Season’s Dragons: Winter, page 25
Then another one fell over, a knife jutting out of his throat. Wait.
“Hey! Over here!” I knew that crackling voice. It was Ashe emerging out…of the basement of some strange building. Did I drop near the tavern?
I stopped trying to reload and dashed to Ashe’s side, watching his magically charged knives skewer the advancing force. Despite his fierce expression, I could tell that he wasn’t doing so well.
He was pale and looked sickly. I could hear his slow, haggard breaths as he raised another knife from his stash, before dropping it onto the snowy ground below.
“Ashe, are you okay?” I passed him by as he gave a weak thumbs up. The two of us quickly entered the tavern, with Ashe carefully closing the door behind us.
In front of me was a good chunk of my brother’s battalion. All of them were in full guard armor, halberds out at the ready. Two crossbowmen lay behind the counter, each pointing at the doorway. Tables and chairs were turned into makeshift barriers, giving cover to the defenders and making any attempts at attack even more difficult.
Ashe was quick to pick up the pace, dragging my sleeve. “There’s a back door here that we can escape through to the larder!” I followed along, but not before giving the defenders a worried glance.
A gruff voice soothed my fears. “Ya go on, lass. We’ll hold them off as long as we can, and then we’re off too. Ain’t nobody dying here.” With a waving hand and another tug, I followed Ashe down the tavern.
“Don’t worry too much about me either. Just blood loss.” Ashe was excited as he led me through the larder, even as I wondered if he was really okay. He didn’t look like he had much energy left. In fact, he looked like he was holding back the urge to puke.
“Sebastian’s set up a meeting point, one of his old cabins in the countryside. Snowshoes are in the back.” He tried pushing open the door, but I kicked it down instead. He said a quick thanks as we shared one last glance at the ruined Acadamae building. Ashe looked like he wanted to burst into tears.
“O-Okay. Let’s keep going.”
I could tell that he wanted to sob his heart out, but was too committed to the task at hand to do so. I squeezed his hand instead, hoping that I could cheer him up like I did Aria. He didn’t say a word.
* * * *
I could taste blood in my mouth as a dragon. A little bit sweet, a little bit bitter, and a little bit tingly. It was the first thing I felt before momentarily blacking out from the pain, as blood gushed from my underbelly. I could feel the broken ribs, white chunks of bone sticking out from the wound.
The impact had also grounded me, crushing my wings under a pile of rubble. Even if I wanted to use them, I could feel them flopping about, not responding to my commands. Trying to pull them out of the rubble wasn’t an option unless I wanted to pass out from pain again.
Lazarus wasn’t doing much better. His entire face was covered with his blood, the massive lance stuck out of his skull. The entire left side of his face had been destroyed, as his ram had only lodged the spear deeper into his head.
I gritted my breath as I slowly slid up, feeling horrific burning pain. If I was alive, then I needed to emerge victorious. Else there will be two dead dragons today.
::Brother, admit it. I’ve won.::
Lazarus got up, towering over me as he rose onto his hind legs. It wasn’t true; both of us were on death’s doorsteps. I could see his right legs wobbling, unable to support his weight. He roared in retribution, ready to declare his own victory.
Yet I heard nothing.
His one eye went wide, first with fear then with blazing vengeance. The lance had damaged his magic! With a defeated shriek, he lunged at me, wildly out of balance. He was going to kill me one way or another, even if there was no way for him to live through this.
I raised my paw, sliding up from the rubble even more. My wings were burning with pain, but I needed this one moment. Taking advantage of his unsteady nature I raised my left paw and slammed down on top of his head. There was a shudder as the lance tip went all the way through his skull. Lazarus’s eyes were still wide as his entire body went limp. Not a second too soon, he collapsed on top of me. His jaws were a second from ending my life.
He wasn’t breathing. I was.
I had no intention of being crushed between him and the rubble, so with one last thought, I turned back into a human. When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a nearby pile of rubble, with Sebastian wrapping bandages around my various wounds. The sounds of fighting were still around us, but it was soft. Human sized and human sounding. Everything hurt. I tried to raise an arm, but instead I was met with a fiery protest as I attempted to move broken bone. Sebastian was quick to softly shush me back to sleep, but I needed to know.
