Page 111 of Scalebound

It suddenly felt like my fault. The blood from her death was deeply embedded into my hands–an unremovable stain.

I could feel movement behind me and felt Damian put his comforting hands over my shoulders.

Belle.

The thought of her made my stomach sink. Was she okay?

“Belle!”I yelled, panic arising.

“Right here,”she said as I heard her clomping behind me. I stood up and turned around, facing all of the dragons. Everyone’s dragon was there besides Angie’s. Even Luella’sdragon,Tanaleiiman3, stood over her body, tears dripping down his slippery bright ice-blue scales, acknowledging his rider and the life that she had.

In the mix of all our dragons behind us, there were even some other ones that I had never seen before. Their tails curved with daggers, sharply poking out; their scales were flashy and shiny from the light; their eyes were beady and gold. Many of them were different sizes, being big and small, or having sharp horns that wrapped around their bodies, or wings that were cinched to their sides, affecting their mobility. Each of them was unique, here today representing the Scalekind and the elements from theirmaxzq4 that they possessed.

“Walamana5,”they said in unison, bowing before me.

“Why are you bowing?” I said out loud, “You all are above me. I am nothing to you or for you.”

“We are bowing because you are our only safe way to create harmony with humans again for once and for all,”the largest black dragon said in a thick, deep voice, nearing me. He was twenty times my size, and smoke puffed out of his nostrils as he spoke. He had horns that were thick and curled three times at the end, sticking out into the air.“We will be forever in your debt for what you can provide for our kind.”My heartrate quickened, shock radiating down my spine.

There were at least fifteen to twenty dragons behind him at this point, all with the capability of devouring me within seconds. Their presence overwhelmed my senses. Their claws dug into the ground, the scales that covered their bodies shimmered from the different colors of the breed that they represented.

“Was6,”the black dragon continued,“let us escort you back to the castle.”

I nodded, blinking the tears of sadness and amazement from my eyes. My heart longed for Luella, but they were right. We needed to get back. Then we could have a proper funeral.

The thoughts brought shivers of sadness over my spine. Grief overtook my body, making me shake.

Belle rushed to my side, and in a swift motion, I leaped onto her back, assisting Damian as he joined me.

The other dragons surrounded their riders, pushing off into the air. Clemmy and her dragon,Teiimanam7, held Luella’s body tightly to his golden periderm scales. We had wanted to take her back to give her a proper burial at my castle.

The air was clear, with no sign of the storm in view. Clouds were composed and covered the sky with a large blanket, leaving gaps for the bright sun to shine through. The sounds of wings flapping filled my ears, making me close my eyes and take it all in.

I remembered when Belle took Damian and me on our first ride. I let go of Belle and let my hands be unrestricted in the air, soaring with freedom. Damian did the same behind me. It was a reminder that I could breathe. We had saved the kingdom and needed her Scaleborne ability to make it happen as well. I couldn’t let Luella’s life be in vain.

I remembered how determined she was to learn hermaxzand to ride her dragon. I wanted to grow up to be just like her: determined, driven, and not having a fear in the world.

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

2.Maxz (Mahz): Ability

3.Tanaleiiman (Taw-naw-lee-mawn): Luella’s dragon

4.Maxzq (Mahz-eck): Abilities

5.Walamana (Wa-law-maw-naw): Thanks/Thank You

6.Was: Please

7.Teiimanam (Tee-maw-nawm): Clemmy’s dragon

Chapter seventy

AURELIA

We reached my tower outside of the castle. The grassy area around was perfect to land all our dragons and was out of the view of everyone.

The dirt swarmed in puffs of smoke around us as our dragons each landed with power and confidence beneath us. Their wings outstretched, the rush of air from their momentum stormed the surrounding trees, and the leaves in chaos brushed from side to side.

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