Her Second Chance✔ (Published)

21

The squad leader scowled at him. "You made the mistake of telling us to shield, so whatever you did to them won't affect us."

"And that's why you're tasked with patrolling these dark halls instead of something more meaningful." he derided. "I managed to get this far into the heart of your city with you none the wiser so please don't strain your brain too much by thinking. Take me to your prince."

With a growl the squad leader shifted then moved forward to attack. Andre reached  over his shoulder and unsheathed his sword. Used to weapons bouncing off their hide, the dragon dismissed the sword as just a nuisance and continued with his attack, claws first.

Andre swung the sword so that it was perpendicular to his body and made a swift cut. He was careful not to cut so deep that the warrior would die but the cut was deep enough to be incapacitating.

The halls rang with the warrior's cry of pain and his squad that had been in the process of following his lead stopped in their tracks. Their horrified gaze took in the sword, becoming even more so as the blood on the sword was sucked into it and it became as white as before. As magical beings, they'd know the sword had taken more strength from its victim.

As one, they took a step back. The leader was still on the floor clutching his stomach as blood flowed through his  fingers and he moaned through clenched teeth. "See to them." Andre commanded nodding at the fallen dragons as he sheathed his sword. "Who's second in command?" he demanded.

A lanky warrior with fiery curls steeped forward, his face pale. He swallowed hard. "I am sir."

Andre nodded. "Send someone to bring some medical help for them. Is your station close by?"

The dragon looked down at his leader then back at Andre's flinty gaze. "Yes sir."

"Good. We'll wait here for them to get help then you'll lead me to your prince."

"Yes sir." The dragon said with a salute.

*

The trip up was mired in magic. Andre had known how magical dragons were but he was still surprised by how much they used so easily. He could feel the  very stones reshaping themselves to form a shorter way out of the tunnels. It was ancient magic set into the mountain, added to by the presence of the dragons.

 Wolfehold had the same aspects in its walls, but nothing to the extent of Dragonheim which was older and populated with being more magical. As they walked he analyzed the nature of this magic so that should he be forced to release the dragonsbane he could  bypass it.

Even knowing that dragons were incapable of hearing their mindspeak Andre had everyone be silent just in case the dragons had since found a way in their eons of isolation. As their prince he could sense their fear. To project a sense of invincible confidence, he held that fear back. In this den they couldn't afford to be seen as weak.

They passed from the rough textured walls of the cavern wall to the smoother walled passages of the palace seamlessly. Warriors lined the hallway and he realized  they were already in the royal wing. He kept his head up, back straight with that arrogant look still on his face.

Gold decorated the walls, the skirting and cornices were of solid gold. Golden pillars lined the hallways, this time they were decorated with precious stones. While he saw it as overdone, he could understand how it'd soothe the dragons' need to be surrounded by treasure. In old times the race had horded it and some had become mesmerized by it to the point where they lost their ability to function. Most had failed to take care of their health and starved to death.