The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 44

Red flames licked from the numerous wounds on the creature's neck, burning brightly. The Skyrazor was dead.

Pffft.

Aiden pulled his claws free from the flesh. His red wings spread wide. Right, where is Bianca?

He stretched his long neck and looked down. Bianca's jaws were still clamped firmly onto the Skyrazor's neck. Her claws were dug in deep, her body plastered to the belly of the plummeting corpse.

That idiotic dragon.

“Let go, you fool! The Skyrazor is falling!”

“I can't! I'm stuck!”

Bianca pulled her claws from the flesh, pointing a blood-stained talon at her own snout. Her wide, white pupils were filled with a mixture of pure innocence and sheer stupidity.

Whoosh…

The corpse was accelerating, the wind shrieking past them. At this speed, in this position, if Bianca didn't detach, she would become a cushion for the Skyrazor's corpse upon impact.

“Extend your tail!” Aiden commanded.

As if she understood her predicament, Bianca twisted her body, kicking her hindquarters up and stretching her white tail high into the air, reaching for him.

The tail came within reach. Aiden shot out a claw and seized it.

He yanked hard. With a beat of his wings, Bianca's claws lifted from the Skyrazor's back.

“AOWW!”

With a pained howl, Bianca was torn free from the corpse.

“Aoww, it hurts! It hurts so much, Aiden!” Bianca scrambled over to him, her white eyes misty with tears. She opened her maw wide, revealing two rows of teeth caked in dark red blood. She pointed a white claw into her own mouth.

“Quick, look at my teeth! Are they broken?” Her voice was shrill with panic. For a dragon whose greatest joy was a full belly, her teeth were her most prized possessions.

Aiden looked into the offered maw. Dark red blood was everywhere. He looked closely at the two rows of teeth. On the bottom row, to the right, several were indeed missing.

He reached out, placing his claws gently on her upper and lower jaw, and pressed her mouth shut.

“There, there,” he soothed. “None of your teeth fell out. They're all still there, safe and sound.”

Her jaw moved under his grip. “You're lying! I can't feel them with my tongue! It's empty right here!” Bianca tried to point to the empty spot on her jaw.

“That must be your imagination.”

Whoosh…

With a gust of wind, a blue figure came to a halt beside them. The three dragons of different colors now hovered in a triangle formation in the open sky.

Azure's blue pupils widened slightly. She stared at the two of them. Aiden had his claws pressed against Bianca's jaw. What was this? Some new method for bullying the simpleton?

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“What are you two doing?” she asked. “Shouldn't we go down and check on the Skyrazor?”

Aiden glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She did well this time. Without her help, this battle would not have ended so quickly.

“Bianca says her teeth are gone,” Aiden said. “Why don't you take a look?” He released his claws.

Freed, Bianca immediately opened her mouth again, pointing inside with her claw. “Yes! Azure, quickly, look for me!” she pleaded.

Azure peered into the bloody maw. Her blue pupils dilated. Indeed, quite a few teeth were broken off. It seems this fool's meals will not be so pleasant for the near future.

“See? They're perfectly fine, aren't they?” Aiden said, spreading his red claws innocently. “I told her they were fine, but she wouldn't believe me.”

Azure's gaze shifted to him. This fiend. He's fooling the simpleton. But… fooling the simpleton is rather amusing.

A grin spread across Azure's blue maw. “Aiden is right,” she declared. “Your teeth are all there, growing strong. The reason you can't feel them, Bianca, is likely because your tongue went numb during the battle. The feeling should return after a while.”

“Ah… is that so?” Bianca asked, half-convinced.

“Yes. Would Aiden and I lie to you?”

Bianca met Azure's gaze. Those blue eyes were as deep and beautiful as ever. Perhaps that's really it. Azure probably wouldn't lie to me.

“Okay then,” she relented.

She believed it! Aiden's red pupils narrowed slightly. It seemed Bianca trusted Azure far more than she trusted him.

“Alright,” he said, taking charge. “Let's go down and see to that Skyrazor.”

Without another word, he tucked his wings in and dove toward the ground. Seeing him go, Bianca and Azure exchanged a look and followed suit.

They plunged toward the earth. On a vast patch of sand below, a great cloud billowed into the sky, while the surrounding desert remained calm. That had to be the impact site.

Whoosh!

With a final beat of his wings, Aiden plunged headfirst into the sandstorm. A dragon's vision was powerful; even this swirling cloud of sand could not obscure his sight. His head swiveled, scanning the area. There!

The Skyrazor's corpse lay sprawled upon the sand. A great deal of blood had already soaked into the ground, turning the dunes a dark, ugly red.

Aiden's claws touched down. He furled his wings and looked down at the massive body before him. He couldn't drop his empowered state just yet. The true threat of the desert was the magical beasts that lurked beneath the sand.

He glanced at the fiery sigil in his right eye. About half its power remained. He could hold out for a while longer. His gaze swept over the blood-soaked ground. So much blood. They had to move the Skyrazor quickly, before it attracted a high-star sand-dweller and their prize was stolen.

Aiden reached out with his left claw and lifted the creature's head, which was several times larger than his own talon.

Pffft!

His right claw plunged into the skull without any resistance. Dark red blood gushed out, splattering him across the face. He paid it no mind. His claw began to churn within the skull. After a few seconds, he stopped.

Found it.

Aiden withdrew his claw, moved it slightly higher, and with another thrust, carved a large gash in the cranium. Another fountain of blood erupted. He released his grip with his left claw, and the Skyrazor's heavy head crashed back onto the sand. He plunged both his foreclaws into the opening he'd made. He stirred them around. He felt it. A smile touched his lips.

He gripped the object and, with a great heave, pulled.

Sssshk!

With a wet, tearing sound, he extracted a blue crystal, nearly the size of his own head. He held it up, examining it closely. Countless threads of blue mana swirled within. This magic crystal was the greatest prize of the battle.

Aiden stared at the crystal in his claws, his fiery pupils narrowing.

Should I share this with the other two?

Images of them fighting bravely flashed through his mind. They hadn't run. They had joined the battle. And they had been useful.

Aiden pressed a claw against the center of the magic crystal. He applied pressure.

CRACK!

With a sharp snap, the crystal broke perfectly in two.

This half is for them.

His red eyes looked at the other half. As for this one… Aiden opened his jaws wide.

GULP.

He swallowed the magic crystal in one go. He chewed it once, twice. His thick throat pulsed as he forced it down. The moment the last of it was gone, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness washed over him.

So sleepy… I need to sleep.

This familiar feeling… It was time for his advancement.

His eyelids and inner nictitating membranes were halfway closed when he jerked awake. No! Not here!

The flames of the fiery crown above his head blazed higher. He forcibly suppressed the intense urge to sleep. Aiden shook his head violently from side to side, a new clarity washing over him.