Screams quickly silenced, and there was a strange lull in the forest. Dropping his magic, he decided to look out of the shield to see. The wet air cleared away as he moved through and he saw two large cerulean dragons, heavily armored in metal plating, posed and ready to continue a fight.

Vixenta was kicking a body over that had fallen from the trees. He called back to his companions and Zuma and the shield fell. Zuma collapse to the ground, exhausted at having to hold the shield as long as they did. He was going to have to give them a lot of scratches when they got to the temple.

The two mages were armed to the teeth as well. Both were in full sets of metal armor. Vixenta was with a man Kaden didn’t recognize. It was crazy to him how they were carrying themselves so differently from when he last was in the water realm. They hadn’t even mentioned putting the dragons into armor. What had happened while he was gone?

Leaning over the body, Vixenta rifled through their robes, looking for whatever it was she was looking for. The four of them carefully approached them.

“Kaden Bertoff,” Vixenta said without even turning around. “Why are you back already?”

“Our pilgrimage started here.”

“Why? Did they not get our report?”

They looked at each other with surprise. “No? What report?”

She sighed, dusted her hands off on the robes before turning to face them. “The one we sent to the ambassador. Did Ambassador Laramee not advise you of the situation here before you left?”

They shared awkward looks with one another and her eyebrow raised. Reese laughed and said, “Did you not get our report?”

It took her only a few quick steps to near them. Her face was already close to Kaden and a look of confusion and anger. They weren’t supposed to tell them about the ambassador. Not until they delivered the letter to the king, anyway. Now Reese was here making jokes.

Kaden tried to step back, but she continued to invade his space. “Speak, young mage.”

“There was a House of the Serpent attack on the citadel. A lot of people died, the ambassador, he uh, he isn’t exactly contactable at the moment.”

She turned toward her companion and he asked, “is he dead?”

“Well, no.” He didn’t know how to phrase this to someone who wasn’t supposed to even know anything about it. “He just is unable to do his duties currently. We were sent here first to inform our king directly, considering the situation, as we went about our pilgrimage.”

She said something under her breath that Kaden couldn’t make out. Letting out a deep sigh, she motioned to the dead bodies on the ground. “House of the Serpent agents.”

Sayori let out her own curse behind them. “These guys are everywhere!”

“We heard of the attack on your train after you left. Luckily, the northern temple here decided to armor our dragons immediately. Some of the others hadn’t made that decision and regretted it. Shortly afterward, they were emboldened and attacking dragons who flew over the zone. We can’t even proceed well with the investigation.”

“Investigations?” asked Evonne.

The man didn’t even both trying to keep it a secret. “We’re investigating if a lord is involved in this mess.”

“We’re pretty much accepting that the source is the House of the Serpent agents now,” Vixenta added. “We just don’t know if they have higher connections or not. It’s a bit of a mess around these parts. Truly not a time for a pilgrimage.”

Kaden sighed, knowing that it was connected higher. THe ambassador himself had a connection with the Serpents. He still didn’t know what that connection even was. All he knew is he was trying to kill the few they captured before they could share any of their knowledge. Everyone assumed his involvement by his actions with blood magic.

The man pulled down his hood and swung his arm toward Zuma and Taldor. “Are they injured?”

Sayori nodded quickly. “Kaden did his best to seal the wounds with his water magic, but he doesn’t know enough to get him healed enough to fly.”

The two mages looked at each other. Kaden didn’t know what they were discussing with their facial expressions, but the man nodded and walked toward the dragons. He started talking in a soothing tone toward them. As he got closer, he asked, “is it okay if I try to heal them?”

Kaden waved toward the pair. “Zuma is just exhausted from everything. Taldor is the one who needs the most help.”

Vixenta laughed at them. “You guys named them already? Kids these days, I swear.”

Sayori touched the man’s arm before he got to Taldor. “What’s your name, sir?”

“Caspar.”

“Thank you, Caspar.”

