over the abduction of Notus’ mate,” Alasdair said. Rania understood that this red dragon was Boris and the pewter one was Erik. “Both were new to their leadership and not yet as skilled with diplomacy as they would become.” Rania saw the dispute quickly become volatile, with dragons on both sides breathing plumes of fire and slashing their tails through the air. “Erik had lost his father, his mate and son to the influence of Slayers and was disinclined to tolerate their meddling in firestorms. Boris saw the conflict as an opportunity for the Slayers to change the rules and gain greater power. To interfere with a firestorm was an abomination in the Pyr view and soon Pyr and Slayers were bent upon battle. Their sole item of agreement was a mutual declaration of war. They would meet over the south Pacific, where few humans would witness their fight. The year was 1807.”
Two hundred years before. Rania expected that dragons would fight hard, but she was unprepared for the vivid view of the conflict that Alasdair provided. She felt as if she was there, as if she could smell the fire and the blood, and she watched as numerous dragons fought and died. The battles were vicious and brutal. She saw two dragons spiral out of the distance and target each other, one malachite and silver, the other amber and gold with trailing feathers. They locked claws with such force as they collided that they spun in the air. She saw them taunting each other.
“The most anticipated fight was that between Notus and Olaf, since it had been the reason for the war in the first place,” Alasdair said as the other Pyr and Slayers halted their battles and gathered closer to watch. “By the time Notus located Olaf, the Slayer had been injured.”
Rania saw the slash in Olaf’s side, the one that dripped black blood. She also noticed that Notus was missing a scale on his mailed chest, right over his heart. Notus struck Olaf hard with his tail then flung the Slayer from his grasp. Olaf made a sharp turn and came raging back, wings pounding the air as he raced toward Notus. He slashed with his talons and breathed fire with such ferocity that it was clear only one dragon shifter would leave the fight alive.
The battle was harsh and merciless. Notus was bleeding from many wounds when he finally tore Olaf’s chest open with his teeth and spat the chunk into the sea. Olaf’s flight faltered, a hint of the magnitude of his injury, but Notus caught him and held him captive.
“It was said that Notus offered Olaf the mercy of a quick death, if only he revealed Argenta’s resting place,” Alasdair said. “Instead, the Slayer laughed, telling Notus that his mate wasn’t dead. She was so well hidden that Notus would never find her in all his days and nights, and Olaf would never confess her location. Notus argued that the firestorm would reveal her location if she was alive, but Olaf insisted that her location meant the firestorm was extinguished. Notus was skeptical but Olaf breathed fire in that moment, just when Notus was leaning close to catch every word, and the Pyr’s face was disfigured forever by the fire. They fought again, even more savagely, and Notus tore off Olaf’s wings, flinging him into the ocean far below. Olaf roared in pain and Notus slashed his gut open, ensuring that the Slayer was dead this time. He didn’t even wait for Olaf to hit the surface of the ocean, but immediately left to seek his mate.”
Rania watched the fight break up after Olaf’s death. Erik and Boris reached detente, then the dragon shifters collected their dead and retreated.
The vision followed Notus, now scarred on his face, but driven to find his hidden mate. Once again, the dark storm clouds followed him, and snow fell often when he landed in a town or village. Rania saw his hopes rise and fall, as he returned to the village where Argenta had been born, as he visited Olaf’s abandoned lair, as he sought her in every corner of the world.
The evidence of his devotion was powerful and it shook Rania’s convictions. Notus had to have found Argenta, because Hadrian was here, but Rania wanted to see their reunion. She was impatient, wanting Alasdair to finish his story and reveal the final truth of the firestorm, but dragons, it seemed, did everything in their own time.