Instantly my guard was back up and I eyed him distrustfully.

What does a dwarf have to do with her?

Taking my silence as affirmation he said, "Cryhn was very...willing to provide information about her. About his entire past, in fact.”

The cruel glint in his eyes made its first appearance, and as a sinking feeling entered my gut, I realized just how wrongly I had judged him.

"What did you do? Where is she?" I snarled in rage.

"Oh, don't worry. She's safe for now, assuming you continue to cooperate."

I stretched myself to my full height and glared down at him with contempt.

How dare he! I have been nothing but agreeable with his demands and now he threatens me?

“You mind your tongue, dwarf. Us dragons have quite a long memory.”

“Oh? And what is that going to do for you, caged like the beast you are? Perhaps I should have a muzzle crafted to fit the look.”

A savage snarl rang through the room, not just from myself, but also from Cryhn. Surprised, both myself and the dwarf stared at him, but before the dwarf could say any more two torchbearers entered the room.

A petite lady dwarf walked between them, clutching a scroll that she promptly handed to the lead dwarf before turning to stare at us, curiosity evident in her roving gaze.

Rage still simmered through my being and the additional flames and shadowed corner I was in screamed to Ragithar, my element. Trepidation built up in me alongside hope, though I was wary of the latter.

It probably won’t work, but if I try and it does…

The faint murmurings of the dwarves faded from my ears and my anger gave way to calm. I reached inside, searching for my element. Even though I’d only touched it once, the process was already quicker than that initial introduction.

“Ragithar,” I called out into the void of my soul, summoning the element quicker than I anticipated. I reached out to it as it drew closer, and when we met my whole being radiated with power. The feeling was subdued compared to my first summon, probably due to the scarcity of my elements in this room, but it was there nonetheless.

My rage returned in full force as I was sucked back into the prison, my eyes instantly finding our captors exposed back. Fangs exposed, I commanded the fire and shadows to attack him, and attack it did.

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The flames danced off of the torches they had previously called home and raced towards the dwarf, a cloud of shadows intertwining with it instantly. Together, the elements slammed into his backside, the darkness tearing the skin open while the flames caught, and combined leaving his skin charred and black. My brow furrowed in concentration as the elements worked their magic, and the pungent scent of burning flesh filled my nostrils in unison with a shrill scream.

At only Beginner rank with basically no experience commanding my element, the dark fire quickly dissipated, much to my disappointment. Still, it had managed to tear open a sizable portion of his back and would likely leave him bedridden for weeks, if not months.

The ensuing chaos was quite amusing to observe. The lady dwarf’s expression had turned from curious to terrified to disgusted to outraged in record speed while his guards remained too shellshocked to move.

They seem quite qualified for their job.

The torchbearers had also failed at their task; their torches had instantly clattered to the floor, a weak flame left guttering from two of them while the third had been completely extinguished.

“Haldric!” The lady dwarf shouted out, rushing to my target's side where he lay squirming on the ground in pain.

The guards — prompted to action by her movement — rushed to assist their leader. They all crouched over his body before one came to his senses and shouted in dwarvish, presumably for a healer. A torchbearer then left, flinging open the door and sprinting around the corner and out of sight.

Satisfaction coiled through me at the chaos I had caused and the revenge I had wrought.

So this is what being a dragon feels like? Commanding respect and fear in equal measure and forcing it if they don’t bend the knee? Kazlar was right. I quite like it.

Kazlar had told me a long time ago that outside of Yaegran, dragons were seen as majestic, almost godly, creatures. Some loathed our kind, some admired us, but all feared us, and if they didn’t, we made them. I had always argued and claimed I wouldn’t be that way. I still remember myself saying, “When I’m older, I won’t be like that! I’ll be nice, like you, not like Hatryn. He’s too proud and stuck up all the time to be any fun!” And yet, here I was, becoming the dragon I detested and I liked it.

Yes, I like it. Is that so wrong? To enjoy going from always getting pushed around to now being the one who calls the shots? I don’t think so.

And before I could lose my conviction, I snarled to Haldric, “Never again will you mistake a dragon's amiableness for weakness, for every time you dare think the thought your scars will remind you otherwise. By Zythin’s will I pray you never forget this day or my words, and if by some cruel irony you do, then I pray enough misfortune will befall you to crush your wretched soul and send your spirit straight to the perdition you belong in.”

I turned my gaze towards a faint jingling noise and watched yearnfully as Chryhn manipulated his element, which he must have had access to since the door was open and the wind was strong, to tear the keys from where they were strung around Haldric’s neck. With a final sharp tug, the keys flew loose and sailed towards Cryhns cell. They halted in their path about a tail length away just as the door was slammed shut by one of the guards, but it was enough. The keys skidded the last bit of distance and stopped right outside of his cell. Using his talons he was able to carefully maneuver them inside, pick them up, and then wedge his foreleg through the gap between the bars to the padlock.

After what felt like minutes later but couldn't have been more than a few seconds a dull click could be heard and the lock fell to the ground. Cryhn tore his foreleg out from the bars — for a moment I thought he’d be stuck — and shoved open the door. He raced to our cell next, unlocking it and releasing us within a few seconds.

I followed just behind as Fyrlia dashed out of the cage and all three of us sprinted for the door. My blind eye made it impossible to keep both the dwarves and the door in view at the same time, but I trusted my companions to alert me of any danger the dwarves might present us and so I concentrated on the door.

When we reached it Fyrlia and I stood back a pace, glaring down the dwarves while Cryhn figured out how to open the door, our final obstacle. Just as the door opened and we turned to run out, Fyrlia looked at me and said, “Your little speech might have been a bit much, but I think you got the point across.”

Her laugh echoed down the corridor we had stepped into, and while I was baffled as to why she was laughing exactly, I joined in out of pure relief to be free again. I think I even heard Cryhn’s gruff chuckle when we reached the end of the short hall and could see the sky. In unison we launched ourselves off the side of the mountain into the empty expanse of the night, our only company being each other, the stars, and a crisp breeze.

I don’t think I can ever be annoyed with the wind again.