The Dragon (Creasan #2)

Thea Wyvern had heard stories about Aestus all the time. Everyone in Creasan had. But warrior that she was, Thea had studied every single detail of The Legend of The Fire War. She knew every maneuver that had been made, every syllable that had been uttered, every character at play. She knew it all.

But nothing had prepared her for the absolute terror of coming nose-to-nose with the enormous beast.

Aestus’ head alone must’ve the size of the palace’s entire west wing. His scales vibrated with fury as he glared down at her with his scorching orange serpent eyes and his searing breath burning her cheeks. Thea would have taken stock of the rest of his body if her eyes weren’t glued to the monstrosity of his face. It was all she could do not to pass out.

How could it be that the very thing Thea had desired for so long was standing just in front of her, stamping his foot, yet she couldn’t seem to get any words past the dryness of her throat?

“We, uh, we mean you no harm,” said Fendrel, raising his shaking arms in surrender.

Aestus bared his teeth at the prince. The entire group gasped and flinched away.

Fendrel steeled himself and pressed on with wavering voice, “I-I-I am a Lance. You may speak if you, uh, if you wish. I will understand you.”

Aestus cocked his head to the side. Then he stretched forward and sniffed the air around Fendrel. Fendrel squeezed his eyes tightly shut, braced for whatever was about to happen. As a soldier, he’d been in many harrowing situations where he had to rely on his training and resolve to see him through. But this was different. How does one prepare for horror at the hands of their own god?

Fendrel peeked an eye open to find a burning red serpent’s eye just a few inches away from his own. And then the prince heard a soft, gravelly voice in his head:

You are of Lance blood?

Fendrel licked his lips and nodded.

You are…King of Creasan?

“Prince, sir.”

Aestus grunted and looked at him with a studious gleam.

Peronell whispered to Carac, “What do you think he’s saying?”

Carac shrugged, at a complete loss.

But the whole group whirled around in shock when Thea answered, “He asked if Fendrel was king.”

Even Aestus turned his enormous head in her direction.

To anyone who didn’t know Thea, she might have looked like a small, unassuming girl. Not very tall—though taller than Isolde, but that wasn’t saying much—and her frame was small, made even smaller by the fur she wore. And the way her answer seemed to stun even herself and made her eyes stare up wide at the dragon rendered the image of an innocent little girl.

Fendrel turned his eyes to Thea with clenched jaw. “You can hear him?”

She blinked several times and nodded. A million thoughts raced through her mind at the same moment, all of them filled with confusion and questions and a bit of fear. They got tangled together before they could find their way out of her mouth, lodging themselves in a lump at the back of her throat.

Aestus took in everyone’s surprise and quickly surmised, You are not Lance.

“No, sir.” Thea bowed her head.

Then you must be Wyvern.

She looked back up at that, her lips parted. “How did you…?”

The two original clans. As told in the legend. Have the clans of war united at last?

If Thea wasn’t in such utter bewilderment, she would have staggered back from all the information in that short statement. As told in the legend? She had never heard a Wyvern mentioned. Never. How could she be of an original clan? How could that possibly be true and no one around her have known?

And Lances and Wyverns were clans of war? Thea turned her gaze to Fendrel. As always, Thea sought her most comforting emotion in times of confusion: anger. Had Fendrel known all this? Had he helped skew history?

When it was clear Thea would not answer, Fendrel said, “We have come to seek your help.”

In what way?

“My brother, sir. The king. He’s got the Lance curse and can no longer be entrusted to rule your great nation.”

Is that so?

“Yes.”

Aestus fixed his flaming gaze on Fendrel, and the prince actually felt his skin heat up from it, as if the dragon’s eyes themselves could breathe fire. I do not trust a brother. Brothers often forget the binds of blood. They compete with each other, betray each other. Why are you here, Wyvern?

Thea’s answer was immediate. “Because the Lances killed my family.”

Fendrel looked sharply at her but she kept her gaze fixed on the dragon. She had intentionally included him in the condemnation. If what Aestus had said about original clans had been true—and why would their god lie?—then Fendrel was no friend of hers.

Aestus chuckled. Yes, they would, wouldn’t they. Who did you lose?

“My father, Jarin Wyvern, and my brother, Lief Wyvern.”

Aestus’ burning gaze calmed as he looked at Thea. She wondered if he could tell how badly she was shaking. Saying their names out loud like that, after just seeing her father—

I will not make you discuss further, Young Wyvern. The pain in your voice speaks true. But… Aestus lowered his head. I cannot dethrone a king simply because his brother and one Wyvern do not like him.

