The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 9

The cave was spacious enough. This will do, Aiden thought, satisfied. They were only wyrmlings, after all.

He pulled his gaze from the high ceiling and crawled to the edge of the new cave, poking his head out to look down. Far below, Bianca was a motionless white shape on the canyon floor, fast asleep.

Aiden spread his wings and launched himself into the air, gliding toward the canyon. He flared his wings to brake his descent, landing with a steady, practiced grace. The whisper of wind beside him announced Azure's arrival before he even turned.

Near the Manticore's corpse, the little white dragon was sprawled out, her head resting flat against the earth.

Wait a minute.

Something felt wrong.

Cute? Why on earth would I think of Bianca as cute?

Aiden took a closer look. The features were familiar: shimmering white scales, a rounded, almost blocky head, and a compact frame. Paired with the peaceful stillness of a sleeping wyrmling… alright, he had to admit, she did look a little cute. Nothing like the terrifying, majestic dragons of lore. It seemed his new body was warping his sense of aesthetics.

Aiden walked toward her. As he drew near, the wound on her hind leg became sharply visible—a deep, pincer-shaped gash where her white scales had been crushed, the blood long since clotted.

She was still too reckless, he mused. A little more caution and they could have taken down the Manticore without a scratch. This was the price of her recklessness.

His gaze shifted to her head. Her jaws were slightly parted, her teeth hidden. A thread of drool dripped from her snout, soaking a dark patch into the cracked earth below. She must be dreaming of food.

Aiden lifted his claw and brought it down squarely on her head.

“Aaargh!”

Her vertical-slitted pupils snapped open as she scrambled to her feet.

“Who dares disturb my sleep! Do you have a death wish—” Bianca's tirade stopped short when she saw Aiden. A moment later, her indignation returned. Even so, he had no right to strike her.

Her pupils narrowed, her expression turning fierce.

“Aiden! Why did you hit me?”

He didn't answer, his burning red eyes simply locking onto hers.

The intensity of his gaze made Bianca freeze. A cold realization washed over her: she couldn't beat him. But backing down now would be humiliating. Cornered, she didn't notice the ferocity in her eyes slowly fading, replaced by uncertainty.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting NovelBin for this novel and more.

Aiden had intended to make it clear who was in charge. But seeing her wavering, almost pleading expression… he couldn't do it. Hitting her again would feel like bullying a child.

“The new nest is ready,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Since you're awake, you can help move the Manticore.”

“But you still haven't told me why you hit me!”

Her stubborn, wounded gaze fixed on him. In response, Aiden simply lifted his claw again.

Bianca flinched, instinctively shrinking back two clumsy steps. He's going to hit me again, she thought, ferocity returning to her eyes.

But his claw wasn't aimed at her. It descended with astonishing speed.

BOOM!

The claw slammed into the ground with a deafening crash. A cloud of yellow dust erupted, obscuring their vision. With a single, powerful flap of his wings, Aiden blew the dust away.

As the air cleared, both Bianca and Azure stared, stunned.

Beneath Aiden's claw, a deep crater had been blasted into the hard-packed earth.

That was his answer.

Azure's blue pupils constricted. Is Aiden's strength really that monstrous? As a wyrmling, she was confident she could crack the ground, maybe leave an indentation. But to blast a crater into it with pure force…

She couldn't do that.

“Any more questions?” Aiden asked, his voice unchanged.

Bianca shook her head vigorously. No chance. There was no way she could fight that kind of power.

Seeing her frantic denial, Aiden felt a flicker of satisfaction. The stubborn little wyrmling finally understood. Good. Fear was a useful tool.

His gaze shifted to the Manticore. The corpse was enormous, nearly three times his size. So… how are we supposed to move it? Together?

An image flashed in his mind: three little dragons, each biting a part of the massive carcass, flapping furiously to haul it through the air. The image was absurd. He looked at the corpse again. No. Better to divide it.

He raised his claw. After death, the Manticore's black carapace had softened considerably. His sharp talons sank into it with ease. Red blood welled from the cut.

Red?

Aiden looked at the blood, surprised. He had assumed a creature like this would have green, insect-like ichor, but its blood was red.

Well, red is good, he thought happily. Red blood probably means the meat is more delicious.

As he sliced through the carapace, tender, crimson flesh was revealed. It looked appetizing. He carved off a piece and tossed it into his mouth.

He chewed, his pupils narrowing in pleasure.

The taste was superb. The meat had no gaminess; it was tender and savory, far better than the rats he'd eaten, which always had a faint, musky taste. He carved another slice and lifted it to his maw.

Is it because this is a magical beast? he wondered. He'd have to test that theory. The river supposedly held its own magical creatures. But how to lure them out?

An idea surfaced, and his head turned instinctively toward Bianca.

The white wyrmling was staring intently, not at him, but at the Manticore meat beneath his claws. Her jaw was slack, a line of drool dripping unheeded to the ground. She looked goofy and adorable, her white tail wagging slowly back and forth.

He glanced at Azure. She was putting on a better show, maintaining an air of calm composure.

But the gently swaying blue tail behind her gave her away.

Aiden sighed internally. The river could wait. It was time to eat and rest. They had a water source, and now they had a stable supply of food. His biggest worry was settled.

“Let's eat.”

The invitation was all they needed. Bianca and Azure lunged, sinking their jaws into the carcass and tearing at the flesh. In her haste, even Azure abandoned her usual dignity.

Watching the white and blue tails wagging, Aiden joined the feast. A dragon's digestion was incredibly efficient; though he had eaten only hours ago, his stomach was already empty.

And so, three tails—one white, one red, and one blue—swayed in a joyful, almost perfect rhythm.