History promised dragons would never go to war again. But it lied.
Aeris stayed out later than her mother would have liked. The games the children played were fun, too much fun, and she was reluctant to spoil the game by leaving early. And so she stayed in the neighbouring village, frolicking with other children in the woods. Before she knew it, darkness had fallen and the parents called for their little ones.
When she left Griza that morning, it was a typical day. Merchants wheeled their goods down the streets and the older children darted around the carts and animals running errands, whilst their younger counterparts played outside the plain wooden huts. Farmers already had their harvests laid out, fresh fruits and vegetables of all shapes and colours and shining slabs of white and red meat. It was a bountiful year, accentuated by new trade deals made between neighbouring warlords, and Aeris's home village bloomed.
When she returned that evening, she came home to hell.
Even before she reached the village gates, there was a distinct, piercing smell in the air. She sniffed. She wasn't sure from where she recognised the scent, but it reminded her of the kitchen whenever the cook got upset. The sky was tinged with a pulsing orange even though the sun had just gone down and night crept round the corner. She moved as quickly as her short legs would carry her; her feet crunched on twigs underneath and she brushed her way through the low bushes, huffing as the hem of her dress caught on the plants.
The screams and explosions reached her ears moments before the village came within sight.
As she crashed through the thick undergrowth of the woods that separated her village and the next, the outline of Griza became swallowed in a storm of scarlet.
The squat thatched houses bathed in a liquid orange glow, throwing violent shadows across the cobbled road. The beautiful colours of fresh grass and weathered wood that decorated her home for years were devoured by stark shadows and a fearsome blaze. The whole sky came to life, lit by the flames. The deafening crackle from the fire drowned out all sound, interspersed by squeals and pops of expanding wood and roofs caving in. Aeris's eyes watered, her mind numb. Sparks danced in the sky like fairy dust. Aeris, coated in sweat, shielded her face with her hands as she toddled through the front gates, disorientated. How could a fire be so hot? She must have taken the wrong way home and gotten lost.
But no, she recognised the street signs. This was Griza.
People's screams rose over the roar of the fire. Mothers sprinted past with babies in their arms, their older children stumbling behind. Men yelled orders at each other, failing to put out the fires whilst their loved ones screamed for help beneath collapsed homes. The noises and the fear suffocated Aeris. Her senses slammed from all directions in a disorienting storm. Blood. Smoke. Fear.
She struggled ahead, against the waves of villagers flocking in the opposite direction in hysterical, panicked chaos The baker from down the road stumbled out of a half-collapsed house, clutching his arm, the skin blistering and shiny.
"Jace!" she called. Her voice was strained and alien to her. "Where's Mother?"
He looked up from his injury, dazed.
"Aeris!" His eyes focused on her, followed by a look of panic. "You have to run. It's dangerous here!"
"I need to find my mother," she said. A nearby house crashed to the ground, releasing a gush of hot air that whipped her dark curls off her face. "Where is she?"
He shot out his remaining good hand and grabbed her arm. Strong, thick fingers curled easily all the way around her limb. She struggled, but he did not relent.
"Let me go!" Her voice cracked, but Jace merely grimaced and dragged her back towards the village gates. More people stumbled past them, some injured, some weeping, and clutching their loved ones. Streaks of ash marked terrified faces.
"No, you have to run – this place is dangerous!" Jace repeated, his tone desperate. "It's no place for–"
An almighty roar drowned out his remaining words. Something huge plummeted from the sky and smashed onto the ground, sending both Jace and Aeris to their knees. Dust and debris exploded into the air. A disorientating ringing echoed in Aeris's skull, turning everything topsy-turvy. A gust of wind dimmed the flames for a fleeting second, dipping the world into darkness before the fire rose again.
Aeris shielded her eyes but curiosity got the better of her fears. She squinted upwards, arching her neck back and almost toppling backwards. Bloodied dark purple scales, sturdier than ten shields, spread across a broad chest and gleamed in the flickering firelight. Two giant, clawed limbs folded and unfolded with lean elegance. Terrifying talons dug into the ground, leaving deep scores. The creature was impossibly tall, even when collapsed in a heap on the ground. A long neck curved upwards, ending in a distant head with a pointed snout against the blackened sky. Its mouth opened with hate, baring glittering sharp fangs.
"A dragon?" Aeris said in wonderment. Mother told her many bedtime stories of the fearsome creatures and the duties they had as a Draconian Family, bound to serve Khaus the Bold through their bloodline. Dragons appeared during troubling times and otherwise existed almost as legends.
