Imperial

Chapter 13

Something prodded me, and I blearily opened my gaze to see Rutilus looking down at me, his paw resting on my silver flank. "We must hurry! Kronx is here," he said by way of explanation, already turning away and leaping out of the cave. Hastily, I followed after him, and jolted as cold water fell on me as I soared out from behind the waterfall.

Kronx was hovering above us, his silver eyes watching us intensely. "You rested well, I trust?" the dark blue drake rumbled, not giving us any time to answer as he continued. "We have quite a flight until we get to our final destination. A few days away, I expect, depending on how fast you fly."

My amber eyes narrowed. Of course he'd have to remind us that he was a faster flyer than both of us; that Rutilus and I were both like donkeys next to a horse when compared to him.

"And where exactly are we going?" I questioned. Perhaps we were not too far away from the questions, but this would be the second time we followed the giant dragon somewhere- and we still knew very little about him, or what he wanted. 

"Somewhere safe," the dark blue dragon answered. Like that told us anything. I glared at him, waiting for a proper answer, but Kronx did not seem concerned by my reaction- if anything, it amused him. Nonetheless, he allowed, "my home."

Rutilus's eyes stretched wide, and his golden eyes glowed brighter with excitement. "You'd take us to your home?" He as much more incredulous than he was suspicious. "Wow. Are we the first dragons to have visited it?"

Hesitantly, the giant dragon nodded. For the briefest second, his silver eyes darkened, before returning to normal.

But I did not give Rutilus the chance to get even more excited. Instead, I demanded, "Why? What do you want in return?" If Kronx was to be trusted after all, he was offering quite a lot. Surely he wanted something in return? Why bother helping us if he didn't want something?

For a few moments, the dark blue dragon held my gaze. "Want in return? Perhaps I just merely want company. Its not nice to be alone for centuries, you know. And most wings won't even let you near them..." His deep, rumbling voice broke off. Silver eyes scanned me intently, curiously, as though he was wondering if that was answer enough. Frustrated, I narrowed my eyes at the dark blue dragon, and he sighed. "I want to help. The fact that you two barely know about your only species is... shocking, to say in the least."

Barely know about our own species? I found that hard to believe. After all, I had been raised in a place with lots of other dragons. To simply say that I didn't know much about dragons would have to be an exaggeration. Even if I did not know how to fly quickly.

Snorting, I glanced towards Rutilus, but he did not seem concerned at all. Instead, his golden eyes sparked with enthusiasm, excitement, curiosity. His wings were already twitching, as though the red drake could not wait until he was airborne. My gaze caught on his gold flecks almost glistening a silvery colour in the moonlight. I could have sworn that there were more of them than a few days ago.

"Can we leave now?" even Rutilus's voice was excited, as he wriggled in excitement. "Should we hunt and drink first?" Either way, I knew that the red drake did not mind either way. Sighing, I shot him a warning look, trying to tell him to calm down, to be more serious, but he merely snorted in amusement. "This is what we want, Argentum- what we need!"

I opened my jaws to protest, but Kronx cut in, his silver eyes flashing towards me. Knowing that I had been about to say something, but not caring. "Drink?" He scoffed, his sonorous voice rumbling. "Drink what- water?"