A FLASH OF bright white momentarily blinded Ravenna. She squeezed her eyes shut. It did nothing to block out the light. The insides of her eyelids remained illuminated, revealing a faint web of bluish veins.
Two breaths passed and the light flickered out. Ravenna hesitantly opened her eyes. Her vision disoriented her. It was blurred — all of the colors and shapes around her blended together as one, illuminated by rays of sunlight that flooded the area. Dark spots freckled the edges of her vision. She grimaced and closed her eyes again, rubbing at them.
Caelan carefully lowered her down onto the ground. "Are you alright?" he asked her. He stayed crouched down in front of her, his attention focused on her wounded torso.
Ravenna hesitantly attempted to open her eyes again. The blurriness had faded — the evergreen of the trees that surrounded them no longer mingled with the vibrant blue of the sky. She looked around. They sat in a small grassy clearing, speckled with orange and yellow wildflowers.
"Where are we?" she asked. Her gaze flicked around nervously, searching the thick expanse of trees surrounding them for a pair of crimson eyes.
Caelan's fingers gently pulled on the tattered material that had started to dry against her skin. "I was able to put some distance between us and the palace. We must hurry though. It won't take long for Vyses to find us."
She winced as pain prickled across her skin. Caelan pressed a glowing white palm against her chest. Bright white magic leaked from his skin, crawling across her punctured skin like water rushing to fill the cracks in stone. It burned. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the urge to scream. Her hands grasped his forearm. "Stop," she rasped, her voice breaking. "Stop!"
He cautiously pulled his hand away and watched her. Slivers of bright white danced around his fingertips, pirouetting across the small space between them.
The air inside her lungs was ice cold. Her own magic had already started to react to her pain — jagged shards protruded from the ground, encircling them. As she forced herself to breathe, the pain began to recede and her ice melted back into the earth.
Caelan's expression was hard. "This wound won't be easy to heal," he remarked. "Especially with your magic as it is. It is going to take several sessions."
"I am sorry," she whispered. Her gaze dropped to the earth, staring at the remnants of her magic. Defeat flooded through her. She had grown so accustomed to being in control, so comfortable with her magic. Having her magic be so reactive to her emotions again was very foreign for her.
He reached out and gently grasped her arms. In one swift movement, Ravenna was standing on her feet. She gasped out in surprise, her pain dulling swiftly, and shot him a glare.
Caelan offered her a small smile. "It will come in due time." He glanced over his shoulder for a moment. A frown tugged at his lips. "We need to leave," he said.
Ravenna nodded. She took a small step back. The movement wasn't as hard as it had been before. The pain in her chest had ebbed away a bit, making it easier for her to move around on her own. Her gaze quickly scanned the tree-line again. No crimson-colored eyes. "Alright," she murmured as an uneasy feeling crawled down the length of her spine. "Let's go."
He paused and then arched an eyebrow at her. "How do you feel about flying?"
Her expression soured. "I have only had one experience thus far," she said frostily. "And it is from the first time that we met. You had transformed into a dragon and snatched me up."
"Ah," he said. She could tell that he remembered. He offered another small smile, the corners of his lips tugging upward. "It won't be as bad this time," he assured her.
"I'm not sure if I trust that," she grumbled at him.
"Where is all that confidence that you had before?" he asked her with a teasing look.
"Hiding," she retorted. "Is there really no other option?"
He stared at her for a moment. "Nope."
"You are lying. I can tell."
He took a small step backward and closed one eye in a wink. "Not at all," he remarked, lifting a glowing white hand toward his face. He tapped his fingertip to his forehead. The magic instantly spread throughout his body, engulfing him in brilliantly blinding light. Ravenna grimaced at the sight. She watched with mild interest as the glowing humanoid silhouette in front of her began to shift. It stretched and twisted and morphed around, creating a new shape entirely. An expansive torso took form. Four thick legs burst from the sides and stretched toward the ground, sharp claws digging into the earth. Something long and covered in scales protruded from the rear of the torso — a heavy tail that instantly dropped to the ground and coiled around the torso. Finally, a head sprouted, stretching high toward the sun. A snout formed, followed by a pair of nostrils and a mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth.
The bright glow of Caelan's magic faded — leaving behind a familiar dragon covered in scales the size of Ravenna's hands, shifting between shades of sky blue and sea-foam green.
The dragon's head lowered to the ground. "Hop on," he instructed.
Ravenna grimaced. She carefully grabbed one of the dragon's scales and started to climb. Once atop the dragon's neck, she was able to wrap her arms and legs around it — securing her spot attached to the dragon. "Don't you dare let me fall," she warned him.
Caelan chuckled. "I would make an effort to catch you."
She grumbled curses under her breath and held on tighter. Her cheek pressed against one of the sales beneath her — it was ice cold against her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Just get it over with," she told him.
"Alright," he said with another chuckle. "To Zeporia." The words looked so strange as they spilled from his oversized mouth.
"To Zeporia," Ravenna echoed hollowly, clinging as tight as she could to Caelan's scales, her stomach lingering at the back of her throat.
~
I hope that you are all having an amazing week so far! I'm sorry for the delay in today's chapter. I have been a little under the weather since this last weekend and somehow missed my alarm for today's update, haha. I appreciate your continued patience and support!! ❤