41. AURELIA

Chapter forty-one

AURELIA

W aking up, I found myself in Damian's embrace. The flickering remnants of the fire cast a soft glow on his neck and arms, lighting the intricate black ink tattoos that lined his skin. In the comfort of his arms, a profound sense of security enveloped me. His promise of protecting me flooded my body with warmth. I couldn't help but smile, feeling safe.

My senses stirred as a gentle light teetered on the water. Slowly, my eyelids opened fully, the sky above us cloaked in velvety blackness, with a few Celestials sprinkling across it, reminding us of the gates of Ezu 1 .

Climbing to my feet, my curiosity piqued. I discerned a faint glow emanating from the expanse of the dark sea. It was a lantern held up by an iron rod, with a flag draping below it.

Oh, my scales. Someone was following us. I knew it. Was it my father?

There was a small flag waving from the petite boat in the wind, with an image of a skull covering the front of it. It didn't make sense that my father would send for them after me.

The directions of their small boats were leading toward the other side of the island, but they could find us before the morning if they searched well enough. The island was small and they would easily spot us within a few hours.

Shaking Damian as he slept beside me, I whispered, "Damian! Wake up!"

"Belle!" My voice pierced the silence, her response immediate. She stirred from her slumber, her eyelids parting to reveal the golden brilliance of her eyes meeting mine. With graceful fluidity, she rose, her supple body adorned in glistening pink and gold scales that caught the light of the slowly rising sun, her elegant neck arching upward.

Damian suddenly jolted, startling me. His dark dreamy eyes gazed into my own. "Are you hurt? What's happening?" he asked urgently, cradling my face in his hands.

"I saw someone on a boat coming our way. They must've reached shore by now. However, it didn't look like my father's symbol. It was of a skull," I said, realizing that the symbol was familiar. It definitely was not my father's. The flag became vivid in my mind, detailed with dark hollow sockets, the bones eerie with shadow grays. I had seen it before.

Damian's dark eyes widened, the lowering moon reflecting within them. He swore underneath his lips, his face strained with worry.

"Do you know who they are?" I asked as he grabbed my face harder and kissed my forehead.

"I will tell you later. They are going to find us. Let's find that egg. Now."

How did he know these people?

The symbol with the skull. I swore I had seen it before but couldn't remember exactly where.

"How are we going to find that egg?" I asked. Were these people here for me? Or were they also here to find the egg? Either way, we needed to ensure we found the egg first.

My mind raced, retracing the lines of the intricate map in search of any distinguishing features that could lead me to where the egg may be found. However, I remembered that it was placed over the island, not anywhere in specific.

We quickly gathered up our belongings. Grabbing at my boots, I slid my feet inside of the leathers, lacing them up with the ribbons that crisscrossed the front. I glanced at the dagger Damian had given me off to the side. I paid closer attention to the intricate filigree work that weaved mesmerizing patterns through the hilt. I couldn't help but to admit that he was talented at what he was passionate about.

Grabbing at my leather satchel, I shoved the knife back into the side of my boot. The weight felt off, and the feel of it was uncomfortable, but it provided me with some comfort of extra safety. We then hopped on Belle, wanting her to make more laps around the island so that we could find the egg first.

"Stay low. Okay?" I confirmed our plans with Belle, not wanting to immediately be spotted.

" I know, I know ," she said, as Damian and I both made our way up her slick scales. I grabbed onto her spikes, and Damian wrapped his arms around my back.

Belle's wings beat rhythmically, stirring up the sandy terrain, causing pebbles to cascade down the mountain, leaving deep impressions in the soft earth below.

A solitary mountain dominated the heart of the island, its imposing silhouette rising prominently amidst the surrounding landscape, the outer layers full of trees and other greenery. Ledges covered the outside, as well as other indentations of solidified rock. However, there were no caves or anywhere to hide the golden relic out of sight. It must be in the open, and we had to find it before they did. Why else would they be here?

The appearance of the mountain, although smaller compared to others, still felt large and brooding. The serrated and uneven rocks were daunting and obtrusive.

