Misty didn't give the trainer time to answer before she shoved Nyaxia out of the way, pushing her sister on the ground in apathy. Nyaxia's jaw dropped as Misty launched herself at me and tackled me to the ground, her entire weight falling on top of me as we hit the sand.
I wheezed and my arms got pinned between my chest and the larger Dracon – demon's – chest as paralysis took over and she slumped on top of me. Warm liquid oozed where our vests met, and I heaved Misty's limp body off me. She rolled onto her side at the water's edge and remained motionless as black blood bubbled on my vest. I rushed to unzip it and tossed it on the ground as the substance ate away at the sturdy fabric, disintegrating it into a pool of the sizzling blood.
"Misty is out!" Trainer Reishell shouted. "That means Aeryn is – "
"What did you do!"
I whirled around as Nyaxia's distraught eyes locked on me, morphing into vehement rage as she seethed. Her focus changed to her sister's fallen form and she sprinted over to Misty, flipping her onto her back as she knelt beside her.
My face paled as Nyaxia lifted Misty's head into her lap, smoothing back the graying strands of teal braids from her face. Misty's black eyes stared unseeing into the cloudy sky, and I wavered on unsteady feet, dropping to my knees in the sand. I tracked my eyes down the length of her body, pausing on her unmoving chest where the hilt of my dagger protruded. Black blood spurted around the wound, flowing down her body as it ate away at the delicate skin and popped on her bones. My dagger remained unscathed due to the ruben protecting it as her body became a victim to the molten blood infecting her.
I swallowed the acidic bile that crawled up my throat at the sight.
That made three. I'd killed three Draconians during this challenge.
But Misty had no longer been one of us.
Nyaxia turned her tear-ridden eyes on me and laid her sister on the ground, rising to her feet. Hyrule's scale gleamed in Misty's pocket as her torso was obliterated by the boiling blood.
I sent two throwing stars at Nyaxia and bolted for Misty without tracking to see if weapons landed on their target. I stooped down and took the gold scale from Misty's pocket before it, too, could suffer a similar fate and screamed when a shocking pulse smacked the center of my back, ramming me face-first into the sand. The scale shot out of my hand and skidded into the water as my hair was yanked up, snapping my head back.
Nyaxia stood over me and hissed in my ear, "You're dead."
A heavy thud sounded behind her, and a new voice rumbled, "Kill her and it'll be the last thing you ever do."
Chills erupted down my spine at the cold tone, and I bit my lip to keep from yelling out in pain as Nyaxia's hand jerked, clutching my hair.
"Stay out of this, Zoran," she warned, bringing a knife across my throat.
"I don't want her to have that scale either," he said, voice lowering several octaves, "but your sister was Cursed. Misty would have killed you. We both know you wouldn't have been able to take your sister's life if the princess hadn't done it for you."
Fiery pain flared on my neck where the blade cut a shallow slice as Nyaxia's grip faltered.
"Why are you defending her?" she growled. "She's a disgrace to our race and princess by default. She doesn't deserve the title you call her by."
"I find it endearing, but I'm not doing it out of respect."
His iciness made me forget about the hot sting on my neck from the thin wound.
"Then why won't you let me kill her?" Nyaxia interrogated, getting angrier. "She killed Misty, so the scale is technically hers. We need to kill her so she doesn't win the scale and use her naivety to join the Force. She'll end up killing more Draconians than demons."
"I am fully aware of the detriment she is capable of –"
"I'm right here," I snapped, boiling with rage. "You're both acting like I'm –"
"I wasn't finished," he retorted, sauntering around Nyaxia to stand in front of me.
My eyes reached his ankles and I strained my eyes to look up at him as he crossed his bare arms over his chest. I wondered if the frost fire inside him adjusted his body to be comfortable in the middle of a snow flurry. Snowflakes speckled his dark hair as he looked down at me.
"But," he continued as I felt Nyaxia stiffen above me, "I do need her help with this."
