The air went still.
Not a whisper. Not a gust. Even the wind—wild and untamable just moments before—seemed to hold its breath.
I hovered there, suspended in light and smoke, wings trembling from the eruption that had just torn the sky apart. The glow still flickered beneath my skin, gold fading into ember.
Every dragon in the sky had stopped fighting.
Muir hung motionless, his sapphire wings barely moving. Raiden hovered opposite him, lightning crackling faintly along his scales. And Tadewi—the massive orange dragon who ruled these skies—floated in place, wings spread wide, her amber eyes fixed on me.
The world itself seemed to bow to the silence.
My chest rose and fell too fast. The power that had consumed me seconds ago was gone—drained as quickly as it came, leaving me hollow and shaking.
"What… what did I just—"
A roar split the stillness.
Tadewi moved first.
She surged forward in a blur of orange and fire, her wings slicing through the calm like blades. Muir dove to intercept, but she slammed into him mid-flight, the impact echoing like thunder. He spiraled downward, vanishing into a sea of cloud.
Raiden lunged next, lightning crackling as he tried to close the distance, but Tadewi's tail whipped around and struck him square across the snout. The blow sent him reeling, a roar of pain tearing from his throat.
And then she was on me.
I barely had time to blink before the air itself shifted—pressure dropping, sound collapsing. Tadewi's enormous form filled my vision—
and then—
she was gone.
"What—?"
A rush of wind erupted from below.
It hit me like a tidal wave, hurling me upward into a spiraling column of air. Tadewi rose beneath me, wings beating in perfect rhythm with the storm she commanded. The wind wrapped around us both, alive and merciless, dragging me higher. My vision was a blur of gold, orange, and white.
I fought to steady myself, every instinct screaming at me to move—to survive. My body reacted before my mind caught up—scales sparking to life as I shifted just enough to form claws.
And then I struck.
My talons dug deep into Tadewi's scales, the contact burning like molten stone. Sparks exploded where my claws met her hide. She roared, twisting violently, but I held on with everything I had.
"Let—go!" she thundered, her voice shaking the air itself.
"Not a chance!" I shouted back, gritting my teeth as the wind tore at my wings.
She spun harder, faster. The sky blurred, light and shadow blending into chaos. My arms ached, my claws slick with heat and blood, but I refused to release her. Every instinct in me screamed that if I let go now, I'd fall—and not just from the sky.
After what felt like forever, the air began to change.
The currents softened, their rage easing into something warm, steady—almost… gentle. The wind no longer fought me. It caressed me.
Tadewi's movements slowed, her flight no longer wild but deliberate. The storm around us quieted until only the hum of air remained, guiding us upward—toward the heavens.
I blinked through the light.
The world below disappeared beneath a blanket of clouds. Before us stretched a vast sprawl of floating mountains, suspended by nothing but wind and will. Waterfalls spilled from their edges, scattering into silver mist that shimmered in the sunlight. The air glowed with faint blue motes of magic so pure it hummed against my skin.
It was breathtaking.
The true heart of the Air Nation.
Tadewi circled once, slow and deliberate, before descending toward the tallest peak. Her wings folded in, graceful and controlled, until she landed hard on the stone.
I didn't have time to react. She twisted sharply, and I was thrown free, tumbling through the air before crashing onto the rocky surface. My shoulder hit first, pain exploding down my arm as I rolled and came to a stop near the cliff's edge.
When I looked up—Tadewi was already shifting.
Scales peeled away from her form, dissolving into light until what stood before me was… human.
Her skin was olive, marked with swirling tattoos that glowed faintly like veins of gold beneath the surface. Her hair was deep black, streaked with silver, braided down her back. Her eyes—amber and ancient—held decades of wisdom and something sharper: judgment.
Even in her age, she was beautiful. And terrifying.
"Primal dragon…" she breathed, her voice low, reverent—and edged with danger. Her gaze swept over me like she was seeing something impossible. "You shouldn't exist."
I pushed myself up on shaking elbows, breath ragged. "And yet here I am," I managed, though the words barely held together.
Tadewi's expression hardened.
"And yet here you are."
She moved before I could blink—
and the sky roared all over again.
Tadewi moved faster than I thought possible.
