Ireale's Crown

Chapter 20: The Battle

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Chapter 20: The Battle

I expected myself to feel calm, especially since I'd already taken the same kind of transportation with Narivere, but it still made me nervous. I kept telling myself over and over not to look down, and I knew it was smart to follow what my brain was telling me.

Up from where I was, the constant shushing of the waves filled my ears, sometimes with loud booming as they hit against boulders. The winds hit my face with the smell of salt, making my hair beat around in mid-air. This made me remember that I'd taken down the hood, and immediately lifted both of my hands to pull it back up. I had to continue with my disguise.

I thought back to what I said to Drizzlen earlier, about how I would talk to Aero about ending the battle. The more I thought about it, the more I felt it to be silly. How was I going to talk convincingly to change the mind of Aero? I was sure Haile had tried it before, and Haile was his cousin for goodness' sake. I was just an intruder in their homeland. An intruder who wasn't even supposed to be able to get up here. One thing was clear: I had no confidence at all in talking to Aero. But I would definitely try my best. I tightened my hands into fists. This battle was a stupid one to have even happened at all.

Soon, the sea was behind us, but it was still loud enough for me to hear. I took a deep breath, and looked down, wanting to have a better view of Ireale from a bird's eye view. We'd entered a grassy patch of land. Under the dark clouds, they looked slightly grey. Like what was happening before beside the waters, several dragons were fighting their battles. But in comparison, this new part of Ireale was more chaotic. Amidst the green, I could see spots of red which resembled black, as well as unmoving bodies of dragons. The sight made me cringe, and I retreated, telling myself to never make the mistake of doing that again.

 A yellow dragon suddenly came flying towards us, snarling. It had defeated an Ice Dragon, and now it had changed its target. He managed to ram into us on purpose, making Drizzlen roar in protest. A ball of water started to form around him, and he started to chuckle.

"You won't be able to drown me. My Air will stop me from running out," the dragon pointed out dutifully.

I smirked and then helped Drizzlen strengthen her ball of water into ice. He gave us a look of surprise before trying to break through of his soon-to-be prison. But of course, I didn't let it. Drizzlen's and my power combined was too strong for him to defend himself against. With that, the ice fell to the ground with a loud thud. I would have loved to wait and see how long he would take to get out, but there wasn't time.

"Thank you again, Ryma," Drizzlen said.

I grinned. "Since I'm riding on you, it's also my responsibility to protect you."

She gave a grunt of yet another thanks before both of us continued to fend off potential enemies. Soon, dragons around started to realise my presence. I groaned. So much for my disguise. And I was so proud of it too. I sighed. I actually wanted to surprise Haile.

"Report to the prince! Tell him that the human is here!" an Air Dragon ordered. "The rest of you, come." His eyes locked on mine. "Let us capture her."

Around, his comrades started to break away from their current battles and started charging towards us. Drizzlen gave an alarmed growl, but continued to be airborne with no problems. Well, almost. I could almost feel her energy draining away from her. The unhealed unjuries must still be hurting her quite a bit.

Then, there came a melody of sort. It wasn't the kind that resonated like an angel's song, just plain singing. I recognised it, and at once braced myself for what was about to come: several stalks of large plants with leaves and flowers of the same size grew from the grassy ground, surrounding us protectively. The Air Dragons didn't let that stop them. Gradually, more voices joined in, making the song into a choir. Eventually, the number had increased, and had formed a protected boundary. As one, the tip of all of them dipped steeply and quickly at their opponents, knocking them down.