Hi all!
With Glass and Ice out in October I thought I’d share a little preview of the first chapter, I hope you enjoy! If you don’t want spoilers, I recommend skipping this blog post.
Wyverns.
I never thought I’d see a Wyvern.
Their bodies writhe around in their cage, their thin tongues licking the glass desperately. Their torsos are made up of thin colourful scales and they have thick, stubby tails. Their eyes are like Aqueous’, but with larger pupils, shaped like a deer’s. Two long, elegant wings replace their front feet.
“Marine.”
The voice makes me jump, but I’m not surprised to turn around and come face to face with my older doppelgänger. She looks relieved this time, with a hint of a smile appearing on her face. She is no longer covered in Wyrms like last time; her face is clear and glowing a light blue. She’s appeared to me before, but this time is different. She looks ready to say more than she usually does.
“Save us, Marine.”
“Save who?” I reply, making Marco jump next to me. He gives me a strange look, staring at Marine. I guess my boyfriend still can’t see her.
“Us.”
My heart drops as I realise what she’s been trying to say all this time.
She wasn’t a vision from Draca. The large dragon lied, again. So many times he’s claimed to help us but more often than not he’s just been a hinderance. He doesn’t know anything more than we do.
This means the Wyrms had no part to play in the visions either.
She’s the desperate form of a group of trapped Wyverns.
“Oh my God.” I stumble back as Marine stares at the caged Wyverns, warmth in her usually lifeless eyes.
“Haze? What’s wrong?” Marco gently tugs my hand towards him.
“I…had no idea…” Braith mumbles next to us, her eyes filling with tears. “We’ve been ignoring them this whole time!”
My friend Braith left Aria soon after I did. She has the same markings, but hers are that of an ice elemental whereas mine are water.
“Calm down, it’s not our fault.” I wrap my free arm around her shoulders as she trembles, her large eyes locked on the trapped Wyverns.
“Am I missing something?” Marco asks.
“You know how Marine kept saying ‘save us’?” I swallow back the lump in my throat as I speak.
“Yeah…?”
“Turns out she meant the Wyverns.”
He furrows his brow. “But we can’t let them out.”
“Why not?” I explode, attempting to rip my hand away, but he hangs on tighter.
“Because these dragons are extinct to the world.” He looks at the cage sadly. “If we let them out, God knows what people will do. They will be hunted and caged as trophies, killed for medicine-”
“I get it,” I cut him off.
More Wyverns seem to appear in the darkness, clambering towards the glass to look at us. Their eyes are glowing, happy.
Filled with hope.
Aqueous, my dragon companion, looks at me with his turquoise eyes. He whines, touching the glass with his nose. A large mossy green Wyvern approaches the glass before tentatively pressing its nose against it. Aqueous turns to me, his nose twitching.
“Please. Save us,” Marine begs, her face distorting in desperation.
“How are you doing this?” I ask the apparition. “How can you talk to me?”
Marine lowers her gaze. “Disgrace…Big disgrace.”
“What do you mean ‘disgrace’?”
“Had to save us.” She takes a few steps forward so she’s in my face, her older frame towering over me slightly. “Save us.”
So, the Wyverns have done something that allows them to communicate with us. But what? And how?
A loud bang makes everyone jump. Drea, Marco’s dragon, rushes to the door, pressing her bulky frame against it. Bluey, a dragon we previously picked up, quickly joins her as the door begins to rattle.
“Shit!” I exclaim.
They’re breaking in.
“We need to get out of here.” Marco sprints to a set of buttons on the wall, looking for any switches that may lead us out of here.
Braith stares at me, her face stained with tears. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know.”
“We can’t leave them.”
“I know. But Marco’s right; they might not make it out there.”
“We have to give them a chance.”
“Braith-”
“We have to! Draca lied to me, and I want to know why! Maybe letting them out will get us some answers.” She storms over to the glass, icicles forming in her balled hands. She strikes the glass with one fist, not making a dent in the thick material. Again and again she punches, while I’m left speechless.
What is the right thing to do?
I don’t want to be responsible for leaving these beautiful creatures to rot. Dr Gard looked after them; now that he’s gone, they have no-one.
***
That’s it for this week, see you next Sunday!
