The Hidden Sister | Book 1 of the Dragon Queen Series (BUY ON AMAZON!)

۵ Chapter 15.5 ۵

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Chapter 15.5

The Black Devil

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⌇Sleepy Hollow⌇

Elyssor flew tirelessly through the clouds, his sisters not far behind him in their own trail of wisps. The wind brushed against Elia's pale cheeks, the cold sending an icy chill down her spine, and a shiver under her skin. She knew she would reach the other side of the Sleepy Hollow much faster than her convoy, and her only plan was to await the exit of the usurper; how long, she didn't know, but she'd wait until the next moon if it was necessary. She wouldn't go home to her father without her silver head.

"We're almost there, Elyssor. Victory awaits us with open arms." She whispered, and her eyes widened, as though she could see her triumph in front of her clear as day.

The air became still, and dark clouds formed above her head as if the sky were about to open and rain rocks below; the mist turned dark as she circled the Hollow, and shrill shrieks sounded from below her - but it came not from her dragons, she knew the sounds they made, and this was not one of them. 

Curiosity led her to lower Elyssor to just above the trees, but such a thick canopy made it hard to see beyond a single leaf. The sound came again, and came from within - eerie chills made her hair stand on end, she did not like being in the unknown, and every bone in her body screamed at her to get away from the Hollow. She urged her dragon on, pushing through the thick, black clouds to safety on the other side; she could almost see it on the horizon.

"Not far now, keep on." She whispered, and glanced behind her to see the faint outline of the other dragons following her through the immense clouds. Relief washed over her, and her breathing calmed - until something monstrous pushed its way through the clouds ahead of her, black as night, and swift as the air itself, as though it was a part of the mist breaking away from the rest. It eyes glowed a bright purple, and it was huge.

"Dragon!" Elia's eyes widened in fear, and she lost her breath in shock. She pushed Elyssor to move out of its way, but it was much larger than him, and almost impossible to dodge. It came toward her like black smoke, and with every flap of its wings the smoke grew larger; terrifying shrieks left its ungodly jaws, and a purple light emanated from the back of it's throat. 

"Down!" She screamed, and Elyssor pushed himself downwards to near dodge the bright amethyst flames pummelling towards them - Blushfyre not far behind managed to launch herself upwards quickly with a flap of her agile wings to avoid the purple death, and Ashwing, being small enough as she was, skated through them without a scratch.

The beast was now after them, chasing them through the dark mist, and unrelenting. Elia's heart pounded in her ears, it was the first real danger she had encountered outside the castle walls, and it excited her just as much as she was frightened. Her eyes glowed a bright amber as she gazed back at the creature, a bright grin formed on her lips - stand and fight? Or run?

Elyssor dodged another bright flame, darting diagonally towards a large clearing in the Hollow, something Elia never thought would exist with the vast amount of trees canopying the ground; and a thought came over her. The beast seemed only interested in her, as when Blushfyre and Ashwing both darted upwards out of the smoke and disappeared, it was still right on Elyssor's tail. 

Making a circle around the Hollow, Elia gained as much height as she could before the beast caught up with her, and with several deep breaths darted straight for the ground as fast as Elyssor would allow. "Let's do this." She said to her dragon excitedly. Elyssor reacted well, he too seemed as though he was finding a thrill of the chase. Nearing the ground, she pulled up at the last moment, dodging the trees with a swift flap of his wings - and behind her, the sounds of trees falling, an impact in the ground and loud shrieks.

Elia laughed manically as she made her way to the edge of the Hollow. "Yes!" She shouted and patted her dragon on his scaled neck. "Nothing is going to stand in our way now. That bitch is mine."