The group had done their own due diligence well enough that they didn't need any last minute supplies. As soon as the Queen had confirmed that, the group found themselves climbing onto the back of the silver dragon.

  Now that the group was slightly less terrified of the thing, Trillia could really take Honos in, in all of her glory. Honos had a diamond-shaped head. Two horns curved from the sides of her head up and spiraled around themselves, ending with the horns pointing above her head by a few inches. A mouth filled with rows of razor sharp teeth was in constant movement.

  Honos was quite chatty once she was in the air it seemed.

  The group was sat on her back between large spikes that ran the length of her spine. She had some control over the spikes as they seemed to almost press the group closer together and hold them. The Queen sat just before the neck and wasn't having any issues holding on to the creature with magic or just her legs. Trillia wasn't sure.

  Dragons didn't really fly like a creature should fly. Honos kept her wings wide and extended but never actually moved them. Mana-sight told Trillia that the creature was using mana as some sort of propulsion that Trillia didn't fully understand.

  Each of Honos' four long legs ended in a five-taloned limb. The talons were easily the size of Trillia's head. Most interesting was her tail, instead of a large club-like structure that she had seen from the Storm Clan, Honos' tail looked like someone had strapped an overly sized two-handed great sword onto the end of it. The dragon had immense control over the thing, as they flew Trillia watched the dragon move and twitch the blade to change the direction they were flying in.

  Sometimes, one blade would turn into a fan of them, and that determined the group's elevation.

  Trillia quickly realized after inspecting the dragon that she never wanted to fight a dragon. Honos seemed much smaller and younger than Storm, but killing her seemed like it would be an impossible task.

  "Prepare yourselves!" Alliyah snapped Trillia out of her reverie with the mental command.

  As Trillia stopped admiring Honos and started to observe her surroundings, she realized that there were a few dozen large bird-like creatures ascending after them, each with the same crazed look that Dire had before being tamed.

  "Shall I outrun them?"

  "No, Honos. Remember that the others are not nearly as fast as you. Taz especially is trying to carry the two canines and won't be able to evade easily." The dragon nodded its head before glancing down.

  "Shall I engage? Tell your students to hold on. I feel as though I can make quick work of this batch."

  "Do it. You heard Honos! Hold on for your lives."

  Trillia wrapped both arms around the spike in front of her and squeezed her legs together as tightly as she could. She heard squeals of terror and delight from behind her as Honos pulled her wings in close and whipped around in the air.

  It felt as if Trillia's body was being crushed under its own weight. Honos made herself as flat and arrow-shaped as she could and was diving towards the creatures. The sky came alive in a sea of mana.

  Trillia and the others got to witness the power of a dragon in combat for the first time.

  -=====-

  These are hardly worth our time. The Queen won't get any experience. Even if I do, it's not enough that we should be wasting resources when we are on the hunt for larger prey.

  While I understand the Queen's fond love of broken things, I will never understand her love for weak things. But perhaps she sees potential that I am blinded to.

  Honos began gathering mana in her core from the sky around her. The familiar warmth of radiant mana flooded her body.

  Once enough had been gathered, Honos aimed her maw at a group of the creatures and opened wide, forcing the mana in her system out in a thin stream of brilliant pearl-colored energy. Four of the creatures evaporated entirely. Three more lost half of their bodies. Honos flew right through the group and splayed her tail out wide, swinging it rapidly from side to side.

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  She expected some of the weaklings on her back to throw up. Most of the lesser mortals did. The second Honos had closed in, she felt her Queen's familiar mana drink deeply from the world. Felt the realm quake at the potential she could unleash and felt the air spring to life as gouts of flames raced out to some of the surviving creatures, turning them to ash.

  Watching Alliyah cast had always been the highlight of any combat that Honos was part of. She couldn't wait for the day that her own magic could reach such grand heights.

  The dragon wasn't easily surprised. She was a dragon and one who had seen decades of battles in the Beast Wars.

  But she was surprised all the same when she felt another font of mana open up a half second behind the Queen. This one was no ocean of potential like the Queen's mana was. But it was still a raging river, promising to sweep up everything that dared to stand in its path. The little red mortal bit her lip in concentration and spread her hands out in front of her.

