The Arena novel Chapter 79

I was nervous about helping Kaylani heal, but she’s a great instructor. She’s patient even when she’s in pain. She helped guide me through healing her and how much energy to push into her, especially since she’s not a fire dragon.

Because we were together, I knew something was wrong when we heard the other dragon. “Kaylani, what’s going on?” I ask her. My hands are still healing the hole in her wing, but I turn to see another dragon flying in our direction.

“I don’t know, but she’s not a dragon we know.”

As soon as the hole is healed, she’s up and flying over to where I can see Tana is trying not to fight the dragon. A dragon that looks very much like her and Kenna.

Kaylani turns back to me. “Help Avani, he’s still trapped.”

I look around and see the tide is turning. My pack is taking out the hunters, and those that are left are starting to run off. My pack is chasing them down. I race back over to the arena, rushing into one of the entryways.

I see Kenna struggling to get the bindings undone. Avani is only half free, but he’s lying on the ground, practically unconscious. Hunters are shooting bullets at him, and I watch as most are redirected but some still hit him. There are two elves chanting, and it seems that they are the ones diverting the bullets.

I race to where a group of hunters are reloading their guns and begin tearing into them, swiping my claws down their bodies, ripping them to shreds where they stand. Their screams of pain and fear echo around the arena as they lay dying. I don’t stop. There’s another group of hunters still taking aim at Avani.

This group sees me coming and takes off running. I’m about to follow them when I hear Kenna. “Papa! I need your help!”

I look up and see Kenna struggling to pull the netting off Avani. I run to where Kenna is pulling on the bindings, and one by one, I help her rip them out of the ground. Eventually, we get the net off Avani. As I turn to help him, I see the female elf up by his head. His eyes are open and he’s watching her, but he looks like he’s paralyzed. I rush over to her.

“What can I do to help?”

“Do you know what they use to paralyze them?” Her voice is different, ancient, and beautiful, as if she is speaking the words of an old song into the wind.

“No, but I think I can burn it off. Tana told me she did something similar when they held her captive.” I turn and look at Avani. “I know you and I don’t see eye to eye, dragon, but I’m your best hope right now. Kaylani and Tana are dealing with some new dragon. I won’t hurt you on purpose, but I’m not as in control of my fire as Tana is.”

I look at him for a moment, but, of course, he can’t move. “Can you blink?” I ask him.

He does. “Blink twice if you’re okay with me trying to burn this out of your system.” He blinks twice.

I lay my hands on his chest. “What can I do?” The elf asks me as she stands watching me, idly stroking Avani’s snout.

“What do you know about a dragon’s fire?” I ask her as I start to pull on my fire.

“Nothing.”

“Okay then, watch him and let me know if you think I’m pushing too much fire into him.”

“Alright.”

Kenna sits on what’s left of the arena wall above us. “Do you need help, Papa?”

“I’m not sure, baby girl. I guess we’ll see.”

I push my fire into Avani. I can feel the resistance of the paralytic as it pushes against my flame. I push harder, and it feels like it begins burning off. I can hear the elf murmuring to Avani, but all my attention is focused on making sure I don’t burn him from the inside out.

I feel more than see Tana land beside Kenna. “Cedric, do you need help?”

I turn and look at Avani. “No,” he says quietly. The paralytic is starting to burn off.

“Tana, can you check on the pack? They were taking over the hunters when I left.”

She takes off, flying to check on our pack. Avani shifts under my hands, and I turn to look at him again. “Should I stop?”

“Not yet, but it’s working.”

I feed fire into his body for another 15 minutes before he tells me I can stop. When I step back, he stands up and immediately shifts back to his human form. The elf woman rushes up to him, helping him to stand. “He’ll be weak for a while. It took Tana a day or longer to recover,” I tell her.

“I’ve got him. My brother and I will make sure he’s safe.”