Rhianon  Princess of Fire - Natalie Yacobson

Rhianon  Princess of Fire

Natalie Yacobson

Translator Natalia Lilienthal

© Natalie Yacobson, 2022

© Natalia Lilienthal, translation, 2022

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Prologue

«They were as winged as my former brethren, and just as badly disfigured.»

In the overcast autumn sky above the mountain range, a bright cloud of scaly dragon bodies mottled and wriggled. Red coral crests, webbed paws with claws, powerful tails, black and emerald, eyes sparkling with fury, and mouths that gnawed at the fiery flames that were about to burst forth-an army worthy of Lucifer. Madeel grinned wryly. His thin, pale fingers tugged at his scarlet cloak, a cloak he no longer needed. Rumors of what he was like were now openly circulating around the world, but few guessed the truth. Only these creatures saw through him and worshipped him almost as a god, and he paid tribute to their strength and singularity. They were dragons. A whole firework of multicolored, wriggling, living ornamented bodies. They were shapeless rainbows over the darkening sky. The tearful cries of birds subsided in the distance. No more songbirds survived; over the mountains and valley, only a vast, all-powerful army of angry dragons. Today their fire would fall upon the city at his command, and all would be over.

«Will you not feel pity at all when all that you valued recently dies?» The young traveler, perched on a boulder, stared thoughtfully at the swirling cloud over the mountains.

«This world is only a place of exile for me. Yes, its almost entirely mine, but if it perishes, Ill have nothing to be sorry about,» he might have been lying a little, perhaps those crazy dangerous nights when she had walked with him through the dark streets of Loretta were the only things to regret.

«Are you sorry about them?» The traveler nodded at the swarm of dragons that were growing in number, and beyond the sweep of their leathery wings the sky was hardly visible anymore. «They really were your brethren once.»

«Perhaps,» Madeel shrugged, and the wings fluttered behind him. He still hid them and pretended not to know why he was invulnerable. Let the rivals whisper that the knight who defeats them is not a human, his beautiful eyes flash with lightning in the heat of battle, that his sword always strikes without a miss, that there is an invisible power in his armor, that wings are hidden beneath his armor. Their attempts to discover who he really is are in vain. Only one knows that but, Madeel preferred not to think of her now. And his heart burned even harder and more painfully than the heavenly fire that had once burned his forehead millennia ago. Now his skin was still smooth and translucent, but the invisible seal remained.

Madeel shook his head, trying to shake off the memory like a bad dream. The wind fluttered his angelic curls. They had once been brighter than the sun, so bright and pure that they had been admired even in paradise; now they had faded to a golden wheat color, but they still continued to fascinate mortals. He was lucky; at least he was still beautiful, but his former friends had become too ugly. Only for some did beauty return for a brief moment, only to fade again and give way to more ugliness. And more than once it had happened in front of mortals. Madeel squeezed his eyes shut painfully.

«I hope it never happens to me. Some of them might have been like me. The ones the others missed, but now look at them. Even if I knew them before, I dont recognize them now»

«You dont want to be like them, do you?»

«Of course not,» he said, and his pale wings were already beginning to darken. His insides were churning with anger and fire. «But after tonight, maybe Ill be worse.»

«Dont do this»

«Ive already made up my mind. Perhaps the higher powers are of a different opinion, but those who live in Loretta deserve it. Their evil has gone beyond all limits. Its time for vigilante justice. I could do it alone, sweeping over the city with my sword, but what a commander without an army. With dragons at my back, anyone would be more impressive.»

«Would she, too?»

Madeel shuddered. His wings fluttered so that not even his cloak could conceal them. He wanted to fly now, to outrun the dragons, the wind, and most importantly, the nightfall. The night would take everything from him, so why not get ahead of it. After all, he has strong wings and he can penetrate the tower with the last light and take what he needs with him. It was only with a tremendous effort of will that he pulled himself together. What was all this for? He was used to being alone.

«Dont worry about her,» he muttered, then leaned carelessly against the huge boulder to watch the dragons indifferently. Their scales glittered like jewels against the gray sky. Above the dark cliffs, their cries and their cries shook everything. And inexpressibly beautiful, still childlike purity, Madeels face showed no emotion. Arno, the traveler, stowed his harp back in his travel bag without touching its strings. The face of the former angel before him looked as if it had descended from one of the frescos of an ethereal painter. When you look at such beauty, you want no words, no music, nothing.