Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

T ime passed so fast that Tiara couldn’t keep track of everything that had happened. “Where are we?” she asked as they landed on a terrace on the far side of the mountain.

“Near the infirmary,” Jaxxon said, quickly helping her down before Kylo flew off. A group of men were already waiting with a stretcher, moving the injured boy to a large hospital area.

“Lori would love to see this!” she said to Jaxxon, who was already running off, growling orders at the men on his coms. Another man quickly came to her side, escorting her back to the conference center. Though she wanted to be by Jaxxon’s side, she didn’t protest, knowing he was doing everything in his power to fortify the security of the fortress.

Later, everyone gathered in the same place where the ceremony had been held. Tiara and her friends stood in attendance with the dragons and all the men of Crelentia who weren’t on patrol. They watched as Jaxxon and Zade walked to the podium, along with the second dragon rider she’d seen earlier.

“We were at a trading outpost when it was overrun with Vralgari and their demon horde. They attacked without warning, ransacking the entire village.” The dragon rider recounted the details of the attack.

“I don’t know what the Vralgari were after or why they attacked that particular village when we just happened to be there,” he said.

“It’s a popular trading post on Crelentia. It isn’t uncommon for the Vralgari to prey on the villages, forcing them to succumb to their will,” pointed out one of the men.

The dragon rider shook his head. “This wasn’t an ordinary attack. It was vicious, leaving many villagers dead. And they burned all the supplies at the post.” The men murmured before Jaxxon told everyone to be quiet and let the dragon rider continue.

“When our dragons took to the air, a Vralgari scouting party saw us. We were outnumbered as they tried everything to bring our dragons down.” The dragon rider’s eyes darkened with rage as he looked fiercely at the crowd. He clenched his fists. “Those motherfuckers did a number on us. We barely got away.” Jaxxon patted the rider on the shoulder.

“The young rider and his dragon are recovering,” said Jaxxon as everyone cheered, taking some of the tension from the air. But it was only a momentary pause in the dangerous announcements that they all heard that day.

“Thankfully, the Vralgari couldn’t keep pace with them. Our dragons were able to fly back without being followed. But by this time, one of them had already been injured by their weapons. They had to drop all their supplies to make it back.” Jaxxon turned to Zade, who stepped forward.

Zade looked at the crowd. “We’re running heightened security measures from this point forward. Every man must work full shifts, with a four-hour window for rest. Every rider must stay close to their dragon, ready to be called into battle immediately.”

The dragon riders nodded, patting their dragons.

Tiara felt their emotion as they chanted they were ready to go to war for Crelentia. She felt so proud to be with them. And she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be a dragon rider .

Jaxxon’s shadows darkened, as did Zade’s. “We lost many supplies. Given the Vralgari’s aggression, we can’t risk anyone leaving to barter for replacement supplies. Given the number of men, dragons, and women, we must all ration starting today.”

The extent of their supply shortages became abundantly clear as he described the rationing. They were in trouble.

“How long can we hold out if we can’t get more supplies?” asked one man.

“As long as we must.” Jaxxon crossed his arms, looking at the crowd.

“We can’t let the Vralgari continue to hold us hostage on our planet!” yelled Hassan. His voice boomed over the crowd. People flinched as all eyes went to him. He towered over most of the crowd in his leather fighting gear. His sandy brown mohawk made him appear even taller.

“They’ll starve us, leaving us nothing but skin and bones. And then we’ll be too weak to defend ourselves.”

Hassan threw his fist in the air and sneered, “I say we send a few raiders to get more supplies, and then we hold up like little bitches!”

“We can’t afford to lose any man or dragon,” said Jaxxon, clenching his fists. He stood just as tall as Hassan, and his voice was equally loud. “But you can afford to eat less ...and drink less! ”

Hassan began arguing as Jaxxon’s shadows continued to darken. “We keep to the plan, and we STAY alive!”

Kylo moved to the center. All eyes were on him as his tail swung back and forth, the ground vibrating as he took each clawed step toward the podium.

“The amulet is finally home on Crelentia. It will show us to the dragon breeding grounds. If we restore our dragon numbers, we can defeat the Vralgari once and for all.” The dragons agreed with Kylo, as did some men.

