Drakhana's Claim

by Tara Starr

  Seeing my father today, has reminded me of an ancient story that he used to tell me about the heart of the mountain. How when used the right way, it will bring any dragon great power. I don’t know how reliable that ancient wives’ tale is since all I’ve seen of what the heart of Verglas does is drive dragons mad.

  Logan is the perfect example of that. But, on the other hand, I haven’t neglected my dragon. In fact, I have a strong bond with mine. Can it be that there’s a chance I can harness the power of the mountain?

  It is said in the ancient stories that the dragon gods granted each mountain a heart. That heart can be harnessed by the dragons who dwell upon that mountain. I am the princess of the ice clan. Don’t I qualify as such a dragon?

  But when I was about to touch the ice, my father pulled me away as if it would mean my death if I made contact with the heart. Surely, that was only because I was young at the time. My body wouldn’t have been able to withstand all that energy.

  I need to find out for myself. It’s a chance I’m willing to take if it can help my people. I will be the sacrifice.

  When I know that no one is looking, I slip away into the night.

  Twenty-Six

  Logan

  Unsure of the status of my relationship with Ivy, I give her the space she needs. Yes, we slept together, but that doesn’t give me license to demand more of her. We’re at base camp. It would be improper for the both of us to come together when there is nothing definite about who we are to one another.

  As far as the other dragons know, I’m here to lend a hand. I’m not here as Ivy’s dragon consort. As much as I want that to be the case.

  They will lose all respect for her if I show any untoward attention her way. I know the protocol regarding situations like this. As far as anyone knows, she’s my superior. I take my orders from her.

  If and only when we make things official do the dynamics change. The way the other dragons see me and her will shift. I will become elevated while she becomes celebrated.

  I’m content to hang back for now. We have bigger dragons to fry. The battlefield isn’t the place to announce one’s feelings to the world.

  Because I used to be second in command of Strike Force Alpha, Basil gives me a tent of my own. It’s big enough for one, but not too shabby. I can stand inside it. I have a wash bowl and a cot that I can sleep in.

  Basil has also sent over more uniforms for me. That way, I can change my clothing whenever I wished. I couldn’t ask for more and I wouldn’t want to anyway. We are here as soldiers, not dragons on some glorified glamping trip.

  By the morning, I make my way to Ivy’s tent. Because she’s a general and a princess, hers is definitely bigger. I wait outside and call out her name. No response.

  I call her name again. This time, when I don’t get a response, I enter the tent. Despite its size, Ivy keeps the space spares. She’s not one to lug around useless things. All she brings with her is what she will need. During a battle, you don’t need an ornate tub or a four-poster bed.

  My eyes scan the area. My gut drops when I notice that her bed doesn’t look slept in. Ivy makes her bed, but the sheets are still on top of the table, unused.

  Where could she be? Surely, she needed rest. Where could she have spent the night?

  I close my eyes and reach out my senses in search of her aura. Each dragon has a unique signature. Hers is an ice white energy similar to her father’s and mother’s. What sets hers apart is the tinge of blue at the center, the hottest part of the flame.

  No matter how big our base camp and no matter how many dragons are assembled, I can’t find her energy anywhere. Even when she’s asleep, I’ll be able to find Ivy. She couldn’t have left camp. We could be attacked any day now.

  We need to prepare. We need to remain alert. She wouldn’t abandon her troops. Ivy isn’t that kind of dragon.

  I extend my senses as far as they would go. In the distance, higher up on the mountain, I sense a fading memory of her power. It’s a lingering trail that I can follow if I hurry.

  Not panicking, but keeping the fact that she’s not in camp to myself, I leave the tent and find a secluded part of camp. Then I call on my dragon and follow the trail that Ivy left behind. I rely mostly on my instinct. I feel in my gut that if I trust myself, I’ll be able to find her.

  My search takes me higher up Verglas, yet I’m not heading toward the fortress. Instead, I’m being directed toward the north face of the peak. Not many dragons go to this side of the mountain since the air has the tendency to rise out of nowhere and take you with it.

  Already, I can feel my wings straining against the gust coming from ice sheets halfway up the mountain. I shake my head when gale force winds pummel me. I have to try my hardest to hover and maintain course. I feel the muscles along my wings aching by the time the wind has passed.

  The clouds part and I see an opening on the mountain side. It also has a ledge for dragons to land on so it’s not like the cave is a secret. Or maybe it is because I didn’t know this cave existed until now.

  I close my eyes and feel Ivy’s energy coming from inside. With a mighty flap of my wings, I make it onto the ledge. I land and shed my dragon.

  The entrance to the cave is dark, yet in the distance is a lit torch. “Good,” I say to myself. At least, this way, I don’t have to worry about walking blindly in search of Ivy. Then again, I know my instinct will guide the way.

  Sending a silent prayer to the dragon gods, I enter the cave. I don’t bother calling Ivy’s name because I know she’s at the end of the tunnel. When I reach the first torch, I see a few meters away another torch.

  My confidence builds with each torch I pass. What I didn’t expect is how long the tunnel actually is. It’s like I’m heading deep into the center of the mountain.

