Cryhn had been quite fidgety the past two days since we had escaped from the prison. I suspected he wanted to interrogate me about my element, but I had clung to Fyrlia's side like a flea to avoid being left alone with him, and I had no plan to stop now.

That is if I had a choice.

"Fyrlia, why don't you stay here and make a fire to guide Rylar and myself back when we're finished hunting?"

As the senior member of the group, Fyrlia had no reason to deny Cryhn's request. Even so, she hesitated, her eyes darting from my anxious expression to Cryhn's towering form. Ultimately, she agreed, albeit with a puzzled look in her eyes. I suspected she had no clue that my element wasn't pure fire, so the whole ordeal between him and I probably seemed really bizarre and random.

Lift-off was still a bit challenging — especially since we were surrounded by trees — but I managed it. I was still adjusting to one eye, so when Cryhn flew along my left side, I groaned in frustration.

Now on my left all I could see was him and a tiny slice of the forest. My frontal vision wasn't obstructed, but if we wanted to catch anything I'd be no use with my range of view being so limited. I knew his intention wasn't to hunt, at least not yet, but it still irked me.

"What do you want?" I snapped in frustration after a few minutes.

"How about we go a little further, and then we can talk?" He replied calmly.

Suddenly, a thought came to mind. What if he's trying to lure me away from Fyrlia so he can kill me? He doesn't seem like the sort to do that, but then again, dragons came from all over and were crazy about hunting down Nytheri because she hatched my sister and me.

Now uncertain, I peered at him suspiciously. "I think we've gone far enough."

We had traveled roughly over a league, so the only way Fyrlia would overhear our conversation was if she followed us, or it turned into a bloodbath.

He frowned slightly as if confused before his expression cleared. "I'm not going to harm you if that's what you think, but I suppose this spot will do either way."

We touched down in the small clearing and an awkward silence ensued. "So," I finally asked, "What do you want?"

He sat down, drawing his wings and tail close and diminishing his large stature considerably. He had to be over a hundred years old, a considerable feat and a probable explanation for his behemoth size that resulted in me being engulfed by his shadow.

"You're one of the hybrids," he said simply.

"And if I am? What of it?" I questioned defensively.

Ignoring my question, he mused, "You're not at all what I expected, but perhaps that's for the better. Everyone else believes her hatchlings were just elemental hybrids, so as long as you conceal you're element you should be safe."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Almost as an afterthought, he added, "No one else knows, correct?"

"No," I affirmed. "As far as I'm aware you and Kazlar are the only ones who know."

"We should reach Estryai in about two or three more days. When we get there, I'll do the talking. I have this," he lifted his front left arm to display a night black clasp containing elaborate designs that I couldn't quite discern before continuing, "which should speed up our search for the dark elves. It was crafted by one of them as a gift, and while it was created a while ago I'm confident anyone related to the elves will recognize the design."

"Why are you doing this?" At Cryhn's quizzical look I elaborated, "Helping me, I mean. From what I've heard everyone wants to kill my sister and me, nobody's ever tried to intervene and help us."

"They're scared. Some of the power you can wield, and some of the power others wield to keep themselves in control and maintain order. Your existence disrupts the order and compels them to spread hysteria and lies about your kind, subjecting you to a hate and discrimination even worse than normal hybrids face. I'm different in the sense that I have no one left who could influence my decisions, and so can keep an open mind. Through the years I have come to realize that, sure, elemental hybrids are powerful, but that is no reason to subject them to death for something that's beyond their control. I may also have...personal bias, but that's a story for another time."

“Is that how you know my sister? You helped her?”

“I did more than help her, I trained her. And I’ll do the same for you during our journey.”

An overwhelming sense of gratitude and relief flowed through me. Before I could think it through, my legs carried me forward and I was forcefully halted after colliding against his chest. I froze for a moment, worried I had overstepped, but a deep chuckle rumbling from him reassured me that everything was fine. A soft weight on my back alerted me to his wing wrapping around me to ensnare me in a comforting hug. It felt a lot like Kazlar was here, just bigger, and that single comparison sent waves of guilt crashing through me.

I hope he’s okay. Maybe I should have waited a bit to see if he was fine, despite the risks.

I stepped away from Cryhn. Needing a distraction, I asked, “Now can we go hunting?”

“Yes, go on. Don’t worry about catching something for Fyrlia, I can do that, just go get yourself something and head back to camp.”

I gave him a nod of acknowledgment, turned, and raced into the sky.

~~~

The sun had long since disappeared, casting everything in inky black. And while I had always worked best at night, now it felt like something was missing. Perhaps it was some influence from my element which caused me to operate no better during the night than I did in the day. Either way, I was still unsuccessful in my hunt. I hadn’t spotted anything until now, and while I was sure the influence of my blind right eye contributed to that, the forest very well could have been lacking in prey; it had been awfully quiet during the day, and even more so now that it was night.

My prey was no more than a black blob slinking through a large clearing, a hard target to both track and gauge. It could have been anything, but I was undeterred. Scarcely any species could cause dragons harm, and that was always when they had some sort of advantage — except for golems — but currently, I had the advantage, and I was determined to return to the others with a full belly.

Gliding near silent on the soft breeze, I slowly edged closer. Finally, I hovered above it, and, taking a deep breath to still the anxiousness in my veins, I dived.

It heard me, but to late; I was already bowling it to the ground, sending both of us rolling through dead, crinkly leaves and announcing our presence to anyone near.

Oh well, it won’t matter once I get this kill.

The creature flailed in my clutch, squirming in ways that only a fish should be able to and batting frantically against me with its…paws?

Shock filled me. If my assumption was correct, then I had just caught a Falinthian, a panther shifter no less. Either that or it was one of their wild cousins, of which I had no problem eating. Falinthians though, were exceedingly rare, especially ones that were large cats. I had always felt bad learning about their past and current conditions in history class. They were kept as pets primarily by humans, though some noble elves were also known to keep them in captivity. For that reason, If this was a Falinthian, then I would let it free. No matter how hungry I was, the species was near extinction and I was unwilling to contribute to that cause.

I relaxed my grip slightly, and said calmly, “If you’re a Falinthian, I’ll let you go. If not, I’m eating you, so fess up.”

Its struggles only got wilder, and I had to adjust my stance multiple times to avoid getting a foot in the face.

“Seriously?” I muttered. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you if you are one, so just-”

A heavy weight slammed into my side, forcefully shoving me off of the panther and sending me rolling for a few long seconds before I came to a halt. My body ached from my tumble and a few places stung as if they had been cut open.

What the hell was that?