novelraw Chapter 146
Chapter 146
Whoosh.
Aiden leveled his wings and hovered in front of Azure.
Her blue vertical pupils were still fixed on him... No, wait. He stopped. His red eyes locked onto her blue ones. There was something... extra in there.
Her look... it’s strange.
I can't quite place it, but it feels intrusive.
Azure’s pupils constricted as he stared back. She immediately averted her gaze, looking down into the massive crater he had created.
Goblin bodies littered the floor of the pit. But her gaze drifted past them, settling on the walls of the crater itself. The rock was charred, glassy, and smooth—like melted obsidian. Heat waves shimmered in the air, distorting the view.
The temperature down there is immense.
My curiosity is burning. I want to understand him.
A strong sensation of being watched pricked Aiden’s scales. He turned his head sharply to the side. Azure’s blue head was still facing down, staring intently at the goblins below.
She's not looking at me. Was it my imagination?
Her deep blue eyes were unblinking, narrowed into slits. She seemed fascinated by the goblins.
"Let's go down," Aiden said, breaking the silence.
Whoosh.
He folded his wings and dropped toward the forest floor.
Azure withdrew her gaze from the crater and followed him, her eyes fixed silently on his retreating back...
Thud.
Aiden landed heavily, his claws sinking into the soil.
He lowered his body, pressing his belly against the cool grass. His long, sinuous tail settled behind him.
Bianca is taking forever. A bath and a hunt shouldn't take this long.
Whoosh.
A soft wind announced Azure’s arrival.
She landed gracefully and laid down on the grass nearby.
The patch of earth where she had been conducting her "experiments" had been obliterated by the shockwave of Aiden's spell. Her raw materials—the goblin brains and organs—were gone, vaporized into dust.
Aiden watched her settle in.
"Wait. Don't rest yet."
Azure lifted her head, her blue eyes meeting his red ones.
She didn't speak, but her eyes did. Excuse me?
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
"Go get some firewood," Aiden commanded, his tone casual. "I'm going to roast some meat soon."
Azure stared at him.
He did that on purpose.
He waited until I was fully comfortable, belly on the ground, wings folded, before telling me to move.
Petty.
She held his gaze for ten long seconds, her expression unreadable. Then, without a word, she spread her wings and took off.
Whoosh.
Her target was the nearest large tree canopy.
Aiden watched her fly away, then lowered his chin back to his paws. His tail thumped the ground once in satisfaction.
Physically, I'm fine. But mentally? Exhausted.
Damn dirty vermin.
He cursed the goblins one last time before his heavy, red-scaled eyelids slid shut.
"Aiden-rawr Aiden-rawr
"A familiar, annoyingly cheerful voice drifted into his ears.
Aiden opened one eye. The pink nictitating membrane retracted, revealing a round, white dragon head filling his vision. Water droplets clung to her scales, glistening in the morning light.
Aiden pushed himself up into a sitting position. He reached out a claw and rested it on her head.
She didn't pull away. Instead, she pushed her snout forward, leaning into the touch.
Aiden glanced around.
Azure was back. She was currently dismantling a pile of Gnomish muskets she must have scavenged from the battlefield.
Look at those parts. She's stripped them down to the screws.
He looked back at Bianca. In front of her lay three Great-Horn carcasses. They were soaking wet and frosted over—she had clearly washed them after hunting.
Her bright, crystalline eyes blinked at him.
"I want roast meat! Rawr!"
Swish-swish.
Her tail was blurring back and forth like a metronome set to allegro.
Idiot. But a useful idiot. She did exactly what I asked.
"I know."
"Yay! Rawr!"
Aiden ruffled the scales on her head one last time, then pulled his hand back. He looked at the Great-Horns. His claw flashed with red light.
Poof.
A pile of colorful ingredients appeared on the grass: bright mushrooms, wild onions, flame-pepper berries, purple fruits...
My private stash. Only the best seasoning for a job well done.
***
Below, in the Crater.
Snaggle stood in a circle with the four identical Elders. The air was thick with tension and the smell of ozone.
"What do we do now? We can't dig anymore. If we dig, the ceiling collapses," one Elder whispered.
"Do we accept the Red Dragon's slavery?" asked another.
"We have no way to escape, do we?"
Snaggle glared at them.
Cowards! All of them!
No. We cannot submit. That Red Dragon is clearly allied with the White One. If we submit to him, she will never forgive me for the 'shiny treasure' incident!
"Gnomes do not accept slavery!" Snaggle roared, his voice echoing off the cavern walls. "The Wise Ones would never wish to see this!"
The four Elders looked at him. Their expressions were unreadable.
"But what choice do we have? Extinction?"
"Yes," the second Elder said coldly. "We are unique variants. If we die here, who will carry the Gnomish legacy? Is that what the Wise Ones want?"
"If you have a plan, Chieftain, we will follow you," the third Elder said, his voice laced with doubt.
Four pairs of jaundiced eyes bore into Snaggle.
Snaggle didn't flinch.
"I refuse to submit! If we can't dig up, we dig back! We dig deeper! We can outlast him!"
"He gave us one hour!" an Elder snapped.
"Then we man the cannons! We set up the heavy crossbows! When he comes down, we kill him!"
Snaggle's eyes were bloodshot, frantic.
The four Elders exchanged a glance. It was a look of shared understanding.
"He is not a normal dragon," the first Elder said quietly. "He is a wyrmling in size, but his power output exceeds Tier 5. He is a Variant, like us."
"You saw his power," the second Elder added. "We cannot resist that."
Snaggle stood up, ignoring them.
"GNOMES DO NOT ACCEPT SLAVERY!"
He turned to face the huddled mass of his tribe.
"GNOMES DO NOT ACCEPT SLAVERY!"
"GRAHHH!"
The goblins roared back, their morale instantly restored by their Chieftain’s confidence. They believed in Snaggle.
Squelch.
A spray of dark green blood hit the floor.
One of the Elders had lunged forward and bitten through the back of Snaggle’s neck.
Before Snaggle could even gargle a scream, the other three Elders swarmed him. They didn't just kill him; they buried their yellow teeth into his flesh and began to tear.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of feeding was wet and loud in the sudden silence.
The rest of the tribe froze. They stared, confused and horrified, as the four Elders devoured their beloved Chieftain.