  Then the thought hits me. When I was a whelp going to school, our teacher told us a story. It was from the ancients of long ago.

  They said that inside the mountain of Verglas is a heart. That heart is what grants the dragons their powers. Apparently, this heart was a gift from the dragon gods to the ice clan.

  Now, as a whelp, I didn’t believe this story because it creeped me out to think that there’s a heart inside the mountain where we lived. Even Max didn’t believe the story and he was the sort to believe anything. At the time, we believed that the power of dragons came from inside them.

  As I walk deeper into the mountain, I’m starting to have doubts about my childhood beliefs. There is certainly a force that’s calling to me. At first, I thought it was my instincts continuing to guide me to Ivy.

  At some point, something else drowned out those instincts. A mightier force. It’s a pulsing that vibrated the ground I walked upon.

  Soon, I see the end of the tunnel. It’s a white almost blinding light after being in near darkness. The pulsation grows stronger the closer I get to the light.

  I swallow down the nervousness that climbs my throat. My heart is beating wildly. My dragon takes notice of the energy. I have to fight to keep in control.

  I exit the tunnel into a wide cavern. It’s flooded with white light that I’m not sure the source of. There is another ledge that leads to a pillar of ice. I look up and the pillar seems to go all the way to the top of the mountain. Then I look down and the pillar extends downward too.

  Then my eyes land on the dragon I’ve been searching for. At the edge of the ledge, being engulfed by the ice pillar is Ivy. She has her eyes closed.

  My nervousness turns into panic. I run across the ledge, not worrying that it narrows toward the edge. I reach out and feel the pulsating force emanate from the pillar. I rear back for a second, afraid of getting burned.

  But I soon realize that if I don’t do anything, Ivy will sink fully into the pillar and will be stuck inside. Mustering my courage, I reach out and take her hands in mine. I pull, but to no avail. It’s like she’s in quicksand.

  “Ivy,” I say. “Ivy, you have to wake up.”

  I bring one hand to her
cheek. It’s as cold as the ice that’s engulfing her. I tap her cheek over and over again, calling her name once more.

  My panic reaches a tipping point. I’m ready to call on my dragon and break the pillar just so I can free Ivy. Instead, she opens her eyes.

  I’m so surprised that I suck in a breath. I’m about to let go of her hands when she grabs on to me tighter. She smiles, looking into my eyes.

  Before I know what’s happening, Ivy lifts her arms as if she hadn’t been stuck to the pillar and wraps them around my shoulder. Then she pulls me forward until my body is flush with hers. In that instant, we both sink into the pillar of ice.

  Twenty-Seven

  Ivy

  When I landed on the ledge outside the tunnel, I had no clue what I was going to do. All I knew was that it involved the heart of the mountain. I shed my dragon but kept her close in my mind so that we could communicate. I didn’t want to be alone for this.

  Is this what you meant about finding our own power? I ask her.

  The heart of Verglas is certainly a kind of power, she affirms. But is it for us? I don’t know.

  That doesn’t inspire any confidence in what I’m about to do. I frown.

  What is it that mortals say? I guess we will have to find out?

  Close enough.

  I enter the tunnel. I don’t know why, but memories from when I was a young dragon comes back to me. It’s as if a specter of my father and myself walking ahead of me materializes.

  Of course, the torches are lit like the last time I’ve been to the heart of the mountain. Did someone actually maintain the light the torches provided or did they burn perpetually? I don’t see any signs of anyone having been here before myself.

  There aren’t any obvious footprints on the dust covering the stone floor. Yet, by some magic, the torches are lit. A line that guides me to the end of the tunnel.

  In the back of my mind, I forget that I’m a general in one of the most powerful dragon armies in the world. I forget that I’m a princess. All I want is to have my father with me again, holding my hand, making me feel safe once again.

  What are we doing here? I ask myself, but I ask my dragon too.

  We’re here to find out for ourselves if we are worthy of the ancient power of the heart of Verglas.

  Are we worthy? Doubt covers me like a toxic cloud.

  We are ice. We are worthy.

  I wish I believed her. I wish I had her confidence. Right now, I feel like I’m about to do something really stupid.

  Maybe I should think this through.

  We don’t have time for that, my dragon admonishes.

  I clear my throat and lift my chin. She’s right. Time is not our allay. The more time I spend here the less time I have preparing my troops for what is to come.

  I follow the line of torches until I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The walk seems farther than I remembered. The power the pulsed toward me, on the other hand, remained as potent as ever.

  I breathe in and feel my skin tingle. An invisible force calls to me. It’s similar to the shining top of Star Peak. It has the power to guide ice dragons home.

  At some point, I no longer feel in control of my steps. I become drunk with the power that’s flowing through me. Not enough to lose control, mind you. My dragon is better than that. More even-keeled.

  But I do feel her bristling. She’s as drawn to the power as I am.

  Soon, I step out of the dark tunnel into the bright cavern. The pillar at its center is as magnificent as ever. There is a hum in the air. It’s as if it’s been waiting for me.

  “What now?” I ask aloud. “Do we meditate?”

  A disembodied voice says, “Come.”

  I look around. “Who’s there?”

