NINE
I was laughing so much that I ended up snorting. Roxie, Quyet, Quest, and Pearce glared at me, while the other dragons were trying to hold in their own laughter.
"S-s-s'not f-f-f-unny!" Roxie tried to growl, which made me double over, holding my stomach from the pain of laughing.
"D-d-d-damn cold-b-b-bloods," Roxie growled through a shiver.
I tried to speak, but I couldn't.
"M-m-maybe we should w-w-watch through a-a-a wind-d-dow," Quyet suggested.
"Y-y-yeah," Quest shivered. "But that inv-v-volves m-m-mo–"
"Moo!" I snorted in laugher.
They glared.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," I tried to keep a straight face, I really did. Nope, not laughing wasn't going to happen.
This time a couple of dragons laughed with me as well – just not as loudly or as long. Zaos stood there grinning. In the past couple of days that had past since Sunny had taken the lynx to the doctor – who'd been on call at the time – Zaos and myself had gotten to know each other a little more.
We shared many likes and dislikes, but also had a few things that we disagreed on. He was a pure silver after all, while I was half silver and half white.
"Oh, god, you guys are so funny when your cold!" I sighed out my last bit of laughter.
They were still glaring.
We were outside the front doors. In the snow, in winter. I wasn't sure where the castle was located, but apparently it was colder here than most places around the world. Happy news for the dragons – who actually enjoyed the snow, not the sun, and bad news for the shifters who weren't used to it and preferred the sun.
"Erif, maybe you can warm the shifters?" Zaos suggested.
"Mia Valishar." Erif, the captain of the dragons, created a yellow-red bubble and shaped and moved it to cover the shifter's who sighed happily in response. "It will warm up gradually, unless you wish to go from aiglos ta nar – ice to fire."
"Gradual is good!" Roxie responded quickly, then hummed in bliss. "Never moving... Unless the heat moves of course."
I rolled my eyes.
"Time for your first shift, mia vabyr'ban."
"Vilya'dorai wund mi?"–sky-ride with me? I asked Zaos.
"Shift," he commanded. "Next time I will vilya'dorai wund dos."
"Nuuko,"–jerk. I grinned to soften the insult.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Shift."
"Aye, Vyr!"
I turned and took a running start, I heard them telling me not to run. Ignoring them, I jumped, pushing off the ground, then when I was far enough off the ground, I pulled my dragon to the front.
My limbs burned pleasantly as they grew, stretched, new limbs manifested. I felt every change as a burn. My face grew longer, my back became longer, my tail bone grew outwards, my legs and arms thickened, changed angles, claws sharpened. The manifestation of my new limbs were a pain, growing in my body, making my body give the new limbs space to be there. Once they'd chosen and found where they wanted to be, they grew outwards. I had no idea where they came from, how they would fit into my human body, but I knew how to use them in my dragon form, that was all that mattered.
The ground was approaching faster with all my new weight. Ignoring the fact that I hadn't fully finished shifting, I put my hands – paws? Talons? – onto the ground and pushed up, making my wings move, forcing myself higher until I was higher than the clouds that covered the sky, higher until both the pleasant and non-pleasant burning pains were gone.
Once they were gone, I dived. Tucking my wings into my body. Making sure my body was straight, a longer, smaller force against the wind, making myself go faster and faster. I broke through the clouds like a bullet, so fast that puffs of the cloud had followed. I tilted my body to follow the cliff that descended down to the sea. The castle was built halfway up the cliff.
I heard their shouts as I passed, none of it made any sense. The adrenaline was running high through my body. The shift that I shouldn't have gone through like that, the dive that I was doing. Yet, I had a feeling that by doing this dive, I was proving myself.
I heard another dragon behind me, yet, I was too fast, and smaller than them, they couldn't keep up. I heard even more dragons, warning me against what I was doing. But if I stopped, I wouldn't be worthy of being a king's queen. They would be able to walk over me.
With that in mind, I tightened my wings even more, stretched myself even more, went even faster towards the sea that shone in the moonlight. Towards the boulders that looked like silver stakes pointing out of the sea in the moonlight.
I felt that all but mia vabyr'ban pull up, away from their deaths. Judging the distances, I hoped I was accurate. Seconds later, I pulled up, fanning my wings, slowing my descend. My belly scraped the surface of the sea and I kept myself at that level, letting the other dragons see the spray that hit me and bounced away, before pulling myself up, away from the water. I heard mia vabyr'ban slow his descent, seeing that I wasn't harmed. He wouldn't have caught me until after I'd died anyhow, the hit of the water would have killed me, and the gap between myself and he was large.
