Blades of fire and hearts of ice

A flight 'home'

Ash and I flew in silence for a while. The wind blew my soft curls back into Ash's chest as we flew. His hands still held my waist, but I could hardly feel it, like he was doing it because he had to. Snow flew at an impressive speed for a dragon who had just taken a shot to the stomach. Below us, the scenery changed from lush green forests to a golder beach and finally, a vast blue-turquoise ocean below. 

'That was my first... my first kill' Ash whispered into my ear, just loud enough for me to hear. 'I swear, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have to... I- I swear I'm not a phsycotic killing machine... I'm sorry if I scared you' 

I could hear the genuine concern and guilt in his voice. I squeezed his hand a bit. 'Its okay' I said, at a loss for words. 'If its true, and someoneis out there, trying to get me... I'm... I'm pretty sure there are going to be deaths' I felt a pang, as I remembered Chole. A life lost. Because me. How many more? 

Ash nodded behind me, and I could feel his hands relax a bit. As we flew, I thought about everyone back home. I thought about Sam and how she would be doing after the death of Chole. I thought about Zia, such a young girl, yet so strong. I thought about Ameila, bubbly, extroverted, lively Ameila, who I might not see again. I thought about Bob, Craig, Wendy, Zane, the Laurent twins, everyone I had grown up with. The thought of leaving them behind hurt more than my sliced ear, which Ash had badaged earlier. Most importantly, I thought about Miss Thorn, prbably comforting everyone, telling them everything would be alright. I thought about what Lux had told me. She was magical too, and had managed to hide it for so many years. And the way she had said it, with a distanced voice. And ofcourse, Rex. My beutiful doberamn. I missed him more than anyone. I would have given up anythign at that moment to be with him.

After flying all day, and a mid-air penut butter sandwhich with some more music and a few small conversations with Ash, the sun began to set. To our left and the sky lit up in pink and orange hues. Finally, A dot appeared in the distance and as we flew closer, I realised it was an island, with clusters of other islands around it. It was probably the biggest island I had seen. 

From what I could make out, the island had different terrain, like Ash had said... Mountains in the distance, forests, even clusters of towns and cities could be vaugley made out in the distance. It was hard to tell much in the dim light of the sunset. 

Ash gently squeezed my waist. 'Welcome to Arcadia' He whispered to me. 'Home at last!' He exlaimed, and I could practically feel the excitment radiating from him, the happiness in his voice and the childish grin he now wore.