It was dark, cold, and humid in this long entrance cave. We followed behind this dragon, yet didn't know exactly where we were being led. He knew who he was, which wasn't something to take lightly. If he knew who I was, then he knew what I was.

"Stay close to me. You do not leave my side." Aaron whispered sternly. I gave him a side glare, and his face kept emotionless.

"I'm serious. Any move away from me and a dragon could snatch and kill you." He whispered and I nodded.

I could handle myself, but I wasn't going to say anything. He could say what he wanted, I was still as strong or even stronger than him.

The cold air made the hair on my arms stand and I held onto Aaron's arm, more for his own comfort. The dragon flicked his tongue at the air and stopped, his eyes slitting.

"The entrance to the dragon village is ahead. This is as far as I'll take you." He hissed, then flew forwards and disappeared.

"Where do we go from here?" I questioned softly and I heard the roar of a dragon. Cornelius shifted forms and Avery climbed on his back.

"Just follow me in, keep one hand on me at all times. I'll mask your scent." He hissed lowly, pointing his big head at me.

"Most dragons don't like outsiders, especially inside our turf," Cornelius said and I nodded in understanding.

I shifted into my crystal dragon form that I took on often. He nodded for me to move towards him and Aaron grabbed hold of my wing, jumping up onto my back. Cassie climbed onto Cornelius and Claudius appeared out of nowhere, climbing onto my back behind Aaron. Aaron went to push him off and I growled lowly.

There was a low echo of rushing water, and I shook my head, Aaron's hand brushing against my scales. He traced one on my long neck and I shivered.

A light at the end of the tunnel into the dragon village was dim, but it was growing brighter as we got closer to the actual entrance to the village.

"I assume this village is made out of stone or something flame resistant," Claudius said and Cornelius huffed out some smoke. He shook his large head, his large ears hitting the side of his face as he shook. Avery held on to his neck as he did so, and reached forwards to scratch the side of his neck.

"You'd be surprised then," Cornelius grunted lowly. I snorted smoke as we neared the entrance, my talons clicking against the stone.

Cornelius entered first, the light of the embers bouncing off his scales. It was warm and musty once we entered the village. There were wooden structures lining the walls, old wooden places where dragons of different colours were sprawled across.

Most were territorial and wouldn't let others on their place or around there stuff. There was a cliff drop off on both sides and there were cinders at the bottom, most likely from a dormant volcano. It explained the warmth of the village. It was loud, dragons roaring and screeching at each other, fighting over food or jewels or other things.

Eyes from every area glanced at us for a moment then continued to do what they were doing, probably not wanting to start a fight they didn't think they could win. Some stared longer, wondering if they could win or just curious as to who we were.

Up on a rock ledge sat a giant red dragon, its tail wrapped around what I assumed was a younger dragon or a mate, but when it shifted its tail, there sat a giant pile of bones. I blinked a couple times, thinking I had imagined it.

"What an odd thing to be protective of," Cassie spoke softly but loud enough that I could pick it up. I stepped on something that made a crunching sound and Aaron slightly jumped up, a gust of air coming with him. He landed on my back, and I looked down to see I had stepped on a human skull. I kicked the crushed skull aside, it falling off the edge of the path.

A dragon swooped at my head and I hissed lowly, watching as he carried a gem the size of my hand in his claws. It appeared that the dragons in the village only used their natural form, seeing as it would be a little hot for any regular human and that not all dragons could change forms. Another dragon followed swiftly after the one who just swooped. Cornelius continued on, his tail touching my side. Aaron swatted at his tail and Cornelius growled lowly. I looked up at a huge black dragon with curled horns on the sides of its big head who was looking me over like I would be a prize.

Only then did I realize that this form might not have been the best to pick. Other dragons kept close tabs on rare dragons and always sized each other up. If this dragon thought for a second that I didn't belong to Cornelius or if we would have come alone, he would snatch me and the people off my back within seconds. A claw hit my leg and I looked down at a slim green dragon the size of a gardener snake pushing past me.

It slipped into a hole in the path and disappeared from my sight. Claudius kicked my side and I grunted. Aaron swatted him and he coughed. A large green dragon stopped on the road ahead of us and turned to watch us. Its neck was long and it lead up to a large head with two coiled horns, one of them missing the tip. It chuckled lowly, watching us approach as he stood in our path.

"Cornelius, you're back. Never thought I'd see your face here again." The dragon seethed and he came closer, looking us over.

"Why are you here?" He questioned curiously, looking us over. He sniffed my head, his warm nostrils blowing smoke in my face. It watched as though waiting for me to say something, but I stayed quiet. I knew how the dragon world worked, and female dragons were often fought over.

The dragon glanced up at Aaron and Claudius on my back, then at the Cassie, Ethan, and Andrea on Cornelius'.

"You brought humans into our home. Why?" It seethed and growled at us, standing up on its hind legs and sizing us up. It swung its wings inwards causing a force of wind to hit me in the face, making me squint.

"They are the least of your problems. We are here to see elder Saphire." I spoke in their tongue, straightening and holding my ground. I rolled my shoulders back, Aaron swirling wind around me slowly. The dragon huffed smoke in my face and chuckled.

"A lady with a backbone. You've done well Cornelius." He said lowly and water shot him in the face before we could do anything. I turned wide-eyed to see Avery with a stone cold expression on her face, standing behind me.

"Where the hell were you?" I questioned and she shrugged.

"Told Cornelius I was going for a walk and on my walk, a dragon came out of nowhere and took me to some small area full of girls. I got out of there and I'm fine, thanks for asking." She said, then hopped onto Cornelius' back. She rubbed his back and he puffed out some smoke. Cornelius was a lot bigger than I was so he had more room on his back for more people than I did.

"Please move now," Cornelius said and the green dragon moved out of our way. He stared as we passed him, as though he thought of doing something to stop us. I glared at him as we passed and he lowered his head.

We made our way to a huge castle on the end of the pathway that was absolutely beautiful.

"Elder Saphire is in there. Along with a few other elders, such as Hermia who has the gift of sight. Meaning she can see the future of course." Cornelius said and everyone got off of us. We walked up to the door and entered.