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It was Sophia.
Immediately, I leapt into action, following the direction of the sound. It was a scream of terror, and when it echoed through the trees once again, I shot towards it, sprinting as fast as I could. Despite my curse, I still had access to some magic. I pushed my palms forward and used it, making a path and forcing the forest to move aside and make way for me. Behind me, it surged back into place, but not before I made it through. I ran so hard that my muscles burned with exertion, but I ignored it because Sophia needed my protection.
What the hell was she doing out of the village? I’d given her the express directive to stay within the safety of its walls. If she had defied me, I would deal with that after I rescued her, but for now, I needed to focus on getting her to safety.
I sprinted faster, and all at once, I burst into a clearing. The rotten, burning stench of Helheim met my nostrils, and I snarled, looking around to see that the clearing had been there naturally. But it had been destroyed.
Sophia screamed again, and my head ratcheted to the side, only to see her cowering before a creature that should have never left the deepest pits of hell. She held what remained of a broken sword out towards the beast, but her hold was trembling, and her brow was coated with sweat. She had been fighting for a long time.
My gaze returned to the fiery behemoth, an infernox hailing from the deepest incendiary abyss in Helheim. Towering in stature, its form eclipsed the trees behind it, casting a sinister glow upon the ground where it stood. Dark purple flames, black as soot and infused with the supernatural fury of a thousand blazing infernos, leapt and danced across its smoldering skin, creating an aura of unmatchable destruction.
Its eyes, seething orbs of molten violet lava, radiated with unyielding malevolence. Jagged horns curled from the sides of its skull, their tips glowing with an eerily incandescent heat. Razor-sharp fangs protruded from its gnashing jaws, gleaming like obsidian daggers under the dappled light of the fading sun.
It had its gaze firmly locked on Sophia.
With each thunderous step the beast took towards her, the ground trembled. The air itself quivered as the creature breathed one ragged breath after the next, unleashing scorching gusts that withered all-natural life in their wake. I watched in horror as leaves burned to a crisp.
It opened its mouth and roared, the demonic sound reverberating throughout the deep jungle, a haunting symphony that sent shivers down my spine. I gritted my teeth, knowing that I had the fight of my life ahead of me.
This creature was a testament to the darkest corners of existence, a nightmare given form, whose mere presence ignited a primal fear within the hearts of all who beheld it. If I had questioned that the rift was failing before this, I knew for certain that it was now.
“Sophia!” I yelled.
Her head jerked in my direction, her eyes wide with fear. “Roken!”
The infernox turned its fiery gaze on me, its violet purple flames burning brighter. It opened its mouth in a wide grin at the sight of me, and I gritted my teeth. This wasn’t a fight I could win in my human form.
For the first time in centuries, I needed to take to the skies as a dragon.
I hadn’t risked shifting in a very long time, not since I’d destroyed Taverna. I had even less control of my sanity in dragon form, but I didn’t see another way around it. I would have to shift for Sophia’s sake. If I didn’t defeat the infernox, we were both as good as dead.
I reached down deep into my core, touching my dragon magic and reacquainting myself with my birthright.
Sophia looked at me, her gaze questioning, and I shook my head.
“The infernox will kill you. It is an enemy not meant for you,” I said quietly, and her face furrowed with fury.
“Do not underestimate me,” she snarled.
“We will discuss this after the infernox is dead. Until then, you will stay out of my way,” I replied firmly.
Her face paled and she took a step back.
Good girl.
CHAPTER11
Sophia
Roken stared back at me with pained eyes. His mouth was set in a firm line as if he had decided something infinitely dangerous, and I swallowed hard. My eyes swept from him back to the monster, and he shook his head.
A hushed silence enveloped the clearing as he stood there, his expression suddenly calm. He tensed his muscles, and a surge of primal energy coursed over him as his skin started to ripple and contort. As he shifted right before my eyes, his bones elongated and cracked, his limbs lengthening into sinewy appendages. Scales emerged and shimmered across his flesh as his human visage gave way to his magnificent dragon form. With a triumphant roar that shook the heavens, his dark green wings unfurled, casting shadows onto the ground all around him. He spread his majestic wings wide with a dangerous roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the realm.
The creature that he’d called an infernox finally turned its attention away from me and directly towards him. There was a tense silence as the two stared each other down. I took a step back and moved behind a tree, wanting to shield myself a least a little bit from whatever was about to take place.
Roken’s head wove back and forth, fierce determination in his gaze as he unleashed a torrent of vibrant, bright green flames towards the infernal creature. Seemingly undeterred by the flaming assault, the infernox shook off the attack and emerged unscathed. With a fierce snarl, its ebony form radiated with fury. Without warning, it bound towards Roken, its own molten flames licking at its talons as they dug into the dirt.
Roken leapt into the air, agile and swift as he unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp claws and powerful wing strikes upon the infernox. The monster retaliated with devastating force. Its fiery breath surged forth, an all-consuming storm that swallowed the dragon’s flames whole, transforming the once majestic inferno into nothing more than ashes on the wind. Dark, flame-tinged wings emerged from the infernox’s back, and the two of them leapt into the air, burning their way through the tree cover above until they circled one another, locked in a furious aerial standoff, each waiting for the other to strike first.
