The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 37

Aiden glanced back. The other two were crunching on the last of the skeletons. For a dragon with sharp teeth, fresh bone was its own kind of delicacy, especially the marrow within. He settled his body down, watching them eat.

Azure paused her chewing, sensing his gaze. She glanced at the prone figure in front of them. Is he waiting for us to finish? It seems he has something planned.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

Beside her, Bianca was still happily gnawing on a bone, completely oblivious.

After a few moments, Aiden still hadn't moved. He clearly had no intention of joining them. Azure lowered her head and resumed her meal. If he's not joining in, he must be waiting for me and Bianca to finish. A strange red dragon, she thought silently.

Nearly ten minutes later, the two dragons had devoured every last skeleton. Aiden pushed himself up and crawled toward them.

“Are you two finished eating?”

Azure looked at the approaching dragon and gave a silent nod. “Finished.”

“All full!” Bianca chirped.

“Good. Then follow me. We're going hunting.”

“Why are we going hunting?” Bianca asked, bewildered. “Don't we still have more Aridfell?”

Only a simpleton like Bianca would ask such a question. He shot her a look. She immediately shrank back, the memory of her last beating still fresh. But her caution was unnecessary. Aiden had no plans to thrash her. At least, not for the moment.

“The Aridfell meat will eventually run out,” he stated simply. “Therefore, we need to hunt.”

Hearing Aiden's words, Bianca turned her gaze to Azure. Compared to Aiden, who beat her regularly, her half-ally Azure was clearly more trustworthy. White pupils met blue.

“Aiden is right,” Azure confirmed. “We need new prey.”

Since Azure had said so, Bianca relented. “Oh… okay, then.” She glanced back toward the depths of the cave. She didn't want to go hunting at all. She wanted to sleep.

Aiden could hear the reluctance in her voice, but he chose to ignore it. They had no mother dragon to protect them; they had to rely on themselves.

“Have you already decided where we'll be hunting?” Azure asked, her gaze steady.

Aiden looked into those blue, slitted pupils. Unlike a typical blue dragon's, her eyes were unnervingly calm, and they met his without flinching. It was as if she had already guessed his intentions.

“We're going to the river. There are fish in the water. They are our targets.”

He lifted his left claw. The two hatchlings followed his gesture. Their eyes landed on the pile of rotting organs.

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“You two, remember to bring these. They're the bait.”

Bianca and Azure looked at each other. A mutual look of disgust passed between them. Neither wanted to touch the stinking pile of offal.

Aiden walked to the edge of the platform and stopped, basking in the sun. The warmth was deeply relaxing. He closed his eyes, enjoying it for a moment.

Why aren't they moving? What are those two dawdling for?

Aiden lifted his head and looked back.

“I dealt with the stones,” Azure was saying. “Now it's your turn to put the guts in the trough.”

Bianca stared at the stone trough, then sighed. “Fine.” She reluctantly reached a claw toward the pile of organs. The smell of decay wafted over her. She immediately jerked her head back, lifting her snout high into the air. It was so foul.

Aiden saw the situation clearly. Those two were procrastinating. It's just a little rot…

At that moment, the foul scent drifted out from the cave. That smell… it's truly awful. He silently shuffled his hind legs, changing his position. The stench made him think of what the Dragon's Heritage said about another type of dragon. Is this the kind of smell black dragons enjoy? What unique taste.

Soon, Bianca had loaded the rotten meat into the stone trough. Now they faced another problem. Who was going to carry it?

The two dragons stared at each other.

“Why don't we each carry it for half the way?” Azure proposed. “That would be fair, wouldn't it?”

It didn't sound like a bad deal. “Oh… okay, then,” Bianca agreed.

“You take it first. I need to talk to Aiden about something,” Azure said, and immediately began to walk away, giving Bianca no chance to respond.

Watching her retreating back, Bianca had no choice but to resignedly wrap her claws around the stone trough filled with rotting guts. Ugh, it stinks. She held her white head as high as she could. It didn't stop the smell completely, but every little bit helped.

The sound of footsteps approached from behind, accompanied by a powerful wave of decay. Without needing to look, Aiden knew they had sorted it out.

“Keep up,” he said, and with a beat of his red wings, launched himself into the sky.

Whoosh~

A gust of wind sounded beside him as a blue figure pulled up alongside him. It was Azure. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She was clean, and she didn't stink. It seemed she hadn't participated in handling the bait.

Aiden looked behind him. A white figure was following closely. It was Bianca. Her flying posture was… unique. She was clutching a stone trough in her claws, her white head held high to avoid the smell.

As expected. Bianca, that simpleton, was fooled again.

He turned his gaze forward and focused on flying. After a few minutes, Bianca's call came from behind.

“Azure, it's your turn!”

She was calling for Azure, but the blue dragon seemed to have no intention of responding.

“Azure!” Her voice was louder this time.

Aiden glanced at the dragon beside him. Her gaze met his. Those blue eyes were as calm as ever.

“I'm going to scout ahead for prey,” she announced, and with a powerful beat of her wings, she accelerated, her speed increasing by a tier. In moments, she had pulled several body lengths ahead.

“Hey!”

“Azure!”

Behind them, the youthful voice grew shrill with rage.

“Liar!”

“Azure, you liar!”

A wave of rotten air washed over him from behind. It was Bianca. She had sped up. Aiden silently increased the tempo of his own wing beats, putting some distance between himself and Bianca. The foul smell finally faded.

The dragon's nest wasn't far from the river, only a few minutes' flight in total. Soon, they reached their destination.

Aiden looked down. His pupils constricted slightly.

On the ground below, Azure had already pinned a beast to the ground, her jaws clamped firmly around its neck. It was just a desert camel, but it was an unexpected prize nonetheless.

He controlled his descent, landing softly on the ground. Seeing him land, Azure released her grip. The neck of the desert camel beneath her was a mangled ruin of flesh and blood; she could see the splintered bone. It was clear its neck had been snapped.

Azure lifted her head, her maw splitting into a grin. Her teeth were covered in crimson liquid.

“Looks like my luck is good.”

“So it seems,” Aiden said nonchalantly.