My heart leaps up into my throat as Astralux races through the forest, the sleek red-black bloodwyrms partly crawling behind us, partly using their thin, spindly arms to latch onto the tree branches and propel themselves at us. Ahead, I can just make out Giftigbun with Neil and Lyssa, the yellow-green dragon sprinting toward where we can hear Silexamani yelping, and Eclair and Blythe shouting for help.
Just as I spot the dark gray scales of Silexamani, Giftigbun lunges forward with a snarl. He lands beside his mate, his massive claws swiping at a bloodwyrm attached to Silexamani’s front left leg. Two of its worm-ish arms release Silexamani—leaving a line of wounds where it was attached—and shoot out for Giftigbun’s face. Growling, he reaches out and bites the arms, and the bloodwyrm shrieks.
Neil drops from where he hung onto the side of the saddle on Giftigbun and swings his halberd around. The bloodwyrm’s elongated body drops from the side of Silexamani to avoid the attack, leaving a deep wound on her neck from where its circular mouth full of needle teeth had been latched on. It makes a hissing noise, and I hear the hissing from behind us get louder.
Giftigbun slams his paw down over the bloodwyrm. “Go, now!” he roars at us.
Neil snatches Lyssa off of Giftigbun and shoves her toward Silexamani. “Get to Veremund and Mortimer!”
Eclair cries out just as a bloodwyrm drops from the branches above us onto Astralux. I instantly feel pain from her as it wraps four of its dozen arms around her, its other arms latching onto trees and rocks all around us. It’s entangling her, its circular mouth trying to press against her scales as she wrestles with it.
A strange mix of terror and fury fills me, but the rage wins over as my protectiveness pours back into Astralux. My hands burst alight with fire and I leap at the bloodwyrm. To my surprise, the moment the fire touches its strange hide it shrieks and drops from Astralux, releasing her. Narrowing my eyes at the bloodwyrm, I chase it away, waving my arms at it.
“They don’t like fire!” Lyssa exclaims.
Neil crashes an oil over his halberd and then holds it toward me. My energy still pulsing strong through my veins, I send a small flame toward him, setting the halberd alight. He swings it around at the bloodwyrm which was still fighting Giftigbun and Silexamani, and it hisses and shrieks as it backs away.
“Estelle!” Astralux shouts.
I spin in time to see a bloodwyrm lunge at me. This one is huge compared to the others, its body easily the length of two men, and much wider around. One of its latchers wraps around my arm, and I shout—it has the sensation of thorns digging into my skin. My keen eyesight picks up tiny little hooks all over its arms, which swarm around me. It lunges forward with its teeth. I hold up my hands, summoning fire again, and the bloodwyrm drops its arms, although its still got half a dozen wrapped around my leg and ankles. Its other arms wrap around a tree, and I feel it tense, as if readying to pull my legs out from under me.
Astralux lunges at the bloodwyrm, but another intercepts and wraps itself around her. I yelp at her pain when the bloodwyrm presses its teeth into her left side, an audible clicking noise filling the air as it bites against her scales.
Lyssa appears, driving her sword into the side of the bloodwyrm attacking Astralux. It shrieks and drops, backing away with a limping crawl, but two more fill its places, throwing themselves at Astralux and Lyssa.
“There’s too many!” Lyssa shouts.
“Veremund, Kalteratem, where are you?” Neil says. “Ariadna, help us.”
“Lyssa!” Still wrestling with the bloodwyrm that’s holding my feet, I point at a bloodwyrm, hidden in the shade of a large boulder not far from her. “Down!”
Lyssa ducks as the bloodwyrm flies over her. But it uses its arm latched around a tree to change direction in mid-air and drops onto Lyssa, who screams as its mouth completely engulfs her left shoulder.
“Lyssa!” Neil turns, his halberd still on fire, and manages to make one of the two bloodwyrms on Astralux back up. “Hang on!”