  But, clearly, I’m alone. I don’t have to stretch out my senses to know I’m the only dragon within the mountain. The hairs at the backs of my arms stand on end.

  It’s as if my feet move of their own volition. I come closer to the pillar of ice like I had done when I was a whelp. Unlike that time, my father isn’t with me to stop me.

  Something inside my takes over. A primal instinct that’s connected to my ancestors. I reach out. The cold beckons me onward.

  There is no hesitation. No fear. All that I am is within the pillar. All will be revealed once I am one with it.

  As soon as my palms make contact with the ice, I’m engulfed by it. My body becomes a live wire. My dragon throws her head back and roars.

  All the powers of the ancients’ course through me like I am the ice that the pillar is made off. At one point, I scream, but not of pain. Not that. It’s almost too much to handle.

  I don’t know how long I’m in the ice, but I feel Logan arrive. Elation injects into my veins. The fact that he can find me without having to open a line of telepathic communication means that we’re heart-bonded.

  Dragons mate for life. Once we find the one for us, only death can sever that connection. I suspected when we made love, but now I’m absolutely certain. He is my other half. The one who will make us whole.

  It takes him a while to reach the cavern. Even if my eyes are closed, I see him approaching. The awe on his face is priceless.

  Then when he sees me, his awe turns into panic. He’s afraid. For me. For the potential harm that might come to me. That melts my heart further.

  I wait for him to reach me. He tries his gallant best to wake me. What he doesn’t know is that I have finally been roused from slumber. I have never been more awake than I ever was.

  I am one with the ice. The ice flows through me.

  Logan should feel this too. He needs to know what it means to be an ice dragon. What it means to feel the heart of the mountain.

  I grab him with all my might. He’s afraid. That’s normal. We are born to fear the unknown.

  Not allowing him to pull away, I hug him close. As if sensing the joining of two rightful souls, the pillar swallows us whole. Logan doesn’t even have the time to react nor scream.

  We are floating in a place that’s beyond space and time.

  “Where are we?” he asks, white lightning emanating from his skin.

  “We are in the purest, clearest world. We are one with the heart of the mountain,” I speak the ancient words of truth. “Can you feel it? Can you feel all that power?”

  “It’s overwhelming yet comforting at the same time.”

  Our voices echo. We are in a void that is not a void. It’s filled to the brim with the strength that is our birthright.

  “We are ice,” I say like a chant. “We are wild and destructive.”

  “We are ice,” Logan repeats. “We are one.”

  Yes. We have absorbed not only power but the knowledge of the ancients. We return to our most basic dragon forms.

  For the first time since this fight began, I no longer feel any doubt. That piece that was once lacking is me no longer exists. I finally know what needs to be done.

  “How did you know about this place?” Logan asks, holding on to me.

  Our arms are wrapped around each other. We are twirling, floating in the nothingness. There is no letting go for us.

  “My father took me here when I was a whelp,” I say. “He showed me the heart of the mountain. At the time, I didn’t know what it was nor what it meant.”

  “I wish I believed our teachers more when they told us stories about this place.”

  “I think they didn’t want the other dragons believing this place really exists.”

  “Why?”

  “Can you imagine what they would do with this kind of power?” I ask him, looking him in the eye. It’s as if I can see my soul within the green depths.

  “I can only imagine. But this isn’t like the time my dragon tried to take over. It’s actually the opposite.”

  I smile. “That’s because of the ancients. Our dragons are drawn to them. Becoming one with them.”

  “Is it weird that I don’t feel the same yet I’m still who I am?”

  �
��I think that’s because we were meant to be here in this moment. I don’t think the pillar would have called to me if I wasn’t supposed to be here.”

  “Then why am I here?”

  “Because we’re heart-bounded.”

  The awe on his face returns. “We are, aren’t we.”

  I nod. “And because of that, I believe we can actually win this fight. We finally have what we need to bring the fire clan to its knees.”

  Twenty-Eight

  Logan

  I didn’t know what to expect when Ivy pulled me into the pillar of ice. All I knew is that I only had time to take a deep breath. When I opened my eyes again, we were floating.

  I find myself terrified and fascinated by the experience. I won’t even be afraid to admit to being aroused. The power that’s flowing through me is constant and thrilling.

  At first, I check on my dragon. I anticipate that he might want to take over again, considering how much energy that’s feeding myself as well as him. Soon I realize that the fear has no basis.

  My dragon is mesmerized by the sensations going through me into him. He’s close to the surface, but not close enough to fully take over. I’m still in control of myself. And thank the dragon gods for it.

  As I hold on to Ivy, I feel part of her and she feels part of me. We’re one and the same, but separate at the same time. I can’t really find the right words to explain it.

  Not only am I becoming one with Ivy, I’m also becoming one with the ice. As a dragon born in the ice clan, I should have frost in my veins. When I was younger, I found myself attracted to the snow like most of my brethren. But when I made my way to LA, I realized that I’m just as good under the pleasant weather—not too cold and not too hot either.

  I guess the lack of a real winter is what contributes to the ice dragons laying dormant when they move to LA. This might also be why the dragons at the factories no longer shift anymore. They don’t feel the cold like they used to.