Aimee
She stared aghast as Rhyolite ran from the fight by disappearing into the ice. What could he be thinking? Obsidian had come to his rescue, only to be abandoned. Although the bronze dragon was larger, and likely older than Rhyolite from what she’d picked up, he was still no match for the Ice Dragon.
He was faring better, but even as he watched he was slowly pushed back, his initial surprise wearing off as the white dragon fought with a strength she found astonishing.
A spike of ice burst from one wall, piercing Obsidian’s side at an upward angle and emerging from his back. The bronze dragon howled in agony, bits and pieces of ice shaking loose to cover her in a deluge at the noise.
“Fools,” the white dragon hissed. “Did you really think you could challenge me? I am Glacius! I ruled the mountains for centuries before you came along. Now I will rule again!”
Aimee tried to melt into the ice, hiding from the evil emanating from the snow-colored dragon as it crashed over her in waves, making her sick to her stomach. She was going to either die, or be forced to stand at the side of this…thing, and the idea of that made her want to wail in despair.
Where was Rhyolite? Why had he left her when she needed him the most? He hadn’t fled…he couldn’t have. She didn’t think it was in his nature, but he was gone, the only thing left of him a gaping hole in the ice.
“Submit to me!” The yellow eyes flashed with madness as Obsidian was slammed to the ground under the weight of the ice, only his head and the tip of his tail visible.
She heard Obsidian utter something, though she couldn’t make out the words. Whatever it was caused the white dragon to fly into a frenzy, lashing out at the bronzed head until it was battered and bleeding.
“You will kneel before me!”
Aimee felt tears sting her cheeks as she witnessed the proud death of the bronze dragon. He deserved a witness, and she was going to be it.
From the hole where Rhyolite had disappeared a deep voice rose up, filling the crevice with its power.
“I kneel for no one but my mate!” it roared, and suddenly the ice shattered as black stone the color of purest midnight erupted out of the hole, carrying with it a silvery-platinum dragon.
She gasped as the rock sprouted horns that plunged deep into the ice surrounding Obsidian, shattering it.
“NO!” the white dragon shouted in horror, flinging everything it had at Rhyolite.
Aimee screamed in terror, but the rock shivered and a wall of it appeared in front of Rhyolite. The ice burst apart upon impact.
Closer to the white dragon Obsidian lunged up, adding his strength as he reached into the rock that had finally made its way to him, drawing upon the power of the earth as well.
Together the two dragons fought back, and she watched with growing exultation as the Ice Dragon tried to flee, only to find the ice around it growing black as it was infected with the stone from the Earthen Dragons.
“Yes!” she cried, pumping a fist as a tidal wave of liquid rock rolled out and over the Ice Dragon, encapsulating it in a globe of hardened rock that grew tighter, stretching over the form of the dragon until it looked like no more than a statue.
With a sigh the two dragons slumped over and the rock hardened into something so smooth she doubted there were any imperfections on its glossy surface. It seemed such a thin layer of rock, she was surprised it could hold a beast as powerful as the white dragon had seemed.
Rhyolite turned to look at her, and she smiled at him, offering up a weak wave.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice rumbling along the crevice until it reached her.
“I’m fine. Cuts, bruises, nothing major,” she reassured him. “How are you?”
The dragon was suddenly replaced by the man. He was on one knee, and she could see him breathing hard. The fight hadn’t lasted long, but it had clearly taken a lot out of Rhys. She climbed out of her little hiding place and started to walk toward him.
They needed to talk. There was so much she needed to tell him, including a rather profound apology for her kneejerk reaction to the revelation of his powers. Her cheeks stung as the myriad cuts on them reacted to her embarrassment. She’d never given him a chance to explain himself, instead chopping him off. It was easier to end things than hear the long drawn-out explanation that had been the hallmark of every man she’d ever dated.
Except Rhys wasn’t a man. He was a dragon, and she was learning they did things differently. If only he could give her a second chance, an opportunity to say she was sorry, and to start fresh. Aimee could prove she wasn’t cold to the core, that she was worth loving.
“Rhys,” she started to say as she approached, but he looked up sharply into the sky, then over at Obsidian.
“Yeah, I hear it too. We need to go.”
“What’s going on?” she asked, her earlier words forgotten at the concern in his eyes.
“Your friends are returning. They will be here soon. We need to go. They cannot see this.”
She nodded, understanding. “I understand.”
He cocked his head at her, then cupped both hands together, one over the other in front of him and closed his brilliant blue eyes. Aimee watched a glow emanate from between his fingers for a moment before it subsided. Then he offered her the contents.
“What is this?” she asked, picking up the stone. It was black, cool to the touch. Turning it over she saw it was imbued with a platinum dragon’s scale worked into the surface of it.
“When you’re ready to talk. If you’re ready to talk, simply grasp it tight, think of me, and say my name in your head. Now, move back to the end of the crevice there,” he said, pointing to where she’d stayed hidden.
Aimee did as she was told, trying to work up the courage to tell him not to go, but it was too late. He turned and as quickly as it had come, the rock started to settle back into the ice. The entire place shook as the ice cracked and caved in, filling the gaping whole in the floor and everything.
In less than thirty seconds it was devoid of any indication that the three behemoths had fought there, except for the spray of blood at the center. She was going up though, and nobody would see it.
Silence settled over her, and she waited as the sound of blades chopping through the air finally reached her own ears.
“Flow, this is Angel, do you read? Flow, this is Angel, do you read?” Brian’s voice came over her headset seconds later, music to her ears.
“This is Flow. Lighting the flare. I’m at the, I think, southern end. Get that line down here ASAP.”
She slammed the butt of the flare against the ice and held it up high, the brilliant red casting an eerie glow over the crevice.
The line appeared nearby and she jogged over to it, eager to put the experience behind her. As the harness snugged tight under her weight she felt something jabbing her in the side. Feeling the bulge with her fingers, she realized it was the stone Rhys had given her.
She licked her dry lips. The means to contact him was there in her right pocket. She could use it any time she wished. All that remained to be seen now was whether she would.