Shrouded in by the inky canopy of the night sky, the grassy knolls looked like a vast expanse of blackness. The brilliant stars that freckled the sky earlier were now fewer than ever. Even the moon's glow was dimmer as grey clouds floated over it every now and then. Occasional slapping of Izar's hooves on the gravel was the only sound that percolated through the silence. Quetz silently glided above them in circles. Dawn's heart was laden with terror and fear as the night wrapped around her. Why was it so quiet? Where was everyone? She slowed Izar to a careful walk and turned towards the cottage for any sign of life. But there was none. Nothing.

Suddenly Izar bucked and stumbled back. Dawn tried to calm him and goad him to walk forward but he didn't.

​​

'There is no one Dawn. Retreat.' Quetz warned her. 'This place is quiet and I see no one. It is dangerous. Retreat.'

Dawn dismounted Izar and holding his leash, she walked to the cottage. She took out her dagger, ready for any untoward threat that was lurking around her. She knew Daryn was going to be furious but she had to help him and be with him. She loved him a lot and would fight for him with all her might. She drew towards the cottage. The bushes and trees around it looked as though they had been gouged as if a beast had taken its rage out. By the time she reached the entrance, her throat was dry. She tied Izar to a nearby post and walked to the cottage. The door of the cottage was swinging on its hinge as if someone powerful had tried to break in. Izar neighed lightly and her stomach churned. She walked inside with her dagger gripped tightly to attack anyone instantly. A light flickered near the counter. The werewolf who sat there was missing. The entire lobby was empty. The whole place seemed devoid of any kind of presence. The leather sofas were ripped with sharp rough-edged knives, tapestries were tattered and flower vases were broken into thousands of pieces.

"Daryn?" she called.

'Dawn, come out! We need to leave this place. I don't feel uneasy over here,' Quetz called her.

'I have to find him,' she replied and rushed inside. She stumbled upon a drum with a broken shell and torn batter head, swearing at it.

"Daryn?" she called him again but there was no answer. She entered the room where she was staying hoping to find Daryn. "Daryn?" There was no answer. Everything in the room had been shredded to pieces. Her knees became wobbly. Her hand with the dagger loosely to the side. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and she sunk to the ground. Beads of sweat formed on her lip and forehead. She licked her lips and swallowed her saliva. She should have left him. Where was he? Where was the rest of his pack? Where were the rest of the Chiefs?

'Dawn, you come out now!' Quetz almost blasted her. She felt his rage rising. 'There is no time to sit and cry. We must go back.'

'No! I have to find Daryn,' she snapped. With shakiness in her limbs she got and walked to go out of the cottage. There was chaos everywhere. She felt bile rising to her throat and she rushed out but she must have barely walked a few feet that she vomited.

'Dawn!' Quetz became worried and sent her a message that thudded her mind.

She wiped her mouth with the sleeve and walked out weakly. The assailant must have forced their way inside. Where was everyone? The whole place was a wreck.

When Dawn opened the main door, which was hanging loosely on its hinge, she flinched at the sound of its creaking. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The night was still dark but according to her calculation the sun would break anytime soon. She leaned on the wall thinking what to do next. The silence loomed large.

'I am coming down,' Quetz said. He was extremely worried.

Suddenly sound of crunching gravel shattered the silence of the night. Terrified, Dawn looked in front. The sound echoed angrily in the stillness. She straightened alert of the approaching danger, gripping her dagger firmly as she brought it up. Someone walked and emerged from the shades of the darkness in front of her—a man with so many pixies sitting on him that his silhouette was defined by their glow.

Dawn's limbs became weak as her dagger fell to the ground. Her fingers pressed her lips.

Brantley was standing in front of her. His body appeared as though it was blazing with fire. In that glow of light she could see his extremely well defined, masculine features, broad shoulders that of a warrior and sculpted abs that would put a human to shame. His raven black hair was sticking on his neck. He looked like a God. Wearing black leather pants with a leather belt with a large buckle, his body was void of the shirt. A sword was hanging on the side with a gold pommel. Its hilt was silvery and sheath a steel grey.

Dawn couldn't believe her eyes. She blinked rapidly to make out if this was what she was watching.

Brantley moved forward with the confidence and aura of the King he was, as the gravels beneath him crunched.

Her stomach clenched. She had to save Quetz. She immediately sent the message to Quetz, 'Keep flying and don't come down.' With no other option left except to face the man in front of her, she controlled her shaky breathing.

Brantley approached nearer and his dragon tattoo seemed to move on his body with every step he took. Dawn stared at him intensely - her wide green eyes into his light brown. He came to a stop several away from her.

Cautiously, she walked closer to ask him to ask about all the chaos of which she had inkling that he was part of. As she approached him, the pixies sat still in their places slowly fluttering their wings. All at once, a gigantic triangular green head peering over his shoulder, came into view. His dragon. Her mouth fell open. The dragon's head was much larger than Quetz's. It glowed a simmering hunter green in the lights. Was this the same dragon who she had encountered in the lake? So it was his dragon. It was gigantic. It could shred Quetz into pieces if need be.

"Hello Dawn," Brantley said as a half smile tugged on his lips. "You came back?"

"Where is Daryn?" she asked.

Ignoring her, Brantley tilted his head. "Meet my dragon, Rirsyr."

She was in awe. "Where is Gayle? Are they alive?"

"Yes, they are," he replied casually.

Dawn let out a sigh of relief.

"Where are they? Take me to them."

Brantley scoffed. "I told you they are alive. But—"

"Tell me everything," she said, not able to wait for his mystic answers.

"I already told you. You have something that belongs to me."

Dawn gulped. "In that case you should also know that I can't part with it."

Brantley roared in fury as his hand reached the pommel of his sword. All the pixies on him flew away fearing the outburst.

Dawn stood there fixed to her place, terrified of this man but there was no way she would give up on Quetz. She waited.

When his anger settled, Brantley flicked his head. His dragon stared at her with steely eyes. "You give me your dragon and I will give you Gayle. As for Daryn, I don't know where he is." The deal was set out very clearly.

So Gayle was missing because he had abducted him. Perhaps Daryn was still finding his father in the forest. Thank God he was safe. "What kind of a dragon rider are you, when you don't know that a rider can't be parted from his or her dragon?"

The pixies were too scared of sitting on him so they hovered around. Were they his slaves?

"If you don't give him up voluntarily, I will have to slay you and snatch him from you." Brantley drew half of his sword out and started walking towards her.

Suddenly the air filled with loud screeches as if iron spikes were being drawn across rocks. Shingles from the cottage fell down behind her.

Brantley's dragon flapped his wings threateningly, as if ready for an attack.

'No!' Dawn shouted through her mental link. 'Don't come down. He is trying to draw you out.'

But Quetz descended at an alarming speed and landed right beside her. He crouched behind her, as his wings spread protectively on either side. He growled deeply and snapped his jaws. She could feel his fear.

'Calm down Quetz.'

Brantley stopped and stared at Quetz with crazy interest in his eyes. He put the sword back in its sheath. A smile appeared on his lips again. Since she was not revealing her dragon, the best way to draw him out was to threaten her with death. Her dragon was a sheer beauty, small but sturdier and younger.

"Meet my dragon, Quetz."