Ablaze

Chapter 2

                                                                                               Kalai

I had no idea why my heart kicked in my chest so hard. It was no secret from our family and the inner circle just like those who were present here in the throne room that the Drakkon King—whatever his name was—wanted me to be his Queen.

Huh! What in the freaking smoke? That weird unknown thick-scaled dragon shifter wanted me to be his Queen? How could he just claim me? We’d never even met yet! And just why did he choose me specifically? Why not my most beautiful third sister Jhantra? She had the most beautiful thick sandy blond hair, pert nose, blue-gray eyes, pearly white skin, slender, shapely body that went well with her average height and always smelled like flowers under the sun. I was absolutely sure every male dragon shifter in all over our Draconia world would go crazy over her when they set eyes on her and offer her their hearts at her sexy feet.

I gently shook my head. I could still remember the big burning note that was inscribed on my palace wall. It was written in fancy, curvy and edgy symbols, which we could clearly read: ‘You are mine, Kalai! Come to me or Doragon Queendom will be in a pile of ice!’ and it had the Drakkon crest, which was a fierce face of a Black Ice Dragon with literally blazing black eyes.

I gaped when I read it, while my keeper clenched his teeth. My sisters and brother looked at me with worried eyes, while the other fortress residents gasped and murmured something to each other. Haalash left my wrist before I noticed to crawl fast to the throne room to deliver the news to my Queen Mother. And that was how it happened. She immediately came over to look at the inscription herself. I could see nothing on her stoic face though. No emotions betrayed her. Well, that was how she always had been, especially whenever she was outside her throne room.

Of course, Inadi didn’t want to be threatened or intimidated by the new Drakkon King. She was brave and stubborn and had no desire to tighten our security as a precaution. I couldn’t even feel her tension about this matter but I was. Although I appeared to be nonchalant about it, I was a little afraid of the threat. What if the Drakkon King decided to fly here in our queendom and freeze everything and everyone that I loved? Then, my brother Nystru was taken by the Draggan warriors by force. He was outside our fortress when it happened. If only I went out with him at the time, maybe everything would have been different.

The square-shaped fortress mainly housed the Doragon royalties. It had the main palace, where Inadi lived and where the throne room was. It was right in the center of the entire citadel. Right behind it was the consort palace and her children’s palaces that surrounded hers. Meanwhile, a couple of huge three-story buildings in the west corner were dedicated for the palace maids and guards. Further up north was a vast mountain range where animals were kept for our food supply, and the trees and nature provided them shelter and everything they needed.

The fortress had two entry-exit portals—one in the east side, near my brother’s palace and the other was right behind the consort palace. The east side was usually used for Inadi’s invited guests, while the other one was for emergency purposes, in case there was war and the residents were outside. Nonetheless, each of the palaces had their own emergency portals. They all go straight to a secret cavern in Doragon Mountain, where our hoards are hidden, called Yudanerra Gajeya. Aerial-wise, it was sealed by magic. But of course, it could only mean a temporary shield if enemies attacked. Everyone had magic. It was only a matter of who had the stronger one, so the shield could be destroyed.

Nystru told me he wanted to visit our subjects, who all lived outside the fortress. They were scattered all throughout the Doragon Queendom. He visited them time and time again while in incognito to know what they need. But this last trip, he invited me to go with him. I wasn’t able to go with him though, since I was not in the mood to roam around after the new Drakkon King’s threat even though I was curious how it looked like outside our royal fortress. I’d never been outside this protective place since I was a hatchling.

I kept on wondering how that threat was written exactly on my palace wall when the fortress was magically protected against dragon shifters from other queendom or kingdom. Only Doragons could get past through the fortress. My mother made sure of it since time immemorial.

Although she always enforced it everyday, was there kind of magic that was able to get around with her protection spell? Or was there a traitor in our midst? These questions were in my head all the time. Still, I couldn’t figure these out. And most probably, my mother wasn’t able to as well.

“Go back to the safety of your palace, Kalai. I do not wish any additional problem other than what we already have in our hands. Leave!” Inadi ordered me in a steady voice, and a slender hand was gestured in the air for me to go.

“But, Inadi—”

Her eyes suddenly softened, which I didn’t actually expect. “Your brother is my oldest offspring, and he can take care of himself, Kalai. I’m sure of it. He is safe for now. Anytime soon, we’ll hear from one of the elite warriors I sent to rescue him. Just you wait. Just you wait, my princess Kalai,” she said in a gentle voice now.

Or was it in a wishful tone?

My heart swelled while I looked at my mother, and my throat constricted at the sight of her gentle expression as she regarded me once again.

I slowly swallowed and slightly nodded, before stepping back and turning away.

***

I wanted to scream because of helplessness. The dragon inside me was unsettled. Hence, once I got out of the throne room, I shifted into my massive dragon self, leaving my keeper to follow me or not. But he knew better when to leave me alone.

