Heir of the Dragon

Protect

"I cannot just leave those good people, Shadaii." I growled at him, in the tinted light beneath the leafy canopy.

"They are after you! If we let it all play out, they might just leave when they find that what they came for isn't there." He protested, eyeing me as I paced back and forth in front of him.

"If they get what they come for, they'll leave them alone for certain." I countered.

"That's a great plan, Ellany," He said, sarcasm thick, "unfortunately for you, I refuse to let you turn yourself into a prisoner of war."

I stopped pacing and met his glare.

"What other choice do I have?"

He stared back for a moment, but his gaze was contemplative, not contrary.

"I think it's time." He said softly.

"What are you saying?" I asked, distracted by the simple knowledge that time was passing. Too much time.

"You are the last living dragon on the face of the earth." He said, his eyes solemn, "Show them what you are."

His look drew me out of my head, and I paused, not sure what to feel.

"You know..." I began, feeling my indecision coming to a welcome end.

For the second time that day, I opened the floodgates, relishing the feeling of the molten, sizzling core flooding my veins. The changes bloomed within me; bones shifting, skull and neck elongating, wings unfurling, muscles bulging beneath skin that sprouted pale blue scales. As the shift swallowed my human form and my human senses, I faintly saw Shadaii take a step back, his eyes reflecting the image of the familiar, magnificent beast emerging from the frame of the frail little girl. The feeling of fluidity in my sizzling blood was gone as quickly as it had come, and I now saw the clearing in all the beauty of my dragon's eyes.

'...I believe we've had the same plan all along.' I finished, pushing the thought into Shadaii's mind with all the confidence I suddenly felt in my new skin.

He blinked in surprise. I hadn't been touching him. Something nearly like a smile broke across his face, and he simply nodded.

"You're going to be late to your own party, Heiress." He said.

'Well do me a favor and don't be the reason.' I thought at him, and lowered myself to the ground.

He paused, and I felt eagerness spark to life in his blood.

"I wouldn't dare," He mumbled, and then climbed hurriedly onto the height of my shoulders, settling between my wings. My skin burned beneath his grip, and where his knees rested, but I welcomed the sensation.

In one powerful, swift motion I leapt into the sky. For an exhilarating moment, I fought gravity; one, two, three powerful downward sweeps of my wings, and then I broke from the trees and into the open air. My instincts sought for the updrafts, sensing the invisible channels the swept in powerful currents around me. They carried me as I beat my wings, harnessing the power of the sky. Higher we climbed, making straight for the camp.

It wasn't long before we cleared the the depth of the ravine, and were greeted with a view of the familiar forest, but not all was familiar. My heart sunk as a view of a magnificent army, clothed in deep green and polished silver, crawled through the forest like a mass of beautiful predatory spiders.

"Eight thousand at least," Shadaii said, the grimness in his voice making my heart sink lower.

Eight thousand. And they were marching straight to our little camp of refugees.