THE MASSIVE FIRE SCREAMED LIKE SOULS FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL, trying to reach the night heavens. Its roaring heat had kept the surrounding villagers away—but not Raeherys the Hyborn. It welcomed him instead as he hasted towards the burning house.
“Your Grace! Where are you going? Your Grace!” called Fetyr from behind, but Raeherys could no longer hear anything else other than the cries of the helpless women inside—and the child. The damn child. He should not have agreed to what the Lawdra had suggested earlier. A mistake it was—a big mistake.
“Dracarth …” whispered Raeherys while running. His skin all over his body glowed with ember, slowly replaced by medallion-gold scales, shining and reflecting the light from the house fire.
The blazing wooden stairs creaked as Raeherys climbed for the door. Flames embraced him, but his scales had protected his fragile, human skin well enough.
Raeh
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LARICE WHITEWIND SHOULD NOT WASTE HER TIME for this weird guy approaching her. She needed to head on her way now or else the dragon hunters from Shavath might arrive to catch her. But here she was.His forest-green eyes and blond hair shone even brighter as he stepped out into the sunlight. “I am Estevan de Alion.” He offered his hand to her with a warm smile. Although Larice was tall, he still stood a little higher than her.Larice did nothing but glare at his hand, then back to his face. “You’re foreign. Where’d you come from?” she said.“My lady, I’m from Celestia, the highlands of knowledge and wisdom,” Estevan replied while fixing his hair, blown by the sea breeze.“Celestia?” She stormed her brows as she tried to recall where she had heard the name before.“Yes … In fact, I’ve come a long way to get here. My country lies from the northe
DEEP IN THE FOREST IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, frogs and crickets symphonized, owls hooting and leaves rustling from the gust of the northern wind.While heading south, Raeherys had trouble thinking of how they would plan to obtain the Orb of Phlareus. But certain he was that the great war approaching would be his opportunity to sneak into the Emperor’s Palace, while most of the human armies would be gone for the war. The sooner he would get the orb, the fewer lives would be lost.However, the only problem for him now was the dragon hunters; scattered around these vast lands. Raeherys and Fetyr had to stay in their human form at all times, though it would take more time traveling on foot.“I must admit, Your Grace …” spoke Fetyr as they trailed through the depths of the forest. “I have been reckless to advise you to burn the house. I would like to ask for your forgiveness.”“I will,” replie
HAVING A COMPANY TO HER QUEST WAS WAY OUT OF HER PLAN. It irritated her. The peaceful silence of Shajara Forest had always soothed her ears before—but now was completely different. This stupid guy kept on firing nonsense questions ever since, and once answered, he would add more, and then more. Not to mention of him doing nothing but slow her down because of that bulky knapsack of his. What in the world did that bag contain? A human corpse? Though Larice gave very few answers to every question, Estevan didn’t stop. “What do you think are dragons like—based on your encounters so far? Now don’t tell me they can transform because I already know all about their shifting abilities … I’m only asking about the way they act. Do you think they can speak to humans? Or only to their fellow kinds?” he asked. “Doesn’t matter what I think.” Larice had been trying to avoid the questions, knowing the fact that she had never seen a dragon in her whole life. “Ca
A FEW MOONS AGO, the mondras who survived the war, had told the story of how they crushed Ormir to the ground, led by Aravyr, his mad brother. They swarmed in strong numbers, hundreds and hundreds of them … bringing light amidst the night heavens with dragonfire. They burned everything in the fortress—the houses … the people … even the entire forest outside, surrounding the walls. They had told the story of how Aravyr showed no mercy on the human lord of Ormir, pulverizing his head against the floor. Skull shattered and blood splashed, they had said. After the fall of the fortress, the dragons warred to the south, colliding with the combined forces of the dragon hunters and the empire army—only to fail and die in the end. All of these poked in to Raeherys’ mind as he and Fetyr stood at the gateless entrance of Ormir. The iron portcullis had melted down from dragonfire, spread upon the dry road of the gatehouse. The White Fortress, the humans ha
THE PINE TREES BROUGHT OUT their sharp, sweet, and refreshing aroma, carried by the gust of cool wind in the air of noon. Mockingbirds mocked and chirped above. They flapped out of the branches as three men walked along the forest road that made their path to the south of Ormir. Raeherys could not imagine what else could be more terrible than the human garment he was wearing now. Too tight it was for his body, especially on his broad shoulders. The dragon scale vests they used to wear felt so much better than this. But he and Fetyr had to change how they dress if they did not want to be recognized. “Are you certain about this, Sev?” said Raeherys, cringing. “The dragon hunters might still notice our unfamiliarity.” “Oh trust me, mate,” replied Sevyh, playing with the small bag of coins he had stolen from Akim and his companion. “They ain’t gonna recognize you. I’ll handle the talk, cover you and all.” Raeherys let out a sigh. Th
HER WHOLE LIFE, Larice always feared the curse inside her. Every time she panicked, her heart rate increased, causing her blood flow to surge, forcing the curse to outburst. She couldn’t control it. However, at the very least, she had a hint of how it worked now. “I still don’t get it. How in the world can you think my blood is an Empyreal Weapon?” Larice said as they traveled through the depths of the pine forest, going north. They’d taken a quick stop in the Rath Village earlier to have their late noon meal before they went on. “Look, I’m not a hundred percent sure if it is, okay?” Estevan adjusted his glasses, looking down at his notes. “I’m just saying—it’s the closest one we can connect to in speaking about magic. You see, a whole lot of these weapons exist in this world too—shoes, necklaces, rings, horns … even wings—“ “You’re kidding,” Larice turned to him with a look of disbelief, “Wings?” Estevan grinned on
TALL, WHITE, COMPRESSED—birch trees surrounded the small houses of Rath, the warm light of sundown painting the leaves with greenish-gold. Busy villagers became much busier as the skies grew darker. Raeherys found himself amused, observing several men chopping logs, women passing by with both hands supporting the jug on top of their heads which, he believed, contained water. Horses dragged big, wooden carts filled with more logs and fruits and animals from the forest. So this was the way these humans live … so simple, peaceful. The sight of human children helping their parents made Raeherys recall the little dragons who used to play in the meadows of Draconi … and the rest of his brethren who labored in harvests and mines. He never knew humans could also have such a livelihood. However, the image of the burning house refused to fade from his mind—the village where he and Fetyr had caused that fire. With regrets returning to suppress him, he hoped that
STUPID … SHE WAS SO STUPID. Larice couldn’t believe she just wasted her time with these beasts … these … stupid liars—especially that Raeherys. She had thought she would find a clue from him about the truth she was seeking, so she had agreed to talk in here. But it all turned out—he only gave her lies. A war? A whole thunder of dragons flying here? Did he think he could fool her by making such excuses? Did he think he could stop her from going to their isles? Not a damn chance. No one could stop her from getting what she wanted—because from what she had learned after leaving Shavath, no one could control her life but her. Larice strode towards the table where Estevan and the other beast had been seated. They appeared to be discussing a serious topic, and she hated to break it. “Settle the payments. We will go now,” she told him, her tone hinting no patience. “Huh?” Estevan lifted his head, eyebrows questioning her as if he didn’t seem t