Page 18 of Iron Hearts and Dragon Magic

Why was her father so stubborn? There could be some allies among the other kingdoms. With allies, they could find a solution, find a way to push back Ironhold. Perhaps meeting them in person would give them this chance. The issue was that they would be right under the enemy’s roof, an enemy who had tried to kill Fel and had just attacked Umbraar. Naia had no doubt Ironhold was the enemy. The question was: what could she do about it?

4

Flying Forward

Fly forward, into the unknown.It was the only thought that made sense.

Flying.

Fel was flying, and it wasn’t just a trick of using iron rings stitched to a vest, it was the power of his wings beating, those huge, powerful wings that felt strange and familiar at the same time. Those wings that made him float in the air as if it was water, and yet without resistance preventing him from moving forward, he gained speed quickly. The ocean below passed by in a dash, a blur. Speed, power, and freedom. Everything so new, exhilarating, while scary at the same time.

Despite all his fascination with stories and myths, he hadn’t paid that much attention to dragons. And then, perhaps even if he had read all he could, it would still not compare to the experience of being one, the experience of flying. He didn’t know how to make sense of any of this, didn’t know if he would be able to turn back to his human form, didn’t know how to use his powers. As a dragon, he couldn’t even sense the traces of metal on earth, which was like losing a sense of smell, losing part of who he was.

His heart felt the same as his human heart, pulsing inside him, even if it was probably some ten times bigger now. It tightened as he thought about his sister, his father, his kingdom, everything happening back in Aluria. And yet, more than ever, he felt he needed help if he was to defeat whatever evil had taken hold of his homeland. And amidst his worries, the most painful of all: Leah. Leah who had disappeared, gone who knows where.

Fel had no way to reach her, to find her, and perhaps that was also why he kept going: he had no clear path back. He couldn’t simply return to Umbraar and take his place as a prince. He wouldn’t fit in an advisory room and would definitely not be able to show up in a gathering. He wouldn’t even fit in his bedroom, and had no way to enter his house. A chuckle escaped him, which was in fact a loud roar, at the ridiculous images he had just conjured. But it was true, he had to find a way to become human again, and then, only then, would he be able to help his kingdom achieve victory.

The sun was high up in the sky, all signs of that dreadful storm gone. Ahead of him, still at some distance, stood the mysterious Fernick continent. In a couple of hours, he would approach a place that had been lost to Aluria, that had been out of reach throughout all his life. Even when there had been boats going there, they took more than two days. Fel would breach that distance in a few hours. It wasn’t tiring. If anything, being in this form felt invigorating.

A group of islands dotted the ocean ahead of him, like a sign that he was approaching firm land, that he was arriving. Fel decided to fly lower. Even though he was not tired yet, perhaps it would be wise to get some rest, and then wait for nightfall so that he would approach Fernick under its cover. Would the night even conceal his brilliant scales? Perhaps his body would reflect the moonlight and be even more visible than during the day—but perhaps he could fly really high.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, he relaxed his wings, soaring into the air. No movement, just floating in a slightly downward motion. The ocean and the islands got closer and closer. They were somewhat larger than the island he had landed with Leah, but the biggest difference was the greenery. Even small as they were, the islands were covered by patches of trees. Tiny forests in the middle of the ocean. Fel wondered if maybe they would have fresh water, even if he wasn’t feeling thirsty—which was incredible and a testament to his new strength and resilience.

As he flew low enough to distinguish individual trees, a sight surprised him. At first he thought it was a large, yellow bird approaching the island. Not just one bird; three, two of them yellow and one of them red. But there was a different energy coming from them, something…

Something chilled him, despite the heat and fire inside him. They were dragons.

Dragons.

That was the reason he was coming to Fernick, that was what he was after, and yet, instead of joy or excitement, all he felt was dread. Perhaps he hadn’t considered what would happen when he finally met others like him. Perhaps he hadn’t really thought he would find them. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he couldn’t shake that uncomfortable feeling.