I was determined to find the egg.

"Damian and Belle, see anything?" I asked, my eyes peeled to each specific tree and boulder surrounding the areas, and the crevices between the rocks in the mountain.

" Nas 2 ," they both said as we swooped around the mountain. We spotted the men climbing up it: they were grabbing onto the jagged rocks, gaining momentum as they moved onward. They were strong and quick, making it to the peak of the mountain that held a flat ledge with more greenery, bushes, boulders, and trees.

"It has to be on the top," I said, watching their confidence as they made their way up. Fear washed over me, the need to find the egg before the men surged through my veins. What if one of them were also Scalekind and able to see the egg? We had to find it, and we had to find it now.

Belle swooped as she made her way to the top of the island, perching down near a clump of trees filled in with boulders and green vines that draped around them, covering their exteriors.

The altitude was making me ill, the air feeling heavy, difficult to breathe in.

The sun sprinkled the sky with a ray of light that filtered through pastel colors of pink, orange, and a dim yellow. A wild breeze scraped across my face as my eyes desperately searched for any sign of the golden egg.

The vision of the greenery was overlooking the entire ocean and the forests in the distance. The wind was wilder, being higher up. My hair flipped from side to side, having a mind of its own. The sun rose above the vast waters, warming my wind-stricken cheeks and arms.

"Aurelia! Raicena 3 !" Belle's voice was loud and clear in the scaled language, telling me she saw the relic. I looked around, trying to find her.

Scanning my surroundings, I concentrated to see where the egg could be. What did it look like? Belle knew that it was here. The greenery peaked with bright colors, shining in the bright sun. Different shades of green from the plants and bushes overflowed the peak of the mountain, making it nearly impossible to find the egg with only a couple of glances. It could be anywhere.

I looked around to find where it could be. The summit of the island was bare, with jagged rocks and a few trees. I was confident that few would actually be able to see the egg that could so easily be spotted. A glint of gold caught my eye as I focused on a rock protruding from the ground, green moss of fronds hugging the outer layer. Something gold was embedded in one of the cracks.

The egg.

The surface of it was ancient, engraved with patterns, and etched with a deep gold color.

Belle's claws thudded against the ground, sending a plume of dirt swirling into the air as Damian and I swung down from her back.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" I rapidly spun to find a tall and slender man, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, across his body. His long purple nails, reaching out like small talons, brushed over the hood of his cape, unveiling the hood down from covering his silver hair fixated with purple streaks. He had a long scar that stretched over his face from the top of his forehead to the tip of his lip. His aura of power flowed over the space, suffocating all hope inside of me.

Three men loomed behind him, swords that glistened in the morning rays were clenched in their hands, their stances ready to attack if needed.

Who were these men? What did they want?

"Tybalt. Leave her alone," Damian breathed heavily out, warning the men.

"You know these men, Damian?" I asked, my mouth agape. What did they want? How did they know that we were here?

"Damian, we had a deal," Tybalt said.

"Damian, what is he talking about?" I managed to get out. His mouth was silent, his gaze distant. "Damian!" I shouted, trying to get hold of his attention.

"Tell her," the man said with a growl. Damian's eyes still glanced at the floor. He peeled them up, stealing a look at my face. His face looked sunken, disappointed. The man took note that Damian still wasn't saying anything. He repeated his words, his voice louder and heavier in the air. "TELL HER!"

Tears formed in my eyes at the understanding that Damian was keeping something from me. He had been lying all along, and I just proved to be a na?ve girl by letting him join me.

All the feelings that I had for him drained like the golden blood from my veins. Except this time he put the knife to my flesh himself.

"I made a deal with the sorcerer if I brought you…" his voice wavered and trailed off. He still couldn't look me in the eyes, which was unlike him. "Which you knew, but… Trust me! I didn't realize that he would still come. That he would follow us. I promise, Aurelia. I wasn't going to do this to you!" Usually, he was full of force and stature, putting himself out there like he had all the strength in the world. But this time, he was different. There was genuine pain that melted in his words.

