Of all the noises that the cave emanated, the sound of trickling water gently cascading down it's walls was the one that woke her. Startled, her eyes flicked open, wild and alert. Ashalan lay still, listening quietly, keeping her breathing slow and steady. There were a few more creaks from the stone walls, but that was all. Deciding that there was no apparent danger, she took a deep breath and slowly sat up. Her head throbbed. The large amulet hung heavily around her neck and thumped against her bare chest as she moved. As she ran her fingertips across the jewel, it glowed brighter at her touch but not enough to penetrate the darkness surrounding her. She let it fall gently back to her chest.

Stretching her arms out, she tried to relieve the tenseness in her muscles and malnourished body. She hadn't eaten in days and her stomach let her know it. Cramping painfully in emptiness, it gurgled and moaned. In an attempt to quiet it, she rubbed it softly, looking out into the blackness as she did so. She squinted her eyes and tried to see what was around her.

Unsteadily, she rose to her feet, every muscle stiff and burning as she did so. The cool dampness of the cave gnawed further into her achy bones, making her naked body feel numb and foreign to her. Her long wavy auburn hair partially covered her small breasts. Shivering with the cold, she wrapped her arms around herself in a redundant effort to keep warm. The darkness was disorientating and she tentatively put her foot out to step forward. The sharp rocks on the cavern floor cut into the soles of her feet causing her to wince and stumble. She fell into the side of the cave and grabbed onto the wall but pulled her hands away after touching its unexpected slimy wetness.

The darkness of the cave was thick and enveloped her senses. She took another deep breath to calm her thoughts and steady herself. Raising her hand, she pinched the fingertips of her thumb and forefinger together. She pursed her parched lips and gently blew on them, s soft spark leapt from her lips and ignited the flame on her fingertips. The light radiated through the cave lighting the way ahead.

A sudden screech rang out from the depths of the cavern catching her by surprise. Her emerald eyes flashed at the sound and she quickly crouched down. Flicking the flame from her fingertips into the air, she reached for it with her hand and grasped it in her palm. The flame grew into a ball of fire and she launched it in the direction of the noise. It's fiery trail illuminating the cave walls as it flew through the air. A squeal resounded through the cave as the ball hit its target, followed by a soft thump of something hitting the ground. She sparked another flame on her fingertips and went over to investigate, carefully stepping around the sharp rocks as she did so. A dead bat lay on the ground smouldering. She sighed with relief and started to breathe again, her heart still pounding.

Beside the bat, she saw a threadbare canvas sack. The material was ingrained in dirt from the floor of the cave and covered the remains of an old fire, a few pieces of wood were also stacked neatly against a wall. It looked like someone else had taken refuge there before her, a long time ago.

She grabbed a piece of wood and lit the end with the flame and extinguished it from her fingers. Gently placing her newly made torch against a rock, she picked up the musty piece of sacking and used the light to examine it. It was worn in places but it would offer some protection from the cold and dampness. She shook it to remove some of the dirt and soot. She ripped a hole in the bottom of the sack along the seam then one on each side. She pulled the larger hole over her head and put her arms through the ones on the sides. The makeshift dress made her feel instantly warmer and less vulnerable.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Picking up the remains of the bat, she looked at it and noted there was enough meat there to satisfy the hunger pangs for a while at least. She cleared the small pit and placed some pieces of wood within it and used the flame from her torch to light it. The wood was dry so it erupted into small flames immediately. She pierced the bat with a stick from the pile and held it over the fire, turning it slowly to cook the bits she'd missed with the fireball. Once it was done she devoured it within seconds, licking her fingers afterwards.

Once she was done, she pushed dirt over the flames until only embers remained. She then covered the fire and dusted her hands off.

Grabbing her torch she lifted it up and watched as the flame flickered them leant in a certain direction. She put her hand out, she could feel a breeze. Hopefully the entrance to the cave. She hoped that she wasn't far from it, she trusted that her dragon self wouldn't have been able to climb too far into the depths anyway.

The breeze blew a cool wind and the torch flickered more erratically, walking towards the source she felt hope rise in her belly. She saw soft light penetrating the blackness and she walked cautiously towards it. She had no idea where she was but sensed it wasn’t far from where she’d just escaped from.

As she rounded a corner, she saw the cave entrance with what looked like moonlight streaming in. She sighed in relief as she realised it was still night. Under Seraphine’s evil spell, she was only a dragon by day – a day breather.

Ashalan stopped and took a breath. She thought back to the day that Seraphine and her soldiers had attacked her and her family. Seraphine had been her father, King Harald's, most trusted sorceress and friend but when she was found to be planning to rise against him, her father had exiled her from the kingdom. Ashalan had seen what Seraphine had been up to in her exile, amassing an army to overthrow both the kingdoms of her father and his four older brothers - all Kings of their own lands.

Seraphine had made it look like Ashalan had been kidnapped by a neighbouring kingdom and the great war had broken out between the brothers. Part of Seraphine’s plan to keep all parties occupied while she grew her own army. During war it was easy to make people disappear into her caverns as prisoners because nobody would question the disappearance of soldiers as they were thought to be slain by the opposing army on the battlefield.

Seraphine had divided her prisoners into day breathers and night breathers, so her army would be able to fight throughout both night and day with refreshed dragon force at the ready. Something the armies she was going to go up against couldn't do.

Being a day breather meant that Ashalan would need to keep herself concealed. She shuddered thinking about what she might have done under her beast's state of consciousness now she was out of the caverns, the beast itself only it knew. Hopefully she hadn't been spotted by any villagers otherwise word would get back to Seraphine.

She walked to the entrance and gazed out upon the moonlit world. It seemed so peaceful. The stars glittered above again and she smiled at their beauty. She calculated her position and knew she needed to keep moving west. She needed to get to the kingdom of her Uncle Winstead, the oldest brother of the five. Tobalas had instructed her that it was nearer than her own. Get there, warn the King and give the amulet to Monterey so they could get word to her father.

She was sure that Seraphine would launch her attack soon and now that Ashalan had escaped it may be sooner than later.