The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 113

Aiden’s gaze shifted to the left, his red pupils flicking downward.

A single gnoll was curled up next to the Ridgebolt Bird carcass.

That pet... he thought, his annoyance softening for a fraction of a second. Whatever. I'll watch it for Azure for now. It seems to like eating guts, anyway.

He spread his red wings and, with a powerful beat, launched from the nest, diving toward the forest.

Twenty minutes later, he returned, his talons full. He landed on his hind legs, his red wings folding neatly. He crouched, opening his claws and dumping his haul onto the cave floor: a mix of flamepepper berries, wild onions, and a dozen varieties of colorful, patterned mushrooms.

The berries were still attached to leaves, the onions had dirt on them, and the mushrooms were caked in dark soil. Fresh.

And I'm not washing them.

He stared at the ingredients. Now what? Soup again? Ugh. Too much trouble. I'd have to haul water.

Then, a brilliant idea struck him. He looked up at the other Ridgebolt Bird corpse. It was whole.

For now.

He walked over and grabbed the Ridgebolt Bird by the neck. Garruk, who had been leaning on the carcass, promptly fell over... and kept snoring. Aiden dragged the bird to the fire pit and began to prep it, his sharp talons scoring and carving the meat into a dozen large, uniform chunks. He began threading them onto the heavy wooden skewers.

Snap.

He stared at the broken skewer in his claw, the half-threaded meat still hanging. Wood is so useless, he fumed. If I had metal skewers, this wouldn't happen. Oh well. It's the last piece anyway.

He dropped the chunk of meat. He looked at the rack. A dozen skewers were now ready. He had stuffed the deep grooves in the meat with flamepepper berries and wild onions, and an entire row of colorful mushrooms was "planted" in a line down the center of each chunk.

Alright, time for the fire. His gaze fell on the last chunk of meat on the ground. This one's for the gnoll, I guess.

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He flicked his claw, sending the meat flying.

Splat.

The block of raw meat, bigger than the gnoll's entire torso, landed directly on top of him. Garruk jerked awake, yelping. He saw the red dragon squatting by the fire pit, then looked at the meat covering him. He understood. Silently, he shoved the meat off, crawled a few feet away, and went back to sleep.

Aiden piled wood under the rack and, with a huff of draconic flame, set it ablaze. The fire roared to life, and the meat began to sizzle almost immediately. Fat dripped into the flames, making them hiss and flare. Within minutes, the entire cave was filled with the smell of roasting meat.

A white body crept closer. Aiden felt a cool aura brush his scales. He turned.

Bianca's round, white head was illuminated by the fire, her bright, shining eyes locked on the meat. A glistening string of drool hung from her snout.

"Aiden-rawr~" she whined. "Can I eat it? Can I eat it, rawr?"

His long, red tail snaked out and patted her on the head. "It's not ready. You have to wait. It'll taste better."

One minute passed.

"Aiden-rawr~"

"Just wait."

"Aiden-rawr~"

"It's almost ready."

"Aiden-rawr~"

"In a minute."

"Aiden-rawr~"

THWACK!

His tail slammed into the stone floor, blasting a yard-deep crater. Shrapnel shot across the cave. A piece of rock pinged off the head of the sleeping gnoll.

Garruk's eyes shot open. He shot a single, baleful glare at the red dragon, then silently pulled the raw slab of meat over his body like a blanket and went back to sleep.

Bianca flinched and went quiet. Finally, peace.

The meat was sizzling, the outer skin a perfect golden-brown, and the mushrooms had gone soft. Okay. Time to flip. He pushed himself up. Bianca was sitting next to him, her eyes still locked on the food. A small ocean of drool had formed at her feet. Her back legs were kicking slightly, in perfect time with her wagging tail.

Where does she even get all that liquid? Is it because she's an ice-type?

He shook the thought."Get up. Help me flip them. Then we can eat."

Her eyes lit up. "Okay-dokey, rawr!" She shot to her feet.

"And Bianca," he growled, "do not get your drool on the meat, or you know what will happen."

"Aoo! Okay-rawr!" she chirped. She then proceeded to... wipe her snout with her front paws. Now her paws are covered in it.

Tsk. This fucking idiot.

"Am I good, rawr?" she asked, holding up her glistening paws.

Aiden sighed and turned away. "Fine. Just... fine."

"Yay!" She bounced over and started helping him flip the heavy skewers.

CRUNCH.

A sound of wood snapping. Aiden turned.

Bianca's cheeks were puffed out, her mouth clamped shut.

"I'm nuh eatin'!" she muffled, waving her drool-covered paws frantically. "I'm nuh!"

Aiden's gaze was flat. He looked past her to the rack.

One of the skewers was missing a huge chunk, the end of the wooden stick snapped off. The meat-end had fallen into the fire.

On the skewer next to it, a perfect, clean slice had been shorn off the side, as if by a razor.

There were only two dragons in the cave who were conscious.

This idiot... he thought, his eye twitching. She didn't just steal one piece... she hit two