Chapter 47: Flames and Fury

[Ona].

If the guards and nurses hadn't woken us when they did, we might never have opened our eyes again. The smoke is so thick that I can barely make out the edges of Orion's face as he shakes us, a youngling in each of his arms as they all cough, gasping for air. Everyone is rushing around, making sure that the medicine is safe, and that all of the little ones are safe in arms.

"Count them all!" I choke as I help Daax stand. "Make sure we have all eight babies!"

"Yes my Queen," one of our family guards shouts into the smoky room. With a distraction this big, we want to make sure none of them go missing. This would be the perfect opportunity for the queen to make one or more of them disappear.

For all we know, that was the whole point of this fire. The Queen hasn't asked for them in weeks now, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't still want one. I still don't know why she'd want one of Primus' babies, and I don't care. I just know that I will not sacrifice even one scale off of one of my nieces or nephews' bodies for anything she might have planned.

Queen Eleanora cannot be trusted. Nor can anyone who serves her. They will always put their own interests first, regardless of the consequences.

The heat of the fire warms our backs as we evacuate, moving away from the fire into the clean air around the other side of the castle, near the forest and Primus' grave.

Unfortunately, Primus isn't awake, and the guards we had during my father’s reign, a group of the most elite fighters and defenders from all over the realm, have been replaced by an all-air dragon guard gathered exclusively from Queen Eleanora's landholding.

The problem with having such a uniform group of soldiers is that there aren't enough different skills for complex situations.

Like a massive fire.

With no trained earth dragons to smother the flames nor experienced water drakes to call the water from the air, managing a problem like this becomes impossible.

I can’t let this happen.

“Take care of the younglings,” I order my guards as I turn towards the fire. I have moved barely a few feet when I see Orion take to the air above me. As a storm dragon. He only needs a strong breeze and a willing cloud, and he can gather enough water to make it rain. I watch as, swirling high above the fire, my son calls the clouds to him.

I take to the land. I was born for this. I am a star fire dragon. I cannot burn.

Walking into the flames, as my garments reduce to ash, I am soon clothed in nothing more than my scales. Reaching out with my senses, I try to find the edges of the fire. It is expansive, bigger than I was expecting, stretching almost back to the treeline and starting to wrap around the castle, into the village below, following the path of the Starfire jasmine that was in full bloom at the beginning of the Faire. Now dry and fragile, it makes a perfect kindling to the flames as they lick their way into the shops and homes of the common folk downhill.

At the speed this fire is traveling, nothing will remain when this is done.

As I move towards the town, I do my best to temper the flames, to call them into myself to be absorbed, but there is just too much fuel to feed the flames. The longer it burns the hotter the fire becomes. If there were more fire dragons I might stand a chance, but alone, I'm just not powerful enough to put out the flames by myself.

Above me, Orion is calling the clouds. Unfortunately, the wind required to gather them is kicking up the edges of the fire, making it grow regardless of my best efforts.

Thankfully, we are not completely alone. Someone else is out there fighting with us.

From the center of the town another force, another element, is moving towards us. This single entity is pulling water from the ground, from the earth, from our sweat, and creating a ball of water big enough to protect themselves and those around them. I feel them moving through the fire, gathering survivors.

As the three of us work together as a team, something shifts around us and I feel the tiniest spark of hope.

From directly above me, the first drop of water hits my brow followed shortly after by another. Smiling I look up as gray clouds release fat drops of rain, which splatter on my face as it starts to douse the fire around us.

Grinning from ear to ear with pride in my son and our success, I look over my shoulder to see if I can find our group. I need to see that the babies are doing well and are no longer in danger. I need to know my loved ones are safe.

It only takes me a few moments to find them. Smiling, I wave to Daax.

But Daax isn't looking in my direction. I turn my head towards the direction of his gaze.

Descending from the high tower is the Queen's Aerial Guard. One by one they land near the edge of the fire, assembling in a perfectly synchronized line, their faces resolute and their purpose clear.

There is only one thing an air dragon can do in situations like this. They intend to kill the fire by stealing the air.

All of it.

Including the remaining air that survivors on the ground are still trying to breathe. The same air that our storm dragon is using to keep the clouds in place and spread the rain.

As they take their final positions, the captain of the guard stands front and center, his palm raised in the air.

His men wait patiently for him to give the signal.

"Wait!" I shout as I run out of the flames, forming armor around my body to cover my nakedness as I wave my arms and wings to get their attention. He sees me and pauses. Needing to get there before he changes his mind, I lift off the ground and with a solid leap, land a few feet in front of him.

"Stop, please!" I gasp, out of breath, the air already so thin from the fire. "Our efforts are working. Look up, don't you feel the rain? Ori is a storm drake. He knows what he's doing."

"Step aside, Mi'lady," the guard nudges me out of the way, ignoring my words.

Daax hands one of the younglings to a nearby guard and moves toward us, his lip curled into a snarl.

"There are people still on the ground," I try again to reason with him. "Stop this madness. If you take the air, you'll kill them all."

"We must protect the royal family at all costs," the guard states simply, his eyes hard and cold. "The royal heirs are all that matter. They cannot be replaced."

When I refuse to move out of his way, he pushes me down to give himself enough room to lift off the ground and hover above his men.

Angry, Daax leaps forward but is caught around the ankle by a rope with a cuff, not unlike the collars placed on prisoners to keep them human. Instantly his wings drop to his sides and he falls like a rock hitting the ground hard,

Standing before them, in a body that is essentially human, he guards me from their weapons while glaring at the knight, daring them to come closer.

Grinning down at us, the captain of the guard twists his wrist, signaling that the other air dragons begin the process of displacing the air, removing it from the valley where the village is full of innocents who are struggling to survive.

A terrible sound shakes us all where we stand. It isn't a scream but a collective gasp as everyone within the radius of the fire and the immediate surrounding areas, friend or foe, gasp as the air is ripped from their lungs.

Orion tries to counter the effects, holding onto as much air as he can, calling up more wind, and pushing it into the valley, keeping the people from suffocating.

But he is only one dragon. A young dragon less than 50 years old. Most of these dragons are more than thrice his age and are highly skilled soldiers trained in the full range of their abilities.

My son. My sweet, strong, kind-hearted son. He would save the world if he could.

As he loses the ability to breathe, Orion falls.

"Orion?" Kora is rushing from the center of the flames, her body wrapped in a bubble of water as a small group of dragons and humans hide within her sphere. She must have been the other force I felt, the one who had been saving as many people as she could.

This noble young drakaina watches in horror as her mate begins to fall from the air like a broken bird.

"ORION!!" she screams.

Kora reaches out with her water to catch him, but in doing so, lets her protective bubble go, dousing those within her sphere while also removing their protection from the fire and the dragons trying to put it out.

It wasn’t her intention to give them to the flames. She was simply reacting, trying to save her mate.

Gasping, they fall to their knees as the Queen's guard continues to remove all the breathable air.

I stand on shaking feet.

This needs to stop.

Just as I reach my hand up towards the captain of the guard, my focus on his wings, there is a flash of blue light.

Blinking, I see a sea of blue-lit faces move to stand next to as many people as they can, and in a blink disappear.

Looking back towards my family, I notice the babies are gone.