Chapter 287 CHAPTER 287

Chapter 287 CHAPTER 287
I noticed it before everyone else, the strange smell coming from the ground.

Then I looked down and realised they were all wearing face masks.

Shit.

"Cover your nose?" I screamed, but it was already late.

Zephyr's wings stopped beating and he began crashing to the ground.

I was about to freeze everything again when arrows began flying.

These bastards sure love their stupid arrows.

The King raised his hand and I watched in surprise as the first rows melted, pouring down.
I began coughing and couldn't stop, it was though I was being forced to shutdown form the inside.

I heard a crash and I realized I'd taken my mind off Florian and his dragon who, as I sharply turned, were crashing into a building filled with a full battalion.

"Stop!" I yelled, but not much stopped, I'd not put in enough power in it.

Several dragons were dropping from the sky behind me and I don't even know how mine aren't falling off.

"You have to give into it, Alira, I can't hold my breath any longer."

Zorath's voice was strained and I hated that I understood what he meant immediately.

This poison in the air was removing our most vital asset which is our dragons.

I could already see the soldiers fighting on the ground but there'll be less casualties if we fought on air, their dragons aren't as strong.

But to give myself completely to this power...
What if I don't get me back?

"I'll be your anchor," I suddenly heard Valyra and I turned sharply.

Her red form was standing on a lone black building far behind, away from everyone else.

Like she'd sensed this was going to happen and didn't want to get too close.

I coughed again, and I knew there was no option.

More arrows were being shot and His Majesty's hands kept waving, melting them.

I closed my eyes and shut out everything, sinking into myself for a higher power to reign.

It demanded my wishes and desires.

Win this war.

Save my men no matter the cost.

I don't know how, but I could feel myself becoming smaller, and instead of being filled with the power, or it exploding out of me, it became.. me.

I've been avoiding this for so long, fighting to hold onto myself and my mind, my core self.

But in war, to win your enemies, you might have to lose yourself.

I watched as the power taking my form took charge and there was almost no difference between us both.

But I knew who was ruling this body and it wasn't... Me.

I inhaled, deeply.

Like sucking in all the poison in the air at once.

My dragon took in a deep breath of clean air that made his stomach rumble so much before I prodded him to fly down a bit.

Then I singled out one of the soldiers and poured it on him and I watched as life drained from his eyes.

The power didn't pause, like my alter ego, this one was confident, decisive and there was no emotion involved.

There was a mission and it was going to deliver.

The dragons still in the air joined me and the Dragon King as we flew over them, pouring fire down.

They wore heat protectant armour but I wasn't pouring heat on them.

This is lava and with Valyra closer now, not involved in the fight, it was so easy dissecting their bodies from their bones.

This shifted the tide again and some of our people got back on their dragons and we were winning.

I'd not seen their King and that was who I am concerned about.

Take him out and all of this becomes a hunt, not a war.

But what sort of King doesn't even come out to defend his own people?

This is the capital city from what I could see, the silvery dome in the sky, the expanse green land that contrasted the dry ones surrounding it and the Palace in the centre.

There were soldiers everywhere, but dragons were not.

I don't know what is happening but I'm just hoping we can finish this in one day and head back.

Oh who am I kidding?
The fact that we've been having it a bit too easy scares me, because the book said our strengths are equally matched.
Although I'm the thing tipping the scales, I wonder if they have their own Alira.

The King had started pouring hailstones down from.. the thing air now that there were no more arrows coming at us and we kept the destruction moving.

I wished I could tell them to all move back so I could destroy this whole place at once but the soldiers and dragons on the ground will get affected.

So my dragon fight training had to be enough.

Besides, they're hardly resisting.

It was really odd.

We waded in further, until another mist began rising from the far end of the City.

It was white and then I watched as it shot out from another house.

And another.
And another, until every building remained standing was spotting the white smoke heading to the sky.

I looked up and watched it all collide and it scattered everywhere.

It hit my exposed hand first and I wanted to scream in pain as my flesh burned off in one peel.

But there was no time to dwell on that.

"Stay back everyone! Please tell them to move back, I don't want to – shit!" I groaned as it happened again.

Screams were coming from all around me as several people were hit, and it wasn't even healing.

Of course these bastards would create diseases like this.

I poured lava as I pushed my dragon further deep into the city and the King was back to shielding us but it wasn't some coordinated arrow attacks, it was like the 4th of July in here, the smoke clashing and firing in random directions.

I was happy to have given in completely to the power, cause I didn't stop to pay attention to the pain.

It was part of war, why wait on it?

The second I was far enough from everyone except my dragons and the King, I spread my hands.

There was no need to close my eyes anymore, the power was out there and I was.. inside.

Houses exploded left and right, my power breaking the sources of the smoke.

The King took the other side, using his powers to shut off the smoke sources.

When I could finally take a breather and see how much of my skin was on the ground, a rumble from the back of the city shook me.

The capital was built on top of something and I'm just realising it.

The first dragon that rose out from beyond it was bigger than Solvarion.

I watched through the power's indifferent observation, as others joined, flapping their wings slowly, ascending into the sky.

I don't think any of us breathed.

Until they opened their mouths and released air.

Poisoned air.

It felt like they were telling me, 'let's see you suck that in now' and it's like what's the point?

These dragons will spit them out again just as often as Zorath can breathe out fire.

On top of the largest one, sat the King of the Fae, and he was smiling at me.