“Did Charlotte make it?” I whispered as I felt the last bandage wrap around my chest. With careful hands, Sebastian picked me up, carrying me away from the shouts of conflict.
“I’m taking you to her now, princess.”
His whispers got a satisfied sigh out of me, before I closed my eyes, letting exhaustion wash the pain away.
* * * *
I was greeted with a hero’s welcome, much to the relief of Myrtle and Kennith. The two of them looked like they had been worrying about me for the entire day while my brother’s guard buddies played cards. Yet despite the happy attitude, I couldn’t help thinking about Aria, and if she’d be okay.
I was told to wait, that this cabin was the meeting point for everyone involved. I heard every excuse given me to persuade me she was safe, but I know what she did. She let Lazarus ram into her most exposed area, potentially killing her instantly, just to keep me safe. To let us make the definitive strike. It didn’t even kill him.
The waiting was excruciating as I watched Myrtle draft each and every word, not a single acknowledgement that I was there. I knew that was how she wrote but seeing it while everyone else loudly hollered and played cards was a new kind of jarring. I couldn’t stop worrying about her. I couldn’t get Aria out of my mind.
“Ashe, I think something’s wrong,” I finally blurted out after what seemed like an eternity.
“There could be a lot of different reasons why…” Ashe began as the door opened.
Sebastian was flanked by two other mages, all looking like they’d escaped a warzone. Aria’s tiny body was being carried by the arch mage, blue blood coloring her crimson dress. Her jacket had been hastily draped across her body. Bandages were wrapped all over her, almost covering her tiny form.
At first I stood up in shock, the entire room did. Was she dead?
“Huu…” Aria softly snored as I gripped my chest, feeling the pressure in my chest relieve itself. She was alive.
“She’s okay, thank the Trinity.” Ashe said what I didn’t have the time to, as Sebastian placed her off on the side, spreading out her furred jacket like a blanket.
“Okay and alive are not the same thing.” Sebastian turned to me in particular. “Although injuries won’t cripple her like they would with us, she’s still in a lot of pain. She needs time to regenerate.”
I ignored his order as I rushed over to his side.
“Don’t touch!” Sebastian gave one last warning as I stroked her forehead. I needed to know. I needed her to know.
“Mua…Charlotte.” Her sparkling eyes flickered open, and for a short moment I could feel all my worry, all of my fears about this day evaporate.
“Good.” She closed her eyes again, this time with a smile. She was warm to the touch, as if her regeneration had finally animated her body into producing warmth. I slowly lifted my hand to let her stitch herself back together.
“How long is she going to be out?” I turned to Sebastian as the rest of the mages began to settle in with Ashe.
“She should be up tomorrow, though it may take a few weeks or even a month or two before she’s fully healed. Admittedly, I don’t even know. All I know is that she’s in a lot of pain.”
I nodded as I scooted over to her side, watching the cabin figure out among themselves their next steps. I was too busy, too spent. I leaned back against the cabin walls, listening to Aria’s soft snoring.
“We made it. You know,” I whispered as I felt my eyes grow heavy. This was the earliest I’d ever slept in years. Aria didn’t say a thing. She didn’t need to.
“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow…” I drifted off to the dreaming world, right by Aria’s side. I had a dream that night, of Aria and I watching the ocean waves pass us by. Maybe I’ll tell her about it tomorrow. Maybe she’ll tell me about her dreams too.
Epilogue
The sharp spring winds blew through my hair as the muted sun beckoned us forwards. Below me was Central Valley in bloom. Soft pinks, greens, and blues dotted the scenery, each produced by another tree waking up from their winter slumber. The soft chirps of birds were overtaken by the occasional swoosh of Aria’s massive wings, though she was content to glide most of the way there. She was really excited to explain to me something about the air currents and oceans, but I had no idea what she was blabbing about.
Whatever it was, the two of us were enjoying a lazy flight and sharing stories.
“Well, I agreed I’d be back for spring,” I shouted through the wind as I heard an entertained rumble beneath. One thing that I was discovering about Aria was that there were little physical ques for whatever she was feeling, even in dragon form. A rumble was like a chuckle, but more tenor.
