ILLYRIS | vi. "NOT A WITCH. THE MAEGYA." THE DRAGON AND THE SPIDER
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THEA DREAMT THE dragon dream again. Serafina was not in it this time, only her and that dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet with blood. Her blood, Thea sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot torrent. She opened her arms to the fire, embracing its song, letting it swallow her whole, cleansing, tempering her, and scouring her clean. Thea could feel her flesh sear and blacken and fall away. Her blood boiled and turn to steam, but there was no pain. Instead, she felt strong and new and fierce.
Until she woke up.
Her body was covered in a thick, cold sweat. The fall from the lake proved more painful than she thought as her body was sore from her head to her toes. Her hair was a mess from the night before, her eyes throbbing. It was like waking up from the naps she'd fall victim to during colds and fevers. Everything hurt, her vision was hazy, and the entire world was strangely pink.
She reached over to grab her phone that was miraculously plugged in to charge, wincing at the light that flashed in her eyes. 10:16. Well, that was the most amount of sleep she had ever gotten. Below the time was a series of text.
BEXIPEDIA:girl you better have a good ass explanation when you wake up
BEXIPEDIA:are you okay? are you alive?
BEXIPEDIA: oh shit did odin kill you
PETER PARKER: Hey, we're still on to meet after school, right? Bex looked really mad at me this morning and honestly I'm kinda scared.
Thea snorted. Peter Parker had stopped raging buses, fought off armed robbers, got snatched up into the actual sky by a terrifying winged demon man... and he was scared of Bex Ortega.
Another chime from her phone drew her attention to a new message:
DEECATLAWN—10 People
LIZ TOOMES: Practice is in the cafeteria today!
"Oh my God," Thea muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She completely forgot about Decathlon in the heat of well... everything. The team usually used the chat for organizing review sessions or hangouts. Otherwise, there was no way Thea would willingly save Flash's phone number.
She'd have to miss practice anyway. Serafina surprisingly allowed her to stay home from school that day. She believed high school could wait as they had bigger things to concern themselves with. Thea didn't argue with her— Midtown was a horror show for her right now.
Somehow, she was able to make her way inside the bathroom, nearly ripping the shower curtain off its rings from how unsteady her balance was. The water was scalding hot but Thea didn't flinch or jump back even as her skin pinkened. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean, especially after getting a taste of lake scum. Besides, Serafina had often told her that it was never too hot for a Valaryen. "You are descended from dragons," she would say. "Fire is in your blood."
