The Time Tournament (Order of the Dragon #1)

CHAPTER 11

Elena

July 1429

“Y ou’re the dragon? I mean, dragoness?”

“Yes, have you heard of our kind?” she asked.

“The witch who mentored me told me to find you.”

“You mentioned her. And your quest is to stay alive, right?”

“Yes, but I just keep dying. Maybe now that I found you, there’s a chance to pull this off.” I looked at Tarra, feeling hope and excitement bubble in my heart. “And maybe, just maybe, I could go home.”

Tarra noticed my excitement and smiled widely.

“Though my brother and I tend to question the Fates, my father believes in them strongly. So you might find an ally in our dragon family.”

“Wait. Does that mean your father is also a dragon?”

“Oh, yes. And Killian, my brother, but… he’s not here right now.” I sensed a change in her tone. “But you know what? It’s his loss.” She returned to her cheerful self. “Would you like to see our lands or Keep?”

“What Keep? How? I can barely stand. I can’t imagine using my legs.”

“I can carry you on my back,” she offered.

“Are you sure? We’re the same size. I might hurt your back.”

She started laughing so loudly that it made me squirm in embarrassment. She looked at me with pity and said, “Let’s just try. If you’re too heavy, I’ll put you right back.”

Tarra turned her back to me, waiting for me to latch on. But even the slightest movement caused excruciating pain in my leg.

“You can do it. Sooner or later, you’ll have to get better,” Tarra said as if she felt my pain. I grabbed her shoulders, and she did the rest.

“Whoa, you’re lighter than a feather.”

“How can that be? We’re the same size and height.”

“Dragons are built differently, time traveler.”

“How can you be a dragon if you don’t look like one?” I asked.

She chuckled. “Are you sure you didn’t fall off the moon? Father said it’s not possible. But hearing you talk and ask questions like these makes me think he might be wrong.”

Was this a polite way to call me stupid? No matter how much I wanted to shove it in her face, she could crush me with one flick of a tattooed wrist.

“So where do you want to start? Inside the Moltenclaw Keep or around it?” she asked.

Moltenclaw Keep? Talk about sticking to a theme here.

“I’m not sure. Whatever you prefer,” I said, still wondering where the Keep might be.

“Very well.” She turned so quickly I almost lost my grip. “Let me introduce you to our humble abode.” She walked deeper into the cave. Unlike how caves usually narrowed the deeper you went, this one became larger and larger.

The cavern opened up into a massive underground hall, illuminated by glowing crystals embedded in the walls and ceiling. Stalactites and stalagmites framed the entrance like the teeth of some ancient beast. The air was humid, almost hot, and smelled faintly of sulfur.

“Welcome to Moltenclaw Keep,” Tarra said with pride. “This is the heart of our territory.”

I looked around in awe. It was both breathtaking and intimidating. I had stumbled into a world of dragons and ancient magic, and my quest had only just begun. “This is incredible,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Tarra replied. “Come on, I’ll show you around. ”

As Tarra walked deeper into the central hall, I realized just how big and magnificent the castle was compared to its unassuming entrance. The Keep had a circular shape with a tall marble throne in the middle. To reach it, stairs were carved into a rough marble column. It was so tall, I had to crank my head back to see the top.

Surrounding the throne were rooms with ornamental carvings acting as frames for their entrances. Every rock was carved to perfection. It looked like a royal castle’s interior, with every piece of furniture made from white marble. Though the doors were missing. Apparently, dragons didn’t consider privacy a thing.

A spiral stone path led to each room, then descended deeper until it reached some kind of basement. The only way to gauge how deep it went was based on the giant columns of stalactites and stalagmites formed over millennia.

Then my curiosity returned to the throne. Its base looked draped in alabaster curtains. The pristine smoothness of the centerpiece, chiseled to perfection, made it look like cloth, or better yet, silk cascading to the floor. The armrests had dragon claws emerging out of them. Whoever made this masterpiece had to be a distinguished craftsman. The ethereal stillness kept my gaze drawn to every detail. I simply couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Interestingly, the only natural light came from the entrance, and the position of the throne perfectly captured the sun’s rays. It was as if even the cave had been molded to the light source. Each chamber room, as well as the central space, had lit torches and candles, but the cave still kept a demure feel to it. For a second, I wondered if it would be dangerous to light a fire in an enclosed space. Then, I realized there was nothing flammable in sight.

