The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 103

“She's probably out there right now, digging a hole to hide your treasure in,” Aiden mused aloud. He retracted his tail and took another bite from the drumstick in his claw.

At Aiden's words, Bianca scrambled to her feet. An image formed in her mind: Azure, digging a deep pit and callously tossing her two sacks of little darlings inside. No. Absolutely not. No one steals from the great white dragon Bianca, aow!

Swoosh.

Aiden lifted his head, watching the white dragon's form as she sprinted toward the cave entrance. He switched the drumstick to his left claw, and with his right, he picked up the charred one from the rack.

“Bianca!”

The running dragon skidded to a halt and looked back over her shoulder. A blackened object came flying through the air.

Ah-wumph.

She snatched it out of the air. A bright light shone in her eyes. It was the scent of meat. “Thank you, Aiden-rawr! You're the best, aow!”

Aiden waved a magnanimous claw. “Go on, then. Find the evil Azure. Reclaim the treasure that is yours!”

“Right, aow!” Bianca chirped, her voice brimming with newfound confidence. She turned, spread her white wings, and launched herself from the ground.

Aiden watched her fly out of the lair. Good. Let the fool go find Azure. The blue dragon had been gone for an entire day. What she was doing, he had no idea. She has more than enough cunning to take care of herself, he thought. Still, I wonder what she's gotten herself into.

Chomp. He took another bite of the roast chicken. The rich fat burst in his mouth. His eyes widened slightly. Delicious.

…

Once clear of the lair, Bianca spread her wings and hovered in the air. Her white eyes looked down upon the sprawling forest with undisguised contempt. You wretched Azure! Did you think you could hide from the great white dragon Bianca in a forest?

The great white dragon Bianca has awakened her superlative sense of smell.

Her nostrils flared. Emm… not this way. No scent here.

She turned her head to the left, sniffing the air again. Not here, either.

She turned her head to the right. A brilliant light flashed in her eyes. There! That's Azure's scent!

You wretched thief, daring to steal from the great Bianca! Prepare to face my wrath!

She lowered her head to the roasted drumstick clutched in her claws. Ah-wumph. She took a large bite. The taste was a little strange, but still delicious. With a beat of her white wings, she flew off in the direction of the scent, eating as she went.

Whoosh.

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The downdraft from her wings flattened the grass on the riverbank as a pair of white claws touched down.

Ah-wumph.

She stuffed the last of the drumstick into her mouth. She stood on the bank, her head lowered as she examined the ground. The scent was strongest here. As her eyes focused, they narrowed into sharp, vertical slits. Her intelligence, however fleeting, came online.

The earth on the riverbank was stained a dark, rusty red. It was blood. And it smelled of dragon.

Her nostrils flared again. Beneath Azure's scent, there was something else. A disgusting, hated smell. A griffin.

Azure is in danger!

What do I do? What do I do, aow?!

Right! I have to get Aiden-rawr!

She spread her white wings and launched herself from the ground. Her wingbeats were frantic and uneven, causing her to wobble in the air for a few moments before she found her rhythm. She flew in a straight, desperate line back toward the mountain.

…

In the cave, Aiden had finished one wing and one leg. The two gnawed skewers lay beside him. He was lying flat on his back, his round, red belly pointing toward the ceiling. He was so full, he didn't want to move. Not even a little bit.

A pleasant lethargy washed over him. He turned his head, his crimson eyes gazing at the night sky. The stars here were much the same as in his memory, a glittering river of diamonds.

The moon, however, was less reliable. It changed color—sometimes red, sometimes white, sometimes green—seemingly at the whim of the Second Crown.

He stared at the blue moon hanging in the sky. Tsk. What a flagrant abuse of power. Why not make it a rainbow? That would be far more interesting.

A white shape appeared in his vision, growing rapidly larger. She's back? Alone? It seems the fool didn't find Azure after all. The white shape grew closer, and closer. Aiden's eyes constricted. Emm… is she not going to slow down?

Whoosh…

CRASH!

It was, as expected, a crash landing. Bianca's uncontrolled descent sent her skidding across the cave floor, spraying stone fragments in every direction. Garruk, hit by several pieces of flying debris, silently curled up behind the Ridgebolt carcass.

Bianca had barely come to a stop before she scrambled to her feet and, in a blind panic, pounced on the figure lying at the cave entrance.

Aiden was still staring at the sky, counting the stars. One hundred and two, one hundred and three…

Thump, thump.

He heard the footsteps, but before he could even turn his head, a white body slammed onto his full belly. The impact sent the contents of his stomach surging up his throat. He clamped his jaw shut, and with a great, gulping motion, forced it all back down.

If this fool doesn't have a good explanation, he thought, his temper flaring, I will reacquaint her with the meaning of a brother's loving, iron fist.

“Aiden-rawr! Aiden-rawr!” she cried, her voice laced with panic. “Something's happened to Azure!”

The fire in Aiden's mind was instantly extinguished. His protective instincts surged. Azure may be a scheming, conniving little sister, but only I am allowed to bully her and the fool.

“Get off me,” he said, his voice cold and steady. “And tell me what happened. Slowly.”

He pushed Bianca off his stomach and slowly rose to his feet. He lowered his head, his crimson gaze locking onto her wide, white eyes.

He's so scary… Aiden looks angry.

The white dragon immediately sat down, her posture meek and obedient.

“I found dragon blood on a riverbank,” she blurted out. “A lot of it! It was Azure's!”

Aiden's pupils instantly constricted into the thinnest of lines.

“Where? Take me there. Now.”

“Okay!”

Bianca spread her wings and shot out of the lair. Aiden followed, his own red wings catching the air. Bianca would not lie about something like this.

A fiery crown blazed to life in his left pupil.

He followed her, landing on the same riverbank. As his wings folded, his nostrils flared. The scent of blood was thick in the air. Dragon blood. He looked down. The grass was stained red; the earth itself was a dark, sodden crimson.

What could have done this? he wondered. With Azure's speed, she should have been able to escape any danger. Did she fail to get away this time? There are only a few creatures that could outpace her, all of them apex predators.

He stared at the ground, not lifting his head as he spoke. “Bianca. Besides Azure's scent, what else do you smell?”

“There's a disgusting griffin smell!”

A griffin. So that's what it was.