The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 17

Their larder, once full, was now empty. The last of the Athrox had sustained them for two meals, and now hunger returned with a vengeance.

“Azure… Azure!”

Bianca's voice was insistent as she shook the blue dragon's sleeping form.

“Azure!”

A groan. Azure's eyes fluttered open. She lifted her head, her gaze calm as she looked at Bianca. Seeing she was awake, Bianca retracted her paw and plopped onto the ground. She placed a claw on her own concave belly.

“Azure, I'm hungry,” she announced. “Let's go hunting. To the river. My intuition tells me there will definitely be prey there this time.”

The confidence in her tone was absolute.

Could one trust a fool's intuition? Azure didn't answer immediately. Her head turned to the large form sleeping beside them. Aiden's body had grown slightly, but he showed no signs of waking. It had been more than half a month since he had entered his deep slumber. It seemed they couldn't count on him.

This desert canyon was not a safe place for wyrmlings. If she had the choice, Azure would always prefer to hunt with Aiden; his presence increased their safety exponentially.

A sharp pang from her own empty stomach made the decision for her. She turned her gaze back to Bianca.

“Alright,” she agreed. “We'll go hunting. We'll check the river first.”

“Yay!” Bianca cheered, her mood soaring. She scrambled toward the cave entrance, radiating the confidence of a dragon who believed she could conquer the world alone.

Azure watched her go for a moment, then rose and followed.

The two wyrmlings flew for some time before reaching the river. Even from the air, they could see the banks were barren of life. They landed on the shore.

Bianca's head whipped left and right, her crystalline white pupils scanning for any sign of movement. There was nothing. The ground was littered with fresh tracks, but even those were clearly days old, the mud cracked and dry.

Azure ignored Bianca's frantic search. She climbed onto a large boulder and stretched her neck, her gaze fixed on the water's surface.

Below, she could see numerous five-yard-long shapes swimming in the depths.

So, what I saw from the air wasn't a mirage. There really are things living in this river. They looked like some kind of fish, not the massive magical beast from before.

She glanced at the shallows. The sloping bank was made of dry, cracked earth. It would be an excellent place to dig a trap. Unfortunately, she had nothing to use as bait.

“Azure, there's no prey here,” Bianca whined, her voice laced with disappointment. “What do we do now? I'm so hungry.”

Azure subconsciously glanced at the white tail behind her. Just as she'd expected, it was no longer wagging. Bianca flopped to the ground, a picture of despair in the desolate landscape.

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“Get up, Bianca,” Azure said. “I know another place.”

“Huh? Really?” Bianca's spirits lifted instantly. She pushed herself up, her white pupils shining with renewed hope as she looked at Azure. Her tail began to wag once more.

Azure sighed internally. The fool had already forgotten about the cacti forest she had mentioned weeks ago. Unlike the riverbank, which was a consistent watering hole for beasts of all kinds, the cacti forest only hosted a few scattered herbivores. But it was better than nothing. If they didn't find any prey, there were always the cacti themselves. It would be enough to fill their stomachs.

“Where is it, Azure?” Bianca pressed, her excitement growing. “Is there prey there? A lot of it? I'm going to eat a feast!”

Azure knew that if she told Bianca the truth—that their hunt might end with them eating plants—the other dragon might refuse to cooperate. She decided on a different tactic.

“Stop asking questions,” she said, her tone firm. “Just follow me.”

“Okay!” Bianca chirped, perfectly happy to comply as long as it meant food was at the end of the journey.

With a final glance at Bianca's wildly wagging tail, Azure spread her wings and took to the sky. Bianca followed close behind.

After more than an hour of flight, patches of green began to appear on the desert floor below. It wasn't a forest, but a vast expanse of tall, hardy cacti. They circled above, surveying the area.

Suddenly, Bianca's eyes lit up. On the ground, next to a large cactus, a lone herbivore was peacefully chewing on a chunk of plant matter.

“Azure! There's prey on the ground! It looks huge! I'm going in!”

Before Azure could even react, Bianca folded her wings and plunged into a steep dive.

That idiot!

Azure felt a headache coming on. She followed the trajectory of Bianca's dive and got a clear look at the "prey." Before a large cactus stood a beast with long, slender legs and a large, tall body with a distinctly flat back. A sigh of relief escaped her. It was just a desert camel.

Desert camels were non-ranked herbivores common to the region. With their strong bodies, docile nature, and ability to survive for a month without water, they were the preferred beast of burden for the merchant caravans that traversed the wastes. Bianca, who had helped defeat a Manticore, would face no threat from such a creature.

Azure examined it more closely. There were no marks on its back from saddles or cargo. This was a wild camel, not one lost by a caravan.

On the ground, the camel, which had been absorbed in its meal, suddenly froze. It lifted its long neck with alarm, its small eyes—comically tiny compared to its massive body—fixed on the sky.

HRAAANK!

The camel let out a terrified bray and bolted.

At that moment, Bianca was just about to reach the ground. She was diving at full speed. The camel had fled. It was far too late for her to alter her course.

BOOM!

The white wyrmling smashed directly through the cactus, sending chunks of green flesh flying. Her body tumbled through the sand, rolling into a messy, undignified heap.

She had, in essence, crash-landed.

That utter fool, Azure cursed internally. Her eyes immediately shifted, locking onto the fleeing camel. Now that there was meat on the table, she had no desire to eat cacti either.

She angled her body and dove.

On the ground, the camel was running for its life. A shadow fell over it. Sensing the danger, the camel executed a sharp, surprisingly agile turn, changing direction.

Azure's gaze remained cold and calculating. With a tilt of her wings, she banked gracefully, matching its turn in the air. The shadow fell over the camel once more. Her blue pupils narrowed, locking onto the creature's long, exposed neck.

As the shadow covered it again, the camel prepared to repeat its evasive maneuver. But Azure had seen its pattern. The creature always paused for a fraction of a second before it turned. That was the moment to strike.

The camel's body tensed, preparing to pivot.

Now!

With a powerful beat of her wings, Azure accelerated. Just as the camel began its turn, she slammed into it, the force of the impact knocking the massive creature off its feet. Her jaws, lined with sharp white teeth, snapped open. With unerring precision, she bit down hard on the camel's thrashing neck.

With a savage twist of her head, she tore a huge chunk of flesh and sinew free.

Hraaa….

A final, gurgling cry escaped the camel as its neck went limp, its head falling lifelessly to the sand. It struggled no more. A fountain of blood erupted from the wound, quickly staining the ground a deep, dark red.