They were beautiful. One of the yellow dragons was brilliant like him, making him look almost golden when reflecting the sun. The other yellow dragon had dim scales, which made him look very yellow, as if the color had been painted on it. The red dragon was gorgeous, with slightly brilliant scales, which were darker near his belly and face. Their wings were bat-like.

From a distance, Fel wasn’t sure how big they would be, but they had to be at least the same size as him. Dragons. Real dragons. Creatures he had once believed were only legends. A lot of his beliefs had changed recently, when he’d seen the impossible become possible, the nonexistent brought to life, the dead reawakened. Then he himself had become a dragon. That was the easiest part to accept; he felt like himself. But now he was dreading this meeting.

“Who are you?” He tried to send the thought in the same way he had done with Leah and Arry, but wasn’t sure he would be able to reach them. “I come in peace,” he said. “And wish no harm.” Not that he thought they would be afraid of him, outnumbered as he was, but still.

And yet, he felt a threat of violence hanging in the air, something about to break out. The fire in him was begging to be released, that strange magical furnace inside him burning hot. And yet would fire even harm other dragons? Not that he wanted to harm anyone. And not that he stood a chance.

Fel was about to try to send a thought again, when a blast of fire came in his direction, from the dim yellow dragon. He managed to dodge it, but another blast came from one of the other dragons, and Fel eventually found himself facing a third blast, expertly sent to where he had last dodged. He was engulfed in fire for a brief moment. His first feeling was relief when he felt no burning sensation, no stinging, and yet if the blast did nothing, why were they sending it towards him? No, it did something. For a moment he felt difficulty beating his wings, but he spread them and was able to glide.

“I come in peace,” he tried to send them this thought again, now wondering if their thoughts were language-based. He should try to say something in Fernian, except that he was terrible at that language in normal circumstances, and unlikely to be able to string a single sentence when in dragon form and under this strange attack. Unless it wasn’t an attack and it was a way of greeting.

That was not what he felt like, and one thing Fel had learned to trust was his gut. He wasn’t used to flying and much less to maneuvering, but he dove fast towards the ocean, figuring that being near the water could perhaps help him. He sensed rather than saw blasts of fire coming in his direction. Shrinking his wings, he breached the surface of the water and got immersed in it. It was much like diving in human form, in which he had to hold his breath. The water on his skin felt cold and strange. He turned, still under water, gathered his fire, then re-emerged and sent a blast towards the red dragon.

Fel only had time to see it retreating, unburned, and then dove again. He had to have lungs, which were running out of air, much like it would feel in human form. When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he re-emerged and sent a blast of fire that missed one dragon, but then two blasts hit him at the same time. Still no burn, no pain. At that moment, another blast hit him, and suddenly he couldn’t move his wings. The fall was short, since he’d been so close to the water.

Fel opened his wings and realized they could help him float in those turbulent waves. He was convinced that these dragons were not friendly, but was unsure what to do, unsure how to counter their incoming blasts. Even if he shot back, they had the numbers, especially now that the first dragon was returning for the fight. He was unsure what those blasts could do, but decided to take a deep breath and dive again, just to give him some time, just so he could recollect his thoughts and figure out what to do.

A movement underwater caught his eye. One of the dragons? No, it was still far away, and the skin was blue. Right. Fel had forgotten about the sea-serpents.

* * *

Strange.Seeing this place didn’t hurt half as much as Azir had imagined. That fallen castle felt like a different world, something belonging to another reality. In a way, it did—it belonged to a past long gone.

He was in the safe, with strong reinforced walls which had indeed survived the disaster. Strange to see anything standing in a place where death still felt so fresh, so near, where the echo of thousands of screams still laced the air with horror.

And yet this was a treasure; magical objects and books about deathbringing. For now, all he took was a small object—a lamp that didn’t need fire. It was just a clear stone, still with rough edges, and had a short, thin copper wand with a sort of claw holding it. Lightshield it was called, and said to be as old as time, wrought by the ancient dragon mages. Azir didn’t really care who had made it. All he cared was whether this object would allow him to walk in the hollow unharmed. More specifically, he hoped it would keep the deatheyes away.

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