Page 22 of Iron Hearts and Dragon Magic

“And you’ll receive me. At your… Royal Fort.”

“We have simple accommodations, not even a meeting room fit for a king, and we’re all busy—”

He raised an eyebrow. “Am I allowed to come?”

“Of course. If you don’t mind no special security, and no luxury.”

“I care not for these things. All I care about is my kingdom, my people, and all the people in Aluria. This is a serious matter. I’ll reach the portal hub later today, before the sun sets. Hopefully my passage will be authorized.”

“It will.”

He nodded. “See you later, then, Princess Irinaia.”

“Yes. I’ll sever the connection for now.”

Naia got up. Great. One more thing to worry about. Now she needed to send a messenger to the portal hub in Umbraar to allow the Wolfmark king’s passage. She had been honest claiming that she couldn’t send a retinue, and she wasn’t going to send it and weaken her defenses.

On the other hand, this was an opportunity to discuss things that could not be said through a communication mirror. Didn’t Naia need allies? She should be happy. Her father would definitely want to strangle her now, being friendly with King Sebastian. At least she had already been disowned, so he wouldn’t be able to do that again. Her father, perhaps not real father, but it didn’t matter. Even if he was angry at her, she wished he were here, wished she could be sure he was alive. Hopefully he would come home soon. So much worry in her heart. If it kept like that, it would explode.

* * *

How long couldFel stay underwater? Not long. Was that sea serpent going to attack him? Strangely, he didn’t think so, didn’t fear it.

There were three dragons flying above him, while he was only one. It wasn’t that huge of a numeric advantage, but it was a gigantic advantage when Fel didn’t understand his body, his magic, or even how to fly and dodge properly. He didn’t even know exactly what a blast of fire could do to another dragon, only felt that it wasn’t anything good.

His lungs were demanding air. He had to emerge—but he had to do it right this time. Fel poked his head out of the water. Immediately, two of the dragons prepared to blast him. He timed it, then dove again. The fire hit the water, and Fel came out right away to blast both dragons.

They fell back, but then Fel was hit with a blast of fire from the third dragon. He submerged again, trying to think. In the distance, he saw a dark blue body under water. Another sea serpent. He didn’t feel any malice or threat coming from it, but rather a kinship with the gigantic animal. When he had to get some air again, he emerged, then flew up as fast as he could, dodging one blast of fire and still receiving two. He blasted two of the dragons but missed one, then felt his wings getting weak and went underwater again. This time, he was going down, unsure even if he was going to be able to get out. Why were these dragons doing this? Who were they? He wasn’t going to last long like this, and perhaps his underwater incursions would make him drown, which was a terrible idea, but he was unable to come to the surface, his body feeling numb and useless.

A sea serpent approached him, swimming under Fel, then raising him. Its force helped him meet the surface. He was able to breathe, but unable to take flight. The dragons had disappeared, though, which was a welcome respite. Perhaps he would need to land on one of the islands and rest, recover his forces—if only he could move. Of course his rest didn’t take long. Soon he saw those three dragons coming from an island.

“I mean no harm,” he tried to send that thought to them, unsure if they would hear or understand him.

All he felt was rage coming from them. And some mockery, maybe. Fel could hardly move, but he had to try something. With difficulty, he took flight and watched as the dragons approached. Perhaps he was only one, perhaps he didn’t even know what being a dragon was like, but he wasn’t going down without a fight.

As much as his wings were beating slowly, he tried to feel his heat burning, and sent the largest blast of fire he could manage, targeting two of the dragons, which were flying close together. The shiny yellow dragon, which was far away, hushed towards him, sending a huge blast of fire, which Fel met with his own. His wings lost force and Fel dropped into the ocean again. He had no option but to dive. These dragons hadn’t targeted him underwater yet, and that was the only way for him to find some safety. Perhaps another sea serpent would be kind enough to help him.

Like that, he let himself fall, fall, fall, deep underwater. Soon he would need to breathe, but not yet. He took the time to rest, to try to regain his strength, regain his movements. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he emerged.

To his surprise, the dragons weren’t waiting for him, but flying in a different direction.

It wasn’t good news, though.

Two more dragons were coming. Now he was definitely regretting having flown to Fernick on his own. At least Leah had gone away. Leah. He couldn’t die and leave her. Fel thought of his sister, his father, his kingdom. He couldn’t simply die because of such a stupid decision. The question was how to survive against five dragons.

Perhaps he could use the distraction to fly away—that if his wings worked properly. He had no idea what those blasts of fire did, but felt that they impacted his movements, perhaps even his reflexes.

Even then, slowly, Fel took flight.

He was going to turn around and try to find cover on one of the islands, when a sight made him change his mind.

The newcomers, a black and a gray dragon, were fighting the dragons who had been attacking Fel. They were on his side! Or maybe not. Maybe it was a squabble that had nothing to do with him.

Then he heard a female voice resonating in his head. “Fly away while we distract them.”

That was the gray dragon. She was on his side, and Fel wasn’t going to let her and her companion face his enemies on their own. They were dodging blasts of fire, when Fel approached the colorful dragons and blasted the shiny yellow one, while the two new dragons blasted the others.

The colorful dragons fell into the ocean. Fel thought that this was the end, but then the newcomers flew towards the colorful dragons, who were now unconscious or very slow. The gray dragon bit the red dragon’s neck. Dark red blood mixed with the water, making it pink. The other dragon bit the two others. It was a bloody and gruesome spectacle, as the dragons who had attacked Fel plunged into the bloody waters.

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