‘With all the monsters that have appeared lately, I would think you would be somewhat worried about what’s within those trees?’ I say, pointing into the darkness of the forest. ‘Maybe it’s best we don’t find out what’s in there. I mean, the sun is shining out here, and there are some patches of grass that Thypon has not yet destroyed.’
I wander over to a half-shrivelled flower and pluck it from the ground. ‘See, this flower is only half dead. Let’s stay out of the forest’s darkness and in the safety of the patchy grass and withered blooms while we wait for Sir Hugo,’ I say with a nervous laugh.
Alec grabs my hand and yanks me toward him, ‘Come on, Nina. You’re the Queen of curiosity. It’s not like you to not want to have a peek at whatever it is in there,’ he grins.
‘Yes, well, as you know. Curiosity has never been my friend, and I’d rather not be acquainted with it again.’
Alec pulls me in even closer, his hot breath tickles the nape of my neck, and I melt in his arms.
‘Okay, well, you are definitely making me tempted to go into the forest now,’ I murmur as his fangs glide along my nape.
He steps back, leaving me longing for his touch. ‘I thought it might,’ he smirks, ‘Now let’s go.’
The bellow of agony becomes louder as we stealthily sneak about the forest floor. Something very large moves between the trees up ahead, but it stumbles face-first, causing a wave of dust and debris to woosh towards us. Alec holds his cape up before me to stop dust and debris from getting into my eyes. Once he lowers his arm, we stare at a large reddish-brown dragon laying in the dirt, whimpering and groaning.
‘There’s something wrong with its front leg, and I think the back half of the dragon is stuck between those two large trees?’ I say to Alec and point.
‘The dragon looks to be the size of a house,’ Alec says, ‘Such a shame. I guess we will have to put it out of its misery,’ he shrugs.
‘No, we can’t kill it!’ I growl.
‘Why not? We’ve been killing all the other creatures that attack us.’
‘Yes, because they attacked us. This dragon isn’t attacking us. It’s stuck and injured,’ I reply.
‘The moment it sees you, it probably will try and attack you. I think it’s a fire dragon, so it could still kill you with fire even while it’s wedged between those trees,’ he says.
The dragons whimpering screech becomes louder as it attempts to stand.
I step out from behind the tree where we’ve been observing the dragon.
‘Hi there, um, not so, little one,’ I say nervously. ‘It looks as though you could use some help?’ I say to the dragon.
His eyes narrow, and steam blows out from his nostrils. He looks mad. Very mad. I hold my hands up in surrender and step back.
‘I’m not here to hurt you. I promise.’
The dragon stares at me from head to toe in thought. ‘I’m going to come closer, okay? I want to look at that leg of yours. I might be able to help.’
I wait for any response but don’t receive one, so I take the tiniest step possible and await a reaction. Nothing, so I take another small step and another, taking in a deep breath with each step. I pray to the Moon Goddess under my breath that the dragon doesn’t decide to turn me into a human kebab.
The dragon lets out a kind of snort, with small clouds of steam emitting from its nostrils.
‘Oh! You thought that was funny, hey?’ I say.
The dragon stares at me. I’m so close to his face that I slowly reach out and gently place my hand on his snout. He closes his eyes, and I slowly and gently caress the area and move my hand up towards his forehead. He makes a few gruff sounds before a loud rumbling purr can be heard in his chest.
‘See, I’m not going to harm you. You’re a good boy, aren’t you?’ I say. His rumbling purr becomes louder.
‘Nina, it’s a dragon. Not a dog,’ Alec says, leaning against one of the trees the dragon is stuck.
The dragon yanks his head up and tilts it to see Alec. He glares at him, and smoke begins to emit from his partially open mouth. I quickly place my hand on his chest, and he turns his head to look back at me.
‘It’s okay, Dragon. That’s Alec. He’s my Blood Flame, and he’s here to help me help you,’ I assure him. ‘Now that we’re acquainted, perhaps you will allow me to look at that leg of yours?’
The dragon doesn’t keep my eyes off me, and after a few moments, he lifts his injured front leg. He knows what I’m saying. I beam a smile at him and place a hand under his leg. His scales are in tones of brown and red. The brightest red scales shine like rubies. He is so majestic. His long black claws should scare me, but they don’t. Perhaps I’m desensitised since I already live with a beast who’s an alpha werewolf and the other who’s a vampire. There’s a large gash on the dragon’s leg. It looks like a slash from a sword. It must have been from Sir Hugo’s sword when the dragons attacked us. The scales and skin of the dragon are much too thick to sew up. The only way to seal the wound is by cauterising it.
