Chapter 27 - Saviors

The firedrake’s chest swelled, its scales glowing red-orange, ready to burst.

“Incoming!” Rikka shouted, just as a squad of fighters rushed into the square.

Their leader’s eyes locked on the beast. “Oh, shit—”

“I can do this,” Alina muttered, raising her staff. A towering barrier of ice burst from the ground, encircling as many as she could reach.

The drake roared, unleashing a torrent of flame in a sweeping arc.

Gromul slammed his hands down, forcing walls of stone up into a barricade. Rikka rolled and dove beside Alina, already nocking an arrow.

The ice barrier hissed and cracked as the inferno struck, shards breaking away as the fire melted through. Alina clenched her jaw and dug deep, pouring essence into it—the wall thickened, regenerating even as the flames turned ice to steam.

Half the square turned into a furnace. Heat and smoke blasted outward, hurling defenders into the air. Men screamed as armour blackened and shields melted in their hands.

Renji spotted one fighter frozen in terror, gaping at the sight. He lunged, tackling him clear—but a lick of fire caught his shoulder. Pain seared through him.

Alina glimpsed it from the corner of her eye. Renji—No. He’d just tell me to focus.

The drake snarled and fixed on her, flames no longer sweeping but burning in one steady torrent against the wall. Steam poured upward in a boiling cloud.

Alina closed her eyes and dug deep. She felt a warmth bloom from within—foreign yet familiar. Her eyes snapped open, glowing blue as pale veins of light crept across her neck and cheeks. Her hair shimmered faintly, her whole figure bathed in a soft azure glow.

“Damn it, Celia. What did you get me into this time?” Rikka whispered.

The barrier solidified, gleaming like crystal. The firestorm waned, sputtered out. When the steam cleared, the wall still stood—untouched.

Alina staggered, clutching her staff as the glow faded. She gasped for breath, unaware of the stunned fighters staring at her.

Renji’s eyes narrowed. What the hell did I just see…?

He shook it off. “Don’t let it recover!” he barked.

The dwarf roared and charged, battleaxe raised. Renji drew his sword, wincing as pain tore across his charred shoulder. The enchanted cloak kept him mostly unhurt, but not completely.

Still, Alina felt a wave of relief watching him move, blade in hand.

Gromul closed in on the left flank, Renji on the right. Alina and Rikka held the centre.

“Take the wings first, boys!” Rikka yelled, pulling back her bow. “If it takes to the air again, we’re screwed.”

She loosed a lightning arrow just as Gromul and Renji reached the beast. The drake’s innate resistance would limit the effect to a couple of seconds, but even a brief stun could turn the tide.

The arrow struck the beast square in the chest. Muscles spasmed as it roared.

Gromul’s skin hardened to stone as he slammed into its foreleg, forcing the drake down onto its side.

Renji channelled essence into his blade, the steel glowing gold. Power surged through him as he dragged the sword across the wing’s membrane. The drake shrieked as the wing tore nearly in half, bone the only thing holding it together.

“Well done, boys! That’ll keep it grounded,” Rikka called.

She glanced at Alina. “Can you keep going?”

“Yes,” Alina said, steadying herself, eyes locked on the drake.

“Good. It’ll be a while before it can breathe fire again.” Rikka’s gaze sharpened. “We’ll finish it before that happens.”

Around them, defenders froze, slack-jawed, as Gromul and Renji pressed the attack. The pair circled behind the beast, striking at its hind legs. The drake heaved itself upright, sweeping its tail toward Renji—who vaulted clear and slashed the tendon of its left hind leg with a backhanded strike.

Gromul mirrored him. With a guttural roar, he swung his battleaxe, crunching into the heel of the opposite leg.

The beast’s wings and tail thrashed as it bellowed in pain. Blood gushed as the duo raked its flanks, the roars echoing through the square.

“Arrrgh!” A raw battle cry rang out. A young warrior in plate armour suddenly broke from the crowd and charged the drake, sword and shield raised.

“Stop! It’ll take your head off!” Rikka cried.

Too late. The drake’s maw snapped shut around him, teeth piercing steel. With a violent flick, the beast flung the corpse aside. He was dead before he left its jaws.

Alina froze, staring at the fallen fighter—until Rikka’s voice cut through.

“Tch! There’s always a fool who charges in,” Rikka spat, her voice tight with anger. “A needless sacrifice.”

“The forelegs!” Renji called to Gromul, who answered with a grunt.

The two charged forward, each targeting a limb. Both the battleaxe and the sword cut through scale and flesh, severing the tendons.

The drake, now crippled, lashed wildly. Gromul and Renji regrouped with Alina and Rikka.

“Alina, do you have enough for a big one?” Renji asked.

“Yeah. Just keep it from thrashing about,” she said, nodding.

Rikka nocked another arrow. “Got just the thing.” She let fly, and the shaft struck the base of the drake’s neck. Yellow vines of magic burst outward, wrapping around its shoulders and hauling the beast to the ground.

Alina raised her staff. The wall of ice dematerialised as frost swirled in the air, streams of essence spiralling into a massive crystalline spear. Faint blue lines crept across her neck and face. Her hair shimmered, her robes fluttering in the current of power.

Renji’s gaze froze on her. What’s happening to her?

The spear hurtled forward, slamming into the drake’s chest in a thunderous explosion of ice shards. The beast staggered back, scales cracked but intact, frost wrapping around its torso. With a guttural roar, it began to gather fire at its maw.

Alina dropped to one knee, clutching her staff for support.

Renji surged forward, essence flooding his limbs, sword glowing bright.

“Damn, he’s fast,” Rikka muttered.

With a two-handed slash, Renji carved across the drake’s throat. Blood sprayed as its head sagged, collapsing to the ground. Its chest still pulsed with an orange glow beneath the ice.

“It’s going to blow!” Rikka shouted.

Renji threw up a barrier just as the drake detonated from within. The explosion hurled him backward, slamming him into the cobbles.

He rolled to his knees, ears ringing, and forced himself upright. Around him, the dust began to clear.

Then came the sound—cheering. Defenders roared their approval, relief flooding the square.

Hands clapped Renji’s shoulders. “Well done, mister! That was incredible!”

He looked past them to see a crowd gathering around Rikka, Gromul, and Alina, offering praise and thanks.

The square was filled with cheers, defenders rallying around their saviours.

Minutes later, the four gathered at the corpse.

“If you didn’t know, dead monsters here don’t turn to ash. You have to take loot off the corpse.” Rikka pointed at the drake lying in a pool of blood.

Alina cringed.

Gromul pulled a knife from his belt as he stepped toward the drake. “Scales and hide fetch good coin.”

High above, on a nearby rooftop, two hooded figures slipped back into the shadows.

“She’s awakening,” the woman murmured. “We’ll report this to Vaerina.”