"ARE YOU SURE this is going to work?" Ravenna asked dubiously. She lingered at the edge of the magic forest, beneath the painted wooden gate that led into the marketplace.
Caelan stood in front of her, in his massive dragon form. Sunlight glimmered against his scales. The ground trembled a bit as he leapt upward, into the air. His massive wings started to move, allowing him to hover above the ground. The movement stirred the dust and small bits of rubble that coated the earth, causing clouds of tan-colored smoke to dance atop the ground. Ravenna grimaced and shielded her face as the clouds blew toward her.
"Of course it will work," Caelan said haughtily. His dragon-face almost appeared to smirk at her. "My plans always work out."
She rolled her eyes toward the heavens. "Yeah. Right."
She heard him laugh. The heavenly sound was quickly drowned out by his wings, which moved faster now, allowing him to shoot upwards. More dirt lifted from the earth around her and filled her lungs. A cough escaped her. She glared upward, watching as Caelan's dragon form disappeared within the clouds.
As the dust settled, Ravenna sucked in a deep breath of fresh air and exhaled slowly. She turned toward the gate, eyeing the navy colored wooden posts. The moment that she stepped between them, an invisible line of pressure slowly moved across her body — a forcefield of sorts.
Once she passed through it, she found herself in the very center of the city's market.
Her fingers clutched at the edges of her cloak, pulling the fabric closer together at the base of her throat. The hood that was attached to the cloak concealed most of her face within its shadows, including her crown of ice, which decorated her forehead.
It had been a while since she stepped foot into the city — but she didn't want to risk it. Especially not with her ice crown visible to humans.
The market itself was not as lively as she remembered it to be. Some of the shops had closed, wooden boards half-hazardly nailed to cover their doors and windows. There were less wooden stands and less shouting vendors in the streets.
The few people who did roam within the marketplace seemed sullen. Their expressions had hardened with hardship and pain. Weak smiles — if any — were exchanged between the humans. There was no laughter.
A heavy ache tugged at Ravenna's heart as she looked around. She knew that she had caused a lot of pain and suffering to the humans in this kingdom. The notion was even harder to see in person.
She squeezed her eyes shut and focused. A pearl of ice formed within her hand, freezing her cloak in its place and allowing her identity to remain concealed as she moved. "This should be easy," she told herself. "You can do this."
The anxiety that swelled within her almost drowned out the low rumble that began to fill the air. She opened her eyes and waited, watching the sky.
The ground beneath her feet began to quake. Dirt and small pebbles bounced against the surface of the streets. The buildings around Ravenna trembled. Pieces of wooden boards broke free from their nails. Glass windows shattered. Shards of broken glass twinkled in the sunlight as it rained downward toward the earth.
The humans around Ravenna paused, their heads turned upward, toward the skies. Their dead eyes were wide — flickering to life with flames of fear and terror.
Clouds parted and Caelan's massive dragon form appeared. Ravenna's mouth dropped open in shock. "Goodness," she muttered under her breath and shook her head.
He had warned her that he intended to increase the size of his dragon form — but she wasn't expecting him to be as large as the mountains.
As he flew over the walls of the city, a beam of ice shot out of his mouth. It slammed into one of the old, abandoned storefronts and coated it with a heavy sheet of jagged ice.
Screams echoed through the air around Ravenna's head. She waited a moment, watching the chaos unfold around her. It was overwhelming — the screams, the panicked running, and the overall mayhem was a lot to take in. Caelan's dragon form circled around overhead. Another beam of ice hit another abandoned storefront.
"At least he has decent aim," she muttered under her breath.
She hustled forward toward the center of the market, where an elegant water fountain sat. In the center of the fountain, a statue stood high. She scrambled to the top of the statue, using her ice for balance.
Caelan circled around again. As his head arched backward and another beam of magic took form within his mouth, Ravenna shot her hands upward. A massive wave of ice erupted from the ground around her, sweeping over the marketplace and shielding it from Caelan's attack.
A loud, earth-quaking roar tore through the air. A quiet snicker escaped her.
Her little show of strength worked. Several humans stopped and turned toward her. Hope shimmered within their eyes. She turned her attention toward them, pointing toward a gated hole that suddenly appeared in the street.
"This way!" she screamed. Her voice carried, echoing throughout the market.
Caelan attacked again. His movements were slow and deliberate — easy for Ravenna to elaborately block. She guided them toward the gated hole, which Caelan had created to give the humans access to the water tunnels that lived beneath the city.
As she neared it, she blasted the solid gate with an ice blast of her own. The iron bars broke instantly, hitting the base of the tunnel with a heavy, echoing clink.
"Hurry!" she shouted.
The humans around her rushed into the tunnels. Women and small children were rushed from their homes. The men around her scrambled, searching the buildings that comprised the city for any stragglers.
It did not take long for the humans to evacuate and empty the city.
Once inside the tunnel herself, Ravenna worked her way to the front of the crowds of humans that surrounded her. Most allowed her to pass easily, their eyes grateful. Some watched her warily, their suspicion evident on their faces.
She guided them through the tunnels system.
It wasn't a hard path — one that the humans surely could have taken themselves. Most of the other tunnels within the system were filled with flowing water, leading toward the various bodies of water that lived outside the city walls. This specific tunnel was also spelled. Using a modified version of Ravenna's ice soldier spell, Caelan had created a small town just on the other side of the mountain — far enough away from the carnage to come.
This town was their destination. It was filled with fake-humans that could protect the citizens of Zeporia until it was safe for them to return home.
Once she found the entrance to the town, she used her magic to force open the heavy grate that separated the sewer from the world above.
Slowly, the humans climbed out of the sewer tunnel. The fake-humans that Caelan had created waited to welcome them. Pleasantries were exchanged. Blankets and food were passed around. the dreadful and dreary expressions began to fade away from the humans that Ravenna had saved.
Taking one last look, watching as the fake-humans blended with the real ones, Ravenna made her escape and slipped back into the tunnels. As she walked back toward the marketplace, she allowed her fingertips to graze the tunnel wall beside her. Ice grew from her fingertips, stretching larger until it formed several thick walls of ice within the tunnel. The icy walls were temporary — a mere safety measure to keep the humans from finding their way back to the city before it was safe.
It did not take long for her to make her way back through the tunnels. As she neared the entrance, she noticed Caelan, back in his human form. He stood there — waiting for her.
His expression was stoic as she approached him. She did her best not to react — not to give him any form of satisfaction with her own expression. "That could have gone horribly wrong," she said, her tone matter-of-fact.
The corners of his mouth twitched upward. He arched an eyebrow at her. "Ah," he said. "But it didn't. I told you that my plans always work out."
She got brave. She reached up and tapped his forehead. "Watch out. You don't want your head to get any bigger now."
His growing smile ensnared her heart.