I look into the dragon’s vertical pupils that dilate as we make eye contact. His large green eyes are bright and remind me of Magnus’s.
‘I have to cauterise it. It’s the only way to seal it,’ I say to him.
A large dagger suddenly lands in the dirt by my feet. I pick it up and look at Alec.
‘Use your fire spell to heat it,’ he says.
But as I hold it out, the dragon breathes a low fire, careful not to burn my hand. Alec and I give each other a look of surprise.
‘Okay, here goes,’ I say, giving the dragon a sympathetic look.
Alec quickly dashes and stands beside me to help hold the dragon’s leg. I smile at him in appreciation and thanks and quickly press the dagger onto the wound. A loud whimper comes from the dragon, followed by smoke from his mouth and nostrils. I remove the dagger and drop it on the ground before tearing off another strip from the bottom of my white dress and wrapping it around his leg.
‘You know, you won’t have much dress left to wear if you keep ripping it up like that to help every injury you encounter,’ Alex frowns.
I shrug my shoulders at him making his frown deepen.
‘Now let’s get you out of these trees,’ I say, scratching the dragon behind his ear.
I walk over to the trees and look them up and down. ‘These trees are massive. The only way to free the dragon is to cut them down,’ I say, placing one hand under my chin and the other holding my elbow.
‘You could use my dagger, but you’ll be here for a month carving through it,’ Alec says.
A thought comes to mind, ‘What if we strike it down with lightning?’ I suggest.
‘It could work,’ Alec replies.
‘All right, stand back,’ I say, cracking my knuckles and trying to think of the spell Yiselda had cast. I raise my hands at one of the trees, ‘Electrous Flaros!’ I shout.
A lightning strike flies down from the sky and hits the tree with a loud crack sound. The tree begins to fall back, and the dragon moves forward and flaps his wings.
‘We did it! You’re free!’ I shout out in glee.
The dragon nudges his head against me. I wrap my arms against his chest. His rumbling purr vibrates through his chest, making me giggle.
‘Okay, now that your good deed for the day is done, let’s find Sir Hugo,’ Alec says.
I smile, nod and wave goodbye to the dragon, but he begins to follow us.
Alec and I glance at each other and turn to face the dragon.
Alec points behind him, ‘That way, off you go now. I already share my Blood Flame with another hairy beast and a feathery one at that, too,’ he says, referring to Magnus and Reaper.
‘You probably would prefer to be back in the company of the other dragons,’ I say to him.
He makes a whiney sound like a puppy. Alec and I turn and walk away, only for the dragon to follow us out of the forest.
Alec mind-links me, ‘Perhaps if we ignore him, he might disappear.’
I nod and point in the distance in front of us, ‘Sir Hugo, he finally caught up,’ I smile.
Sir Hugo pulls his long sword from its sheath as he runs towards us.
‘Watch out,’ he shouts.
As he runs past us, I cast a spell as he swings his sword toward the dragon, ‘Restraino Detainous.’
Sir Hugo is frozen in place, except for his head.
‘What are you doing? Can’t you see this dragon, or are you blind?’ He growls.
The dragon emits a rumbling growl at Sir Hugo as a warning.
‘You mean this dragon?’ I reply, walking up to it and begin rubbing his chest. He purrs and falls to his side like a dog so that I can reach his belly.
‘Who’s a good dragon! Yes, you are!’ I say to him.
Sir Hugo pales, and his mouth gapes open.
‘What in the wands is going on? Why isn’t it trying to kill you?’ He asks in confusion at the situation.
I click my fingers, releasing him from his stilled position. Alec laughs as he falls to the ground with a decent thump.
I step away from the dragon and approach Sir Hugo, ‘Thornwell is just over that mountain. We’re going to go there and then make a portal there. You can return to Mystic Pride while Alec and I return to our castle on Emerald Island. I need my spell books to try and find a spell to help defeat Thypon. You can let Queen Maia know of our plans,’ I explain to him.
The dragon’s tail begins to wag profusely, and black spikes I didn’t know he had, point up along his spine and down his tail. He runs towards me with a knowing look. I step back with worry, and within a blink of an eye, he flings me into the air, making me land on his back near his neck. I scream and cling onto the spike in front of me for dear life as his wings shoot out, and he flies high into the air.