One moment she was ten feet away—the next, her fist was slamming into my ribs. The impact threw me back, air ripping from my lungs as I skidded across the stone. Flames burst beneath my palms where I caught myself, the heat from my own power burning against the rock.
I barely had time to rise before her shadow fell over me again. She was on me—graceful, merciless.
I ducked the next strike, sweeping my leg out low and catching her ankle. She twisted midair, landing light as a feather, barely even staggered.
"Good," she said, tone calm—measured. "You react on instinct. But instinct isn't control."
I snarled and lunged again.
Our fists collided. The air cracked with the force, the shockwave rolling out across the plateau. My knuckles stung, but I didn't stop. I swung again, feinted left, and drove my knee upward. Tadewi caught it with her forearm and pushed me back like I was a child testing an elder—
which, truthfully, I was.
Her eyes glinted, sharp and unreadable.
"This is sacred land, young one. Show me you deserve to stand on it."
Something inside me snapped.
Fire licked across my arms, the heat curling around my skin as scales rippled along my forearms—white, glinting, alive. My claws formed before I could think, and when I struck this time, the air itself screamed.
Tadewi smiled.
Wings of molten orange burst from her back, half-formed, her body flashing between human and dragon. We met again midair, our strikes echoing like thunder. Each blow sparked light and wind.
She hit hard, but she wasn't trying to kill me. I could feel it. Every motion was too precise, too measured. She was testing me—testing my strength, my control, my worth.
I kicked off the ground, leaping high, flames surging through my veins. The world blurred into gold and white. My fist connected with her shoulder—she staggered a step back but recovered instantly. Her counter came quick, a palm to my chest that sent me flying.
Pain flared. I hit the rock again, rolled, and pushed myself up, panting.
Tadewi tilted her head. "Better. You're learning balance. But you hold back."
"I'm not—"
Her eyes narrowed, and her voice boomed across the mountaintop. "Then prove it!"
Her wings flared, and she rushed me.
Our powers collided.
Wind and fire tangled in a violent dance, tearing through the stone around us. My body burned, not from pain but from the raw energy coursing through me. Each strike was faster, heavier. We moved like two storms colliding, neither willing to yield.
I caught her arm mid-swing, twisting and pulling her forward. For a heartbeat, I had her—then her leg swept mine clean from under me. I hit the ground hard, and before I could recover, her foot pressed against my chest.
The fight stopped.
Her breath came steady. Mine didn't.
Tadewi studied me for a long moment, then stepped back and offered her hand. "Enough," she said softly. "You fight better than I thought you would, Primal Dragon."
I stared at her, chest heaving, then slowly reached up and took her hand. Her grip was strong, grounding. She pulled me to my feet with ease.
"There is much you still need to learn, young one," she said. "But you have not disappointed me."
I blinked, still catching my breath. "That was a test?"
She smiled faintly. "Everything worth surviving is."
Before I could answer, a roar echoed from above.
Raiden.
He dove through the clouds, landing between us in a flash of lightning. The ground cracked beneath his boots when he shifted back to human form, his expression storm-dark and furious.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, glaring at Tadewi. His hand was already crackling with energy. "You could've killed her!"
"Raiden—stop." My voice came rough but firm.
He turned to me, eyes wild. "She attacked you."
"And it was my fight to finish, not yours."
That stopped him. The electricity dimmed, though the storm in his gaze didn't fade.
Tadewi watched us both with calm amusement, as though this were all some quiet conversation over tea. "He's protective of you," she said. "That can be useful—or dangerous."
Raiden shot her a look sharp enough to cut stone but said nothing.
She turned back to me, her expression shifting to something almost curious. "So. What brings the Primal Dragon, the Lightning Prince, and the Water Prince to my skies?"
I brushed the dirt from my hands, still feeling the sting in my ribs. "To bring someone home," I said, glancing toward the clouds where Muir's distant shape glimmered—and where Revik and the young girl would be. "And to ask you some questions."
Tadewi's smile returned, small but knowing. "Then you've come to the right place. But know this—answers here don't come freely."
Her eyes gleamed like polished amber.
"You've awakened something ancient, girl. And the skies have been waiting for you for a very long time—just as the relics have."