  A bolt of lightning that would rival some whelps from Grand Dragon Quetzalcoatl's clan leaped eagerly toward one target. To Honos' continued surprise, it didn't stop there. It slammed into one of the creatures, sending it veering badly off course and actually wounding the nearly magic-immune beasts, and leaped to the next in line.

  And the next, and the next, and the next after that. It wasn't nearly enough to kill the creatures. But Honos was starting to see some of the hidden potential that her Queen did. For such a small, tiny little mortal to wield such power and keep her wits about her enough to actually cast spoke volumes.

  As Honos shot past the group, her wings spread, and she heard the familiar sound of mortals retching. She dumped thirty thousand mana into her tail and swung it behind her, causing her body to twist in the air to face the flock of warped creatures. Another fifty thousand mana sent her speeding toward the group again. She saw the mighty Beast Generals hovering nearby, ready to step in. She was grateful that they were letting her handle most of it.

  In two more passes, the flock of nearly fifty creatures was falling from the sky. Honos made another three passes as the bodies fell to gobble a few of them up. The stat boosts wouldn't be much for such weak creatures, but the Queen always told her to never waste resources without a gain in mind.

  Once the fighting was over and Honos had regained her altitude, she once more felt her Queen's deep sea of mana open up. Cool water splashed down on her back to wash away the filth of the lesser mortals.

  Surprise found Honos once more as she heard laughter from her back.

  -=====-

  "That was awesome! Oh, by all the gods, Honos you're so fast! Also, the way you used your tail to spin us around? I didn't even know it was possible for a creature as large and majestic as you to move so quickly!" Trillia had nearly lost the contents of her stomach during the maneuver but had managed to keep it down.

  She had to admit hitting targets that were speeding by her so quickly had been incredibly difficult to do. She had only managed to get off two spells, and the rapid movement made it impossible to help on the third pass. Not that it was needed. Honos could have wiped out the entire flock on her own. So could the Queen. Trillia felt blessed, having been able to witness the two of them use their mana in such a way.

  "Thank you for the kind words. You are bound to the Prince, are you not?"

  Trillia smiled and hugged the spike. Words were impossible with how quickly they moved through the air, but the Queen was acting as a mental bridge for telepathy. "I am! I am the Avatar of Lord Arlyss. Trillia Demonsbane Fairtrade, it's a pleasure to meet you and fight at your side! Sorry that we didn't introduce ourselves. It was rude."

  "It is a pleasure to meet you, Avatar Fairtrade. Had I known you were capable of such spellcasting, I would have made more effort to keep one alive for you to kill on your own. Perhaps it could have helped your growth."

  "That's ok. I'd rather make sure that everyone is safe, I will grow plenty strong in due time. I will not risk the safety of others for that growth."

  The dragon didn't respond, but a warm feeling of approval spread over the link as the group continued to fly. After a moment, Honos' voice returned to her mind.

  "What intent do you put behind your spells?"

  The question caught Trillia off guard. "Uhh....power? I guess?"

  The body beneath Trillia quaked and trembled with laughter. The Queen glanced back to look at her as well before she started laughing.

  "Is that wrong?"

  "It's familiar," Alliyah responded. "Honos and I were of a similar mind in our younger years. We only saw power in casting. A tool used for battle."

  "How little I knew when I was yet still a whelp." Honos chimed in.

  For some reason, that brought a smile to Trillia's face. Knowing that she wasn't completely off the mark.

  "Next time, instead of just thinking of power. Think of coal burning in a campfire. The embers slowly consuming all living material around it. Perhaps you can augment your spell to set your enemies ablaze as it leaps from target to target."

  Trillia nodded. "Thank you both so much for your help."

  Honos let out an approving rumble as she climbed further into the clouds. Trillia remembered that Stas had told her it was unwise to go so high, due to it being the territory of the dragons. But as she climbed above the clouds and found herself staring up at the sky and the setting sun, she found herself lost for words at the beauty of the scene. She supposed that Honos, being ridden by the Queen of Kadessa, didn't answer to anyone, and no dragon alive would try to dispute territory.