Dragon Queen: Book One-Scarlet Reign

Chapter Two- Escape

Aelwen lay unmoving upon the floor of the throne room. Her huge, scaly chest pressed against the cold stone as her breath heaved in and out of her open mouth. Her pupils were contracted, staring into space as if she were dead. Her mind was jumbled with innumerable thoughts, hundreds of new sensations and feelings overwhelming her. Her own body was now so foreign to her that she couldn't even move.

She could hear her heart pounding, and the distant sounds of destruction throughout the city. The multitude of noises rang in her ears, causing her to grimace. Her mother's ragged breathing caught her attention. Her eyes flicked towards the Queen.

Lirial's head rested on a bed of blonde hair caked in dried blood. She clutched the wound on her stomach, and though her face was wracked with pain she gazed into the eyes of her daughter.

"Your eyes... are still as beautiful as they have always been..." Lirial said, a small smile on her cracked lips. "Don't be scared, my little one... You will be back to normal soon."

Aelwen tried to reply, but all that came out of her throat was a guttural wail.

"No... shhh... I'm fine... You just need to get out of here... before... their Queen comes. Hurry now! Try to move your legs. You'll find the back ones might be a little tricky to-"

A rumble shook the chamber as huge footsteps pounded into the room.

Aelwen trembled as she heard a deep, primal growling behind her. Immediately, an unseen force ripped the wand out of Queen Liriel's hand and straight into a wall, shattering it into sparkling pieces.

Lirial gazed up at a spot behind Aelwen with a strange mix of fear and fury that Aelwen had never seen before. Aelwen kept her eyes fixed on her mother, afraid to even try to turn her head.

The ebony body of the decapitated dragon -That of the Dragon's King- moved slightly, the unseen force gently closing its eyes. The growling grew even louder, drops of a kindled rage burning in the vibrations of the sound.

Queen Lirial glanced at the corpse before looking back at the spot behind Aelwen, a slow, menacing grin spreading across her face.

As soon as she did so, a feral roar boomed over Aelwen, hundreds of clicking sounds accompanying the blast. A huge paw shot out from above Aelwen, and immediately Lirial was pinned underneath it, massive claws spearing into her shoulders. A pleased hiss resounded.

Aelwen gave a sharp gasp as an enormous clawed hand wrapped itself around her torso, collapsing her wings around her. She was picked up and rotated around to face the thing that held her.

Dread filled her as she came face to face with a gargantuan turquoise dragon. The monster's head was as big as Aelwen's whole body, her glowing green eyes the size of Aelwen's face.

The beast's eyes slid closed, her brows lowering. A puff of smoke escaped her nostrils, something that sounded like an angered sigh coming from her mouth. Her eyes snapped open, and she examined Aelwen in a detached manner, fury emanating from her body.

Aelwen's heart pounded against her chest in an uneven rhythm as she bit her tongue to prevent herself from screaming. Her limbs dangled limply in the air. She forbade herself from looking down.

Her ears flicked forward as she heard what sounded like multiple voices singing a melancholy tune coming from the spine of the dragon. The spikes on her back were glowing very brightly, the eerie singing rapidly growing louder.

Once the dragon was finished looking Aelwen over, she set her down beside her, focusing her eyes back to face Queen Liriel. Her body seemed to be pulsating with the emerald glow now, rays of light escaping from the cracks between her massive turquoise scales.