Queen of the Broken

Chapter Three

𝓣anacetum Parthenium
- Warmth
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The sky had never looked so bright in hell before, even the dark clouds that always seemed to hang above seemed lighter, revealing a hint of baby blue.

Ankai loved the sky, his fascination with it running deeper than anyone else's. He could lay in the grass for hours, getting lost in the sight, even if it was cloudy and dark. However, he preferred it clear, blue, and bright. A color that only seemed possible to witness up in the sky as the dragon flew way past the first layer of clouds.

The purple demons' eyes were as if glued to the sky as the beast flew even higher. It was as if the dragon-shifter had noticed Ankai's fascination and wanted to provide him with an even better view. And Ankai was thankful until the turbulence hit, and the pain of his injuries was activated again.

At first, it wasn't too bad. After a while, however, his shoulder, his badly bandaged hand, and the bruises began to hurt like the devil himself. Especially when he rocked slightly in the grip of the dragon-shifter, his body constantly bumping into a massive finger.

Ankai tried to keep his discomfort from reaching the point where he had to voice it out for the dragon-shifter to hear. But after hours in the air, his stamina was running miserably low. And he couldn't hold back the whimper, that were followed by a shudder, which caused Ankai's form to shrink a little as he curled into himself.

He hoped the dragon-shifter didn't notice, but of course, he did. The dragon-shifter was weary to sound, his ear could pick up the puff of a breath miles away. That was how he had been able to know Ankai before he even formally met him. So, he noticed his discomfort instantly.

Are you okay? The demon spoke into his mind.

Ankai laughed, that is until his ribs felt like they were going to stick a hole through his lungs.

Immediately he closed his mouth and clenched his stomach with his less injured hand that only bled a little.

"W-what? Afraid the pain will turn the meat bad?"

Ankai could tell the dragon shifter was frowning, even as he really didn't have any eyebrows.

"I'm okay, no worries. Just kill me quickly okay? I hate lingering around in hell for too long" Ankai teased again, but his words weren't just meant for jokes. He was discreetly trying to understand what the dragon wanted with him. There weren't any other dragons in hell besides The Dragon Queen and this particular dragon (as far as Ankai knew). So, few knew anything about what they used to fill their void. Hence why Ankai just assumed the beast wanted to eat him. Which would be totally gross since he would become demon-shit and be yet again healed into a demon by it. As he could never die, just suffer. A lot.

The dragon didn't answer but chose to fly a little lower to spare Ankai unnecessary pain.

After a while, the mountains, that the dragon had longed after for decades, finally came into view and he hummed in delight. Ankai picked up on it but chose to not make a comment. Mostly because talking seemed to irritate his injuries.

The mighty dragon dived from the sky and down to a cliff where he landed gracefully. The dragon clearly had more grace in his pinky than Ankai had in his whole body - which was ironic since Ankai was on the size of one of the dragon's fingers.

But no matter how careful the dragon was, there was little to do about the turbulence. The purple demon almost threw up by the intense landing, his upper body hunched over one of the dragon's fingers.

"I-I think threw up my kidneys over there by that cloud..." he groaned as the dragon proceeded to walk on the hard surface of the cliff sticking out like a sore thumb in the mountain.