Another dragon’s roar fills the air, and my heart leaps in surprise. I don’t recognize this one, and I look up in time to see a bright silver dragon leap down, crashing into the bloodwyrms on Astralux. This dragon has long spikes on his back that shrink rapidly on his tail, although he doesn’t have a spine at the end like Astralux’s. Handsome copper eyes glare down at the bloodwyrms as the dragon growls, throwing off one of the bloodwyrms from Astralux. She manages back to her feet and back-kicks the other and then spins, her tail spine cutting the beast deep.
The bright silver dragon then lunges for the bloodwyrm on Lyssa. He gets his teeth over its sleek body, cringing as he does so, and pulls its body loose from Lyssa, blood oozing from her shoulder. She gasps in relief and struggles with the bloodwyrm’s arms, still wrapped all around her body. Blasting my bloodwyrm away with fire, I rush over and use my magic to force it to let go of Lyssa. As soon as Lyssa’s free, the new dragon shakes the bloodwyrm and then tosses it away from us. Putting one foot in front of Lyssa protectively, the dragon opens his mouth.
A piercing ring emits, so loud and thrumming that it rattles my bones. I hold my hands over my ears, wincing. But the two bloodwyrms in front of the dragon’s mouth give a hissing shriek and flee backwards.
“Watch it!” Neil shouts. “Above!”
Both Astralux and the bright silver dragon snarl at the bloodwyrm that drops on them. Astralux swipes down, driving its body into the ground, while the newcomer slams both of his claws into multiple of the bloodwyrm’s arms, breaking its hold on several trees and boulders. Astralux kicks it up, and the bright silver dragon gives another shout, this one so thunderous that the bloodwyrm is actually thrown against a tree, bark exploding at the dragon’s breath impact.
Another dragon roars, but this one I recognize—Kalteratem, followed by Undabouclier. The two massive dragons land, and the bloodwyrms, swarming all around us, suddenly retreat back into the darkness of the forest.
Gasping for air, I lean on my shaking legs for a second before I rush over to Lyssa, who is lying at the feet of the bright silver dragon. Despite how bad her shoulder looks—torn down to the muscle—she’s taking slow and even breaths, and color remains in her face. Her light gray eyes are wide at the dragon beside her.
“Hello,” Lyssa says.
The bright silver dragon peers at her. “Are you well?” he asks, his voice definitely male.
Lyssa glances at her shoulder and then smiles a bit wryly. “It’s just a flesh wound.”
The dragon chuckles. “Only the bravest warriors find bloodwyrm wounds to be so trivial.”
Astralux and I share a grin as Lyssa grins bashfully. “That would be Lyssa.” I say. Pulling my medic’s kit back out, I hesitate when I look at Lyssa’s shoulder. “I really want Jaye to look at this,” I say at last. “I’m going to wrap it as best as I can.”
“Okay,” Lyssa says.
The bright silver dragon sits back as Kalteratem, after seeing to Giftigbun, Neil, Silexamani, Eclair, and Blythe, turns toward him. They eye each other for a moment before the newcomer bows his head, growling.
“You came to my daughter and my dear friends’ aid,” Kalteratem says, speaking Hauftig perhaps for the sake of us humans. “Thank you.”
“Bloodwyrms took some of my kin early in my life,” the bright silver dragon says. “I’ve made it my oath to do all that I can not to let the ghastly things kill others.” He gestures toward the woods with one paw. “Unfortunately, this particular pack was sent against you, and I was alerted of it too late. I was distracted by the arrival of Ariadna’s Star, and searched for its whereabouts.”
We all wince. “Ariadna’s Star was lost to the Vladykars—bonded dragons and riders who follow Aneiros,” Veremund explains.
The bright silver dragon sighs. “A pity.”
“What do you mean, these bloodwyrms were sent against us?” Neil asks.
“Bloodwyrms are a bit cunning, and the bigger ones can comprehend language at times,” the dragon says. “These were sent a message by one who called himself ‘the Snake.’”
I stare at the dragon. “When was this?” I make myself ask.
