Infernal Desire

The City of Ignis

Talia opens her eyes and is startled that she managed to fall asleep in a carriage with dragons. Her knees ache from having them against her chest for so long, and she slowly lowers them to the ground feeling the bones pop with the movement. She sits up straighter and notices that neither of the men are looking at her. They have their gazes cast out their respective windows. Talia follows suit and turns to see where they are. Her breath hitches in her throat at what she sees.

She had been told that Ignis was a barren land with beasts flying freely in the sky. The mountains constantly spew lava and no human can survive the toxic air for more than a day. But the place she sees out of her carriage window is anything but barren and forlorn. It is bursting with life and people.

They are riding through a town square with marble buildings on either side of them. The street is made of glistening cobblestones and signs of bars, restaurants, and shops hang gaily atop doors. There are merchant’s stalls with jewelry and produce shouting about slashed prices and flash sales. Different types of people flood the streets, going from one stall to the next to buy wares. Talia notices a majority of people have silver or white hair. The few instances of different colored hair range from red to black with nothing in between. Are all of these people dragons?

As the carriage passes, people stop to bow, making some of their purchases hit the ground in their haste to show respect to the royalty that is passing by them. She locks eyes with a few individuals, and they pause in their deep kowtow to stare at her before whispering to their neighbors. Soon, many people stop to stare before completing their bow, hoping to get a glimpse of the new princess. The carriage rounds a large fountain in the middle of town and heads down another street. This one is less busy and the buildings are more spaced out. Talia looks ahead and sees massive marble walls stretching far out before wrapping out of sight. She can see the towers and buttresses of a palace as the carriage draws closer and closer.

Soon they arrive at a large drawbridge and the gate is lowered slowly to allow access over the deep mote below. The carriage jostles in smoothly through a massive courtyard with a winding hedge maze taller than Talia’s father. Here and there, servants trim the hedges and water the vast array of flowers that litter the trail. They turn to bow and Talia realizes that every servant she sees is human.

“Prisoners of war.” She says quietly, meeting the eyes of a boy no older than 12 carrying a large bucket of water and wearing tattered clothes. He pauses to meet her gaze before dropping to his knees like the others they had passed and putting his forehead to his folded hands. Talia feels tears welling in her eyes as she glares at the two dragons across from her. Lucian is still looking out of his window seemingly deep in thought, but Igneous meets her gaze full-on.

“Problem?” He asks, his ember eyes flashing with amusement. Talia bites back her words of hatred as she once again realizes the nature of her predicament. If she wants to free these people, she has to keep her cool and behave.

“No, Your Highness. There is no problem at all.” She says through clenched teeth and turns her attention back out the window, focusing more on the beautiful blossoms than the miserable humans tending them. “I will free you. I promise.” She thinks to herself. A moment later, the carriage stops in front of large, wooden doors. The palace itself is polished marble and, as far as Talia could see, it is bigger than those in Castro. Two stone dragons stand at the entrance, each clutching one of the doors in their claws. The coachman opens their door and the two men step out. Talia attempts to get out on her own and steps on the hem of her dress. She feels herself fall forward and a pair of strong arms catch her instantly. She looks up at the annoyed face Igneous makes as he sets her on her feet like she weighs nothing.

“Humans sure are clumsy things.” He huffs and walks up the steps towards the palace entryway, dusting off his jacket. Lucian motions for Talia to follow, and she still feels the warmth of his touch on her skin.