The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

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Flight… air in the face and the feeling of fatality of what I am doing. I can’t believe I loved flying just a few hours ago! I try summoning the air magic, but it’s still too weak to help me levitate… Not to mention that I was never capable of it in the first place, as air is my weakest element. So it only slows down the inevitable. Death. Maybe Derrien was right and we are better to die like this. On our own terms… He lets go of my hand and I turn in surprise but I do not see him anymore, flying with my back to the ground now? Did he manage to transport alone? Did he just leave me here after he made me jump off the cliff?

Hurt. That would be my last feeling… ever…

I see a black dot covering the sun. What could that be? A loud growl… No roar even. What is going on? Doesn’t matter… I close my eyes, it would be easier not to see…

Suddenly, I feel a dark shadow cover me and something hard and warm clutches me from every side and suddenly I feel my flight change direction, almost snapping my neck with pressure. But I hold on, air magic cushions my body weakly and softly, but enough to protect me in this situation.

What is this? I open my eyes and gasp in shock…

I am trapped in the claws of an enormous scaly flying beast! Dark scales, black even… And that beast stinks of dark magic. The purest and primal one. Gods! It’s a dragon! A real dragon! I am in the claws of a real alive dragon! And a dark one at that! And those are the most powerful creatures that ever lived!

But to know that one of them really existed! And I am in his hands! Why? Why would…

The dragon flies higher and higher and we are now above the cliff I jumped off with Derrien a minute or so ago! Higher again and then it just hangs in the air, looking at the men who attacked us. Gods, tell me they are not together! Tell me the Invisibles do not control this beast!

But looking at how they start running away I guess they do not! They run as fast as they can, but on the top of a snowy mountain, those black dots are very clearly visible! Such irony really – visible Invisibles!

I almost snort, but then I remember that my position now is not where I should be laughing at all!

The dragon flies after my attackers. I wonder why. But when he gets to them, he opens his mouth and dark fire emerges! The flames burn the people to ashes. And I mean that literary! Just messy piles of ashes are left in the places where the fire caught the assassins. I want to close my eyes every time, but I can’t…

Dark flames… I’ve seen those before. They look exactly like the ones that Derrien uses…. No! No, not possible! He can’t be… It’s… It’s… It’s physically impossible!

Can I be in Derrien’s hands? Or could he be the one controlling the dragon?

I look around and don’t see the gerdian anywhere.

And what if it all just a coincidence and he is long dead? And the beast has nothing to do with him and I am just his pray? What if I never see that smug, annoying, arrogant man ever again…

Pain in my heart makes my eyes tear a bit. It’s all too much!

Meanwhile, the dragon burns the last of the Invisibles. No one escaped him!

I hear a loud and ear-splitting roar again and then he takes off. He flies off the mountain and down to the woods surrounding it. Lower and lower… So low that I notice a little house hidden deep in the forest and then a small meadow… And that’s where the dragon circles, flapping his humongous wings and carefully landing on his three legs. And then carefully putting me down and unclenching his fourth.

Soft grass accepts my tired body and I still can’t believe that all of this is really happening. The dragon growls… and sounds tired as well…

I stand up and take in the beast in front of me. It’s scary and beautiful at the same time. Magnificent.

Taking a few steps back, I don’t know what to do now… Do I run? Will it burn me the same way it did the Invisibles if I do?

The dragon is watching my every move. I take another step and it spreads its wings, covering the sun away from me completely. Terrifying! And yet still amazing at the same time!

And then the beast falls to the ground and dark flames consume him, getting smaller and smaller… Until only a figure of a man is left lying on the ground and my heart sinks when I realize that it’s Derrien Derwood himself.

He is on his fours, surprising wearing all of his clothes… But looking weak, very weak!

“Derrien!”, I run up to him and land on my knees, helping him to hold on. I see that the dagger from before is still inside of him.

But he suddenly wraps his hands around me and presses me against his body, covering my lips with his and making me breathless.

“Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”, his voice is breaking and hoarse as he pulls me into another hug.

“I am fine!”, I muffle into his neck, “Better than you for sure!”

“Good!”, he says and falls on top of me, heavy like a rock.

“Derrien?”, I call him, but he doesn’t reply, “Gods, Derrien! Say something!”

But he can’t, he is completely unconscious…

Oh, my gods, what do I do with him now?

Slowly, very slowly I crawl away from under him and inspect his body for wounds. Except for the dagger inside, everything else looks fine. He does have a few bad burns, but they do not take too much space in his body, so he should survive those.

There are legends about how fast gerdians recuperate. I hope those are not tales. Because right now I know only one thing. I want this man to stay alive. I want Derrien Derwood to live!