He nodded and pressed his hand into Taldor’s scales. A blue light rippled out of his hands and across the dragon’s body. It bounced back and forth, causing waves upon waves to encircle the dragon’s body. He heard the man chanting something, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying.

All the mist that Zuma had put into the air, all the water their own dragons had scalded their enemies with that was pooling on the ground. It all started to lift and pull toward him. Soon it was flowing around him and Taldor. As it drifted by his hand, it illuminated, swirling faster and faster around the beast.

With a gasp from Caspar, it grew bright before popping like a balloon and falling inert on the ground. He fell with it, propping himself on one knee as he tried to catch his breath. Taldor shook their scales and the water that had fallen on it splattered off. The earthen cast it had put on itself flung off as mud as well.

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Trying to compose himself, he stood back up and straightened his back. “That should get them to the temple, at least. It’s just a field healing. We’ll need to get the actual healers in to truly help. They really did a number on them. I’m impressed you were even able to seal the wounds from the damage I felt.”

Reese leaned in while pointing to his cheek, showing off his new silver scars. “Yeah, he’s getting pretty good at healing things, isn’t he?”

Kaden gave a sheepish laugh before Evonne’s voice took him right back into the situation they were in. “They killed themselves, didn’t they?”

Vixenta was rummaging through another body on the ground that was singed from Evonne’s onslaught. “Yeah. We can never capture any of them alive.”

Caspar rotated his shoulder around as he stretched it, walking back toward Vixenta. “I’m impressed with your skills. You lot took on a full force here. Your fire mage really took a lot of them out. The floor is littered with singed bodies out here.”

“They had proven they were already capable of doing a massive amount of damage to our dragons. I wasn’t about to let them do more.”

Caspar winked toward Vixenta and her eyes rolled so hard her head rolled with it. “Yeah, yeah, she’ll make our matriarch proud.”

Evonne suddenly looked embarrassed and confused as she it sunk in what they were implying. Vixenta explained they needed to check the bodies for any signs of directives or anything they could use. They went to work.

Body after body was mangled and bruised for their attacks. If they hadn’t died from the mages and dragons, they slit their own throats. It was gruesome and unnerving. So much death, there was so much death. The scent of burned flesh would not escape his nose. The metallic taste of blood hung in the air, some of it having been misted from the water dragon assault.

None of them were able to find anything of use. At least nothing they actually needed to use for their investigation. Any type of communication that the Serpents had, they didn’t leave a trail of it. He wondered why they were so protective of their secrets that they were willing to die over them. He couldn't imagine being that bound to anything to sacrifice his life for it.

“Okay,” Vixenta was patting her own dragon down, checking all the straps of the armor as they gathered around. “This is how this is going to go. You will follow us in a V formation. Since we have a wind dragon, he will be taking point. Just because we cleared out this next of vipers doesn’t mean there isn’t another one.”

Reese nodded along intently, knowing they were relying on him and Beelin.

“Wind Rider, what’s your name?”

“Reese Manderby.”

Caspar let out a whoop. “Oh, we have a princeling, nice.”

Both Reese and Vixenta rolled their eyes. Vixenta was the daughter of the lord of this region. If his people had princesses, she’d practically be one herself.

“You will be making a cone. Do you understand?”

He nodded.

Turning to the rest of them, she explained, “his magic should protect us from any more assaults. If we are attacked again, do not engage. We can’t have unarmored dragons getting knocked out of the sky again. Straight on to the tower and we should be okay.”

She pulled on a strap, tightening it, before wrapping her hand in a loop and pulling herself atop her armored dragon. “I advise you to continue this tactic as you travel the rest of the lands for your own safety. Wind dragon should always take point.”

Caspar was mounting his own dragon as he said, “he’ll also be breaking the wind, so you should fly faster. Take advantage of it while he’s still with you all!”

Vixenta shook her head and said, “We’ll meet you in the skies.”

