Moonlit Scales [rewriting]

Moonlit Scales: Nine

M O O N L I T   S C A L E S :
Chapter Nine

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I LAUGHED. "Are you kidding?"

Ambrose shook his head regretfully with a genuine smile plastered to his lips. "No, I'm serious. Would a prince lie to you?" he asked jokingly.

"It depends," I said, throwing my chin into the air aristocratically. "Would he?" I countered, as a challenge.

"Never." His deep gaze met mine, as we sat there in the broken tree, both of us entirely carefree.

"This coming from the boy who said he is afraid of elves." I began laughing again, and Ambrose started to defend himself, but never finished because he gave into the hushed chortles that still seemed too loud in the quiet of night.

"So, tell me about this dragon spell," he mused, a curious glint in his eye, after we'd calmed down.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I mumbled.

"You have no idea why this happened to you?" he pressed on gently, and I winced, not wanting to lie again.

I simply shook my head, in hopes that he'd let it go. I didn't want to delve into the fact that my turning into a dragon every night was, in fact, the result of his father's punishment.

He must have read my eyes, because he sighed and looked away, thankfully but reluctantly putting the subject to rest.

I did, however, feel guilty about suspending the truth, so I fed him a snippet of information regarding my curse. "The thing about the spell . . ."

This grabbed his attention, and he refocused his piercing green eyes on mine. "I can't be caught in the moonlight as I shift to and from a—a boy. Or I'll be doomed to remain a dragon for all eternity."

His eyebrows furrowed with sympathy, and he smiled sadly. "I guess you just have to be extremely careful about where you are."

I wrung my fingers and bit my lip. "I suppose so." I still felt uncomfortable about hiding the truth behind my curse, and it didn't help that I'd be transforming any minute. I glanced back up at Ambrose at found it in me to send him a grateful grin.

This was a fairly new routine that started a day or two after I had come to understand the prince. We would meet in a narrow clearing not too far from the camp, but not close enough to be heard. I am not too sure that it was the best idea, because both of us lost plenty of sleep this way, but we managed. I looked forward to our precious time together each night, putting true effort into completing our daily training obstacles so I could nap, sooner sneaking off into the woods when the moon appeared.

I would transition to a dragon, and he'd always be there to talk to me and keep me company during the hard days of anticipating war. Phoenix grew on him, and I once saw Ambrose slip a parcel of berries to my falcon, which I found heartwarmingly sweet, given that I had coldly distrusted and disrespected the prince no more than a week ago.

Now, as I scaled higher into the knotted web of thin, dead twigs, I realized how different my life had become, and all because I chose to secretly join a war. I made a new friend—the prince, to be specific, and I was very skilled in every form of combat. I found something to make my life different, and worth living.

The only thought that poked and prodded at the back of my mind like a headache that stubbornly refused to go away, was that I had to be careful. And not because we expected to fight for our lives against a fleet of fire-breathing beasts, but because I was all too aware a part of me had begun falling for Ambrose, and that was something that I had to avoid at all costs.

It was one thing to hold a secret that could result in death. It was another thing to be caught illegally fighting in a war when you were a girl. This was because, not only was it forbidden, but it meant that I had lied to my commanding general, I had lied to my fellow soldiers, and I had lied to my prince, in addition to betraying my family.

So I squelched any growing feelings that I had for the prince, and remained intent on my purpose here: deflect the dragons of Luther and return home safely to Papa, Addy, and Piper.

"Why are you climbing? You have less than a minute," Ambrose reminded me, and I smirked.

"I escaped you in fewer than ten seconds, if you remember."

"I haven't forgotten."

I had reached quite far in my climb, so high up into the air that I could view above the coarse hair of the treetops, and beyond to the battlefield. There was one branch, thick enough that I could pull myself up onto it, and I decided that would be final feat before I changed tonight. I extended my arm, my fingers outstretched in attempt to clasp around the shoot.

Maybe if I had morphed a minute earlier, if I had been attentive to the noises around me, I would have heard them coming before they found me. But I hadn't, so when a blast of heat singed the crest of my scalp and burned to ash the branch I had been trying to grab, I screamed. I lost my footing among the fragile limbs that had since been supporting me, and I was sent tumbling down the tall tree, the sharp twigs snagging my cloak and grazing my bare arms like a thousand rat bites. They snapped as my weight pressured them, and before I regained my balance, I crashed to the solid, frigid ground.

"Skylar!" cried a voice, which I presumed belonged to Ambrose, but I was slipping into that medium between consciousness and unconsciousness, so I couldn't be sure. I heard the slicing, rustic sound of dull metal, and distinctly picked up on the deafening, thunderous bellowing of a dragon.

My muscles contracted, and I was vaguely aware that I was transforming. My eyelids were glued shut, and I dared not open them, for fear of what I'd awake to. In fact, I didn't move at all. I twitched at the sound of men shouting, but I was too exhausted to pick myself up. Sleeping was so inviting, I welcomed it with open arms. Why the dragons arrived early wasn't my concern. I blamed my unawareness on that fact. We'd all been prepared for their migration in a week, not this soon. Whatever the reason behind their early raid, I was too tired to become involved. Somewhere in me, something stirred. I think it was my conscience.

Then Luna's voice drifted into my head: "Get up, Sky."

I groaned. My head pulsed, and my arms were covered in shallow cuts. I hurt, and flinging myself back into the face of danger seemed like such a stupid idea. Suddenly my eyes flew open, and I snapped to reality. The dragons. I had come to Casim to ward off the dragons. A few scratches and a headache were going to stop me?

I clenched my jaw as I tested my weight on my arms and legs. It was painful, but bearable, which was what mattered. At this point, I didn't care who saw me. I only cared that I was doing my job, that I'd be fulfilling the exact purpose that I had bothered to train for. I had only to hope that none of the men would aim for me, which was likely, because my iridescent scales practically glowed like a beacon under the gleam of the moon. The Lutheran beasts would be striking me as well, because they would not recognize my scent and pursue me as a potential threat. I would be fighting against two sets of enemies. My mind was racing with anxiety and fear. They were due in six days, not now. I had the pathetic urge to whine. We were unprepared!

"Sky, go. They need you."

Luna's words propelled me as I slowly treaded through the woods. Where was Ambrose? And Phoenix, I wondered, was he safe? My eyelids threatened to close, and I was tempted with the aspect of rest. It would be so easy, and nobody would find me . . .

"Sky Fae. Why did you come here?"

My witch was right. This was something I had to do, whether I'd make it out alive or not. This past week, everything I had worked so hard to achieve, would be for something. I would not waste all of the effort I put into coming so far.

With new motivation, I sped up. I knew that the dragons would be at it for an approximate two days, with a brief intermission between both sieges. I would see the end of this war, and I would see my family again.

With that confidence, I broke through the line of trees that bordered the battlefield, and threw myself into a raging, age-old war between man and dragon. The Battle of the Beasts had officially begun.