Page 3 of Winter's Dragons. Frozen Flames
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Kerryn
Ever since our unusual move to Chronikos, Cassia had told us several times that part of why she'd found our arrival so odd was due to the magical barrier that protected The Land of Time. She had not gone into detail on what this magic involved, but whatever it was, it appeared that it would not be enough to protect our home.
It did not matter. That was what Raijin, Emmerich and I were for.
As soon as Cassia made her dramatic announcement, I was ready. "Give us your orders, Your Majesty," I said, naturally falling into the formal address due to the seriousness of the circumstances. "Where are we to go?"
Emmerich and Raijin were no less eager to keep our lair and soulmate safe. "No attacker will be able to defeat us," Emmerich promised.
Raijin's following vow echoed Emmerich's, and my own. "We will let no one encroach upon our queen's territory."
Our reaction drew a small, warm smile out of our female, one that never failed to make my instincts stir with a mix of pride, protectiveness, and desire. "I believe you," she said. "We will handle it together. Go ahead and shift and I will lead you to the site of the disturbance."
It wasn't ideal that she wanted to go into battle herself, but trying to prevent her from doing so would've been a fool's errand and an insult. As such, I said nothing and, like she had asked us, melted into my dragon form. Our clothes tore as our bodies expanded and changed, but it was better than the alternative, which would have wasted time and put us in a somewhat inappropriate position.
The shift wasn't instantaneous, but it went faster than it had in the past. Within seconds, all three of us had changed forms and were waiting for further instructions. We also managed to terrify almost every person present in the bailey, as three-quarters of them were new arrivals and had not been aware of our draconic nature.
The amarok pack quickly backed away, the Alpha male taking up position in front of the rest of the group as if to shield them from us. It wouldn't have made a difference had we wanted to attack, but still, the gesture was admirable.
A couple of jumpier nisse ducked behind the remaining wagons with supplies. The prize for the funniest reaction went to February. For some reason, Cassia's third lieutenant was already returning from the granaries, and when he saw us shift, he went pasty white and let out an inarticulate screech.
Cassia shot February a look that couldn't have been more unimpressed had she tried. "I seem to have forgotten the necessary introductions. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Raijin, Emmerich, and Kerryn. They are my consorts and personal guards. My dragons, meet my third lieutenant, February and the representatives of The Melting Snowflakes pack, led by Alpha Panuk. Further details will have to wait.
"February, we are under attack. Find the others and let Ded Moroz know. I will go handle it with my dragons, but we need to be prepared, just in case."
Cassia's orders snapped February out of his paralysis of dread. He nodded and promptly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. At once."
Cassia didn't acknowledge his words in any way. Her power was already swirling around her, the icy winds of the realm responding to her call and helping her float mid-air. As she took off, we followed, with Emmerich and I using our wings, while Raijin summoned his own magic to assist him.
I would've preferred having Cassia mount one of us instead of flying on her own, as it might've been safer. Even so, I could see the logic behind her approach and her decision to guide us. A different formation might have made it more difficult for her to fight whatever intruder had dared to encroach upon our borders. I'd just have to stick as close to her as possible and intercept any attack before it could hit her.
The Palace of Serenity was located in the very center of Tou Cheimóna, on the largest, tallest mountain of Chronikos. It was also a good distance away from the north-western border of the realm, which appeared to be the direction Cassia was headed in. "Any idea what this could be about?" I asked her as we flew.
"None whatsoever. Like the amarok, the akhlut have not reported any problems or suspicious movements from anywhere. If there is a threat, it must originate from beyond The Great Ocean."
"What's the closest realm in that direction?" Emmerich inquired. "The Voievodat?"
"No, the undead are further north and don't come through here anyway. Whenever they try to cross the shields, they usually aim for Tarasia's territory and go around Eranthe's. Or they did, at least. Tarasia has been cracking down on illegal immigrants and kicking them out as soon as they end up there. We haven't had any real undead visitors for decades."
"So something else?" Raijin mused. "But what?"
In hindsight, we should've guessed the answer long before we reached our destination, and as soon as I saw the dark clouds looming ahead of us, I actually did. My fellow dragons must've had the same realization. Raijin let out an inarticulate sound of shock, whereas Emmerich was a little more vulgar. "Oh, shit. We're fucked."
None of us liked to use that kind of profanity in front of our treasure, but this was one situation when I agreed that it was warranted. Very few words could've described our current predicament better than Emmerich's blunt ones.
"What is it?" Cassia asked, shooting Emmerich a confused glance. "What's wrong?"
Emmerich stopped flying, his scales turning darker red as he acknowledged the mistake that we had all made. He hesitated, obviously not feeling all that inclined to provide the explanation that would draw our female's wrath onto him.
The moment of vacillation cost him. Before any of us could find a way to answer Cassia, the unavoidable occurred. The so-called clouds were much closer than we had expected, and from the diffuse, dark smoke, six familiar draconic figures emerged.
One particular dragon, a fierce-looking, if smaller, black wyvern let out a piercing screech and lunged forward, straight toward us. Cassia hissed in anger, frost already swirling around her fingertips as she prepared herself to take out the enemy headed her way.
Great. This was getting better and better. Back in Terra Dracones, I'd seen some memorable clashes between females, but while those battles had been impressive, I suspected they would be nothing compared to what would happen should I not stop the reckless new arrival from stirring my treasure's anger further.
The gods were not entirely against me today, and the distance between us and the black wyvern, while not great, still gave me the opening I needed to intervene. I flew ahead, placing myself between Cassia and her attacker. "Don't!"
