The Raven Flame [The Crown Saga III] (First Draft)

Beating Wings

Silence weaved the air thick, unraveled only by the heavy steps of the dragons following us and Piper's heavy breath close to my ear.

Pangea hadn't said another word since she revealed the truth behind our golden blood. She still hadn't told us how we were chosen to become these alleged warriors or why some were never granted the powers of dragons at all.

I had so many questions, but my head felt so heavy that the mere thought of prodding for answers seemed impossible.

"Willow," Piper whispered. "Look at that."

I forced my neck to flex, and my breath nearly caught in my throat when I took in our surroundings.

Thin veins of gold shimmered in the otherwise dull walls around us—as if the dawn had dragged long claws along the stone and left scars imbued by its light. The glowing dust had diminished from an ocean of falling stars to sparse flecks resembling tiny, shimmering bugs struggling to remain awake.

Piper suddenly stopped, and I looked ahead to find that the shimmering veins seemed to have been cut abruptly by a shadow ahead.

"Before we continue," Pangea said, looking back at us, "I must remind you that the secrets about to be revealed are not to leave this island. The sight is only intended for those of sealed bonds; however, the Lagyssal has deemed your souls worthy, so we must abide by his bidding."

Her gaze quickly shifted to my right before promptly returning to staring ahead. How I wished Art was facing me instead of crawling along the shadows like some nervous animal. I thought he and Pangea were old friends, so why are they acting like their last meeting left a cleft of hostility between them?

"Prepare yourselves for a world unlike the one you thought surrounded us."

Pangea turned and lifted her hand. She pressed it against the shadow as if it had taken solid form. The shadow wall disappeared so fast I would've missed it past the briefest distracted moment as if it had never existed in the first place.

Golden light flooded the tunnel, blinding me momentarily. I raised my arm to shield my sensitive eyes and blinked rapidly to whiff the irritation away.

"By the holiest of spirits," Piper whispered beside me. "Are you seeing this, Will?"

The spots dancing before my eyes finally faded, and a world of the purest fantasies unfolded before me.

The golden-streaked walls opened beyond the tunnel's exit, the floor dipped, and the tall ceiling stretched as if reaching for the sky. Countless ragged pillars of stone and moss climbed through the bustling air, bearing the weight of the giant cave structure.

Wingbeats stirred the air, a myriad of colors, shapes, sizes, and shades basking between the pillars and playing catch among the stalagmites. Light from the descending sun poured from giant cracks in the ceiling, mixing with the golden light from the veins pulsing softly along the walls and illuminating the entire space.

I would never, in my wildest dreams, have imagined gazing upon so many dragons gathered in one place.

Piper stepped forward, carrying me with her onto a platform extending from the wall like the Blushing Bracket growing on the perishing willow trees. My breath faltered when I finally beheld the ground.

Patches of idyllic paradises with lush vegetation and giant trees stretched across yards, vines and moss winding the crusted trunks. Other areas were as barren and sandy as a surface desert, with dunes unexpectedly close to boarding some of the sparser regions of the forest patches.

Elevated zones of rock and crystals sporadically protruded from the sand or the forests as if each of Heliac's realms had been merged into one realm. There was water somewhere; I could hear the waves crashing against cliff edges and rolling across flat shores.