ā...Weāre not done, Jisel.ā
She saw the other womanās expression fall, very quickly, from shock to absolute terror. Jisel grabbed her dragonās head, and pulled it to fly away as fast as it could and away from her. Cessilia glared at the fleeing figure of the Red Dragon, but first, she got down on her knees, putting her hands on the Silver Dragonās head.
ā...I missed you so much, Cece,ā she muttered in a cry. āThank you for coming back...ā
Her dragon answered with that unique, metallic scream unlike any other dragon. Cece wasnāt like any other dragon anymore, and the Silver Dragon was absolutely magnificent. Its scales were like thousands of perfectly shaped jewels on its body, shimmering everytime the light hit them. They were incredibly cold too, perhaps because Cece had emerged from the sea, and they looked almost like ice gems under her fingers. Her dragon was three times bigger than Cessilia remembered, and its wings too, were effortlessly flapping in the sky, grand and capable of keeping the large body flying without a problem. Cece was effortlessly hanging in the sky like a silver cross visible from all sides of the Capital. To Cessilia, though, nothing mattered more than those gorgeous ruby eyes, staring right back at her. It was as if they had parted just yesterday. Despite the new, grand appearance, it was still her Cece underneath, her dragon which she felt more connected to than ever.
From where she stood, it was difficult to spot, but Cessilia did notice the large, burgundy mark on her dragonās throat. It was one perfect line, almost like a collar, but to her, it had a terrible significance. As if, even if she had retrieved her dragon, this scar was to stay as a reminder never to make the same mistake again. Cessilia sighed. She had no idea why Cece had come back so different, but she could feel their bond stronger than before. Her dragon was stronger than before. Like the Sea Dragon God of the legend, the Silver Dragon was flying above the sea with shining scales and an imposing presence. Cessilia could almost feel the power in each movement, and she could feel, deep inside, Ceceās strength adding to hers. They were one, once again. Her dragon flapped its gorgeous wings, taking a more horizontal position, and she sat on its nape.
It didnāt take long to find Jinn; the Red Dragonās figure was standing out against the dark gray and blue background of the raging sea and thundering storm above them. Cece let out another unique high-pitched growl, and jumped down in that direction. Either Jinn felt the other dragon coming or was trying to flee anyway, but both dragons accelerated, and the hunt quickly began in the sky.
It was a furious race against one another. Cessilia had to hang on to her dragon or, at the speed Cece was going, sheād be violently thrown off. Still, she kept both eyes open and fixed right ahead at Jisel and her Red Dragon. Unlike them, the connection between those two was obviously off. In fact, whenever Cece got close enough, Cessilia could hear Jiselās furious screams, and see the fear in Jinnās eyes. The Red Dragon was just terrified. Cece was much, much bigger and in a predatory position too. Claws out, if the Silver Dragon got close enough, no doubt blood would soon flow. As young of a dragon as Jinn was, its goal was most likely to survive and protect Jisel too. Sadly, that woman looked beyond mad now. Something seemed to have snapped in her, enough for her to curse at her dragon that was fleeing this fight. Either she truly believed they had a chance, or she just refused to back down, she was just vociferating at Cessilia and Cece, shouting for Jinn to turn around and fight. That wouldnāt happen as long as the Red Dragon was in its right mind.
āGet them, Cece.ā
Her dragon let out another long scream in the sky and accelerated again.
The two water dragonsā bodies seemed to be dancing in the sky now, their wings flapping at a quick speed to try and hunt or flee the other. They didnāt hesitate to dash through the thick, humid clouds, or fly low to the Capitalās rocks. It was a terrifying game of hunt, or even hide-and-seek. Every time Jinn tried to find a place to hide, to cover itself, Cece would inevitably appear, with those ruby eyes glowing in anger. The Silver Dragon was now mimicking its mistressā wrath, and just wouldnāt stop until it got its prey. The two of them flew in between the bridges, and even dived into the sea. Perhaps Jinn had hoped to swim faster than Cece, but it turned out to be another mistake. In fact, with its wings closed and its body slithering quickly, Cessiliaās dragon was even faster as a swimmer. The raging waves were no problem, and the dragons brutally clashed for the first time underwater.
