Book 2: Chapter 84 (1/2)
The phoenix matriarch opened her eyes, stood up, and spread her wings. She let out a screech that caused the flames surrounding her to fly up into the air, filling the sky with bright-red fire. Her surroundings had already been evacuated, allowing her to set the whole nest ablaze, increasing her strength with every fire lit. Tafel had wanted to stay behind, but the matriarch forced her to take the baby phoenixes to a safe place. Even the elves, who’ve lived there for hundreds of years, were removed from their homes.
The wounds the matriarch had suffered during her previous clash with Vur, including the self-inflicted one she created to escape, had all healed. She took one last glance at the cluster of eggs behind her, making sure they were engulfed in flames, before flying out of her nest towards the sky. Her eyes narrowed at the procession of dwarves, their cars snaking through her forest like a line of ants through a field of grass. At the head, a silver dragon stiffened and looked up, meeting her gaze.
“Hey, Vur,” Lulu said, nudging the person on her head with a claw. “She’s staring at us.”
“I know,” Vur said as he stood up. He scratched his head. “Just in case, keep your mana potions at the ready. I’ll test them for you if I need them.”
“Really?” Lulu asked, a gleam in her eyes. “You will? I guarantee that one of my potions will fully recover your mana in an instant!”
“Stop making him repeat himself,” Stella said. “If he says he will, then he will.” She nodded before dissolving into motes of purple light, merging into Vur’s body.
“I don’t want to be greedy, Vur,” Sheryl said from the runes on his shoulder, “but can you give me some more of her flames? I might be able to directly absorb them if she hits your shoulder. I feel like I can evolve even further!”
“I’ll try,” Vur said and nodded. He leapt into the air, his body transforming the moment his feet left Lulu’s head. A pair of wings burst out of his back, launching him towards the phoenix in the sky, his body continuing to transform mid-flight.
“We meet again, dragon!” the phoenix matriarch said as she swooped at Vur, talons outstretched. The flames in the vicinity wrapped around her feet like armor, causing them to give off an incredible amount of heat.
Vur sucked in his breath, his stomach ballooning outwards. A moment later, a torrent of icicles flew out of his mouth accompanied by a dense layer of white frost that clashed with the flames in the sky. The phoenix matriarch continued forward as if she hadn’t noticed the icicles, her body shimmering as she increased in speed. The icicles passed through her body as if she were made of flames, leaving her unharmed.
Vur flapped his wings, soaring up into the air higher than the matriarch, but flames erupted underneath the phoenix, causing her to chase after Vur without needing to flap her wings. Vur let out another breath of frost, but the matriarch passed through unimpeded, the flames in the sky flickering for a brief moment. Vur’s eyes glowed as he increased the gravity around the matriarch, causing her to falter.
“In these flaming skies, I am the monarch!” the matriarch shouted. Her body turned into wisps of fire while the flames above Vur contorted and wriggled, forming the crude outline of a bird. A moment later, the flames solidified, and the matriarch’s talons struck Vur on the shoulder, tearing a long bloody gash through his scales.
Vur roared and swiped his tail at the phoenix as she passed by, but his tail passed through her as she reappeared above him. He glared at the matriarch as the wound on his shoulder closed, white tendrils of light dancing around the flesh. “I can absorb the flames around us, Vur,” Sheryl said. “It’ll take a while, at least an hour. Can you hold out for that long?”