AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ekateni sighed and glared at Tzaria. “Meaning your proof is nothing but a preposterous guess. I suggest you leave.”
“No,” Relia yelled. “She broke the law. The penalty is death.”
Fel’s uncle turned to her. “Since when do we kill our own?”
“We kill murderers, traitors.”
In a brief second, Tzaria assumed her dragon form and took flight. Before disappearing in the sky she let out a shrill scream, and then she landed again with a spear in one of her wings. In a second, she was human again.
Ekateni swapped to his dragon form and landed above her. The thought he sent sounded like a thundering yell. “If you want to harm her, you’ll have to go through me.”
Relia’s face was red, and she screamed from the top of her lungs. “Don’t try me. I will not hesitate to have both of you killed.”
Ekateni roared, then sent a thought. “I don’t think so.” From his mouth, he sent gigantic blasts of fire in all directions. Some of it caught Fel, giving him that strange sensation of being immobilized. His uncle then took flight holding Tzaria. Fel wished he hadn’t left, but then, it didn’t seem like he’d been given much choice. It also felt uncomfortable to see Relia’s anger towards Tzaria. But then, if she had killed Ircantari… Either way, Fel couldn’t fly after them, as he couldn’t move.
Relia, who had fallen, got up. “They’re both traitors now. Both enemies.”
Fel turned to see his cousins. Jacine was in dragon form, while Siniari looked at his mother with wide eyes. “He was just protecting her!”
“Protecting a traitor. Your father is no more.”
Jacine took her human form again, and had tears in her eyes. Leah bit her lip and stared at him. That inner rivalry wasn’t good when they had so many external enemies. But then, perhaps Tzariawasdealing with the enemy. Fel couldn’t forget how well she had fought against those three dragons on the way to Fernick, and then again, back on the mountain of the First Mage. Fel wasn’t sure he’d be alive without her. Now both she and Ekateni were gone.
Relia then smiled. “None of that shall disturb our celebration. Let’s get back to the village. Tonight is a night for dancing.” She then turned around and headed to the stairs.
Fel tried to move, but couldn’t. He had been somewhat close to his uncle, and caught in his fire. The guards who’d been around them were immobilized as well, while dragons on the far benches were already taking flight. He took a look at the broken cup. Could it have been poison? Or had Tzaria just been paranoid?
Leah approached him. “Are you hurt?”
“I just can’t move very well. It’s something that happens with dragon fire. What about you?”
“Siniari shielded me.”
Fel looked at his cousin and nodded, or at least tried to do that, thankful that he had protected Leah. She then looked up and pointed. “Are they back?”
For a second it seemed like it, until he realized it wasn’t only two dragons flying towards the arena—but about thirty. They were not coming from the side of the village, but from the other side. A horrible feeling came over him.
A scream broke the silence. “The Boundless!”
They were coming—with no metal armor this time.
Meanwhile, Isofel couldn’t even move his wings.
* * *
Leah knewlittle about the dragons, but even she could feel a sudden change in mood, a sudden change in the air, and didn’t need to know much to realize that the dragons flying in their direction were a threat. This place, which should have been a sanctuary, was being breached.
In the arena, few dragons remained, not enough to fight the attackers, especially when most of them were still in human form. Leah stood by Fel. His cousins, both in human form, were a few steps from them.
“You should run,” Siniari told her. “Dragon fire will kill you.”
Leah was almost doing it, but realized it would be foolish. She could get caught mid-escape, unless the invaders ignored her, but she didn’t want to bet her life on it.
“My wings won’t move,” Fel then said. “Come under me.”
“Don’t,” Jacine told Leah. “They’ll set fire to the floor.”
“On my back,” Fel said, and she jumped on it.