“Many days ago, perhaps a week or a week and a half at this point,” the dragon says. “Why?”
Veremund glances at me but looks back at the dragon. “The Snake was a Vladykar hidden among us, but he was discovered and is now dead.”
“Oh! That’s a relief,” the dragon says.
I swallow at the painful lump in my throat and continue binding Lyssa’s shoulder.
“We are the Wards, bonded dragons and riders that serve Ariadna.” Veremund gestures to himself, Neil, and me, and then at our dragons. “I’m Veremund, and this is my bonded, Kalteratem.”
“It is an honor to meet you, great Kalteratem! You are not unknown amongst the dragons of Serpens.”
“Ah,” Kalteratem says. “I haven’t visited Serpens in many years.”
“I am Voxebellum.” The bright silver dragon bows his head. “Such an organized group for Ariadna. We don’t have anything like this on Serpens.”
“Did you come to Drakonia alone?” Mortimer asks.
Voxebellum’s nose twitches, like he’s trying not to frown. “Yes. Most dragons on Serpens are inclined to hide, rather than fight. Strife and hardship have made them weary. I was an oddity amongst my own kind, since I often sought out to make allies with the natives.”
I can hear the truth in his words, and like Voxebellum more and more. He carries a cheery demeanor that reminds me of Vitegadium a bit, but not quite as exuberant, perhaps a bit more poised and mature. Curious what Astralux thinks, I glance at my dragon, and am surprised by the way she’s staring at Voxebellum. She catches my gaze and quickly goes back to licking her wounds.
“Then we’re all the more grateful for your aid,” Veremund says.
“We would be most honored if you would stay a day or two with us,” Kalteratem says, “to rest and recover.”
“I would be happy to stay with you for longer, if you will have me!” Voxebellum chuckles. “It’s incredible to meet others fighting for Ariadna.”
Finishing tying Lyssa’s shoulder, I go over to Astralux and dab her wounds. She sits very still, and every now and then I see her deep blue eyes flicker up at Voxebellum before she looks at her feet again. I feel anxiousness from her—but anxiousness like she’s embarrassed. Is she bashful around Voxebellum?
“We need to get you both to the hospital wing, too,” Veremund says, looking between Lyssa and Blythe.
Blythe nods, still green-looking from where he lies on Silexamani. I spot bile along her side—he’s thrown up again. I’m not surprised. “I’m really sorry, everyone,” he whispers.
Veremund reaches up and pats his leg. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”
Voxebellum, peering down at Blythe and Eclair, sniffs a couple of times. “Trolls?” he asks.
“Yep,” Neil says. “The young’uns tried to take on a whole clan of them.”
Voxebellum shudders. “I had to bite a troll once. It was awful.”
The dragons chuckle knowingly, while I share a look with Mortimer, making a face. He chuckles, nodding in agreement to my unspoken disgust.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught all your names,” Voxebellum says.
Kalteratem introduces everyone else. But when he introduces Astralux as his daughter, Voxebellum bows his head. “A daughter of the great Kalteratem!” He growls lightly to her. And to my surprise and amusement, Astralux’s iridescent white cheeks gain a little bit of a color when she growls in return.
Neil helps Lyssa up onto Giftigbun. I start to inspect Silexamani’s neck, but Veremund, chuckling, shoos me back to Astralux. “You’ve gotten the worst of the wounds, Estelle. I think we can get back to Adytol at this point.”
Smiling a little, I climb up into Astralux’s saddle. I notice that she’s peeking at Voxebellum, who is “conversing” with the older dragons in draconic. “So,” I say quietly. “Think Voxebellum’s kind of handsome?”
My suspicions are confirmed when Astralux turns her head and snarls at me, her eyes flashing. I can feel the rush of her embarrassment—and a creeping feeling of fondness.
I giggle, unable to stop myself, and pat her on the neck as she turns, muttering under her breath, and takes a running start to fly.
Tamara Rivers 
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