Jaxxon and Zade shared a look before Jaxxon turned to the crowd.

“I want to rid our planet of these fuckers just as much as you do,” Jaxxon shouted. “But if we leave the safety of the Villagio Mystic Mountains in search of the dragon breeding grounds, we might very well give Prince Aeralis what he seeks—the amulet.”

“The amulet can help,” yelled Tiara. Surprised when Jaxxon beckoned her to the front, she looked at the gathered crowd. Unleashing her light magic, she explained that they’d been practicing every morning.

Breathing deeply, she let her magic flow into the amulet, feeling it activate. The amulet glowed brightly as the map of Crelentia appeared before them and rotated. Many symbols shimmered along the map, including one she’d seen before. But this time, one symbol pulsed.

“I don’t know why it’s doing that,” said Tiara, her eyes narrowing. As she walked closer to the map, the symbol pulsed stronger.

The dragons all rose, coming closer to Tiara. Her friends pointed at their elemental tattoos shimmering to life. Their light joined with Tiara’s, roving around the map. The symbol continued to pulse with more strength.

“What is that?” asked one of the young boys, pointing at the pulsating symbol.

“I can feel it. It’s beautiful!” Tiara called out, placing her hand over her heart.

Kylo and the dragons roared—the sound filling the air. They spread their wings wide. “We can feel it too,” said Kylo. “It’s a dragon heartbeat. A female dragon!”

“I told you we could help!” shouted Tiara. “We can use the amulet to find and restore the dragon breeding grounds. And we can find supplies along the way!”

“No!” shouted the men and dragons. The idea of the women leaving the security of the mystic mountains was met with enormous disapproval, though Tiara wasn’t surprised.

Putting her hands on her hips, she argued, “We can defend ourselves. We want to help you!”

“Speak for yourself!” Maya yelled, her expression exasperated. The men looked at Maya and then back at Tiara as silence fell .

Focusing, Tiara’s tattoos blazed as light flowed from her fingertips into a steady beam of light. Slowly, the light transformed into a sword. It weighed nothing but moved freely as she turned her wrist back and forth.

“Wow,” murmured some of the men, nodding in her direction.

Feeling confident, she thrust the sword at a nearby tree branch. Excitement filled the air as the sword hit the branch and evaporated into little more than sparks.

The men roared with laughter. She tried to make the sword reappear, but nothing happened. The men continued laughing until Kylo growled and bared his teeth at the men.

“I’ll teach the women to use their light!” Kylo rumbled, threatening to roast the men if they didn’t stop laughing.

“Stubborn fucking dragon,” Jaxxon murmured as Kylo rumbled in his direction. “That’s enough!” he shouted, getting everyone’s attention.

He turned to Kylo and the others. “I know you want to restore the dragons. I share this same desire. And I want more supplies and to live like a goddamned king!” He shook with fury. “But if we leave the Villagio fortress, we might give Prince Aeralis the amulet and the women! We could lose everything.”

“The Vralgari are already after the amulet. We have no idea what they’re up to. It’s time for action. It’s worth the risk,” snarled Galan. Kylo and the dragons agreed, as did some men.

“I agree with Jaxx on this,” said Zade. “The risks are too great.”

“But we can fight,” yelled Tiara, risking Jaxxon’s ire. She saw his fists clench at his sides, but his voice was level when he spoke.

“Crelentian females do not fight. We fight on your behalf. You will be safe here.” Before she could counter, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him. “Even if you fought, it wouldn’t be enough!”

His eyes bore into hers as she struggled to break free of his grip. “You saw what they did to our dragon! To our rider! What the hell do you think they would do to you?”

She saw Jaxxon look at her amulet, and for a fleeting moment, she knew he considered taking it from her. She backed away, returning to her friends.

Jaxxon and Zade refused to entertain any suggestion that the women leave the Villagio fortress and help look for the dragon breeding grounds and supplies. Even Hassan agreed the women shouldn’t leave the mountains.

The factions debated and argued, but no one agreed on what to do next or who should take part.

Kylo roared so loudly that people covered their ears. “The fight with the Vralgari is inevitable, Jaxx!” The dragons flew off, bringing the argument to a close.

And so, the rationing began. As did the fighting.