22. AURELIA

Chapter twenty-two

AURELIA

S ubmerging into the thickness, each movement became arduous, as if I were being drawn into the abyss. My hands navigated the dense substance, searching for where Damian could have ended up. It made it even more difficult since my vision was impaired by the solidity of the mud.

My hands were in slow motion, moving back and forth. I swiped something. Was that him? A root? I reached once more, my hand instinctively seeking his fingers in the darkness. I attempted to push my body further in his direction, hoping that the vine would allow me to go further down, not knowing the limits that the vine had in Belle's mouth.

As I found his fingers, our fingers intertwined naturally. With a firm grip on the vine behind me, I clasped his hand tightly, exerting effort to pull him upward alongside me, refusing to let him slip away from my grasp.

We surfaced with gasps of air, bubbles burst around us with our emergence.

It was a relief to fill my lungs with sweet oxygen. Assisted by Belle, she guided us upward, gently setting us down on a patch of grass nearby. Collapsing in relief, we sank onto the soft ground, seeking solace in the comforting touch of the grass beneath us. I ran my fingers through the blades, focusing on the sensation as I struggled to regulate my breathing.

Damian was right next to me as he flipped himself over on the grass, looking up at the sky. "What the…" he cursed and watched Belle, gently flapping her large pink wings above us. "Is that a—"

"Dragon?" I interrupted him. "Yes. She saved us, and her name is Belle." I exhaled slowly, struggling to speak the words.

"So much for dragons going extinct," he muttered, flicking off mud that was trying to attach itself to his skin. The mud moved up and down his arms, inching like a caterpillar.

All of my clothes hardened with the wet soil and immediately became a lot heavier. I tried to lift myself up, but the clothes on my body became too heavy with the density. Damian looked over at me and scoffed.

"What a shame, my Queen."

I stared daggers at him, and he came over and helped me up. "Looks like you're going to have to take them off."

"In your dreams!" I snapped.

"So you can like, talk to it?" he whispered, changing subjects and pointing up to the dragon. He thought he was discreet, but was absolutely not.

"Yes, and she can hear you too," I barked back as he smirked in response. "They're a lot smarter than you may think. They are majestic and ancient creatures that should be treated with respect."

Belle flapped her wings until she gently placed herself on the ground next to us. "I've never seen a dragon as small as you," I said to her, but out loud for Damian to hear.

"I'm the youngest in my division," she said, her voice reminding me of a young, sweet child.

"Where's the rest of your family?"

"My father cut me out because I hurt my ankle." She pointed to her claws with her nose and it clicked on why she was limping. The skin and bone above her front claws were swollen unnaturally compared to her other legs and claws. The scales above looked rigid and uneven, protruding from the rough texture of her skin.

"What's going on?" Damian impatiently asked.

"Her family disowned her because she hurt her ankle. Dragons are prideful in their power and don't like to be seen as weak, so they cut anyone out of their division if they are perceived as such." I rubbed her nose, and she nuzzled into me with her wings. "I'm surprised they didn't kill you, little one." I decided that would be my nickname for her and that she would now join us. "She's coming with us," I said to Damian, already deciding.

He cursed under his breath. "Absolutely not! They're killers!"

"And we're not? We've been killing them for centuries," I spat.

"And they haven't been killing us for centuries as well? I don't trust dragons. She cannot come." He folded his arms, mud still caked on his face and in his hair.

The heat in my body started to rise. I could feel the flames in my hands emerging from the skin when I brushed it away.

Feeling defensive, I let it slide. "You'll change your mind after this." Within a moment's time, I swung my body on Belle's back, told her to grab Damian with her unhurt foot, and we were on our way, sailing through the air.