Page 52 of Kingdom of Darkness and Dragons
"Livia! With me!"
I looked around to see him gesturing toward a position high above the main battle, where we could observe the overall tactical situation without being immediately engaged by enemy forces. Part of me wanted to refuse, to break away from the Imperial formation and try to make contact with the free dragons. But something in his voice—a note of desperate urgency that spoke of more than just military necessity—made me follow.
We climbed through the smoke-filled air until we reached a relatively clear space above the worst of the fighting. From this vantage point, the scope of the disaster was even more apparent. The Imperial army was trapped in a killing box with no escape routes, being systematically destroyed by an enemy that seemed to anticipate every tactical response.
"This isn't a battle," Jalend said grimly, his voice barely audible over the sounds of carnage below. "It's an execution."
I studied his profile in the flickering light of distant fires, noting the way his jaw was set with something that looked more like resignation than anger. There was something in his expression that suggested he had already accepted what was about to happen, that he was no longer fighting for victory but for something else entirely.
"What do we do?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer.
He was quiet for a long moment, his eyes fixed on the slaughter below. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a weight of decision that seemed to settle over both of us like a shroud.
"We do what we can to save who we can," he said. "And we hope that someone, somewhere, will remember that we tried to do the right thing in the end."
“And what’s the right thing? Kill them all?” I asked bitterly.
“We can’t not fight, we’ll be slaughtered,” he said gently, and I felt sick as I realised he was right.
“We focus our attention on the entrance to the basin,” Jalend said. “Clear a way for our forces to retreat.”
“Cassius won’t retreat,” I said. “We might be sustaining heavy losses, but we’re winning through sheer numbers.”
“I can make him retreat,” Jalend said grimly.
Before I could ask what he meant by that ominous statement, another free dragon emerged from the smoke below—this one a deep emerald green with wings that sparkled like jewels in the firelight. It came at us with obvious hostile intent, claws extended and throat glowing with the promise of flame.
Jalend immediately guided his mount into an attack position, moving with the practiced efficiency of someone who'd fought dozens of aerial engagements. But as he prepared to meet the incoming dragon, I did something that shocked us both.
I blocked him.
Sirrax responded to my silent command, sliding between Jalend's dragon and the approaching threat with movements that were suddenly fluid and natural rather than the rigid patterns of Imperial conditioning. For a moment, the three dragons hung in space, forming a triangle of potential violence that could explode into lethal action at any second.
"Livia, what are you doing?" Jalend's voice carried sharp disbelief. "Get out of the way!"
"No," I said firmly, though my heart was hammering against my ribs. "We shouldn't be fighting them at all."
"Are you insane?" His voice rose with anger and frustration. "I know you're part of the resistance, I know you don't want to be here, but we're still in the middle of a battle! If we don't fight, we die!"
"And if we do fight, they die!" I shot back. "These are people defending their homeland, Jalend. They have the same right to live that we do!"
"That's a luxury we can't afford right now!" He was shouting now, his dragon shifting restlessly as he fought the urge to push past my blockade. "Whatever your ideals, whatever your sympathies, those claws will tear us apart just as easily as they would any other Imperial!"
But even as we argued, I felt Sirrax reaching out with his mind toward the green dragon. The communication that passed between them was too fast and complex for me to follow completely, but I caught fragments—recognition, understanding, a moment of something that might have been negotiation.
Then, to my amazement, the green dragon simply wheeled away and disappeared back into the smoke, leaving us alone in our bubble of relative calm above the carnage.
Jalend stared after the departing dragon with an expression of complete shock. "How did you... what just happened?"
"It wasn't me," I said quietly. "It was Sirrax."
"That's impossible. Dragons can't communicate —"
He stopped mid-sentence as I reached down and began working at the wire that held Sirrax’s collar almost closed.
"Livia, don't—" Jalend started to say, but his words were cut off as the collar came free and tumbled away through the smoke.
"By the gods," Jalend whispered, his face pale with shock. "What have you done?"
