Page 24 of Bound by Fire and Scales (The Dragons of Earis #1)
The battlefield was eerily silent, save for the crackling remains of charred earth beneath our claws. Kislav hovered beside me, the air around him still chilled from his ice-infused blasts. I flexed my wings, scanning the field below, my dragon instincts restless. The retreating gryphons were a victory, but something was off. Too much silence.
Something’s not right.
I shared a glance with Kislav, his icy blue eyes narrowing in agreement, and together we landed with a force that shook the ground beneath us. Our massive forms towered over the carnage, but amid the wreckage, a flicker of movement caught my eye. A small figure emerged from the shadows, walking calmly through the battlefield as if untouched by the devastation around them.
Human—not dragon or gryphon.
My scales rippled with unease, and I instinctively bared my teeth. “Kislav,” I rumbled, my voice a warning through our mental link. “On guard.”
Frost crackled over his claws in response, his stance shifting into readiness, but even his ice couldn’t touch the strange pulse of energy now creeping over us. The figure came closer, lifting a glowing object in their hand, and I felt a surge of magic, dark and unnerving, unlike anything we had encountered in this battle.
The figure stopped in front of us, dwarfed by our forms but entirely unafraid. A woman, her pale face illuminated by the eerie light of the artifact she held. Her eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating intensity as she looked up at us, like we were nothing more than obstacles in her path.
“You’ve done well, dragons,” she said, her voice carried unnaturally through the space between us. “But this was only a test.”
My dragon stirred violently beneath my skin, and a burst of heat surged through my throat. I could feel the urge to strike, to end whatever threat this was before it grew worse, but something held me back. The staff.
Kislav’s tail flicked, frost spreading across the scorched earth beneath him. “She’s toying with us,” he growled, steam rising from his nostrils. “We should kill her now.”
I snapped my jaws in frustration, but didn’t move. My gaze was locked on the staff, glowing brighter now, pulsing with power. Whatever it was, it was ancient and dangerous.
“What do you want?” My dragon voice thundered through the field, but the woman didn’t flinch. Instead, she raised the object higher, the magic growing stronger, a hum vibrating through the ground and into my bones.
“You’ve wandered into something far beyond your control, dragon lord. But don’t worry. We’ll be back.” The woman smiled coldly, her fingers tightening around the artifact. The glow intensified, humming with a power that crawled beneath my skin, setting my dragon instincts ablaze with warning.
“You dragons think you’ve won,” she said, her voice echoing unnaturally across the field. “But this battle is far from over.”
Before I could react, her arm shot forward, and the staff blazed with light. A massive wave of energy erupted from her hand, expanding outward in a burst of raw, destructive power. The explosion hit me like a tidal wave, slamming into my chest with such force that I was thrown off my feet. Kislav let out a roar beside me, his wings flaring wide as we were both sent hurtling through the air.
The world became a blur of heat, sound, and blinding light.