Tarra halted for a second, probably deciding where to go next. She made her way up the spiraling throne stairs. Each step she made reverberated throughout the cave like soft echoes. As we ascended, I noticed carvings of dragons interweaving with one another. The placement of the dragons seemed to tell a story. Only when Tarra walked closer could I distinguish a woman among all those dragons. Were these myths or true events carved in marble? Once we stood in front of the throne, the figures of three dragons and the woman became apparent.

“Would you like to sit on the throne?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Your father might get mad.”

“You don’t know my father. He doesn’t care who sits on the throne. Not after––”

“Then don’t mind if I do,” I said excitedly, and Tarra plopped me onto the hard surface. As much as the throne looked out of this world, my butt felt like it landed on ice. Every touch of the marble numbed my fingers. I guess, you had to be a dragon to sit on it comfortably. I turned and knelt before the stunning carving on the back of the throne. An irresistible urge nudged me to explore every detail. The most important one caught my eye again.

“Who is this woman? She’s so beautiful. Why is she in human form?” I asked .

“Because she is human. She was. She died two months ago…” Her voice trailed off, then quickly returned to its regular cheerful tone. “She was the Mother of the Dragon. This was her throne initially.”

“Mother of the Dragon? So she was your queen then?” I touched her refined features.

“She was more than that. She was…”

“How dare you sully the memory of my mother by sitting on her throne?” The raspy voice of a man thundered throughout the cave. The reverberations of his voice shook me to the core. I turned my head to see who it was and saw a man approaching swiftly, his dark eyes blazing with anger. He was tall and imposing, with the same scale tattoos as Tarra and her father, but his features were sharper, more intense. His presence was overwhelming.

Startled, I tried to stand and turn at the same time. A horrible combination of choices, as I twisted my already hurt ankle and ended up falling on my back.

“Elena,” Tarra exclaimed as she stretched out an arm to catch my fall. But she was too far away to reach me in time. I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

Instead of crashing into the rough surface, I felt an arm break my fall and envelop me in an embrace. When I opened my eyes, I saw his obsidian eyes with minuscule red cracks within them, like lava traveling beneath the surface. His body radiated extreme heat, like a furnace. Despite his furrowed brows and clenched jaw, which emphasized his defined features, he was undeniably gorgeous. His long white hair with red tips, which looked like they were dipped in his enemies’ blood, only amplified his striking appearance.

Being so close to his body made me awkwardly aware of each muscle in contact. He smelled of smoke and leather. His steady heartbeat calmed me after my terrible fall, but nothing compared to the depth of his voice. I almost lost myself in the low vibrations of every word that came out of his mouth. His lips parted, but I couldn’t register what he said, only how they made me feel—a molten vibration that traveled from my chest to my core.

“Can’t you hear me?” he asked, more annoyed than before. I shuddered when I realized I had failed to answer his question.

“Killian, leave her alone,” Tarra rushed to my defense as she jumped down.

“How dare you sit on my mother’s throne? And who are you to touch what does not belong to you?”

Only then did it register that he was mad. Worse than mad. He was furious.

“I didn’t mean to touch it. It’s just she was so beautiful.”

“Anything beautiful must be smeared with your dirty fingers? And what is a human doing sitting on my family’s throne?” His eyes turned dark red, with silver streaks crackling with anger. It felt like I was his next victim to be struck by their lightning.

“She didn’t do anything wrong, Killian. I let her sit on the throne. So what if she wanted to touch Mother’s face?” Tarra argued .

“So what?” He stood immediately, dropping me like a bad habit. I rolled on the floor like a log until Tarra caught me and helped me stand. His eyes shunned me as if I were a stray dog. I winced in pain, both physical and mental.