“He is murdering innocent people all over Creasan,” Fendrel insisted. “Falsely accusing them of treason and sending them to the ogres as food. I saw it with my own eyes! And he is also spiraling into madness and—“

“And we are not the only ones,” Thea interrupted. She gestured to the group of her friends standing behind her. They watched the exchange with opened mouths, wide eyes, and wringing hands. “These are members of The Source. We have all come a far way to find you because all of us have lost loved ones.”

Aestus frowned in confusion. The Source?

“The deadliest rebellion group in Creasan,” she explained with pride.

But why are you called such a name?

“As it happens, that is due to the king.”

Even Fendrel turned to her in surprise.

Thea smiled slightly. “My brother started the group. While he led it, the king declared his little band of troublemakers as ‘the source of all the unrest in the kingdom’. Lief thought it had a nice ring.”

Aestus’ laugh rumbled through her mind and she grinned. She’d always thought Lief was brilliant for doing that. Lief was brilliant in everything he did.

Well, Aestus said, I would like to help you, but I have another matter to attend to at the moment. I am sorry you wasted your time coming up here, but I will show you a safe route home—

“No.”

Aestus turned his eyes to Fendrel in surprise.

Merek hissed at Fendrel, “Mate, what are you doing?”

Fendrel ignored him and stepped forward, his hands fisted at his sides. “With all due respect, Holy Aestus, we have traveled a very long way and have risked our lives to find you. Carac lost his eyes trying to reach you. You cannot turn us away.” And then as an afterthought, “Please.”

The group stared, stunned, at the prince. Thea could see he was holding his breath. No doubt hoping he hadn’t just made a terribly grave mistake.

Aestus narrowed his eyes at Fendrel and took a step forward. His talon landed with a thunderous boom. He lowered his head to Fendrel and stared him down. Fendrel clenched his jaw tightly, doing his best not to cower in front of the holy beast.

Then Aestus looked at Thea. What say you, Wyvern? Do you feel the same?

Her eyes darted between the prince and the dragon, unsure what the answer should be. She gave an honest one. “Creasan is our home. We just want you to help it feel like that again.”

Aestus maintained eye contact with Thea. Searching her gaze for signs of deception, she thought. But she knew he’d find none. Thea was too physically exhausted and emotionally drained to deceive anyone.

Then the dragon turned away from the group and slithered into his cave. He paused with his scaly tail extended toward them. Processing.

Thea exchanged a look with Isolde. What were they meant to do now? Did they give him time to think it over? Did they push the issue harder?

In answer, Isolde shrugged. She was horribly confused from hearing only half a conversation.

I shall do as you ask, Aestus’ deep voice rumbled.

No one responded for a moment. The cave rang with their silence. Brom, Isolde, Merek, Carac, and Peronell had no reaction at all; they hadn’t heard the dragon. But Thea and Fendrel locked eyes.

“You will?” Fendrel confirmed.

Yes. Aestus turned back to the group. But when we arrive at the palace, I will ask something of you in return.

Thea nearly laughed out loud. “Of course. Whatever you wish.”

Aestus nodded once. You may get on. He extended one of his wings, which was so long it stretched out of the cave’s opening.

Thea blinked in surprise and looked to Fendrel. But he looked just as surprised as her. She drew a deep breath and then stepped forward, climbing up the wing.

Carac and Peronell gasped in unison. Brom looked to the prince for some sort of explanation.

But Fendrel was already following Thea up the wing.

Merek whispered, “I can’t help feeling like this is blasphemy.”

Isolde answered, “I think this is what Aestus wants.”

Brom didn’t even answer, following his prince.

As Thea settled on the back of Aestus’ neck, she gestured for the rest of the group to follow.

“I’ve always wanted to ride a dragon,” Carac breathed. Then he was practically running up the wing.

The rest of the group wasn’t far behind. Once everyone was comfortably seated, Aestus said, Hold on tightly.

Thea repeated, “Everyone hold on.”

Aestus lumbered to the opening of the cave, jostling the riders.

Isolde yelped in surprise, gripping hard to the scales. Merek put an arm out instinctively to catch her.

She glanced behind her where he was sitting. She cursed the way her heart flipped at their proximity.

Merek clenched his jaw and withdrew his arm. An awkward tension stretched out between them.

Thea leaned forward, trying to grasp as much of Aestus as she could. Each step the dragon took tossed them from side to side, and if they didn’t hold on, Thea had no doubt she would’ve been thrown entirely from the creature.

Then Aestus jumped out of the cave.