Zoran stepped forward until his toes were under my nose, and he reached an arm out over me. Nyaxia let out a surprised yelp and the pressure was released from my neck as Zoran stepped back with her neck clamped in his hand. Her feet dangled above the sand as her face flooded red and her eyes bulged. Zoran swept his arm out to the side as Nyaxia clawed at his wrist in desperation. He opened his mouth as a spark of blue blossomed in his throat. His curled his lips, showing his fangs as a stream of neon blue erupted from his mouth.
Nyaxia's torturous scream pierced my ears as the frost fire engulfed her tall frame, flames dancing on top of her skin without scorching it. Zoran released her and she crumpled to the ground, freezing up as the fire burned so cold that it wracked her with terrorizing chills. Red sparks appeared among the blue fire, melting her insides until she was nothing more than drops of liquefied skin.
I felt lightheaded and fought to stay conscious as darkness spotted my vision.
Reishell's voice rang out again. "Nyaxia has been eliminated, too!"
Zoran kicked sand over the puddles, solidifying Nyaxia's dark skin to cover what was left of her. Turning his back on me, he walked over to the lake and crouched. He ran his fingers under the water and stirred up the stillness of the lake, causing it to splash over his boots.
I pushed myself to a seated position, refusing to look at the remnants of the Lexton twins as Zoran pulled Hyrule's scale from the water.
"Give me that. I earned it," I demanded and stood, striding in his direction.
Zoran turned a heated glare on me, refusing, "I didn't have a partner that I had to fight to the death with to win the scale. It's mine."
A gray dragon with an Insignia on his forehead depicting two hands with objects floating in the space above them landed between us and Trainer Reishell leapt from his back, dirty blonde hair whizzing back as she dropped. On her feet, she looked from Zoran to me and beckoned us both over with a wave.
"Hand the scale to me," she said, presenting her palm to Zoran.
The muscle in his clenched jaw ticked as he stared at her outstretched hand in reluctance. Reishell tucked her hair behind an ear and rolled her eyes, waving her hand that glowed pink. The scale in Zoran's hand was lifted by an invisible force and placed in Reishell's marked palm of telekinesis.
"The dragon will decide," she said, twirling her finger in the air, piloting the scale through the air. She stopped it once it was levitating in front of Hyrule.
The gold dragon's pupils thinned to slits as he stared at his scale hovering before him.
I already made my choice, he said in my head.
"Yeah, I don't know why everyone keeps trying to interfere with it," I said out loud, earning bewildered looks from the other two Draconians.
I shrugged, not offering an explanation.
Hyrule widened his jaw and lit the scale with his spark fire. The scale went up in flames as flickers of electricity ignited off it. The fire was hot enough to blast us with its heat from across the lake. He closed his jaw and sat back, satisfied with the mark he'd engraved with the current running through his fire.
The pink hue around Reishell's hand brightened as she brought the scale back over and floated it between us.
I had to squint to make out the etchings in the center of the scale; a light blue symbol of icicles spinning around a tornado – Zoran's Insignia.
And underneath it was an empty circle. I supposed that delineated my lack of an Insignia.
Reishell's brown eyes widened into saucers as they shot from me to Zoran and back a few times.
"I've never seen anything like this before," she admitted in a near whisper.
"What does this mean?" I asked Hyrule.
You are his Champion, Aeryn Glastos. Serene decided this a while ago when she granted him use of her frost fire.
I pivoted to find Serene laying at the edge of the Yurich Forest.
"Is that true?" I asked her.
"Is what true?" Zoran demanded, roiling with frustration.
Yes. He can protect you, Aeryn, and you'll be able to use his ice wielding power as his Champion.
"No, no, no," I denied, profusely shaking my head. "I don't want this. He can have the scale as long as he's not my Champion."
"Your what?" Zoran probed, placing his hands on my shoulders to spin me around and face him.
I grinded my teeth together in fury. "My nothing. Don't worry about it. The scale is all yours," I said, stepping out of his embrace as I gestured at the scale.
A low growl shook the ground and Hyrule commanded, Do not defy us. You promised to avenge your mother's death and bring back Armaeda while in the Force. You need Zoran Masters to help with that while you don't have an Insignia.
Trainer Reishell's hand found my shoulder next. "Aeryn, what is going on?"
My hands formed into fists as I clipped, "Serene and Hyrule paired me with Zoran. We're to be Champions in the Force."
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