The man talking to Damian turned around, looking at the other men with him, and then it made sense. I saw the top of the skull tattoo on his back, peeking through his cloak.

It was the same one that Nana had.

Magic from the Old Religion.

"You were going to let them kill me?" I shouted, anger rising in my throat, realizing that this was the sorcerer he had contracted himself to. Flames started to bounce across my hands, flickering into the air, matching the sunrise behind me. "You brought them here?"

The tears released down my face, splashing toward my feet.

"It's not like that!" Damian shouted, making eye contact with me. His eyes were so dark I feared he made deals with the gatekeeper of Haxnau 4 themself. He started walking toward me, his hands outstretched.

"No! It is exactly like that!" I said, putting my hands up as protection from him. "I can't believe that this was all a lie," I said, thinking of what was developing between Damian and me. "You never cared about me. You just used me to get what you wanted. You never actually wanted to protect me. You were protecting my golden blood to get your end of the bargain. I paused, then whispered, "You promised to protect me, Damian. With what you did, you might as well have killed me."

"No! Aurelia! It's not like that!" He took a step closer to me.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled at him, demanding that he get away from me. He was no better than the men he had killed. "You've lost every right to be around me or any Scalekind. You're the monster here, Damian." My heart shattered like glass shards, the glass scraping across my ribcage as I saw how my words struck him deeply. I couldn't believe that I ever trusted him. A human trying to help me? I was an idiot for ever believing him or letting him come remotely near me.

I pushed the pain away as soon as it came, realizing that I had to find the dragon egg. Turning around, I knew I was so close. I just needed to touch it and make all of this go away. I just needed to have it in my grasp to wish that the Deathlies never happened, to wish them away. But would the rashness of my words wish away this quest? The chance for me to become queen? Me having met Damian? My heart surged a fraction of a heartbeat.

My arms outstretched, reaching toward the egg that only I could see. Only I could save the kingdom. My thoughts further raced, running in venomous circles as something hit my back. Pain jolted through my spine, an excruciation sensation.

I was hit with such a force that it sent me to my knees, my heart throbbing as it pounded maliciously in my chest. My ears rang in response, unsure of what just happened.

The egg was right there.

My body was frozen in shock. I gasped, sucking the air into my lungs. What had hit me? The pain was stinging, flooding my body with nerves that I couldn't shake free. It was so overwhelming that I could feel each beat of my heart as I processed that something was wrong. It felt like I was dying, the blood draining from my body. The pitter-patter of each droplet reaching the ground. It was as if time had stopped. Everything was in slow motion.

My hands reached for my back, and there was an arrow. It was sticking out, and I could feel the feathers so lightly on the ends of it, tickling my fingers.

I was shot.

Still holding onto the arrow behind me, I yanked it and pulled it out, screaming fiercely. I knew that this was the end. I was meant to die on this quest. I just didn't think I would die before being able to reach the egg. I was going to meet the gatekeeper of Ezu . Lying on the floor panting, unable to move a single muscle, I thought of everyone I was going to meet at the gates of Ezu . Maybe Laneux 5 ? What would meeting a dragon's spirit be like? Would it be his actual body, or just spirit?

I couldn't see what was happening with the men, but there was a commotion. There was thrashing, fighting, yelling, and other noises that I couldn't pinpoint or have the energy to find out for myself.

My eyesight was blurry and hazy. My hearing became muffled.

I fell from my knees onto my back, staring up at the sky. I tried to crane my head to see what was happening. An echoing scream erupted through the air, making it sound like someone fell off the cliff.

Did they fall off, or were they pushed?

Was it Damian? Was he okay?

My vision was completely black, and then my hearing faded into a dark sea of nothingness.

I was going to die.

1. Ezu (Eh-ooh): Heaven

2. Nas: No

3. Raicena (Ray-say-naw): Relic

4. Haxnau (Hah-nah-woo): Hell

5. Laneux (Law-neh-ooh)