CONTENT ADVISORY / TRIGGER WARNING
THIS NOVEL CONTAINS DEPICTIONS/STRONG IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING:
~ BLOOD AND VIOLENCE
Libelle fell through the sky, her eyes clenched shut and her breath trapped in her lungs while she fought the urge to scream. This was a stupid move, she told herself. The jagged rocks at the base of the cliff were drawing closer and closer. Why did she decide to jump?
"Slayer!"
Libelle opened her eyes at the familiar voice that called out to her and smiled wide when the red-scaled dragon sped towards her. "Theron!"
She cried out to him, her voice trailing through the air as she rolled over mid-fall. Her old ally sped towards her, his massive wings clamping down around his body as he dove after her. His huge body fell beneath hers and she landed with an almighty thud against his back. He stretched his wings and turned upwards towards the sky before they crashed into the ground as Libelle panted and clung to his dorsal spines.
"Caught you," he chuckled, his fiery scales glowing with the sun's reflection.
Libelle sighed in relief, positioning herself on his back so as to look over her shoulder. Erupting from the trees was Berodach, the dragon's body soaring into the sky towards her. She called out to him and he roared in response. He reached them as Theron circled in the air, and his yellow fangs were revealed as he gave her a concerned scowl.
"You are wounded, Libelle," Berodach said. "I can smell your blood."
She nodded. "Take me to Uppsala, the priests there can help me."
"There?" Theron asked while he flew in the direction of the highest peaks of the mountains. "Your wounds are grave, slayer, will you make it?"
She clung to his back. "I'll try."
Her unlikely friends had quickly come to her aid, and she owed them so much for saving her life. The cold wind stung at her skin as the trio rose high into the clouds towards the snowy peaks. Her scaled companions glanced at her with worry as blood from her wounds stained the fiery scales of Theron's hide, and the intoxicating smell of it filled their nostrils. The determined expression on her face had vanished, and now she looked as pale as a ghost.
Berodach called out to his kin, "She's losing consciousness. Where is it she wants us to take her?"
"There is a temple at the top of that mountain, it is a place the gods frequent." Theron turned his head to speak to her. "Hold on, little slayer, I will go faster."
She bit her lip, shivering with the rapidly dropping temperature while trying to form coherent thoughts for Eskil to hear, but she could hardly even focus on her trembling hand tangled around the protruding spine on Theron's back. She wanted to be with Eskil, and that's all she could think of. The temple was coming into view and Libelle tried to look up. The heaviness she felt in her head made it painful to do so and her blood loss was making her dizzy.
She felt Theron suddenly dive and nearly lost her grip on his back when Berodach soared higher into the dark clouds with a roar. Her vision was becoming blurry, and she wondered what all the commotion was about. Theron slammed into the courtyard of Uppsala, causing a flurry of snow to blast up into the air around him.
Libelle gasped, the force of the impact sending her sliding from his back and onto the cold stone slabs. He rumbled a throaty growl and moved to stand over her while glaring up at the sky. Berodach glided down to stand beside Theron, and moments later, Eskil landed in the courtyard before his brethren.
"Step away, Theron," Eskil snarled.
Theron barred his teeth. "I will not. This slayer is not yours to kill, not today."
Eskil snapped his teeth at the lieutenant, shifting his weight onto his hind legs and spreading his wings as he roared. Berodach growled low in return, protecting the she-elf who had saved his life once before. She had formed a close bond with both of the dragons, each one coming together under unexpected circumstances. They had promised each other that if they ever called, the other would answer. Today, they had kept that promise and answered her.
Libelle lay beneath Theron unmoving, the smell of her blood filling Eskil's nostrils, and the pain within her body wracking his. "Theron, step away. Now." He took a step towards him. "I will not ask again."
Theron didn't step away. He wanted to protect Libelle from the malicious acts of Eskil's fury. His throat began to burn with sparks of fire, his mouth opened, and an explosion of flames burst from his mouth and struck the black dragon. Berodach roared and rushed forward to try and clamp his yellow fangs onto Eskil's flesh, but Eskil bellowed out a guttural roar, lunging forward to snap back at his kin.
"Enough!"
They stopped their attack and turned to look at Vegeir who was lowering himself onto one of the stone pillars in the courtyard. The aged dragon glowered at them both. "Now is not the time to fight!"
Eskil nodded at him as he turned his attention back to Theron and Berodach. "Step away from her," he said again.
Theron looked worriedly between Eskil and Vegeir, and when he continued to hesitate, Vegeir spoke again. "It's alright, Theron, he will not hurt her."
Berodach snarled. "Do not trust him. Eskil is the reason our kind are dying every day."
Theron paused in thought, then he grumbled and stepped away from Libelle, her pale body trembling from the cold. Eskil took large steps towards her and anxiously pushed his snout against her side. His breath caused warm steam to wrap around her as his deep, gentle voice called out her name. She coughed and her eyes slowly opened as she smiled at him.
Her palm rested against his snout. "Hello there."
He chuckled. "Can you stand beloved?"
I think so. She held onto the scaled horn on his snout while he slowly raised her to her feet. Everything hurts. I feel so weak.
"You've lost a lot of blood. You need to get warm up and get some rest."
She steadied herself on her feet and hopelessly tried to balance herself as her calf ached in pain. She looked at Theron and Berodach, nodding at them while they observed the situation with curiosity. The dragons looked to the temple's doors when they were pushed open and the four elderly priests stepped out. They looked between the dragons, then towards Libelle who was slumped across Eskil's muzzle.
Davyn rushed towards her with Kirk right behind him. "What happened?" he asked.
Libelle looked up. "The usual."
Vegeir spoke to the men. "Take her inside and treat her wounds."
They nodded and begrudgingly, Eskil allowed them to take her from him. Taking her arms, they wrapped them over their shoulders and carried her towards the monastery. Eskil watched them disappear behind the closed doors, his worry going with her.
"Would either of you care to tell me what that was all about?" Theron asked. "Why would you help her, Eskil?"
Vegeir sighed heavily. "The slyer is mated to Eskil."
The red dragon's stunned voice shook the stone around him. "That's not possible!"
Berodach growled as well. "A slayer cannot mate to a dragon; they are cursed creatures and deserve death."
Theron glared at him. "I know you don't feel that way about her."
Berodach snorted and Eskil growled at him, taking a step towards his kin when Vegeir spoke. "Eskil, brother, calm yourself. Your lifemate is alive and the men inside will tend to her wounds."
He hissed, turned around and walked across the courtyard. He could feel Libelle's pain and it infuriated him. The priests were trying to be gentle with her, but they had to tear the two barbed arrows from her body. She tried not to cry out and tried to be strong, but she had experienced so much over the last twenty-four hours. He wanted to be by her side, but he couldn't reach her right now.
Theron's surprise turned to amusement, his body shaking with each laugh. "I cannot believe it. The first dragon, our prince, the vessel of the gods, you! You are mated to a slayer?" He laughed more. "How? How is this possible?"
Berodach was forcing himself to not chuckle at Theron's words. Eskil grumbled and Vegeir spoke for him instead. "It's a rather long and complicated story."
Theron rested himself further back on his legs. "I have plenty of time."