Aeris never thought they would be so breathtakingly beautiful.
Snarling, the elegant dragon spread its wings, which were wide enough to span several streets. The next thing she knew, an invisible pressure forced her to the ground, pushing her face against the bumpy stone ground. Her bare elbows and knees stung from the impact. A sharp screech tore through the village and reverberated in her skull, piercing her brain. She screwed her eyes shut. Beside her, the baker trembled, his arm still wrapped protectively around her.
The noise persevered with fury. Blast after blast of air from beating wings would have blown her off her feet were she not already on the ground. Jace dragged her behind a half-fallen stone wall. Aeris buried her head in her arms, her heart beating out of control. Blood pounded in her ears. The world spiralled out of control.
"Astrayas!" Jace's hoarse voice came in a whisper. "And Khaus! But what are they doing in Griza?"
Aeris raised her face. The air was sucked out of her lungs.
Another dragon tore down from the heavens. Midnight blue scales covered broad, powerful wings. It slammed onto the purple dragon, crushing it into the flaming remnants of the village. A shower of sparks flew erupted the air and rained back down. A viscous, dark liquid seeped out of the bottom dragon's body and made rivulets on the ground, sizzling as it met the hot flames. Jace tugged Aeris back. The fire threw the clashing dragons' shapes into sharp relief against the far wall. Huge monstrous shadows tore into each other. The bottom one, downed and injured, thrashed and screeched. The top one drew its head back and released a blast of fire.
The heat was unbelievable. Jace shielded Aeris as the explosion of hot air scorched the air above their heads. Aeris cowered, whimpering. The first dragon released an unearthly, agonised scream that chilled Aeris to her core. Its pain seeped into her bones. Another burst of heat whipped over her. The shadow of the top dragon reared and slammed its foe onto the ground once more, crushing its body and neck to the ground. Her family's dragon, Khaus the Bold, was losing.
Trembling, Aeris swivelled around. Jace's breathing came in short gasps; his arm still wrapped protectively around her. Scuffed, bruised, and terrified, but Aeris was unharmed. Holding her breath, she dared to peek around the wall again.
Khaus screamed as its attacker tore at her body with razor-sharp teeth. The sickening sound of teeth crushing thick scales snapped through the air. Viscous black dragon blood covered the ground beneath. The nauseating scent of flames extinguished by tarry dragon blood suffocated Aeris.
The dragons slammed their wings, crushing nearby structures. Long tails whipped over the ground, destroying the remaining standing structures. Shards rained through the air. The roars of the dragons mingled with the roars of the flames.
Aeris froze to the spot. Jace groaned, half-unconscious from his injuries. Her skin prickled all over. All she wanted to do was curl up and squeeze her eyes shut and pretend nothing was happening. But Mother was out there and she was ill. With little time left, Aeris must find her. Her body didn't obey. She hated herself for cowering behind this wall.
Astrayas, the blue dragon, reared back and slammed its jaws onto Khaus's throat with enough force to shatter towers. Khaus screamed, but the sound wavered. Purple limbs flailed and wide wings twitched. With a final grunt, Khaus the Bold went limp.
Blood turning to ice, Aeris could only stare in frozen horror. Astrayas slowly and deliberately opened its jaw, blackened blood coating its brilliant blue scales. Khaus's head flopped onto the ground, landing like a rag doll onto dwindling embers and throwing more sparks into the air. Unseeing dark eyes stared like bottomless pits, reflecting the flickering flames. Blood seeped around broken flesh, soaking broken scales that lay in the dust.
Above, its killer raised its head with pride and spread its wings, sending a blast of fire to light the dark sky. The brief flash illuminated the devastation that lay beneath its feet.
New people stepped into the village and approached Astrayas the blue dragon. Wedged in the safety of darkness, Aeris held her breath. These people wore slim-fitting fashionable clothing with high collars and narrow shoes. They couldn't have looked more out of place in this farming village.
Aeris recognised the barely-conscious dark-haired woman clamped between the two men in the middle. Her feet dragged on the ash-streaked broken cobble.
"Mother!" she whispered. She scrambled to all fours, yanking the hem of her dress from under her leg and made to get up. "Mo–"
A hand clamped over her mouth from behind. She squealed, flailing her arms. Jace spun her around, his face pale with terror.
"Hush!"
