The End of Peace

STORM

The setting sun peaks over the mountaintops.

Up here, the air is free of pollution. There are no machines, no technology.

Only us.

Silver flaps her giant wings and rolls underneath my belly, mid-air.

It’s so good to see her free again.

~Finally, we roam, as we are meant to do! ~

She releases a plume of smoke from her mouth and roars happily.

Then, she swoops down to a rocky mountain cliff.

I follow, loving that we can once again play our games.

I’d spent so many years in different disguises and in the form of an old man, I was beginning to forget what it was like to fly.

~To be a dragon. ~

After one more flip in the air, feeling my nostrils fill with the incredible evening air, I glide down to Silver.

She’s in her human form, her long, wavy, silvery hair reaching down to the bottom of her back.

Her incredible figure is accented by a pair of tight gray jeans, and she wears a skintight white tank top.

I mist into my human form and run my hand along her hip to bring her close. We watch the sun fall over a valley of vibrant, sage-colored trees.

I’m expecting a smile to form on Silver’s lips, but instead, she frowns.

I push some hair away from her bright yellow eyes.

“Can you sense it?” she asks, staring out at the sunset.

I lower my head and allow myself to open up to the universe.

We have been dragons for so many years. We are in touch with the world around us in a way that others cannot be.

~Primordial beings.~

Silver grabs my hand, and I open my eyes.

“A great darkness is coming,” I say, feeling all the joy of our new freedom lifting from my spirit.

The sound of shackles echoes out in my ears.

Silver’s head hangs low. “A great evil is rising. One that we’ve never seen before, in all our years.”

Synchronized, Silver and I both turn towards the south. Far off, many miles away, and across a great ocean lies the Dusk Mountains.

~We both know what we must do. ~

Through an enormous sigh, I say, “We must get all the dragons together if we’re to stand a chance against this force.”

Silver shakes a shiver.

“Another one of us is back,” she says, closing her eyes, her hand traveling up into the air. “I can feel his presence.”

I close my eyes and see visions of a man dancing on the battlefield, ruthlessly cutting down slayers until his sword breaks.

Then, a mist surrounds him, and he turns into a massive black dragon and shoots out fire black as night.

“Devorex,” Silver and I say at the same moment.

Without another word, we both mist into our dragons and make for the Dusk Mountains.

Our people must join forces, despite their conflicts, or else we are all doomed.

For the sake of every dragon out there, I hope the Dobrzyckas will see reason.

SUMMER

I quickly toss a few clothes into my overnight bag.

A toothbrush.

A phone charger.

I’ll find everything else I need when I’m there.

Now all I need to find is…

As if on cue, my mates walk in.

They are all buzzed heads, bold eyes, and bright smiles.

Both Dane and Aneurin are wearing baggy, washed jeans, tight gray tank tops, and flannel shirts with sleeves rolled up.

Dane’s is red and Aneurin’s is blue.

Except, I can’t focus on how incredibly hot they both look with their lumberjack styles right now!

Dane arches a brow and asks, “Everything alright?”

I exhale shakily and rush over to the two of them, elated that they’re both here and with me.

~Safe.~

“There was a dragon slayer attack at Club Emerald,” I say through a few gentle tears. “Adara was killed.”

Although my mates don’t have the greatest relationship with the Dobrzyckas, they still wince.

Dragons have occupied the world for thousands of years with one another. When a prominent figure in their lifetimes passes, it’s a hurt they all feel.

~Unless they are too busy ripping each other’s heads off~… ~

“That’s…” Aneurin says, “unfortunate.”

“Yes,” Dane agrees slowly, taking a seat on the edge of the desk inside of our cabin. “Perhaps we should have followed the slayers.”

Aneurin nods and adds, “We never should have let Nautica and his slayers go. We should have pursued them. Instead…”

I grab Aneurin lovingly by the shoulders. “Don’t do that to yourselves. This isn’t anybody’s fault but Nautica’s! But right now, we need to take a trip to Club Emerald.”

Aneurin turns his back on me and Dane. “I don’t think they’ll exactly roll out the red carpet for us.”

I spin Aneurin around and hold his hand, the same way I imagine Adara’s loved ones held hers in her last moments.

“This is more than petty nonsense between any of us,” I say, almost pleading.

Aneurin softens from the distress in my eyes.

Dane puts both of his hands behind his head, stretches tall, and walks out onto the cabin deck. The sun has almost completely set, leaving the sky a cascading series of oranges and pinks. Up here in the Dusk Mountains, we’ve encountered no threats.

~But that hasn’t stopped Dane and Aneurin from training day in and day out. ~

They’re the strongest they’ve ever been and have been taking their job as the guardians of the Dusk Mountains left to them by Silver and Storm~ very~ seriously.

Part of my intoxicating attraction to them is their passion, loyalty, and dedication to making a better world.

And the horde of dragons we’ve been raising here is growing strong.

~We can’t let Nautica bring an end to that. ~

Aneurin and I follow Dane outside. His wide shoulders ripple with muscle beneath his flannel shirt.

“I’ve been enjoying peace,” he laughs.

He wraps an arm around me, and Aneurin takes hold of my hip.

“But if there are people out there that you can help Summer,” Dane says, “then we have to give it a shot.”

“It’s just a shame it’s too late for Adara,” Aneurin says genuinely.

I kiss them both on the cheek.

“The last time we worked with Loch and Hael,” I say, taking them both by the hands and walking towards the end of the deck, “we accomplished incredible things.”

Aneurin scoffs, “Let’s just hope that they are willing to play ball once more.”

“Six months is a lot of time for the Dobrzyckas to stick their heads far up one another’s asses,” Dane chuckles.

“Never mind any of that!” I exclaim.

The brothers both turn to me, their faces red with discomfort. I think I know what they’re considering.

“I’m going to miss this too,” I say, “the peace of the mountains. The sanctuary of nature.”

Aneurin plays with a lock of my hair. “Summer, you’re the only woman who could get me to return to that stinking city.”

“This is for the best,” I remind them. “Once this is resolved, we’ll be able to defend this place even better.”

Dane and Aneurin share a glance.

“Then we better get going,” they say simultaneously.

Dane grabs my hand and whisks me away. He jumps off the cliff, me in his arms, and mists into his dragon form.

Next thing I know, I’m on Dane’s dragon’s back, and we’re racing through the pink sky.

Let’s hope we’re not flying right into a fire…