Hoofbeats drummed in my ears. And the ground beneath me was cold. So very cold.
And that screech again.
Loud and piercing – clawing its way through my skull. Instinctively, I wrapped my hands tight around my head, curling up as small as possible.
Whatever was happening, I just hoped it would go away. A throbbing pain echoed through me. Could I have broken something? I really hoped not.
Another screech sounded from above me. Louder. And I dared to look up.
A scream tried to force its way out of my lips but, the sound never came. I just stared in terror at the huge dark shadow towering above me.
Red, glowing eyes, bored into mine as it continued to loom over me – blotting out what dim moonlight had penetrated the thick cloud cover. Now there was only darkness. Darkness – and those eyes.
They seemed to narrow, and another scream pierced the night as it opened its mouth, teeth glinting. It seemed to draw nearer, closing in on me. And I was paralysed, I couldn't move.
"Hey!"
A shout came from somewhere to my left.
I blinked, hardly daring to move my head. Whatever this thing was above me, I was sure it could devour me with one look.
I could make out the online of its head raising, turning toward the source of the noise. And slowly, it moved away, and I was left lying in the snowy grass.
Ignoring the pounding in my head, I pushed myself up to my knees, glancing around in the dim moonlight. Unsteadily, I got to my feet, the world almost seeming to tilt before me.
My horse was nowhere to be seen. But what I did see almost brought me back to my knees again. Almost.
Wrynn stood a little way off – his sword unsheathed and held high in the air. But it was what he faced that I couldn't tear my eyes away from. Before him stood... a dragon. The unmistakable shape of it etched into my mind's eye even as I tried to blink it away.
It was the stuff of legends. A dragon? They were only talked of in children's fairytales and bedtime stories. The tales of the dragon slayers of old, over the mountains. But they had only been stories, they weren't supposed to be real.
But here one was. I could see properly now, the glowing red eyes a stark contrast to the pale white and blue scales that glittered in the light, covering every inch of its enormous body, a wicked tail swishing this way and that.
Another screech and the beast lunged for Wrynn. He darted backward, out of reach. Wrynn raised his sword, swung and missed.
A hiss of anger and the monster attacked again. This time Wrynn parried the blow with his sword, knocking the creature back. But only slightly. It roared in anger.
He glanced to me then. "Aure! Run!"
I didn't move – rooted to the spot, staring at him slack jawed.
And then I was staring at the beast. Staring as it moved its giant tail. I watched as it lifted it high. And suddenly, I knew what was coming.
"Wrynn! Look out!"
He glanced back heeding my warning, scrambling back in an attempt to avoid the wrath of the dragon. But he wasn't fast enough. The tail swung, crashing into Wrynn's side. Hard.
He was knocked flying, sword falling out of his hand, sinking into the white snow. He did not get up.
I screamed. The creature loomed over him, lowering its head as if ready to pounce and deliver the killing blow. And then, I was moving, my muscles suddenly unfrozen from their paralysed state. What was I doing? I was supposed to be running away from the danger, not toward it. But Wrynn...
I couldn't just leave him there. And where was Cassian? Surely, he'd be able to help me. But he wasn't here. No one was.
Reaching Wrynn's fallen sword, I picked it up. It was heavier than I'd expected. Wielding it would not be easy. By some miracle, I lifted it high above my head and advanced toward the monster.
It regarded me cooly, as if I were a mere inconvenience to its deadly plans. And to be honest, I was. Who was I trying to kid? Certainly not myself. I'd never held a sword in my life - it was not the done thing for a princess. And now I thought that I could somehow defeat this beast and save Wrynn's life.
Fighting every urge in me that told me that this was a stupid idea, I continued my plight.
"Aure. Stop! What are you doing?"
Wrynn must've noticed me. Concern wreathed his face and he scrambled to push himself back up to his elbows. Thankfully, I seemed to be too much of a distraction for the beast as it appeared not to have noticed Wrynn's rousing.
Fat lot of good that would do us though. He couldn't get to me, and I couldn't get to him. The only weapon we had was held by me. And I had no idea what to do with it.
Retracting slightly from Wrynn, its eyes trained firmly on its new target. The beast took a step toward me. I swear, it was as though the very ground began to shake. A thundering footstep.
I stared the beast down – right in its red glowing eyes. There was nothing there, only an inhuman rage and a deadly desire to kill.
Closer and closer the dragon stalked, huge, spiked tail sweeping the ground, blowing up clouds of snow in its wake. My hands shook; I held them steady, gritting my teeth.
Another screech as the beast lunged for me. I ducked. It missed. Barely.
Enraged, it tried again, I scrambled back. The sword heavy though it was, seemed useless now, a mere stick in my untrained hands.