Aeris stared at him, eyes watering. Her mother was there, hurt. She needed help, but no matter how hard Aeris fought against Jace, he only held on harder. Tears pouring down her face, Aeris could only watch the men haul her mother ahead. Her head lolled with each bump. They met with the group standing further ahead.
To her surprise, they all bowed low, at Astrayas the blue dragon. It surveyed them with its liquid golden eyes, unblinking. One clawed forelimb still crushed its dead opponent's neck to the ground. Astrayas folded back its wings in a sleek curve over its back.
"Your grace, Astrayas." The man at the front had a scratchy voice. He was but a black silhouette against the dying flames. "We present to you Myomi of Khaus's bloodline."
The blue dragon, Astrayas, glared down at him in silence. The man appeared to understand the unspoken words.
"She is the last of the bloodline. We found her beneath the rubble of her home. Her daughter has long perished in the fire."
Aeris's heart raced. But I'm right here, Mother! she wanted to shout, but her words lodged in her throat. Behind her, Jace trembled, his fingers locked around her arm.
The blue dragon snorted and jerked its head, its sharp eyes staring down the length of its pointed snout. Again, the man bowed.
"Of course, we shall search through every single remnant of these buildings for her body. We will not leave a single stone unturned – or, indeed, a single life remaining."
The man surveyed Aeris's mother. Aeris couldn't make out his expression. He unsheathed something from his belt and grabbed her mother's head with his other hand. Yanking her head back with indifference, he stuck his head in front of her and chuckled.
Aeris's stomach churned.
Her mother groaned.
"And now," he said in a low voice, "we shall end Khaus's bloodline once and for all."
A glint from the object of his hand reflected off the dying flames. Jace slapped his hand over Aeris's eyes just a little too late. A muffled scream exploded from her mouth. The man slid a knife smoothly, almost effortlessly, across Aeris's mother's throat. Aeris's world blacked out beneath Jace's hand. There was no blocking out the gasp, followed by the gurgle, followed by the choking.
All the air in the world left her lungs. It was as though that blade plunged into Aeris's heart. She swallowed air with desperation but there was no relief. Jace spoke words, but they vanished in the roar in her ears. She flailed limbs that were not hers, cried tears that were foreign, screamed words that had no voice.
Even when she ran out of energy and will, the pain crashed in endless waves, pulling her under, drowning her beneath its claws. Her body gave out, numb. Jace carefully released her. She slid to the ground, her head flopping to face the murderers.
A gust of wind coursed over her, too gentle to come from the wings of such a devastating creature. Soft embers glowed amongst the destruction. Where Khaus once lay, there was a brilliant purple glow.
The murderer stooped and picked it up. The radiance from the object outlined his slim figure. Aeris's tears dispersed the light, immersing the smoke-filled village that reeked of death in an ethereal glow. He passed it to a henchman, who slipped it in a container, plunging the surrounding into darkness once more.
"Ensure the Essence is somewhere safe and guarded. Make sure nobody can get to it and bring that wretched dragon back." His words barely penetrated Aeris's mind. "By the orders of Astrayas."
"And the rest of us, sir?"
"We search for the girl. Every single house. Kill anyone you find. Those are my orders."
"Yes, sir!"
Numb, Aeris felt her feet leave the ground. Jace grunted, his uninjured arm clutching her close. He shuddered from his injuries. The village began to fade from her sight.
"Mother..." Her voice didn't sound her own. Her eyelashes were heavy, caked in tears and ash. She swallowed; it was like shards of glass tearing down her throat.
"Hush, now," the baker said, his voice catching. "We have to get out of here. They're after you, sweetheart. I have to get you somewhere safe."
His words made little sense to her slow, foggy brain. His voice was miles away. The night passed before her. Nothing felt real.
The scene of her mother's throat being cut played over and over in her mind. This was followed by the glowing object the man picked up. The image was clear as day. Each smooth surface and sharp angle on the set of purple crystals released dazzling purple light and pulsed with life as if it were Khaus itself. Her mother had told her bedtime stories about it.
It was a dragon's Essence. Within it lay Khaus's soul, even when its body dissolved to ash.
As Jace fled into the night with her, only one thought remained in Aeris's mind. She swore it upon her mother. No matter how much blood must be shed, no matter how hard life became, and no matter what it took, she would get that Essence. As the last of her Draconian Family's bloodline, only she could do it.
She would bring Khaus back.