Page 129 of The Divide that Binds Us

Chapter 27

The Forgotten History

Elite: Alice

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Ifall on something.Something really hard.

My hair blows ferociously in the whipping wind as I sit up on the uneven surface that’s keeping me in the air.The dark sky brightens to bleed pastel rainbow streaks as the momentum of the surface beneath me ascends, bringing me out of the airy cool pockets of wet fluff.

Emerging from the clouds, my gasp is lost when I realize I’m riding on the back of a dragon!

We’re high enough that I can’t even tell what’s below me because it looks pixelated.The dragon is long, bearded, and wingless, keeping its back leveled enough so I don’t slide off.It circles in harmony with another bearded, wingless dragon across like the perfect pair.The second dragon carries a waking Rio from whatever state he was in.His eyes flutter open in a whirly confused expression I felt a second ago.He hasn’t noticed me yet but watching the carousel of emotions hit and his mouth drop douses me in a cool rush of goosebumps.

When his eyes meet mine, there’s brightness that outmatches the moon.He smirks and nods, but the dragon he’s on is so iridescent with every metallic shade of violet that it hurts my eyes.For a second, I almost believe I see a smile creeping through the fuzzy, green beard of Rio’s dragon.

“We did it!”Rio shouts through the wind as our hair flies in our faces.“We saved them!”

“Yes!”I scream back.Thrill of a completed mission soars in my chest, or maybe it’s the rush of my high from riding a dragon.For a moment, I forget that I let Mildred go and that’ll haunt me for a while.

I’m overwhelmed with chills from the wind and goosebumps overcoming my body.We’re engulfed in a tornado of soft colors swirled in the moonlight with clouds in attendance.More dragons occupy the sky and breathe different elements into the space.Each dragon blows the color of the magic that matches their scales, twisting the sky into more playful colors.Rio’s dragon groans, inhales, and joins in, beaming violet water that mixes into the trails of orange, pink, silver, and green.

I meet Rio’s eyes again as he finishes observing the whirlwind of elements we’re in.His face is shiny until he wipes it, and then I notice the slight crinkle in his chin.

He sniffs.“It’s just...so beautiful.”

“What the hell?You’re gonna start crying NOW?!”

“YES!”he sobs loudly.

He’s not wrong, though.Itisbeautiful.

Of the many experiences I’ve had in these nineteen years, this moment is by far the best.Dragons in bliss, free without a care in Zeala.The magic is energetic, and how can it not be?They breathe the very life in Zeala, and we’re lucky they allow us to coexist with them.

My throat hurts from the convulsing it’s doing to get that lump up as the hot tears roll down my cheeks.The dragon I’m riding takes a turn at blowing black rays of light.

We sit like little kids as our dragons twirl us around in a perfectly leveled spinning wheel while we cry, smile, laugh, and look at the changing colors of the air and clouds.It’s a dome of soft pigments shifting into neon colors from the luminous magic blasting.

Reality bends as our dragons disintegrate from underneath us into particles that reform into smaller shapes in front of us.Rio and I float in the void of hues, facing humans and holding their hands.

Rio’s person faces him with a chartreuse glow to their skin and a long train of violet hair flowing further than my eyes can see.My savior has gold skin accompanied with a short fuzz of white hair and eyebrows.The human forms of our dragons wear black tunics with gray harem pants and colorful beads around their necks.

“I am Stena.”the entity with Rio says.Their voice reverberates in the space.They gesture to the person I’m floating and holding hands with.“And this is Donven.”

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