novelraw Chapter 85
Chapter 85
What a useless pantheon, Aiden grumbled internally. I can't even find a decent patron to freeload from. Disgraceful. It seems I'll have to earn my keep after all.
He lowered his gaze from the sky, his red eyes settling once more on the wealthy little girl on the ground. Her eyes were luminous, shimmering with the same light as her golden hair.
“Contractor, I am leaving,” he announced.
“You're leaving already?” Isolde's face showed a flicker of disappointment, but she quickly masked it with a polite smile. “Alright. Goodbye then, Mr. Aiden.” She curtsied, remembering the lessons Ms. Solana had taught her in class: powerful partners were equals, not pets. They were free, and their time was their own.
Aiden was pleased. A very well-mannered little human.
He turned, his gaze falling upon his two companions. Bianca was still sprawled on the ground, sulking. Azure stood perfectly still, her blue, slitted pupils staring into the distance as if lost in some nefarious calculation.
“We're going,” he called out, the words rumbling in the Draconic tongue.
Azure's head snapped to attention, and she gave a slow nod.
“Aow…” came a listless whine from the grass. The lack of meat had clearly crushed Bianca's spirit.
“Let's go,” Aiden said, a hint of enticement in his voice. “I'm taking you to eat.”
“AOW!”
In an instant, her white eyes blazed with light. She scrambled to her feet. “Aiden! Aiden! Where are we going for meat?” Her head swiveled back toward the gazebo. “Is it them?”
A stream of drool dripped from her maw. Those two look so tender. Their meat must be delicious…
Aiden resisted the urge to sigh. That foolish dragon, still fixated on the two girls.
“Not them,” he said patiently in Draconic. “We are going somewhere else for a great feast.”
“Mm-hm!” she nodded eagerly.
Though Thea and Isolde could not understand the guttural words, they saw the white dragon's predatory gaze snap back to them. Thea's right hand instinctively moved to cover the Ring of Valerius on her left.
Aiden spread his crimson wings, and with a powerful downstroke, launched himself into the air. A gust of wind washed over the garden as the red dragon ascended. Moments later, a white and a blue pair of wings unfurled, and with two more surges of wind, they took to the sky in pursuit.
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Isolde watched the red figure climb higher and higher until it was nothing more than a tiny, distant speck. As it vanished, the polite smile on her face crumbled, replaced by an undisguised look of loss.
He never once called me by my name.
The realization settled in her heart like a cold stone. He had not truly accepted her. A profound emptiness bloomed within her.
Thea glanced at the girl beside her. “What's wrong, Isolde?”
“Thea…” Isolde's voice was small. “Am I… useless?”
“Why would you suddenly think that?”
Thea turned and took Isolde's small, calloused hands in her own. The dejection in the girl's bright eyes was impossible to hide.
“You finally met your partner,” Thea said gently. “You should be happy.”
A fragile, unconvincing smile touched Isolde's lips before quickly fading. “I'm sorry, Thea. I can't.” Her lower lip trembled. “I feel like… he hasn't accepted me. He never once called me by my name.”
Thea searched her memory and realized it was true. He had only ever addressed her as Contractor. She sighed and drew Isolde into a gentle embrace.
“It's alright, it's alright,” she whispered, her lips close to Isolde's ear as she patted her back. “Take it slow. He is a red dragon of the Chromatic flight. They are born arrogant; it is their nature. Be patient. I'm sure he will come to accept you one day.”
Isolde's ears turned a delicate pink. She buried her face in Thea's chest, her muffled, “Mm,” a soft vibration against her.
They held each other for a long moment until Thea felt a gentle push and let her go. Isolde looked up, her round face flushed, making her look all the more adorable.
“Thank you for comforting me, Thea.”
A warm smile touched Thea's exquisite face at the sight. “Patience, Isolde. I believe you will earn his recognition.”
“Mhm!” The little blonde head nodded with renewed vigor. “I'll try my best! I'll grow stronger, I'll meditate every day, and next time, I'll definitely earn my partner's approval!”
The strength was back in her luminous eyes. Seeing her resolve return, Thea's own spirits lifted.
“By the way, Thea,” Isolde said suddenly, “you smell so nice. Are you using some kind of special perfume?”
Thea's lips curved into a sly smile. She met the girl's wide, innocent eyes.
“Did you know, Isolde?” Thea's own eyes glinted with mischief. “When a person finds another's scent to be exceptionally pleasant…” She leaned in a little closer. “It's a sign that they have already fallen in love with them.”
The faint blush on Isolde's cheeks instantly exploded into a deep crimson that covered her entire face. A strange, flustered feeling seized her. I can't stay here!
She wriggled free from the hands resting on her shoulders, turned, and bolted toward the manor.
Thea did not follow, watching with a fond smile as the small figure fled. Only after Isolde had disappeared inside did Thea's smile fade. She tilted her head back, her gaze returning to the vast, empty sky.
The red dragon had been flying in the direction of Stonefang.
A coincidence, she wondered, or was it intentional?
*****
High above the clouds, a white shape drifted closer to the red one.
“Aiden-rawr, where are we going for meat?” Bianca's voice cut through the rush of the wind. She was, as always, deeply concerned with the matter of her next meal.
Aiden glanced down at the earth below. A great city spread out beneath them, a tapestry of countless human lives. It was a human city, and therefore, not a place for dragons.
“We'll discuss it after we're clear of this human territory,” Aiden replied.
“Aow,” Bianca said, falling silent.
Aiden looked ahead into the endless sea of white clouds. This was better. This was how a dragon was meant to live: unbound, flying free, eating when hungry, and sleeping when tired.
He gave his great wings a powerful sweep, and his speed increased, plunging deeper into the open sky.