to his rider, kneeling to allow her to mount. She climbed onto his broad back, situating herself between two of his blunt spikes, before glancing over at Aneira. The blonde girl had already positioned herself on Claer's back, hunching over to take off.

Devyn walked Twyl over to the dragon and rider pair. "Hey," she murmured, just loud enough for Aneira to hear. The blonde girl turned with a flinch, her eyes flashing with fear and worry that she quickly hurried to mask with nonchalance.

I get it. She's technically my prisoner. She thinks she just got caught trying to escape to fly to the stronghold. Devyn once more felt a tingle of guilt that she was unused to. She cleared her throat, hurriedly shaking her head before she had to deal with Aneira's worried expression any longer. "I'm not going to stop you. You need to help out; I get that." A hint of a smirk leapt onto her lips as Aneira's shoulders visibly sank with relief. "Whatever happens, I'm right here with you."

The blonde girl offered her a grateful smile, and some of the same emotions from earlier could be seen in her slate grey eyes before she turned and signaled for her dragon to take to the sky. Twyl did the same, launching himself into the air after a few strides to build momentum. Devyn tried not to think of anything other than the task that lay ahead of them as they flew at a brisk pace towards the burning Ledian stronghold. Still, thoughts and questions filled her mind, all pertaining to the moment between them, before they had seen the flames and raced down the mountain. We had gotten so close... There was this sort of longing that I saw in her eyes, and that I think I felt too... And then we both leaned in even closer, and it was almost as if we were going to...

She shook the thoughts aside. They would only distract her, and the last thing she needed in this moment was a distraction. It had been her downfall in one of the fights between herself and Aneira; her thoughts had led her astray, causing her to walk away injured. Devyn brushed a finger across the scar on her cheek as she remembered another battle of theirs. She shut her eyes for a second and promised herself that it would never happen again; she'd shove the thoughts and feelings as far down as she had to in order to avoid it.