The luxere bolted first. Its instincts, honed by countless generations, recognized the shift from threat to inevitability. It scattered, glowing horns disappearing like fireflies extinguished against the dense foliage. The dragon swooped low, its wings beating a tempest into the forest below, and it was then that the full scale of its enormity became horrifyingly clear.
Cordelia barely had time to react. One moment, she was crouched in the undergrowth, the cold earth pressing against her palms, her breath clouding in the air. The next, the sunlight vanished as the dragon’s shadow engulfed her. It descended with a terrible finality, claws outstretched, talons gleaming like shards of ice. The wind of its approach hit first, a howling gale that knocked her backward, her cry swallowed by its deafening roar.
Noah shouted something—a warning, perhaps her name—but the sound was lost in the chaos. The dragon’s claws closed around her with brutal efficiency, lifting her as though she weighed nothing. Her scream pierced the air, high and ragged, before fading as the creature carried her skyward, leaving only the echo of its wings.
The dragon rose, its prize clutched tight, and turned toward the pale horizon. The sight was a tableau of terror: Cordelia’s form silhouetted against the sky, her struggles growing weaker as the creature climbed higher and higher. Below, Noah stumbled, dazed and gasping, his hands clawing at the ground as he tried to find his footing.
And then the tail came. A final, dismissive swing of the dragon’s long, sinuous tail, snapping through the trees like a whip. It struck with bone-crushing force, and Noah was thrown back, his body hitting the earth with a sickening thud. Darkness overtook him, and the world fell into silence.
The forest, so alive mere moments before, seemed to hold its breath. High above, the dragon vanished into the clouds, its triumphant roar echoing over the Greenwing. Cordelia was gone, and the luxere had fled. The clearing lay empty, save for the broken trees and the man who now lay unconscious amidst the wreckage, his life irrevocably changed in the span of heartbeats.
Cordelia has been killed.
~FIN
Noah shouted something—a warning, perhaps her name—but the sound was lost in the chaos. The dragon’s claws closed around her with brutal efficiency, lifting her as though she weighed nothing. Her scream pierced the air, high and ragged, before fading as the creature carried her skyward, leaving only the echo of its wings.
The dragon rose, its prize clutched tight, and turned toward the pale horizon. The sight was a tableau of terror: Cordelia’s form silhouetted against the sky, her struggles growing weaker as the creature climbed higher and higher. Below, Noah stumbled, dazed and gasping, his hands clawing at the ground as he tried to find his footing.
And then the tail came. A final, dismissive swing of the dragon’s long, sinuous tail, snapping through the trees like a whip. It struck with bone-crushing force, and Noah was thrown back, his body hitting the earth with a sickening thud. Darkness overtook him, and the world fell into silence.
The forest, so alive mere moments before, seemed to hold its breath. High above, the dragon vanished into the clouds, its triumphant roar echoing over the Greenwing. Cordelia was gone, and the luxere had fled. The clearing lay empty, save for the broken trees and the man who now lay unconscious amidst the wreckage, his life irrevocably changed in the span of heartbeats.
Cordelia has been killed.
~FIN
