Dragon Twins (Pending rewrite)

Chapter 19

Alidi

I SPENT a week in bed, as I had never been able to shift back. The only two people who saw me were Rebecca and Aden. Rebecca usually being accompanied by Aden, so he could translate.

Right now, we were arguing over whether I could go out at night.

"She could always sneak out the window," Aden mumbled.

"And how do you think all of the guards will react if they saw her -no offense Kiara- crawling out of the window?" Rebecca countered back.

"Did you guys forget something?" I asked. "I'm the Ghost of Mordar. I can hide." Aden repeated everything back to Rebecca.

"But how do you hide scales that seem to shimmer any way you look at them?"

My wings have been aching to go out lately, almost like they had a mind of their own.

As if reading my thoughts -hoping he actually didn't- Aden said, "She needs to get out at some point." Rebecca stayed silent, lost in her own thoughts.

I sighed and stretched out on my bed. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

"I guess we'll discuss this tomorrow," Rebecca said. "I'll take you out, Kiara. I promise." She walked out with Aden. I was left alone.

But I was not planning on waiting any longer.

I walked over to the window and looked below. I had been studying the guards routes lately. At this time, they were switching rounds.

I unlatched the lock and opened the window. The fresh air was wonderful. Carefully, I climbed out onto the ledge, and then slipped down below, hoping no one saw my outline in the illuminated window.

Thankfully, it had been wide enough for my wings to slide through.

My room had been the third floor up, so I had to maneuver my way around the wall to be able to climb down the side of the building. My sharp nails dug into the concrete wall, making my job so much easier.

I hit the ground and stretched my wings out. They were aching for flight.

Slowly, I slid along the wall, staying in the shadows of the castle.

I reached the outer wall that had surrounded the castle. There was no way I was climbing up there. Guards lined the top of it, making it impossible for me to climb up.

I came to a decision.

With my wings unfolded to their full length, I lifted them up and quickly pushed down, shooting myself into the air.

The wings propelled me up as I flew over the wall. The guards shouted as I passed, but none of them could do anything about it. I was too fast.

I laughed and twirled in the air, soaring high into the cloudy night sky. When I was above the clouds, I leveled out and went south, towards the Gerald Forest.

I've never felt so thrilled in my life. My hair became flying wisps of black behind my head, and my wings burned with adrenaline.

The Gerald Forest, named after Odin's brother, was a vast span of colorful oak trees. As winter drew nearer, though, the leaves had begun falling to the ground.

I landed in a small clearing with precision, as if I had flown hundreds of times before. The smell of the oak wood lulled me deeper in the forest.

Then the sound of grumbling stopped me. Quickly, I climbed up a wide tree, trying to give my wings room to maneuver around the branches.

I stopped halfway up the tree, looking down to see what had caused the growl.

A large grizzly bear came clambering into the clearing. Because it had been downwind, I hadn't been able to smell it.

But it had scented me.

I watched as the bear stood up to its full height. Standing at almost eight feet. The giant paws pushed against the tree, causing it to shake, and causing me to lose balance. I fell from my vantage point.

I went over the bear, my wings flapping wildly. And then I caught hold of something. Something warm and fuzzy.

The bear roared and dropped back down to all fours, creating a ruckus. I managed to hold on to its back as it tried bucking me off. After a couple more tries, it went still, noticing that raging was doing nothing.

Then I heard a whine coming from the frothy mouth. I looked down at my hands and noticed they were covered in blood. The bear's blood. As I was holding on, it seemed that my grip had tightened to the point of where I was literally stabbing the bear with my nails.

I slowly crawled off the bear, and watched as it trampled away. Sighing in relief, I took off into the night sky.