I’m glad she found my mother so amusing. In fact, I was a little worried that they’d get along too well. “I’m serious! My mom was all like ‘Oh, I don’t care if you’ve married the richest nobleman, you’re coming back here for the spring.’” Another rumble followed by a slight purr. She was making a lot of noises today.
::I would like to meet your parents in an official capacity. Do-over.::
I agreed. The last few months had been hectic, from figuring out just how much damage we had inflicted to the church to discovering the Acadamae was destroyed. It was only the swift intervention of Roland that saved us from having to make desperate replacements.
Then there was the issue of Cestra’s barrier. While Aria had initially wanted to dispense with it immediately, she realized the wisdom in waiting until we were better armed against other dragons. That fight with Lazarus had taught her how dangerous fights with other dragons were.
There was also her newfound responsibilities as a royal dragon. She had decided that she would bring dragon rule to the southern provinces once again. An ambitious project, but one that would keep the question of heirs off her for a few years.
Also one that kept me close to my family.
I rubbed her back like a cat as she purred, leaning in for some personal talk. “You think they’d be surprised? Probably.”
It was nice that I could lean into her and she could still hear me. Made it feel extra personal. As for couples stuff, the two of us have been practicing flying together. I think it was more accurate to say that I’d been practicing holding on for my dear life while she flew around for fun, but she insisted that having me around was absolutely crucial. She’d also been trying to get used to her mother’s magic, something that she was having little success with so far. All it looked like to me was her focusing really hard on a dog, and a rock. Riveting.
::I believe they will be delighted. Or I will make them delighted.::
My voice raised a playful scowl. “Hey! No! Bad Aria. No threatening my parents!” I laughed as she let out a soft croon in reply, entire flocks of birds fluttering from their spring nests in surprise. It was breathtaking how fast Aria was. The same daunting trip that took us weeks was now a little more than a single day, with Aria depopulating a small forest every time we stopped for food.
“There it is!” I pointed at our little town, still with the same blacksmith. The practicing range was exactly the same as I had left them, with not a single building looking out of place. As we flew by, I could hear excited shouts down below. Everyone was coming out to see a dragon fly by.
“There!” I pointed at the large dirt patch on the edge of town. Aria beat me to the punch as I felt her tense, swooping towards the makeshift landing pad. The crowd had now grown into the entire town as we landed, a cloud of dust springing up from our descent. Aria’s wings had a bad habit of that.
“Don’t transform until I’ve gotten off okay?” I reminded her as I felt her mentally grumble.
It took about a month and a half before she was fully healed, and in our first flight together she transformed back early. Almost broke my arm. Back then she’d spent the entire week apologizing. Nowadays I teased her about it.
I unhooked my harness as I jumped down. The dust cloud was settling as I removed my flight goggles, giving a cheerful wave to the crowd.
“Hey everyone! Hi Mom! Made it home!” I watched as my town stared at me in disbelief.
I took off my flight cap, shaking my poofy hair out to make sure they all knew it was me.
“Not even a welcome home? I took all the trouble of flying back here to make it in time for the spring festival and I don’t even get a cheer?”
They were all standing there, still completely stunned. The reveal was priceless, and a massive grin spread across my face. Also I could see Mom trying to make her way to the front of the crowd.
“In their defence, you’re not the most believable dragon rider.” I started laughing as Aria wrapped her arms around mine, her diamond eyes shimmering in the midmorning sun.
Mom made it to the front. Perfect time to watch the two of us be adorable.
I wheeled around to face her. Our eyes locked as she looked up at me with longing affection.
“In my defence, you’re not the most believable girlfriend either.”
The two of us exchanged a kiss on the lips as the crowd burst into cheers.
THE END
ABOUT TOBY YU
Toby Yu is twenty-five-year-old Canadian author who specializes in writing fantasy romance books, with a focus on dragons and LGBT romances. He also occasionally pursues smaller writing projects or fanfics on subjects that he is passionate about. Toby is also pursuing a license to become a RDH.
When not writing or studying, Toby enjoys a number of hobbies and games such as Magic the Gathering, Arknights, Dungeons and Dragons, among many others. He’s also known to drag his staff and his close friends into his passions, often turning them into fans themselves. He enjoys traveling and will often try and visit friends across the border, or at conventions. He loves reading through fan mail, though he may not always respond to them.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!
Toby Yu, Season’s Dragons: Winter