The impact was violent. Cessilia had just enough time to take a deep breath in, and when her dragon suddenly attacked Jinn, she almost breathed it out from the sudden impact. A thick trail of blood appeared in the water. Cece was like a snake, trying to use that long silver body to corner Jinn and find the first opportunity to violently bite. The Red Dragon growled furiously and fought back, unwilling to admit defeat. The violent exchange ensued for several seconds but soon, Jinn somehow managed to get away, and Cece swam back to the surface so Cessilia could breathe.
When they breached the surface, the Princess took a deep breath in, grateful. Holding her breath so long underwater sure was different when she had to hold on to a rowdy dragon at the same time... She pushed her hair back, suddenly remembering it was half-cut.
āLetās go up,ā she said.
Cece immediately obeyed and flew up again, away from the waves. Jinn wasnāt in sight anymore, but the duo couldnāt have gone far. All their surroundings were in view, and Cessilia suspected they had found a temporary hideout. Pulling on her dragon to direct its movements, she got Cece to fly above the rest of the Capital. She looked for her allies at the same time as they searched for Jinn. She spotted the two distinct battlefields and, a bit more worrying, the numerous fires that were spreading across the Capital. Ashenās home was bleeding out... Luckily, it looked like the situation was tilting to their side. Downtown, a large but ravaged battlefield was clearly more dominated by the locals than the Yekara colors. Cessilia even recognized her brothers, and Tessandra, all three of them absorbed in their fighting, but still raising their heads when they saw her or heard Cece. She was too high to see their expressions, but she was glad they all seemed fine... Moreover, her dragon was still focused on its prey, and barely glanced down toward the humans fighting below. With another impatient and irritated growl, Cece did a new loop around the Capital. Feeling her dragonās impatience, Cessilia was looking all around too. It was quite nerve-wracking. The difference in size between the two dragons was huge, but if Jinn found a way to hide, this hunt could potentially last a while, and that was the opposite of what Cessilia wanted. She wanted to end this fight soon and return to Ashenās side to check on him. That whole battle against Jisel had lasted too long already.
Suddenly, a furious growl came from behind and above them. Cessilia felt the sudden wind blowing from behind, and turned around just in time to see Jinn jumping on them, all claws out.
Cece didnāt have time to turn around, but Cessilia did. Without hesitation, she grabbed her smaller blade and plunged it into the Red Dragonās incoming paw, impaling it to the hilt. Jinn let out a furious growl of pain, but not without managing to scratch Cece with its other paw. However, the Silver Dragon wouldnāt have it. Furious, Cece turned around and violently bit back, its fangs crushing Jinnās front paw in one bite.
āMy dragon!ā shouted Jisel, furious.
āIf youāre sorry for him, come and fight yourself!ā retorted Cessilia.
She pulled back the blade, the only weapon she had left, and violently kicked the Red Dragonās snout before it could even think of trying to bite her. Jinn growled and tried to retreat, but Cece wouldnāt let go of its limb. Dragon blood suddenly rained down as the two intertwined dragons battled one another furiously, one trying to get away, the other refusing to let go. It had become a chaotic mess of scales and blood flying, ferocious growls and dragon screams. Cessilia tried to run down the dragonās back to get to Jisel, but everytime she moved, the two dragons changed positions again, making her lose her balance. She could only hold on to Cece every time, or risk being thrown off. Jisel, on the other hand, had barely moved, if not to retreat away from Ceceās fangs now digging into her poor dragonās shoulder. By now, it had bitten down on more than enough of the Red Dragonās flesh, and they could hear the sounds of bones being crushed under the pressure. Cessilia couldnāt help but feel a bit sorry for Jinnās suffering.
āCece!ā she shouted.