My palm-size, thick red scales that had a hint of black color shone under the gold-orange sun. I could feel the warmth all over my body despite the cold temperature. The fresh air was soothing my every scale as I flapped my wings, soaring up high. The flying guards noticed my presence and slightly nodded to me while they went on to their patrolling duties.

“Where are we going, Princess Kalai?” asked Haalash, who loosely wrapped herself around my thick tarsus. Her eyes darted to the mountain before us. “Ah, I see! Can I catch some food?” she excitedly queried. Her fork tongue tasted the air, and she grinned with mouth opened widely.

I could feel her excitement as somehow we were connected. Since I found her sneaking into our secret place where the family hoards were, she already had me. I almost blew her into smithereens if she hadn’t spoken. She explained that she escaped from some shifter and that she was the only one left of her kind. She also revealed that her kind was not so interested in procreation. So how could I even have a heart to not spare her? It was weird because procreation is primal. Nonetheless, her ability to speak fascinated me. Although I must have been much careful of taking in a strange kind of creature, it was instinct that told me I had a friend in Haalash and that I could trust her with my life. Well, that must still be proven but I had no doubts when it comes to her. And it’d been like this for more than a decade now.

I glided and slowly descended until I landed on a clearing. As soon as my gigantic claws touched the icy cold ground, Haalash slithered away to do her hunt. I shifted back to my human form, materializing a green velvet dress that showed off my back. Its deep V in front flaunted the exposed creamy skin of my chest and stomach.

I heard the singing of the birds from a distance. Some growls and whimpers were also present. I think Haalash did it. She was a tiny creature but she loved to hunt massive ones. She would eat it with relish after playing with her food.

I dashed to my left where I heard the whimper of a huge animal. I moved past the thick blue, white and green trees and bushes. The ice under my bare feet was marked by my footsteps, and the soft crunching noise seemed to echo in the now silent surroundings.

I could see Haalash’s little narrow trail where she crawled fast. Just a few seconds later, I saw her stretching herself like rubber, coiling around her massive prey, a male liger—a hybrid offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. In Draconia, animals breed even though they had different species—a reason why there were a lot of interesting crossbreeds. Perhaps Haalash was a result to such freaking interbreeding, too. Or maybe not. I hadn’t read anything about her species anywhere. I was just educated by her herself.

Haalash bit the liger numerous times in the different parts of its body—the face, neck, stomach, back and limbs. Although she has poison produced by her fangs, biting seemed to be her favorite attack, to incur more damage and pain to her prey—I must say she was kind of a sadist. Not long afterward, the huge animal was brought to its knees before it lay dead on the white ground.

I put my hands on my hips, watching Haalash nibble the flesh of the liger, slightly grimacing.

“Really fascinating pet you have, sister.”

I whirled around to see my oldest sister, Suhhadi. I quickly took note of her naked body. Her olive skin was so delicate, radiant and beautiful, showing her white sandy hair in a prominent contrast. Her long and straight hair cascaded in front of her, covering her huge breasts.

“I didn’t hear you come, Suhhadi,” I observed.

She strode closer to me, showing off her long and slender legs. Her shapely body moved gracefully like she was dancing slowly. She then gestured a hand lazily.

“I was training to improve my stealth powers,” she informed me. Her green eyes strayed to my pet once again.

I slightly nodded to Suhhadi. “I see. That explains it.”

Haalash continued to mince the flesh of her dead prey, making the foul smell of red blood waft through the air that reached to my nose. I did notice that she was halfway finishing up her once-a-week meal. The white bones of the liger were already exposed while the bloody meat was continuously torn from it. Nevertheless, it was noticeable that my pet’s body was of the same size as before, like she had never eaten anything so ginormous.

“I heard you already visited Inadi before I did my duty of greeting her. What did she say about Nystru?” Suhhadi asked conversationally in her thick voice.

I took a step and looked down on a random twig. I flicked my fingers, and it instantly became a charcoal, without showing it ablaze. “She told me to wait around until she got news from her elite guards.”

“Well, typical of Inadi. She is one to not move blindly, Kalai. She waits around before she attacks.”

“But what if it’s already too late, Suhhadi? For all we know, Queen Gaemeris is already torturing our brother at the moment, and there’s no one who can help him!”

“It was his fault why he got abducted in the first place, Kalai,” she said almost harshly. “If he hadn’t left the fortress, he would have been safe and sound. That’s why Inadi doesn’t want us any of her children to go out even in incognito! Danger is everywhere, especially for us who have royal blood! We have to remember that beyond these protective walls and spells, enemies are just lurking right there!” she asserted, waving a hand.

I swallowed hard and looked at her in the eye. “So do you think someone recognized him, that’s why he’s abducted? For what, Suhhadi? To start a war? Why now?”

She slowly shook her head and shrugged one slender shoulder. “Who knows? Queen Gaemeris is a mad queen. She killed her own offspring and consorts in the past like a mere whim or something. What difference will it make if she’d start out a war soon by taking our brother to her queendom?”