“No!” Haedria screamed back, her eyes wide and mad. “we must not run when we are so close! The dragon is right there, perched upon the stones of the Keep! It’s right there!”
“Haedria, have sense!” Seraphis spared a second to look back at Kaiten, who was readying another strike with his battleaxe. The warrior princess sidestepped the blow at the last second, the blade of the axe shearing off a few strands of hair. “We are going to die Haedria!”
The queen leered, madness distorting her features. The markings that ran up and down Haedria’s arms glowed erratically. “I will not throw away this opportunity, Seraphis! Not for you, not for anyone! The dragon rightfully belongs to our ancestors. That dragon belongs to me!”
“Haedria!” Seraphis roared in frustration. The warrior princess burned with something other than her sister’s magic and the dragonfire’s heat. She burned with anger. “My queen!”
Loren squeezed Kae’s hand. The golden dragonfire spread down the hallway again, streaming with a regularity as if it was breathing. The huntress balked once she realized where Loren was taking her, but the princess’s grip on her hand became firmer. Loren’s stride was sure and confident, her back was straighter and her demeanor stronger than she had been in a long time. Kae stared strangely at Loren; wondering if the princess somehow still had the dragon magic despite the pendant having been destroyed.
“Loren?” Kae asked again. They stepped over bodies of soldiers, their once shining armor now streaked with blood and blackened with soot. Men bearing the blue and gold dragon of Aldoran on their chests lay in haphazard piles on the floor, their flesh torched and melted to their armor. But closer to the source of the fire, there was only ash. “Loren, are you sure of this?”
The princess inhaled, held the breath, and nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak. The dragon was the symbol of her family and of her kingdom. The dragon was emblazoned on the soldier’s armor, on their banners, on their flags. The princess herself bore the image of the dragon around her neck for years, ever since she was old enough to understand what it meant. The dragon would not hurt her. Loren gulped and felt her heart race. She could only hope it would not.
The golden fire retreated again once Loren and Kae approached it. The long hallway that lead to the entrance of the Firestone Keep and the drawbridge that lay beyond was empty. The tall, heavy wooden doors at the far end of the hall had been blasted away, what charred bits off wood that clung to the walls still burned and smoldered. In the open door, Loren saw a large, golden eye.
The princess made a mad dash for the dragon, tears streaming down her face. She had let go of Kae’s hand in her haste, and the huntress could only follow with caution, darting between pillars and unburned cover in case the dragon decided to breathe.
Loren threw herself onto Lind’s shimmering blue scales, her hands scrabbling for purchase and trying to hold onto the dragon’s large snout. She sobbed, emotions spilling out of her like a burst dam. She babbled, incoherently, voice choked with sobs, pressing her tear stained face to the scales. Lind said nothing, only turned his gaze onto the princess, who seemed for all the world a very little girl.
“Lind?” Kae said once she was close enough. The huntress kept to the inner wall of the entrance, peeking out of it cautiously. “I’m sorry to ask but, uh…”
The dragon turned a bright, golden eye onto the huntress. She yelped, hiding back behind what little cover she could. When the dragonfire didn’t come, she peeked back out. Lind rumbled, deep in his chest, and slowly blinked.
Loren calmed down slightly. She rubbed at her face with the edge of the rough tunic. “I don’t understand, Lind. I thought you weren’t going to come.” She muttered.
The dragon rumbled again, but in short bursts. It sounded like a laugh. Lind nudged Loren in the side, causing the princess to chuckle. The girl’s eyes shimmered the same color as the dragon’s, and Kae knew that — somehow — they were communicating. The huntress came out from her hiding place and approached the two of them.
“Lind, we can’t leave yet. Sairus, Isran, and Kaiten are in there.” Loren said. Even as she said it, her heart was choked with fear. She was outside, with Kae and her dragon. She could just get on the dragon and fly away. “Ma’trii and Cassendir are still fighting. For me. For all of us.”
The princess looked sadly at Kae, while the dragon rumbled behind her. “Yes, I know. That’s why I have to go back in. I have to help somehow.”
“What? Why are you looking at me?” Kae yelped.
“I have to save…” Loren muttered. When Kae came out, the princess seemed to snap out of it. She shook her head as if to shoo away a thought. The gold in her eyes receded, and the dragon rumbled behind her. Lind nodded his large head slowly, knowingly.
The princess turned to the dragon, smiling and reassured, when the dragon’s expression became pained. Lind reared onto his hind legs, roaring at the sky. Jets of flame erupted from his mouth, and his wings flapped up a strong gust.
“Lind! Lind, what’s wrong?” Loren cried. She held up an arm to shield herself from the dust and debris kicked up by the winds.
Row after row of dark, swirling markings spread from the stone floor of the Firestone Keep, creeping up the rock and flowing into the dragon’s legs and tail. The markings began to glow like firestone; a soft flame color that
