The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 36

I opened my eyes to find that the whole world looked a deep red, the same red that the eyes in the dagger looked liked.

Shadow wraiths were in a line on both sides of me as far as my eyes could see while the one that had engulfed me in their tendrils stood by my side.

They all looked at me and bowed, and I stayed silent and raised an eyebrow, confused and a little nervous and anxious about this turn of events.

I could not feel my dragon's presence near me in this shadowland, and it unnerved me to end, for his presence comforted me more than I would let on and admit to him.

I clenched my hands into fists only to feel that one was occupied by something that I didn't think I grabbed.

I looked down and saw that it was my blade, "Mirïna." I furrowed my brows in confusion and looked at the wraith that brought me here. "What is this for?" I asked, my voice harsh because I was nervous and did not like not knowing where I was at. "What's going on?"

The wraith didn't say a word and gestured to the dagger as if the dagger would have the answers and not them. They looked at me, and I looked at the dagger before I looked at them, frowning while I tried to come up with a reason why they did that.

"Did you want me to look into it?" I asked, finally, and they nodded. "Why?"

The wraith didn't reply and again gestured to the dagger. They looked at me and stayed silent, and I could tell that they wouldn't say a word nor give me a reason why I should look into it.

I sighed and nodded, deciding that it would be best if I didn't push them before I looked into the daggers to see those red eyes again.

The red eyes were more powerful than they were the first time I stared at them, and this time I heard this humming noise that sounded like bees.

The eyes grew closer and closer before they seemed to leap out of the dagger and into my eyes.

I gripped the dagger tighter as a wave of images flashed through my mind, blurring into one another until I could see nothing but death and destruction.

There was fear and pain, and it broke my heart and filled it with anger, even though I made sure that it didn't cover my vision of hope and light for the world.

Finally, it stopped, and I could make out that the last person who had this dagger was the one that had caused the death and destruction, and the dagger wanted me to continue their mission.

It wanted to feed off my anger and my hatred and let it boil over until nothing could extinguish it. It wanted me to go with the darkness that this dagger had seen and claim the world as my own.

The person turned to look at me, their face and body blurry, but I could make out a small smirk that turned into a sneer. The person started to run towards me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move out of their path.

I fell to the ground when they seemed to go inside me and gasped in shock, and my power over hope and light dimmed a bit but didn't break.

After that, a black dragon stood in front of me with red eyes and growled.

The dragon growled again and roared before they charged towards me. Anger and hatred filled his eyes, and I could feel the fury coming off of him in waves.

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying to break free from my binds. I fought with the anger and hatred that filled me, knowing full well that I didn't want to be that type of leader.

I can't, I thought and pushed against those binds that held me in place while the dragon charged towards me, going at the same pace as the person. I can't do that to my people.

Still, I pushed while the dragon came towards me until I was able to move a finger.

The dragon roared in anger, and I knew that it was me moving a finger. It ran faster and faster to get to me before I could break free from my binds, but it was too late.

"GAAAAAAAH," I yelled while I let go of my anger, and the power that this dagger had over me broke until I was free to move and do what I wanted to do.

I stood and held out my hand, and the dragon stopped before it rammed into me. "Stop," I said, my voice firm and cold. "We are not going to continue this way."

The dragon growled and shook his head, no. Anger and fire dilled his eyes, and I could tell that he wanted to use the anger that I didn't want to keep and to destroy the hope of everyone in my kingdom.

I shook my head, no, because I did not want to do that. "We have to change," I said, making sure to keep my voice firm and leveled. "If we continue with the anger and darkness, then we won't conquer anything."

The dragon growled and narrowed his eyes. He knew that we could conquer so much with death and destruction, for that was what had happened in the past. He wanted people to fear us while I did not.

I shook my head no again and set my jaw. "No," I said, keeping firm in how I wanted to live. "We can not continue like that. Whoever did that was wrong. That is something that I will not continue and will not let someone take control of me and let them do their ill will."

The dragon moved closer to me, and I could tell that he wanted to change my mind. He growled and growled again, trying to get me to change my mind, but I refused; I would not back down from what was right.

I gripped the dagger tighter and knelt to the ground, keeping my eyes on the dragon because I knew that he could attack. "No," I said and reached with my other hand for a rock or something that I could destroy the blade with so that no one could be taken control over again. I kept my gaze on the dragon while I reached around for something because I had a feeling that he would do something if he knew what I wanted to do.

If he didn't want to change his mind, then he was of no use to me. I don't care if he was a part of me or not.

The dragon lowered his head and stared at me. He had no idea what I was planning on doing, and I knew that if he did, then he would try and stop me.

I found a stone that I thought would work to break the blade and grabbed it. I watched the dragon and tightened my grip on both the dagger and stone.

"Change," I said, my voice sharp and firm, and I felt this power that I had never felt before filled me. My heart pounded hard in my chest, and I prepared myself mentally and physically for the damage that I was sure would follow "If no, then you are no use to me and should perish." I lifted the dagger and went to strike it, letting out all of my frustration and annoyance into that swing.

However, at the last second, I wasn't able to. I couldn't get to the dagger like I thought I would.

"Huh?" I asked in shock. My eyes widened in shock, and I pushed harder and harder against whatever was holding me back to get to it and make a point.

The dragon growled, but this growl was different than the others. This one was softer, wanting me to pay attention to it and not the dagger that I was trying to destroy.

So, I looked him in the eyes and noticed that they were not filled with anger nor despair. They held no malice and were calm, collected, and filled with peace, a peace that the dragon hadn't had in a while.

The dragon bowed his head, and like with Shilan, I felt another presence in my mind, reading my thoughts and emotions and knowing what I kept hidden from those around me, except from my actual dragon, who could read me like an open book.

I watched him with lips pressed into a thin line and waited for him to finish his search. My grip on the dagger and stone never broke because I had no idea what this dragon would do or react.

Finally, the dragon stopped looking through my mind and bowed his head. "Hello, Princess," I heard this ancient voice say, and I had a feeling that it was the dragon before me. "I am Mirïna, and it is a pleasure to finally serve you, my true master."