|| Book One of the Dragonkind Duology ||
𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙛 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙩; 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣.
For years, dragonkind and humankind had been at war, alternating between short-lived truces and all out...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The two swordsmen knew it was a losing battle since they had begun to run, soldiers quickly closing in on them from all sides as they dodged and fought. But something in them told them to fight until their last breath. Something had changed. Power continued to spark in the air as the rain continued to pour. Iver managed to evaluate Argent's condition as they ran, and luckily the boy had no internal bleeding, but he did have to take into account broken and bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, and a jarred shoulder. Another line of soldiers had blocked their paths, and Noctifer valiantly fought, ignoring any cut he received while Iver could only dodge and kick anyone away with the boy still in his arms. Iver shouted in surprise when Argent suddenly shoved against him, freeing himself from the elf's hold and stumbling to the ground with a cry of pain. Yet there was pure determination in his eyes and he held out his hand, and lightning struck in the center of the line. Black scales had begun to crawl up the boy's arms and neck. Both Noctifer and Iver stumbled back in shock, unharmed, as the rest screamed and convulsed. Argent is a dragonkind, Iver fully realized, and each have their own affinity.
The boy had finally discovered his affinity: Storms. And what a truly devastating affinity it was.
A dark mist then engulfed the boy, too dark to see through, until the boy had disappeared from sight. It grew larger and larger, everyone stumbling back in fear of what was going on, and it grew until it nearly filled the space between the buildings, acting as a barrier between the soldiers and the swordsmen behind. The mist then cleared, Noctifer and Iver having to duck as a black tail swung over them, and before them stood a dragon with blazing silver eyes. The dragon—Argent—let out an ear-splitting roar that shook the ground and rattled the buildings as thunder and lightning crashed around them. It only took one swipe of the black dragon's claws for the soldiers to go flying back.
"Argent?!" Iver wasn't even sure the boy could hear him over the chaos but continued to try to get his attention as the dragon slowly began making his way back in the direction they had just run from. "Argent! Where are you going?!"
"What is he doing?" Noctifer demanded, pulling the elf behind him to cut down a soldier who somehow snuck around the dragon.
"I think—" Iver's mind was still reeling from everything that had happened. "I think he is trying to get back to Darin!"
Noctifer spat a few curses before joining the elf in his efforts to somehow stop the dragon. But how were they to do that? It was obvious Argent was protecting them, pushing the soldiers back with his claws or bolts, but Noctifer knew what the Order of Ordephus was capable of. They had tools and magic specifically designed to deal with a shifted dragonkind, and it appeared they had already begun to employ them. Argent stumbled back as an energy blast hit him in the chest, and he snapped his jaws in the direction of the magic, only to receive another to the face.
"We need to get him out of here," Noctifer hissed to Iver. "The Order is here, and they could be carrying—"