This was it. I was going to die here.
Not legend, Aure, nightmares.
Wrynn's words floated back to me again. Was this what he had meant? Was this the nightmare? It certainly felt like one.
And then, the inevitable happened. My foot caught on something, invisible in the snow and blackness as I backed up, too wrapped up in my own thoughts.
I tripped, flying backward, losing grip of the sword finally. It fell to the ground beside me, and I was once again overtaken by the shock of cold as I lay on the ground. The dragon stalked ever closer, in no hurry now. It knew it had won. It was toying with me – its prey.
Teeth glistened in the moonlight, wickedly sharp, as it almost seemed to smirk at me, puffing air that cooled my already freezing face.
I sighed, resigning myself to my fate. Death by dragon. It almost sounded kind of cool. Almost. I was about to die for goodness' sake! These were not helpful thoughts!
The creature's maw grew ever closer. A stale odor floated to me, and I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I tried pushing myself backward with my hands, though the ground was slippery, and I didn't get very far.
Almost on top of me now, the beast widened its jaws ready to snatch me up. I took in a breath. Teeth lowered, grazing the top of my head, agonizingly slow. It was leering at my, relishing in my fear.
Don't worry, Aure. It will all be over soon...
"Over here!"
The shout took me by surprise. Wrynn, barely standing, waved his arms wildly at the dragon. It paused its attack of me, staring over its large shoulder at Wrynn.
I too, watched him. What was he doing? Wrynn was going to get himself killed. We didn't both need to die. He, at least, could escape.
Wrynn caught my eye and for the first time I noticed the blood running down his forehead. I cringed. He gestured to the sword; jaw set in a determined grimace. While the creature was distracted with Wrynn, I made a grab for it.
"Aure, here! Pass it here!" Wrynn's voice was sure now, commanding.
He sounded like a Captain of the Guard should.
With all my might, I heavied the sword, high into the air and lobbed it in an arching pass to where Wrynn stood. He darted forward with practised ease and grasped it. Clearly, this was what he spent his free time practicing. The art of swordsmanship.
Within seconds, the beast had rounded on me once again, almost as if it knew I had just thrown away the last of my defenses. It prowled forward coming in for the kill.
But what it didn't see, however, was Wrynn, battered and bloody though he was, charging forward, sword in hand. The blade struck true. Wrynn seemed to know exactly where to strike – a fleshy part of the foot, where silvery scales failed to protect.
The beast howled again, but this time in pain rather than anger. It met my eyes. I stared back. Fiery red met icy blue. It glared – I stood my ground.
It roared once again; Wrynn staggered back.
And then it took flight. Massive, scaled wings beating furiously as it ascended high into the darkened sky, blotting out the moonlight. I watched it disappear, pushing out deep, heaving breaths. We had almost died.
Wrynn.
I turned, hurrying to him. He was on his knees now, as if that final blow had taken all the energy he'd had left. I cupped his face in my hands, studying him. Blue eyes stared back at me. Tired and hollow and... angry.
A muscle in his jaw ticking, he planted his sword in the snowy ground, using it to leaver himself up into a standing position. He rested heavily on it, breathing hard.
"Wrynn..."
Glaring at me, he finally spoke, "No, Aure. Don't say a word. What on earth were you thinking? I told you not to leave the palace at night. You... no... we nearly died. We almost died. It is dangerous, Aure. Don't you understand?"
I could have sworn his voice softened a little at the end, but it was hard to be sure. His glare held fast.
"If you had told me..."
He cut me off. "I shouldn't have to tell you, Aure. I told you it was dangerous. That should have been enough. You had no right to disobey a direct order."
I glared now. "And who are you to give me orders, Wrynn? I am to be queen. I outrank you by far and you know it."
Ignoring this, Wrynn started forward, yanking the sword out of the snow. "You will not do that again."
Not even checking to see if I was following, he stomped off through the snow. He was so sure I would follow him? I glared at his retreating figure.
I could turn and run. I could slip away before he realised I was gone, and besides, he wouldn't be able to come after me very fast, not tonight. Not in his current state. He limped further away.
But where would I go now? With no horse? There was no time to retrieve the other one.
And secretly, though I loathed to admit it. Wrynn was right. It was dangerous out here. The dragon was not dead. It could come back at any time. I wouldn't survive another attack on my own, that was for sure.
But somewhere hidden deep below my longing to leave, was a desire to stay.
Evenspire held many secrets.
I intended to uncover them.
Jaw set, I followed Wrynn through the snow.
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Thank you so much for reading!
I'm so grateful to all of you who have stuck around!
Love,
Kalli x