The creature they had just barely managed to fend off had driven them this far, but the danger was far from over.
Yara gasped as she stumbled through the thick, swampy undergrowth, her legs caked in muck, the weight of exhaustion pulling on her limbs. She was drenched head to toe in a mixture of mud, algae, and swamp water. Her breath came in ragged gulps, and she barely had time to process the ache in her muscles before the dragon, now in his human form, rushed past her.
He too was coated in grime, his normally regal figure sullied by the swamp's filth. His dark hair, once flowing like molten metal, was plastered to his face, streaked with mud. His piercing gold eyes, though sharp with determination, were shadowed by exhaustion.