In a rush of air from the massive wings, the dragons pushed off the ground and were flying back into the sky.

Sayori shook her head at a beaming Reese. “See, I’m important. I told y’all I’m important.”

Evonne snickered. “Important people don’t say y’all.”

Reese and Evonne teased each other as they made their way back to their dragons. As Kaden neared Zuma and Taldor, he felt Sayori’s hand on his shoulder. “I know these are your people, but we need to be careful what we say. Those dragons and their riders are dressed for war. Things are worse here than we thought. Be careful what is said, for our sakes.”

Gulping, he nodded to her, and she was off to climb Taldor. Zuma nudged his hand as he neared, and he felt a twinge of guilt for not insisting they healed Zuma as well. Pressing his hand into their forehead, he closed his eyes and pushed out a feeling of thankfulness.

He felt a rumble of a purr underneath his fingers and he cracked a smile. Zuma was a blue dragon. A dragon of compassion. Of course, they would be willing to protect their companions. He wasn’t surprised by it, but they needed to rest and recoup. Hopefully, the tower would be welcoming.

Climbing atop the dragon, he was soon joining his companions in the air. As he looked down, he saw the utter devastation they had caused. They didn’t even bother to move the bodies or bury them. When he had asked, the mages dismissed them, harshly saying they didn’t deserve it. He thought everyone deserved that respect, even their enemies.

If any of them had escaped, and he was sure a lot had, they would hopefully take care of their dead and give them the respect they deserved. He wondered if this was part of the reason they hated the riders so much. They had tried to kill him and yet he still wanted them to at least be honored in death.

Sighing, he joined the group of them as he say Vixenta pointing in the direction Reese needed to lead them in. It wasn’t long before they were in formation and flying through the skies. He wouldn’t be losing himself in thought like he had before. His eyes scoured the forest, looking for signs of any more threats.

It didn’t take them too terribly long until the temple came into view. They met a few more armored dragons on patrol as they neared. He saw both Vixenta and Caspar shoot up puffs of water into the air that sparkled as it fell behind them and the patrols let them all pass.

It couldn’t have looked good for three different colored dragons to be flying straight for their temple. He was thankful Vixenta had found them, otherwise they may end up in another situation like they had had going into the white city.

As the temple neared, it looked less majestic than the one he had been introduced to. It didn’t have as many beautiful flowering fountains, although there were still some that pulled water to the peaks of the building.

Flying in to an open pad, they all slowed and came to a stop. There were several bewildered riders watching them as they dismounted. Caspar nodded to Vixenta and ran off down a stairwell immediately. Kaden slid down Zuma and they didn’t even wait for him to dismiss them before they were sliding into the cooling pool atop the building. He wasn’t about to chide them as they melted into it, whimpering at the cool water.

He shrugged at Vixenta when she gave him a disapproving look. “They’re exhausted and need the water of the temple. Can you blame her? You saw their mist shield.”

She sighed and said, “I did. It was impressive. It was even large enough to cover all of you when we came in. Fortunate for you all. I am glad we didn’t scald the other riders and start and international war.”

“War,” a booming voice echoed, and Vixenta flinched. He hadn’t ever seen Vixenta or her sister Iratoi behave like that.

An armored man was coming up the steps with Caspar behind him. Vixenta bowed to the man and said, “Lord Cronley.”

Kaden looked at her and back at him. It was her father. He quickly bowed and saw his companions were doing the same while still on the backs of their dragons.

“You dare bring war to our doorstep?”

Kaden looked around, confused. They hadn’t brought anything of that nature. “No, no, sir. We have not brought that with us. We are here on our pilgrimage and were instructed by the council to deliver something to the king.”

“Then why are you here at the temple, escorted by two of my water riders?”

“We were att—”

“Caspar, get these dragons into the holding stables. Do not let them leave until we interrogate these foreigners.”

Vixenta let out an annoyed sigh, but he ignored her. “And get that damn dragon out of the pool.”