Page 78 of Scalebound

Nothing.

“Nope,”I shouted out to Angie. Was I supposed to try multiple times before I got something?

We tried all the elements that she taught me.

Light, by stealing energy from the sun or replacing shadows with radiant beams. The moon, by tidal influence or lunar manipulation. The earth by attempting to grow trees, plants, or poisonous flowers. Water or Ice. Even time, force, shadow, light, and thunder.

Not one worked.

By the end of trying each ability and getting nothing, we were both worn out and beaten down.

Angie made a mental note and called everyone in. “Maybe you just need some more guidance,” she said. However, gold flushed to my cheeks from embarrassment. Was there something wrong with me? Was it Belle? Were we not connected in the first place? However, my Celestialized nails proved that we had to have been.

Loker, Abner, Luella, Clemmy, Angie, and Damian gathered at the summit. All their dragons were sitting next to them as if they were about to go to war, majestically perched and waited for whatever was about to happen next.

“I thought we could all ride together. Maybe help Lia and Belle out,” Angie suggested. I wasn’t opposed, just embarrassed that I couldn’t find themaxzin the first place.

Everyone agreed and hopped back on their dragons, and Damian mounted Belle with me. Within moments, everyone was mounted and spiraled in the sky, staying close by.“Let’s just use our abilities on each other. We can see what she resonates the most with and see if it will naturally come out,”Abner said, adding to Angie’s idea.

Loker must’ve thought he was the top scale as he looped in under Belle, blending in with the sky. We could not see him or his dragon,Meiinaraux3, as they swooped around us at all different angles, cutting off our flight directions.

This stumped Belle, and we started to crumble, her wings locking up in fear.

“I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Damian yelled out, recognizing Belle’s emotions.

“I agree,” I called back. Belle had already had so much anxiety today with everything else going on. I didn’t want to add this to her plate as well.

Right as we thought this, the sky went black. Was that a part of one of theirmaxz? I wasn’t sure.

“What theHaxnau4…” Damian cursed, and we watched as creatures flew through the sky. I could feel my own legs buckle as I made a note of what they were.

The Deathlies.

The Deathlies were right there, coming for us.

How were they able to go so far? Were they coming for us? For me?

“DEATHLIES!” Abner screamed. “GET DOWN!”

Each dragon started to swoop and fly at different angles, hoping we wouldn’t get attacked. If we were flying in different directions, they wouldn’t be able to reach all of us.

As they flew closer, I could see them clearer. They were exactly how my grandmother showed me, and exactly how I saw them when going into the ballroom of my castle. Their wings were brittle, with holes throughout them, flapping generously in the sky, long and thin. Their talons were outreached, stretching and curling so far that their point was sharper than the sharpest knife in the kingdom. The tips forging into a thin piece of nothingness, almost to where you could get stabbed and not even feel the venom being pumped into your veins.

Their teeth were just as vicious, made of a white bone material that didn’t look real–so glassy that it must be fake. Horns were placed on their heads in an assembly of almost resemblance to a crown. Their eyes pierced with a beady deadness fromHaxnauthemself.

My body felt weak, and nausea rolled over my tongue. My fingers started tingling from the lack of blood pumping through my body.

We were spiraling down to the ground. Belle, not caring to race through the trees or bushes, scraping all three of us.

“There’s a cave on the eastern side!”Clementine called out. I almost gasped, realizing it was on the other side from where we flew down.

Belle heard the command and started swooping low to go to the other side. At this moment, I wished we had Loker’smaxzto become invisible.

“I had no idea what they looked like. They are real,” Damian shared.

“You’re making it sound like you didn’t believe me.”

“Maybe I didn’t, my Queen,” he confessed. I rolled my eyes, not caring about what he said.

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