Her dragon grunted, and brutally ripped off that foreleg. Cece spat it out while the injured Jinn was retreating, completely terrified, its limbless shoulder pouring thick dragon blood into the river. Cece let out another long scream, and flew back to face Jinn, showing off its still blood-stained fangs.
āGet the hell down from that dragon, Jisel,ā Cessilia said, āor Iāll have to kill him too.ā
Jiselās horrified eyes were on the dragonās injury. If she felt sorry for Jinn, she also looked more worried for herself, and how her dragon looked like it wouldnāt be able to defend her for much longer.
āYou wish!ā she screamed. āThis dragon is mine! Heās mine and he will defend me even if he has to die doing it! Thatās the only thing heās worthy of! Thatās the only reason I kept him!ā
Cessilia glared at her. She could see Jiselās survival instincts building up in a horrible manner. That was the look of a woman absolutely terrified by the mere idea of her death. She wouldnāt give up, ever. The only way of life she knew was to survive, at absolutely any cost. She would lie, run, hide, cheat all she could rather than give up or die. Even if she had to sacrifice a loyal dragon in the process. Cessilia took a deep breath, and slowly, put her open palm against Ceceās cold body. She could feel all of her dragonās emotions like her own... Impatience, frustration, stubbornness, resolve. The rage built up from the adrenaline of the fight. Anger, and that strong desire to protect Cessilia too. The disgust of the taste of dragon blood... Cece was sick of this fight too.
ā...We need to separate those two,ā muttered Cessilia.
Her dragon growled in agreement. Cece was mad at that brat that refused to submit and kept running away. Dragons werenāt meant to run away or avoid fights. If it knew it were the weaker one, it should have simply conceded defeat, and this would have all been over. This whole chasing and hunting of a peer was annoying, frustrating. Moreover, the dragon and its mistressā anger were directed at the same person: that mad woman on the Red Dragonās back. Cece was mirroring Cessiliaās anger toward her, and her conflicted feelings toward the unfortunate Red Dragon. The pair understood each other perfectly with just a few words and a touch.
Jisel then proceeded to have Jinn turn around and fly away again. Of course, the Red Dragon was trying to get as far away from Cece as possible and delay its inevitable demise. Cece didnāt start the chase right away, but instead let out another long scream, and took some height above the fleeing Red Dragon. Jinn was considerably slowed down by the terrible injury. Its flying didnāt look as precise as before, almost as if it was on the verge of collapse. It was flying lower and lower and, at the right moment, Cece dove. The Silver Dragon came down from the sky like another lightning bolt, and the hit was just as brutal. Cessilia had to stick to her dragonās back for the impact, and even like this, she was brutally ejected. Luckily, her body landed on the sand, right below them. Irony had it that they were back on the beach where she and her brothers had let Jisel live once before. The tide had already washed away all traces of the previous fight, and the sand was wet under their feet. Cessilia felt the waves caress her ankles as she quickly jumped back on her feet.
She heard the screams of two dragons fighting, and the waves of sand violently thrown in all directions. The fight was incredibly brutal, with their bodies rolling in the sand, silver and red scales mixed at such a speed, she could barely see who was on top. From her dragonās angry growls, Cessilia could tell hers was mad and frustrated, but not in pain. Jinn was desperately trying to survive the attacks, and Cece was trying not to kill. It was absolute chaos, but in the midst of this, there was no way Jisel was still on her dragonās back. Cessilia looked around and spotted her on all fours in the sand, yards away from her, almost on the other end of the beach. She must have been hurt from the fall, seeing how that woman struggled to get back up. As soon as her eyes met Cessiliaās, though, she found the strength to stand up again and run. This time, she couldnāt fly away, and she was cornered on the beach. Only the distance and the two dragons fighting between them kept Cessilia away from her.