I lowered myself into the sea, fanning my wings to keep myself level and upright. Moments later mia vabyr'ban and other dragons landed.
Mia vabyr'ban, Zaos growled at me, nipping at my neck.
I snarled back and splashed him with water using my wing. Pain sliced through my wing as I did, echoing up my back, I slammed my lips shut, so not to release the roar of pain. Instead I snarled a the offending wing. How dare it hurt now!
I felt warmth flow from Zaos to me, in retaliation I used my wing, I sprayed water at him and froze it. It hit him in the chest and he growled, but at least he stopped healing me.
A golden dragon moved closer and I never realised how hansom Zoas was in dragon form as he was in human form. As they communicated, a mixture of head, wing, and tail movements, I swam over to be behind Zaos's nearest wing. Pushing out the water, I pulled myself onto his back. He went under, not having been prepared, but came up to growl at me, levelling himself out again. Instead of growing or snarling, I huffed at him and got comfortable, aware of the dragons around us watching, aware that this was a sign of trust between us, especially when he turned so that he wasn't looking at me, but at the golden dragon, Erif, in front of him.
Folding my back legs a little, my forelegs crossed over his back, my wings pulled in, my tail in the water, I laid my head on my front paws, and huffed again, signalling the last of my movement. It only worked because I was around ten feet smaller and several hundred pounds lighter than his fat weight.
As though he heard me, he arched and turned his neck to nip at my front paw.
You can hear my thoughts, mia vabyr'ban? I asked.
Of course, I would not have let you on my back if I had not known your intentions.
I snorted, lifting my head. Thank you for your trust.
I did not mean it like that.
Yeah? I replied sarcastically.
No, I mean that I would have been ready if you meant to play.
Play? I asked, interested.
Not now, your hurt... It doesn't mean your weak.
How come I can't hear your thoughts?
You can't feel the shield?
Saddened and feeling hurt by him having to shield his thoughts from me while I couldn't do the same. I pushed off and dived under the water.
Whyte! Please don't take offence. I heard him voice an out loud plea.
Sure.
I swan under a few dragons until there was space between us. Coming back up for air, I saw a smaller boulder – the only one that was small, just like me. Swimming over to it, I saw a brass coloured dragon with molten metal coloured eyes. He looked at me when he saw me.
Onver?
Mia Val–
Not right now.
Whyte.
Can you give me a leg up? I don't want to use my wings at the moment. And the bottom half of that boulder isn't right to start climbing on.
Of course.
Thank you.
Climbing onto his back once I'd reached him, I then used my claws to skip the broken section of the boulder and to climb where it wasn't broken. Reaching the top, I curled and laid down, watching the other dragons. Watching as Zaos swam closer.
I will teach you how to block your mind from me if you wish, Zaos said to me.
I knew how to do that, it was obvious. Picturing the my kennel's bars, then the rooms walls around that, they were impenetrable to me, so they would be to anyone else, but I allowed Zaos and Onver to talk to me and for me to send out messages. Onver because it was best to have someone who could warn me of danger.
I didn't actually understand why I was sulking. I guess it was because he could read my thoughts and hadn't thought to give me the same. How long had he been able to read my thoughts? Since he first saw me? Since he came into my dream to help me? Since I first shifted? When?
A while later, dragons left the water, flying back up to the castle. Zaos flew up and landed on the side of my boulder since the top was only flat enough for me to lay on, and only because I was small.
I don't want to burden you with some thoughts.
Burden me? I eyed him. What kind of thoughts do you have going on in your head?
I don't think you are ready to hear it yet.
Yes, well, you would know that since you are able to read my mind.
Standing, I pushed off the boulder and flew upwards towards the castle.
Vi'khess'dos, his words whispered into my mind.
Vi'khess'dos. I love you. His words made me stop. Stop mid-flight with killer boulders and an endless sea below me. Made my heart trip over itself, then pound as though I was running a marathon.
Vi'khess'dos'aw, my mind whispered back as I scrambled to fight the wind that was pushing me down.
Pull your wings in.
I did as he said, trusting him. I dropped, dropping as I had when I'd been proving a point to the other dragons. Taloned, dragon paw feet gripped my forelimbs, he manoeuvred me a little, getting me where he wanted me, then flew us up, towards the castle.
Landing, we only had a second of peace before an oily black smoke blinded us where we stood.
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