novelraw Chapter 108
Chapter 108
[Spear of Judgment]
The spear of lightning blasted through the last griffin egg, electricity arcing wildly.
A high-pitched, fragile screech came from within the shell. The sound rose and fell, and then the griffin whelp went silent, its head slumping.
Azure's blue pupils stared at the dead hatchling. She could smell it now—a coppery, sweet scent. A primal hunger surged through her.
She tried to move her limbs. Nothing. Her wings. Nothing.
Are they all broken?
She stared at the clutch of ruined eggs. Gritting her teeth, she stretched her neck, bit down on a piece of the nest's wooden structure, and arched her neck, dragging her broken body an inch forward.
She did it again. And again. After dozens of painful repetitions, she had dragged herself to the nearest egg.
She looked inside. The yard-long whelp was dead. Thick, bloody yolk dripped from the broken shell.
She opened her maw and bit down on the whelp's downy, eagle-like head.
CRUNCH. CHOMP.
For some reason, the act of devouring the hatchling calmed the thundering panic in her draconic heart.
Soon, the whelp was gone. It was... delicious.
She opened her bloody maw, bit down on the wood, and prepared to drag herself to the next one.
"Aoooo!" a familiar, squeaky voice piped up. "Aiden-rawr! She looks just like a sandworm! Rawr!"
Azure froze, her jaws about to close on the next whelp. Blood-matted, she slowly raised her head. Her blue pupils dilated.
Perched on the edge of the nest, two familiar figures were staring down at her. One red, one white. Two dragon heads, one large and one small, peered over the edge.
Her gaze locked with the white one.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
She continued chewing.
Hmph.
Aiden shot a sideways glance at Bianca. This idiot. We were just getting to the good part, and she had to open her big mouth. Though, 'sandworm' is generous. She looked more like its lame-ass cousin, the earthworm.
Now that they'd been spotted, the show was over. Aiden spread his wings and dropped into the nest, his claws landing softly on the wooden branches.
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His red eyes met her blue ones.
He'd caught her in a humiliating, primal state, yet her gaze was as flat and unfazed as ever. Is this that 'it's only awkward if you make it awkward' thing? he wondered.
His gaze swept over her blue body. Her wings were twisted at unnatural angles. Her limbs and tail hung uselessly, marked with deep, congealed gashes from the griffins' talons.
Aiden's pupils narrowed. Right. On the way out, I'm grabbing those two griffin corpses. We're having a barbecue.
He crouched down, angling his back toward her.
"Get on," he rumbled. "We're leaving."
Azure stared at the broad, red-scaled back. A strange, unfamiliar warmth stirred in her chest.
Her bloody maw stopped chewing. She let the mangled whelp fall, then bit down gently on the scruff of Aiden's neck and used her remaining strength to pull her limp body onto his back.
Aiden's long, red tail coiled and gave her a gentle nudge, centering her.
"Don't move."
"Oh. Okay," she replied instantly. Her neck went limp, her head resting on his back.
"There are two adult griffins here," she said, her voice low. "We need to get out of here quickly."
"If you're worried about them, don't be."
"They're dead."
The dragon on his back fell silent.
Aiden spread his wings and, with a powerful thrust, launched them out of the nest.
Finally, he thought, fresh air. That nest stank of griffin. He glanced back. The idiot, Bianca, was just now flapping clumsily after them.
"Did you kill them?" Azure's voice, surprisingly sweet, came from his back.
"Yep. I took care of them." Nothing to hide.
Again, she said nothing. She didn't ask how, which Aiden appreciated. No stupid questions. Just as expected.
He angled his wings and dove.
There was still a nest of elves below. The Wood Elves... former rulers of Aethelgard. Even if they were washed-up, a once-dominant race must have a little treasure left, right?
Whoosh.
Wind scattered the scorched-yellow leaves on the ground.
Aiden's thirty-foot-long body landed with a solid thud on the cracked earth.
Seeing the massive dragon land, the adult Wood Elves inside the wavering water barrier instinctively pushed their children behind them.
Aiden faced the barrier. He uncoiled his long tail, stretched it forward, and gave the shimmering blue bubble a gentle... poke.
Pop.
The barrier collapsed instantly, hissing into steam as the water hit the scorching ground.
The adult elves grabbed their weapons, their green eyes burning with unconcealed hatred. It was obvious. Blatant.
Ah, whatever. He couldn't be mad. Their 'mom' had tasted so good. He mused, remembering the flavor. Sweet, like nectar. When could he get another bite? Lost in the memory, his great scarlet tongue unconsciously snaked out and licked his maw.
That gesture was all it took. One of the elves, his bow already drawn, loosed the string.
Ting!
The arrow shattered harmlessly on his scales.
Aiden's eyes snapped to the elf. Tsk. Their goddess should have given them brains before she offered herself up.
Don't get angry, don't get angry, he told himself. Their mom paid the bill.
He fixed the group with a glare. "Wood Elves," he rumbled. "There will not be a next time."
"As you can see..." He gave a little buck, jostling the paralyzed dragon on his back.
"This is my sister. And you ignorant morons hunted her."
An old, wrinkled elf's pupils shrank. He recognized the blue wyrmling—many of them did. They had all seen the griffins drag her into the nest. It had been a moment of triumph. Now, that triumph felt like ash.
Still... the elder thought, a red dragon with a blue dragon for a sister? How is that not the weirdest part of all this?
Aiden bared his teeth, a row of serrated white daggers.
"As you see, she is badly hurt. And I... am heartbroken." His voice was pure, dripping sarcasm. "So, I demand compensation.
"Hand over everything of value in your tribe."
His red eyes began to glow.
"Or, you can choose to be annihilated in fire. Your call."