Traitor to the Crown

Chapter 11

"She did WHAT?!" The Empress roared, her eyes growing wide. 

"I told you! She pushed me through the portal and stayed behind!" Vaskin repeated, still slightly out of breath from running through the palace to find the Empress.

"We have to get her out of there! NOW!" Leif replied, gesturing for him to climb on her back. Vaskin nodded in agreement, hoisting himself over her shoulder and onto her spine.

"Shouldn't we call for backup in case..." Vaskin started, as Leif sprang forward and spread her wings, shooting into the sky.

"This is my fight!" Leif yelled over her shoulder. Vaskin clung to her scales as she violently beat her wings, flying faster than she had ever flown in her life.

"How are you going to steer at this speed?" Vaskin called out over the wind roaring past his ears.

"I can steer just fine, and the sooner we get there the sooner Manx is safe, if she's even still alive at this point!" Leif yelled back.

"You should have called for backup!" Vaskin said. "This is Lyrica we're talking about, and what would happen if she killed you this soon after all the damage she's already done? This world needs its Empress alive!"

"What this world needs..." Leif said, panting from the exertion of flying at such a speed, "Is for Lyrica to DIE!"

Vaskin nervously looked over his shoulder at the city fading quickly away. He noticed something red and shimmering off in the distance that was catching up to them, and he said, "We've got company!"

"That doesn't matter! Now where in the mountains was her lair?" Leif replied, pushing onward as hard as she could.

"It was really high up, on a ledge with a cave. We could see the entire city and the palace and the forests surrounding it all from up there." Vaskin said, watching as the scarlet shape following them came close enough for him to distinguish its shape and the copper on its wings.

"Hadrix is right behind us!" Vaskin called out.

"That doesn't matter. He'll just get in the way!" Leif said in annoyance.

"Y'know if we had been flying on the quest we would have found her faster." Vaskin commented.

Leif breathed a stream of crackling turquoise blue flames in frustration as her pace began to slow from over exertion. She roared and pressed on harder, saying, "That wouldn't have worked because she would have easily gotten away."

"Slow down or you're gonna' crash!" Vaskin yelled, as Leif's muscles strained to fly harder and faster beneath him.

"Sis! Wait up!" Hadrix called out from behind them. Leif ignored him and flew on. The peaks of the mountains sped closer and closer, until Leif had to bank left to avoid hitting one of them. Vaskin closed his eyes as she narrowly missed smashing into another peak.

"LEIF SLOW DOWN!" Vaskin screamed, just as she pumped her wings as hard as she could in order to get over the next stony peak.

"Where is it? Wheres her lair?" Leif yelled in fury, dodging yet another mountain.

Vaskin cautiously opened his eyes, wind whipping through his hair. He gazed down at the mountains and cliffs speeding around and beneath them as the Empress flew.

"It's one of the higher ones, see. I think it's up ahead." Vaskin said, nervously clinging to the dragon's muscular neck. He wished his hand didn't hurt so much from the gash he had received from the broken glass. If only his grip was tighter, then maybe he wouldn't feel as if her speed would throw him off at any second. "THERE! I see it! See the glint of the gold in the light of the setting sun?!" he yelled as he caught sight of the lair.