ā...Ah,ā Cessilia heard her laugh. āYouāre too weak, Princess! Too weak to kill another dragon, arenāt you?! Look! Jinn will fight for me to the end, and youāll let him kill your dragon because youāre so weak!ā
ā...No,ā Cessilia muttered. āNot again.ā
She turned her green gaze to the two dragons. As if they had heard the two women, the two of them separated, still furiously growling at each other, but putting a bit of a distance between one another. Even if they didnāt finish, Cece was the clear winner. The Silver Dragon only had a few bite marks bleeding on random spots of its body, and a slight limp in its rear paw, but that was it. Jinn, on the other end, was in a pitiful state. On top of its ripped off limb, the Red Dragon was also now missing a large portion of its left wing and eye, and had deep lacerations all over. The red of its blood was transforming its scales into a darker red shade, and staining the sand beneath. Upon seeing Cece retreat, it kept growling, slowly retreating toward Jisel with a defensive stance.
Meanwhile, Ceceās silver body curled up around Cessilia, still letting out furious warning growls right back at Jinn. However, the Silver Water Dragon was obediently standing behind its mistress, leaving her the space to walk up closer to Jinn. The Red Dragon didnāt seem much more enthusiastic to face the woman. It kept retreating, looking like it didnāt know which one of the pair to growl at.
Cessilia kept marching toward the dragon, a bit exhausted by all the fighting, her arms sore from hanging on to Cece so tightly, but incredibly calm and composed. In fact, her glowing green eyes were somewhat scaring Jinn more than her dragon counterpart. The closer she came, the more the Red Dragon felt the need to retreat and growl. It was obvious its goal was still to protect Jisel somehow, but fear was dominating in its eyes.
āThat woman doesnāt deserve to have a dragon,ā Cessilia muttered, addressing the dragon itself.
āYou donāt decide that!ā shouted Jisel. āThis dragon only survived thanks to me! Iām the reason Jinn is alive, and he has to protect me, like my brother should have! Heāll die for me if he has to!ā
āNo,ā Cessilia muttered.
She walked even closer, and this time, Jinnās growling turned more serious, the dragon taking a step toward her, getting ready to fight her again if needed. Behind Cessilia, Cece kept growling in warning too, but the Silver Dragon didnāt move to defend its mistress.
Cessilia suddenly got within range, and Jinn attacked. The Red Dragon jumped on her, its claws missing her by a bit as she jumped to the side. With one of its legs missing, its landing completely failed, and it rolled on its injured shoulder, making the dragon scream in pain.
ā...No dragon should have to die for its owner.ā
Suddenly, Cessilia stood back up, and took a deep breath in. Jinn tried to jump back on its feet, fangs out and ready to bite, but before it did, Cessilia suddenly blew out a gigantic blast of snow and ice.
The Red Dragon was violently swept back, its body hitting the external wall of the cave, and it stopped there, lying on the ground. Cessilia slowly turned to a speechless Jisel and, in an attempt to protect its owner once more, Jinn pitifully tried to stand up. Thatās when Cece jumped in, and just like Cessilia, suddenly blew an impressive amount of snow and ice on the Red Dragon. Except, it was much bigger and more powerful, and soon, most of Jinnās body was trapped in large blocks of ice.
Meanwhile, Cessilia took out her dagger and calmly approached Jisel, who was still stunned, her eyes on her dragon. She shook her head frantically, and fell back, not even trying to run.
āTh-that canāt be,ā she muttered, sobbing. āThatās not a water d-dragon. It canāt be... a... a...ā
ā...An Ice Dragon.ā
Chapter 29
Jiselās expression changed to one of pure fear. Whatever was going on, she couldnāt accept it. She wasnāt ready for that. Her eyes went back to Cessilia, suddenly switching to anger.
ā...Heāll betray you too,ā she hissed. āYou canāt trust men. They will always find a younger, prettier woman to chase instead of you. Just you wait. Heāll throw you away!ā
āIām not scared of Ashen changing his mind,ā Cessilia retorted calmly. āEven if he betrays me, Iāll take it, and move on. Youāre the one who thinks we canāt advance without a man in this world. But youāre wrong. Iāve learned my lesson already. With or without a man by my side, Iāll be fine.ā