Claimed By A Dragon Prince-Chapter 81: Lost Sibling

Lily had never felt so free in her life. Flying was on a whole other level of life. Soaring through the air, watching the birds and bugs as she flew by, reminded her just how much life there was. She noticed a clearing not too far, seeing the life that struggled to grow there. *It’s reached this far, too.*

Lily landed, her feet bare, feeling how the life under her feet felt almost ghost-like. *That must be the slow effects of the toxin. It slowly takes the life from you. All hope. All thoughts of living.* She stood there feeling the forest around her wondering if she did heal it how long it would last.

Looking to the North where the eggshell and corpse still lie Lily knew it would only be a matter of time before more darkling dragons would appear. Taking what samples she could and writing down her findings, Lily put it all away, knowing where she needed to go next. Dimitri lands next to her at that moment, seeing her determined look on her face. "You know that place is dangerous? Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?"

Lily looked at him a bit annoyed, then started to float just above the ground, letting the air carry her. "You can either come with me or stay behind, but I would prefer you come with me. Just in case things go differently, then I think they will." Dimitri shook his head in exasperation, nudging her with his head before she took off, headed to the area where the darkling dragons resided.

Lily had a sneaking suspicion about what those darkling dragons really were and if possible maybe reverse the effects of the toxin on them. She had only seen something similar to the darkling dragons once, years ago, when she wasn’t supposed to be in the dungeons in the Wolf Palace.

She had just turned 15 and Alisa had told her she had a present for her down in the dungeons. "Why do I have to go to the dungeons to get this present?" Lily knew Alisa loved to torment her and give her impossible tasks and it was sounding like this would be no exception.

"It was too big to get through the hallways. Besides from what brother has told me this is something you’ve wanted for a long time. Said it might help your "research"." Lily thought about what she might have told Max, then a light bulb went off in her head. It must be the glider she asked for to travel the river with. It would be to hard to get through the hallways.

Excited that for once, they had gotten her a gift she could use, Lily headed down the stairs past the great hall. At first, she ignored the smell because this place always had a bad smell to it. Then as she got closer the the bottom it became so pungent that Lily started to gag on the smell. Pulling out a thick cloth, she puts it over her mouth trying to keep the taste out of her mouth. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Just as she reached the bottom a loud roar came from the corner then a hissing sound. "What the....?" It roared again then spat green flames out at her before she ducked then sprinted up the stairs scared out of her mind. Those eyes would haunt her dreams, but thinking back now they looked sad and scared, not menacing.

Getting close to the area again, she approached cautiously, taking her time to approach the corpse and eggshell. None had stepped forward but the smell was still there. Coming to the edge ot the small crater, the eggshell and corpse lay. Lily knelt down next to it feeling a living pulse come from the body. The eyes snapped open as the body reacted trying to attach itself to her.

Lily stepped back as it layed back down looking at her, it breath labored. "Can you understand me?" The corpse nodded. Lily knelt down wanting to be on an even level with this creature. "What happened? Why are you here?" It looked over her shoulder as if recognizing the person behind her. Dimitri stood there a distressed look on his face.

"Mother told me you didn’t make it. That if I tried to save you I would die myself. She didn’t want to lose two sons." Lily was shocked to hear that his own mother would discard her own child like this. If nothing else she should have burned to ash what she thought was a corpse. Flesh peeling off, labored breathing, and a charred appearance told her someone had tried to cook him.

The eggshell was his armor, and it didn’t look like he had moved from that spot ever. The death and decay smell coming from the masses near him said it all. "But I didn’t die I lived. I remember you. You were scared, but you didn’t hurt me."

"I’m sorry but I don’t remember you. How do you know me?" The corpse leaned on one elbow, looking her in the eyes. "I was in the cell next to the darkling dragon that tried to attack you." She hadn’t even noticed him, but then again, the darkling was roaring at her, scaring the daylights out of her. "You were there?!"

He nodded, coughing before catching his breath. Lily wanted to help him, but could see that if she tried, it could potentially kill her. "Why did you stay alive this long? The pain you’re going through must be unbearable." Lily wasn’t trying to be insensitive, but to put yourself through this amount of pain, there must be a good reason.

The corpse took a shallow breath having a hard time answering her. "*cough* I needed...to see him. *cough* He needed to know.....I was here." "To what end?" Dimitri’s sudden question had the corpse looking at him funny. "We shared a womb together. I was supposed to be your older brother. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"If I had known you still existed I would have come to finish you off myself. No one should suffer this way not even to tell a loved on they were alive. Because this isn’t living brother. This is holding on to a dream that will never materialize. Had you been healthy and strong or even a cripple I would have taken care of you, but you are holding onto life as if I should and have to save you. I don’t, I’m sorry but you should have stayed dead."

Lily’s heart dropped in her chest hearing the things Dimitri was saying. "How can you be this heartless? He’s your brother and needed your help. Still needs it and your just gonna fry his ass and pretend he doesn’t exist?"

Dimitri looked up at her an enigmatic look on his face. "You don’t know everything, Lily. This needs to end and now." He summoned fire into his hand ready to strike his less then a corpse brother. Lily stepped in his way stopping him from killing his brother. "Move." Lily shook her head no just as she felt something wrap around her middle as what looked to be a large darkling dragon replace where his brother used to be.

"What?! Put me down!" The darkling ignored her moving to a cliffs edge stretching his wings out. "Give her back to me!" The roar coming out of the Darkling’s mouth was deafening, pushing Dimitri back as it leapt from the edge flying further into the forbidden territory. "Lily!"

Lily tried to pull the claw as from her waist but they wouldn’t budge even when she pulled her dagger out and stabbed the leg. He didn’t even flinch from the pain. *How are you alive?!* She didn’t fight him more since it would do no good. He went further into the mountains the ridges closer together making him take sharper turns giving her whiplash.

"Hey! Ease UP! Please!" He pulled her closer to his body so she could move with him instead of opposite him. His skin felt like wet leather, but it wasn’t peeling off. Looking around Lily could see it was the same every where else on his skin. He didn’t have scales though which gave him a sleeker look. He moved to a cliff cave at the highest peak in the mountains. He drops her on the edge as she rolls into the cave more. The darkling shifts into what looks to be a twin to Dimitri, only half his skin was covered in the black wet leather skin of his dragon.

"You weren’t actually dying that day were you?" Lily leaned against a wall away from him. He walked over to her kneeling down to her eye level. He studied her face watching as she didn’t have the type look of distaint or judgement behind those blue/green eyes. Standing back up he turned to leave her when he darkly whispered soflty to her. "No I wasn’t."