“Be careful, she’s been hurt,” Tarra said.

Killian examined us and said, “You can turn as many human mutts into your playthings as you want, but make sure to keep their dirty hands off what belongs to our house. And never, ever let anyone sit on the throne except for the true rulers.”

“Excuse me?” I asked. “Did you just call me a mutt?”

He didn’t care to respond as he turned away and left.

“Don’t listen to him,” Tarra said, glaring after him. “He’s always been brash, but recently, it’s gotten to extremes.”

I wanted to ask how dangerous he’d become after the loss of their mother but couldn’t and only bit my lip.

“I must speak to Father about Killian’s return. Can you wait?” Her eyes looked worried as if something gnawed at her. She helped me out of the cave and propped me against its side.

“Yes, sure. I don’t have anywhere to go. And I don’t think I can leave even if I want to.” I chuckled awkwardly.

Tarra gave me a sympathetic smile before hurrying off. I found myself alone next to the mystical cavern, still feeling the intense heat of Killian’s touch and the sting of his harsh words. Once she was out of sight, my shoulders slumped, and I breathed out a sigh. I couldn’t hold myself up much longer. Even my healthy leg felt like giving in. I leaned more against the side wall of the cave and prepared to lower myself to a comfortable position.

Suddenly, a forceful push in my chest pinned me in place and knocked the air out of my lungs. It took me a few seconds to recover and understand what had happened. One turn of the head, and there they were—two nightmarishly piercing eyes––Killian’s. Tarra’s rebellious brother stood dangerously close to me.

With a look that could kill, he said, “You can fool my father and sister, but don’t even think of playing tricks with me. It is beyond clear to me you are a spy. Prying into the Crimson Dragons’ affairs could end tragically for you.”

“How could I be a spy if I can barely walk?” I retorted.

He scoffed. “Pity spies are just as effective. A deplorable human in distress appealing to our benevolence. A perfect scheme if I’ve ever seen one.”

“What nonsense. I am a time tra—”

His pointer grew into a claw as he jabbed it under my chin. My eyes widened in shock. I began hyperventilating. He was too close to my choker. “You have time to return to whomever sent you as you are not welcome here.” He hissed and released me. Then he turned. “Consider that an act of kindness. The only one you’ll get.”

His confident walk morphed into a sprint, and he did the weirdest thing, he began taking off his clothes. What was he trying to do? Moon me into submission?

Suddenly, his body became engulfed in dark red scales. Out of his back emerged two enormous wings, and by the time I blinked, he had transformed into a dragon. I already believed they existed. I had gotten used to the idea in my head. But seeing it in real life was nothing like how I imagined it. The pure power his presence exuded couldn’t be explained—it had to be felt.

The scales glistened in the sun in iridescent reds and blacks. The tail alone could slash someone in two. The wings, three times the size of his enormous body, released a strong wind with every swoosh. Luckily, the mountain at my back kept me from being swept away by the currents. As he ascended, the dragon began making a loud “shh” sound. I didn’t know dragons made continuous sounds during flight.

He turned and looked at me with dark eyes that had a red underlayer. As a warning, he snorted steam out of his nostrils. And as a final act, the dragon screeched and then disappeared behind the clouds.

It might’ve been the heat of the sun or the fear for my life, but my head began spinning. I started to feel sick again.

“You look pale as a winter morning. Just like when Father brought you the first time. Lay down before you hurt yourself.” Tarra returned, took my arm, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Despite lying flat on the ground, I continued to feel dizzy, and a wave of nausea came over me. I released the last of whatever was left in my stomach, but it didn’t relieve the contorting pain. What was wrong with me?

“That’s strange. The viper’s venom should’ve dissipated by now. My father has a special salve that cures anyone of all poisons. You should’ve been healed by now. Not only that, you’re getting worse.” Tarra began to panic. “We must hurry. You’re turning purple.”

“I’m what?”

“I’ll help you inside and then I’ll take flight.”

“Where? Why? What’s happening to me?”

Then, everything turned dark.