The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 18

Covered in a humiliating mixture of sand and green cactus pulp, Bianca pushed herself up. She shook her head violently, sending sticky debris flying. Her gaze snapped to the spot where the camel had fled, and her frustration melted into triumph.

Azure was already upon it, a blue streak of vengeance that had slammed the beast to the ground.

A predatory gleam lit Bianca's white, slitted pupils. That wretched camel made me look a fool. It will pay.

She surged forward on all fours, a low growl rumbling in her chest. Closing the distance, Bianca opened her maw, her sharp, glistening teeth clamping down on the camel's head. With a savage twist, she tore a chunk of flesh free. The camel's body gave a final shudder and fell still. Chewing on her prize, Bianca felt the last of her anger subside, replaced by the simple, satisfying reality of the kill.

Without a word, the two wyrmlings lowered their heads and began to feast, their sharp teeth tearing into the tender meat of the camel's back.

It was then that a new sound reached Azure's ears. A faint, dry scratching, like a thousand claws on sand.

Tsk-tsk-shhh…

She froze, her head snapping up. It was not the wind. The desert air was unnervingly still. Her blue eyes narrowed.

They were being watched.

An encircling ring of creatures was closing in, their forms emerging from the heat haze. They were vaguely canine, with long necks, powerfully built hind legs, and disproportionately slender forelimbs that gave them a stooped posture. A mane of coarse black hair ran down their spines, but the rest of their dark, muscular bodies was hideously hairless. Their heads were short and round, their dark red eyes glowing with feral hunger.

The Blood Memory stirred, supplying a name.

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Name: Aridfell

Type: Magical Beast

Behavior: A pack-hunting creature that is both a scavenger and a carnivore.

Rank : ☆☆

Growth Potential: ★★

Abilities:

Wicked Claws:Its foreclaws are natural, dangerous weapons.Crushing Jaws:Possesses a bite force strong enough to crush stone.Black Flame Spit:Can spit a black flame that induces helplessness and dizziness in its target.Immense Speed:Powerful hind legs allow for incredible bursts of speed.Weakness: Unknown

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Azure's gaze swept the perimeter, her mind a cold calculator. One, two, three… twenty-one. Twenty-one Aridfell, all fully grown. The odds were impossible.

Her analysis was instantaneous and grim. She nudged the still-feasting Bianca. They had to leave. Now.

Bianca merely grunted, shifting slightly to make more room while burying her snout deeper into the carcass.

This idiot.

Azure lifted a claw and, without hesitation, smacked Bianca squarely on the head.

Aoww! Bianca yelped, finally looking up. “Azure, what was that for?! I already moved over!”

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“Before you complain,” Azure said, her voice dangerously low, “I suggest you look around you.”

Around?

Bianca's head turned. Her eyes widened as she took in the encircling pack. The same knowledge Azure had received from the Blood Memory now flared in Bianca's mind.

Aridfell. And they think we are their prey?

An inferno of indignation erupted within her. These vile, lesser beasts dared challenge them? Dared to steal their kill?

AOWWWWW!

The roar that burst from Bianca's throat was more of a high-pitched shriek than a terrifying challenge. The Aridfell pack was unimpressed. They continued their slow, relentless advance, the circle tightening.

Bianca stared, confused. This isn't how it's supposed to happen. They should be trembling. They should be fleeing from the presence of a true dragon! Her confusion quickly hardened back into pure rage. No matter. They all deserve to die!

“Bianca, we are leaving,” Azure commanded. “We will not fight them here.”

Azure was just as furious at the intrusion, but she bridled her pride with pragmatism. To fight such numbers was suicide. Her mind was already formulating a new plan. Let them have the carcass. We will follow them to their den, mark its location, and when Aiden awakens, we will return and annihilate them all. The thought of a larder filled with the meat of twenty-one Aridfell was a promising one.

AOWW! NO! Bianca shrieked, her voice cracking with fury. “I will not run! I will kill these inferior creatures!”

She rose to her full height, the light in her white eyes turning to chips of ice.

“We should fall back and—”

GRAAAH!

Bianca's roar cut Azure off. “Lesser things! I will send you all to oblivion!”

With her declaration ringing in the silent air, she launched herself at the nearest Aridfell.

Azure beat her wings and shot into the sky. In the instant she took flight, two Aridfell lunged, their jaws snapping shut on empty air where she had been.

Hovering above, Azure watched the disaster unfold.

The Aridfell Bianca had targeted spat a gout of inky black flame. It struck Bianca's head and dissipated, but the effect was immediate.

What was that? Everything is… spinning.

Bianca shook her head, clearing the dizzying sensation. She lunged again, her jaws closing with unerring accuracy on the Aridfell's neck. With a brutal twist—CRACK!—she tore its throat out. The creature gave a final, choked whimper and collapsed.

That is the fate of any who oppose a dragon. A grim satisfaction settled over her.

The next second, her world exploded in pain. A crushing weight slammed onto her back as one Aridfell sank its teeth into her wing. Two more latched onto her hind legs, their claws digging deep.

Vile breeds! Get off me!

She opened her jaws and blasted the creature on her back with a plume of frost. A rime of white ice instantly coated its head, but its jaws remained locked on her wing, the pain unabated.

As she twisted, trying to bring her own teeth to bear on her attacker, another Aridfell lunged, sinking its fangs into the side of her neck. The agony sent her into a blind panic. Her attack missed. She began to thrash and roll on the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of sand and dust that obscured the entire battle.

High above, Azure's pupils contracted to slits. Blue lightning crackled between her jaws. After a moment of gathering power, she folded her wings and dove straight into the swirling chaos.

A brilliant blue flash illuminated the dust cloud from within.

Seconds later, a single shape burst free, climbing back into the sky. It was Azure. Clutched in her talons was the battered, bleeding form of Bianca.

The white wyrmling was a mess. Deep bite marks marred both of her hind legs, and a patch of scales on her neck had been torn away, dragon blood welling from the wound. The injuries were numerous, but the bleeding was already slowing.

“You are heavy,” Azure grunted, the strain evident in her voice. “Can you fly on your own?”

“Yes,” Bianca rasped.

Azure released her grip. Bianca tumbled for a moment before her wings caught the air, and she stabilized herself. Her white eyes, now burning with humiliation and rage, locked onto the pack below.

Without a second thought, she angled her body to dive again.

That infuriating fool!

Azure felt a throbbing pain in her temples. With a powerful flap of her blue wings, she shot forward, intercepting Bianca mid-dive.

“Out of my way!” Bianca snarled, glaring at the dragon blocking her path. “I will kill them all!”

“You intend to die, then?” Azure's question was as cold and sharp as ice.

The words cut through Bianca's rage, dousing it with a shock of cold reason.

“They are ready for you now,” Azure continued, her voice flat. “They know your tricks. I will not stop you from throwing your life away, but I will not dive into that pack to save you a second time.”

Bianca froze, her dive arrested. She was no longer just angry; she was lucid. She finally understood. She could not defeat them. If not for Azure, she would already be dead, torn apart by the fangs of those… vile breeds.

But the understanding brought no relief, only a profound, bitter shame. She looked down at the Aridfell, who were now looking up, their red eyes mocking her, their jaws dripping with blood from her kill.

A powerful, agonizing wave of helplessness washed over her. She was a dragon. A true dragon. And she had been forced to retreat. The indignity of it was a wound far deeper than any left by their teeth.