The Sikala growled, opening its ugly mouth and rapidly bringing it down to engulf Cassandra and Wila.
Cassandra waited, angling her sword, pushing her arms back and taking a proper stance. As it tried to swallow them, Cassandra hurled the sword forward with a loud grunt.
"Arghhh! Die!!!" Driving it through his open mouth, the shield prevented the Sikala’s sharp needle-like canines from piercing Cassandra’s skin.
It thrashed because of the sword wedged in its head as it tried to wiggle back into the sandy ground.
Cassandra fell back from the impact as she shielded little Wila with her body who had his eyes squeezed shut.
Dragon’s roar and a looming shadow above had her head turning. Pissed as she was, relief flooded through her, easing every tensed muscle in Cassandra’s body.
His claws outstretched, the majestic creature flew low and dug them into the retreating body of the Sikala. It was like watching an oversized eagle trying to capture a snake and fly with it.
Brownish Sikala was so wide that the dragon’s claws wouldn’t close around its rough body.
But he pulled with all his might as Cassandra scooted away with Wila in tow.
Sikala screeched while the dragon ferociously roared, pulling the 40-foot creature completely out of the ground. Its suction-like mouth opened once again and bit into the dragon’s side. It repeated the action again and again, piercing the rough skin of the dragon with whetted canniness, drawing blood and creating a gnash.
A low screech he let out which hit Cassandra in her gut as she watched her mate battle it out with the deadly creature.
"No!" She cried out, watching helplessly.
His blue halo was around her and Wila and not around him. He never used his power for himself; although she was protected by the pendant, he still kept his magic reserved for her.
Dragon dropped the gigantic creature on the ground; it hit the fields with a loud rumble, enveloping everything in the smoke of dust and sand.
Before it would retreat into the ground, the dragon opened its maw and rained fire on the creature. It screeched so loudly that Cassandra covered Wila’s ears. She had him in her lap, hugging him so he wouldn’t be seeing any of these traumatic moments.
The dragon didn’t stop until the entire 40 feet of the Sikala was blazing under his fire. It writhed but was soon nothing but burnt flesh and bones.
Cassandra watched in awe as he landed near the Sikala and checked for any life signs by nudging it with his claw. But it was long dead.
Turning around, swishing his tail behind the dragon focused its burning crimson eyes on Cassandra and the child she was hugging to her chest.
The pride danced in his eyes, seeing how fearless she was, mingled with annoyance that she had risked her life.
He slowly took a few steps, but the wound in the underside of his belly was bleeding profusely now, and he wasn’t healing. Without his wolf, he couldn’t heal properly.
His legs gave way, and with a loud thud, the dragon tumbled to the ground; his eyes helplessly watched her as they slowly closed.
"Siroos!!!" Cassandra’s pained wail echoed in the sand storm as she got up, carrying Wila with her, and rushed towards her mate.
Footsteps clamoured towards them as Faris and a few other warriors came running towards them. Cassandra carefully handed Wila to one of the warriors.
"Take him to his mother and fetch Fownso," she instructed with eyes almost blown out of her sockets. He nodded quickly and rushed off.
"Brother!" Faris frantically called and hurried towards his unconscious brother, dropping his bloodied axe. Cassandra followed.
"What happened?" Faris questioned, placing his hand on the dragon’s head.
"He got injured fighting the Sikala. He was bitten." Cassandra’s eyes wavered to his lower belly. He had dropped to his side so his underbelly was exposed, the carmine liquid so thick flowed out and pooled on the destroyed Saffron fields.
Her heart clenched painfully, the pain of seeing her mate hurt and bruised brought Cassandra to her knees as her hands quickly reached out and pressed on his open wound.
"Why isn’t he healing?" She cried out, tears gathering in her eyes. Faris made haste towards where she had dropped herself near his wounded body.
"I don’t know, he should have transformed and healed by now. His healing is the most rapid in our pack."
Cassandra already knew that she had seen him heal so quickly in the arena.
Her hands were drenched as she yanked down her scarf and placed it on his wound trying to lower the flow of blood.
It seemed to be leaking from her body because she was feeling dizzier by the second. He lay so lifeless, his breath coming so slow.
They were stumped as more warriors gathered after patrolling the area, ensuring there weren’t any more monsters lurking.
Fownso came running along with a worried Ranon. The warriors made way for them.
"He is not healing, why isn’t he healing?" Cassandra frenziedly questioned, turning her disturbed eyes towards Fownso. He offered an apologetic glance but the gleam in his eyes told Cassandra he wouldn’t reveal whatever he knew.
"Let me take a look, Luna," he requested instead and Faris had to guide Cassandra away from the dragon.
She sped towards where his head rested on the ground and dropped herself to her knees. Picking it up she carefully placed it in her lap. Her soft hands stroked the scaly skin of his head, his eyes remained closed. She placed her face on his and closed her eyes, not caring for anyone watching.
"I can’t reach him through the mind-link," Ranon worriedly whispered to his best friend.
Faris had his fist pressed against his lips in worry as he watched his brother in such a vulnerable state. He hasn’t been the same after whatever that poisonous potion they had given him. But Siroos had been hiding the side effects from everyone, only Fownso knew because he was a healer.
"Could it be that these Sikalas have poison in their teeth?" Faris wandered out aloud but Fownso shook his head as he stitched up the dragon’s underbelly to stop the flow of blood.
"They don’t have venom in their teeth." Fownso’s words threw everyone off as they wondered what was wrong with their Alpha.