CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MELODY REEVES
Watching Cylo battle his brother, Greia, the massive dragon was frightening. I thought that Cylo would not live. I stuck my head out of the cave little by little until I found myself hiding in the thick brush behind the rocks. I watched as blow after blow, the hybrid and the dragon fought. I thought I was going to lose the father of my unborn child to the beast. It was a heart-stopping thing to witness. So when Cylo emerged the victor, I could not help but to run to him. I was so happy that he was alive.
Now I sat in the palace. I was in the king’s chambers waiting for my love to return to me. I did not like being simply with the guards outside the door when no one was sure if this war was really over or not. It was a very strange thing to not know what was going on after such an epic battle. Finally, there was some noise outside the door.
“Cylo, are you finally back? I’m tired of waiting here,” I said. But he did not answer. Boom! The room trembled. I knew that feeling. A chill went up my spine. I had felt that feeling once before. I felt it when Greia had landed on the bridge in dragon form to torment me. I should have known then just how evil he was. Who in their right mind would do that? But right now I felt the same vibrations that I felt on that bridge. I turned to the veranda. There was a large, red dragon standing there. I screamed. But no one came. There were no guards outside my door anymore. Then something happened that I was not expecting.
“You, you human female. You should be dead. We shot you down, you and your prince,” the dragon roared the words at me. I did not know that the full dragons could speak, but this one could. It looked different than the others too. It looked more prehistoric, with horns on the top of its head and spiny ridges going down the creature’s back. It was ferocious looking.
“What? Who are you? Why are you here?” I asked.
“I am called Veiras,” he roared. I was shaking at this point. Then he continued, “I am here, looking for your king. I am here to kill him. It was the perfect plan. I’ve even taken care of the guards outside. No one would be able to come help him, and he would be forced to fight me. But since he is not here, you will do.”
My eyes widened, and I ran off to the side of the room. I was so scared and looking for cover but how could I hide? I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I looked back at the dragon. The belly of the beast was growing a warm yellow color and then white. I knew what was coming. I banged on the door, “Help! Help me!” I screamed. But there was no one there to help me. Then the dragon opened its mouth to shoot flames at me. I closed my eyes waiting for my burning fate to arrive.
WHOOSH! I felt the wind hit me, but it was not hot wind. The squealing roar of pain hit the air. I opened my eyes to see a massive blue dragon standing between the fire and I. It was being burned. I was in complete shock. It squirmed and cried out in pain, but it took the flame. I ran to the side of the room outside of the target of the flame. The blue dragon screamed and charged straight to the flame and rammed the red dragon. The red dragon screamed, and they both toppled off the edge of the chambers into the dark of the night. I ran to the rail. I saw the blue dragon on top of the red dragon just as the red dragon hit the ground.
“Noooo!” Cylo shouted as he ran to my side. I could barely see what was happening, but I could see that the red dragon and blue dragon had transformed back into the their male Draqua forms.
“Are they?” I asked.
“Dead. That is what happens when a full dragon dies. It shifts automatically back to human-like form,” he said. He was completely distraught, and tears were beginning to roll down his face.
“Cylo, what is it?” I asked.
“The blue dragon, that is my father,” he said.
“No. No, no,” I said. I couldn’t believe it. The king was dead. Cylo was in despair. This was the worst night on Kelon in history, and it was my first night returning. I felt so much guilt that Cylo was off getting me on Earth instead of being here. Perhaps he could have prevented it if he had stayed.
“He saved me. Your father saved me,” I said.
“What? What happened?” Cylo asked.
“I was here, just where you left me, and the red dragon landed on the outside. He said his name is Veiras then he said he was searching for the king to kill him. Since the king was not here, he said I would do. He shot fire at me, and I closed my eyes, expecting to die. But then it did not happen. I looked up to see the blue dragon standing in the way of the fire, protecting me from it. Then the blue dragon rammed the red dragon over the rail,” I said.
Cylo smiled. He was suddenly better as he said, “That sounds like my father. I would have done the same for you. He was doing it for you and our child. He died protecting the future of this house,” he said.
“I am so sorry, Cylo,” I said.
“I am too. I have lost my brother and my father. This is unlike any pain I have ever felt,” he said.
“Come, let’s go down. I cannot leave you again. You will remain at my side. The battle is over, but the opposition still has secret support, and its assassins like Veiras,” he said as he picked me up into his arms. He spread his wings wide, and we flew down to his father.
It was a sad night, and no one got any sleep with so much work to be done and so much melancholy around. It was a night that I was glad to be at Cylo’s side. He was showing such bravery, and he was keeping the order of the village, and watching him do it was breathtaking. But I also knew that being at his side during his time of need was helping him as well. It was a tough night to get through. “I am glad you are here at my side. I need you. I need your strength, Melody,” Cylo whispered to me throughout the night as he dealt with blow after blow of the aftermath of the battle and the death of the king. It was good to hear it from him. I wanted to be there for him, and I knew that we could get through this together; we had to for our unborn child. But as much as I understood his position as prince, nothing prepared me for the next morning.
“With this sunrise on this new day, we crown Cylo Hydros the new king of Kelon!” the advisor shouted as I watched him place a gold crown with shells on it onto Cylo’s head. My lover and alien dragon shifter warrior was now the king. It was a lot to take in. He raised his fist in the air, and the entire village gathered on the beach saluted him. It was a very powerful moment, and I looked at Cylo with new eyes. He was brave, strong, and he was going to be a damn good king. His heart was in the right place. I had to admit that watching him get crowned was a big turn on and I could not be more excited to see what great things he would do with his crown’s power.