The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 42

Time to rise.

Time to check the fish.

Aiden's heavy eyelids snapped open. The familiar weight pressed down on his back. He pushed his body up and crawled forward several paces.

Thump.

Thump.

The sound of two heavy bodies hitting the floor echoed behind him. Aiden paid them no mind. He stretched his forelegs, flexing his claws, then unfurled his wings in a great, satisfying stretch.

“Haaaah…”

A lazy yawn escaped his maw. He was still terribly drowsy and wanted nothing more than to return to his slumber. He lifted his head and glanced toward the cave entrance. No sunlight graced the stone platform. He gauged the temperature of the air. Cold. It must be morning.

He had actually woken up early. Was it because the thought of the harvest had been weighing on his mind? Wait… This couldn't be the morning of the second or third day, could it? Given the nature of dragons, it was entirely possible. He couldn't be sure.

His gaze drifted to the two whelps still sleeping soundly on the floor. A grin stretched Aiden's maw.

Your devoted brother is already awake. How can you, his dear sisters, continue to laze about in slumber? This will not do. Allow your loving brother to provide a… personal wake-up service.

Aiden padded closer, stopping before the two familiar forms. They were still deep in sleep. Bianca, in particular, looked utterly witless. A long, scarlet tongue lolled from the side of her mouth, and a steady drip of saliva had already formed a small puddle on the stone floor. How long has she been like this? She drools so much.

Azure, by contrast, was a model of draconic decorum. Her jaws were shut tight, and aside from a faint, rumbling snore, she made no sound at all.

Standing before them, Aiden rubbed his sharp claws together. They were cute, he supposed, these two little female dragons. But his claws still itched.

He aimed his paws and brought them down upon their heads.

SMACK! SMACK!

“AOWW!”

“AOWW!”

With two synchronized shrieks, the whelps leaped to their feet.

“Aiden!” Bianca's outrage was, as always, plain to see. Her white, slitted pupils locked onto him, burning with fury.

Aside from her initial cry of pain, Azure made no sound. Her blue eyes simply fixed on him, an unnerving, haunting stare.

Being watched so intensely by both did not fluster Aiden in the slightest. He spread his red claws in a gesture of helplessness.

“There was no other way,” he said, a look of carefully crafted exasperation on his face. “I called you for ages, but you wouldn't wake. I had to resort to this.” It was the perfect picture of a caring elder brother, frustrated by his deep-sleeping sisters.

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“Is that… really all it was?” Bianca's white eyes showed a flicker of doubt. The suspicion was still there, but it was fading.

“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”

“Then you didn't have to hit so hard,” Bianca whined, rubbing her head with a claw. “It really hurts.” Her large pupils still glittered with unshed tears.

“I had no choice. A lighter touch wouldn't have woken you. You are a very heavy sleeper.”

“Oh…” she conceded. “Okay then.”

Azure sighed. That fool, Bianca. She'd believe any lie told to a simpleton. Then again, she is a simpleton. Azure didn't believe a single syllable that came from Aiden's maw. He had simply wanted to hit them. And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. It was utterly infuriating.

Aiden noted that her blue eyes were no longer so placid. He turned his head to face her fully. She was furious, but helpless.

Hmph! With an internal snort, Azure turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze.

She won't even lunge at me? Aiden thought, a flicker of disappointment passing through him. She is far too calm. She lacks the true spirit of a blue dragon. He suddenly felt bored.

“Let us go. We will see what is by the river,” he commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. With that, he turned and began to walk.

After a few paces, he paused. Swish, swish. Why was there only one set of footsteps behind him?

Aiden turned around. Azure was following him. There was no sign of Bianca. Where had that one gone?

Clatter…

The sound of shifting rubble echoed through the cave. There was only one place with loose rock. Aiden looked toward the larder. The white dragon was hunched over the pile of stones, her claws frantically clearing the entrance to their food storage.

Aiden stalked toward her. Even as he approached, Bianca remained focused on her task. Aiden drew himself up to his full height, his eyes locking onto her white tail, which was wagging back and forth frantically.

SMACK!

His claw shot out and seized her tail.

Feeling the grip on her tail, Bianca paused her digging. She lifted her white head and looked back, her eyes filled with confusion. “Aiden, what are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” he countered.

“Eating, of course.”

“And what did I just tell you to do?”

“Eat?” Bianca asked uncertainly.

It was impossible to reason with this fool. Aiden turned and began to drag her by her tail toward the cave entrance.

“Wait! Stop! I'm hungry, I need to eat!”

Bianca's claws dug into the black stone floor, but it was useless. Aiden still dragged her forward with ease.

“We will eat fish by the river.”

“Did your trap catch any?”

“I do not know.”

Hearing his reply, Bianca paused. Then why does he say it with such confidence?

She was already being dragged onto the platform at the mouth of the cave. “Can't we go after we've eaten?”

“No. If we wait, the fish will escape.”

Azure stood to one side, silently watching the spectacle.

Aiden gripped the tail and, with a powerful heave, swung Bianca's entire body around and flung her out of the cave. She instinctively spread her wings, spiraled once, and stabilized herself in mid-air.

“I'm eating first, and then I'm going!” she shouted, diving back toward the larder.

But in her line of sight, a ball of red dragonfire was rapidly expanding. The instant she saw it, Bianca wrenched her wings to the side, her body coming to an abrupt halt in the air. The breath of fire grazed past her belly.

On the cliff platform, Aiden stood tall, smoke still curling from his open maw. His red pupils were a sheet of ice. He had given his warning. If Bianca continued to defy him, he would not be so merciful.

Bianca hovered in the air. On second thought, she could always eat this meal when they returned. And they were going to eat fish by the river. Yes. That was the plan. Her brain, sensing mortal danger, had temporarily restored her intellect.

She shouted back toward the cave, “Come on out! Aren't we going to the river?”

Azure snorted. Coward. With that final internal barb, she spread her blue wings and launched into the sky.

Watching the blue dragon take flight, Aiden unfurled his own red wings. Soon, the three hatchlings were flying abreast.

After only a few minutes of flight—

SCREEEEEEE!

A piercing, drawn-out shriek tore through the sky from above.

Instinctively, the scales on their bodies tightened.

Danger!

A profound sense of dread bloomed in their hearts.