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“You’re dead. Again,” Rayla said with a defeated huff. She had been trying to train Callum in basic combat for the past hour and a half, to no avail. The young prince, as clever as he was, did not possess the proper mindset for physical violence. Her kicking his butt into the dirt countless times with minimal effort was proof enough.
“I don’t see why we have to do this. It’s not like I’ll ever need to use a sword or anything. I can do magic now! I have my Zap-hand!” Callum shot back with a smile and wiggling of his fingers.
Rayla’s slightly annoyed expression broke into a small giggle.
“Oh, my apologies master mage. I have forgotten your mastery of the Sky Primal. Please forgive such foolishness from me,” Rayla responded, in a mock formal tone. She bent over, offering her hand to Callum. He took it, and she hoisted him to his feet. Despite his somewhat lacking capability in regards to fighting, Rayla couldn’t help but be impressed with him. She had never heard of a human tapping into a primal without the assistance of a primal stone or, and she shuddered just thinking about it, the use of dark magic. But Callum somehow managed to unlock the ability to use the sky primal in himself with nothing but a basic understanding of magic and an almost scary amount of dedication.
All of this was running through Rayla’s head as she and Callum walked back to their camp, if you could call it that. In truth, it was nothing but a stone outcropping with a small fire and some soft dirt. It wasn’t much, but it was a place to rest, and that was enough for her. Rayla’s train of thought was broken by a light tapping on her shoulder. She looked over to Callum with his finger at his lips, gesturing for her to remain quiet. Her instincts took over, putting her in a defensive crouch and hands by her weapons. He leaned close to her ear, sending a small shudder down her neck. She knew that something so small shouldn’t elicit such a reaction but around Callum she couldn’t help herself. It was maddening, especially for a trained assassin like herself.
“Watch this. I’m going to give Zym a bit of shock,” Callum whispered with an impish grin before tiptoeing away from Rayla.
Rayla looked over to the camp, searching for Zym. She saw him taking a nap near the fire, his blue scales reflecting its dancing glow. With every breath the Dragon Prince took, she could see small sparks exit his mouth, leaving little scorch lines on the ground. Behind him now stood Callum, face lit with mischievous excitement and fingers outstretched. He began tracing a symbol into the air and Rayla saw the beginnings of Sky magic materialize. Electricity began to crackle at his fingertips as a blue rune appeared in the air.
Rayla looked at Callum and began furiously mouthing “No,” hoping to dissuade him from what was going to be a very hazardous mistake. But it was too late.
“Up and at ’em Zym!” Callum bellowed. And with a final movement, cast his lighting spell at the young dragon's tail.
A flash of light and a tremendous boom enveloped the camp. Dust flung up, obscuring Rayla’s sight. Coughing, she ran to where she last saw Callum. As the dust settled, she spotted him sitting with his back against the wall and Zym licking his now soot-covered face.
A ringing in his ears let Callum know he was awake, and the dull ache that was quickly spreading across his body reassured him that he was alive. Lucky him.
“You idiot, did you really think that casting sky magic at a sky dragon would work?” Callum heard Rayla say. She sounded a bit mad. Well, maybe more than a bit.
“Yeah I didn’t really think that one through, did I?” Callum grimaced. Of course now it seemed obvious that a sky dragon would be immune to lighting.
“No, you didn’t, you daft human.”
“Hey, could have gone worse. Isn’t that right, Zym?” Callum said as he reached to pet Zym. The dragon gave a playful bark before pushing his head into Callum’s hand.
“Would you just stay still for a second? You’ve just been hit with a lighting spell. You could at least do me a favor and try not to move. I need to see if you’re hurt.”
“Oh so now you care about my well being? What about 5 minutes ago when you were so kindly introducing your foot to my butt?” Callum said with a small chuckle. It hurt to laugh, but truth be told, he was a little shocked at how scared Rayla seemed to be, and he wanted to lighten the mood.
“That was different, and you know it. Please, just stay still,” Rayla replied. She reached over, cupped her hands around his cheeks, and began inspecting his head.
Callum began to blush, a bit embarrassed by the touch of her hands on his face. He really hoped she didn't notice with all the ash on his face. It’s not like he had any feelings for her. Sure, she was one of the most capable people he knew, and yeah, she had saved his life dozens of times, but that didn’t mean anything to him. It’s not like the concern in her eyes melted his heart. And he definitely couldn’t get lost in their beautiful purple color. Or watch how she brushed her hair away from her eyes. Or...
“Hey. Hey! Magic-Boy, focus. How does your head feel?”
Rayla’s voice snapped him back into reality. Whatever just came over him retreated back into his mind.
“A bit fuzzy. Feels like my brain is filled with angry bees.”
“Ay, that'll happen when you electrocute yourself. You going to do that again anytime soon?”
“Nope.”
“Good, then get some rest,” Rayla said, the panic somewhat gone from her voice. Her travels with Callum had taught her not to underestimate the resilience of humans. She had faith that he’d be back to normal by morning. Or at least as normal as he could be.
“Yeah, sleep sounds good. I think I’ll just walk right over there and...” Callum trailed off before passing out into Rayla’s arms.
“Oh for Primals sake, not on me,” Rayla whispered to herself. Moving as smoothly as possible, Rayla positioned herself so that Callum’s head was in her lap. His soft snoring filled her heart with both relief and something she couldn’t quite place. She had grown to enjoy the young human’s company, something she would have thought impossible a couple of moons ago. But now the thought of losing him was something she could hardly bear.
Quickly brushing the thought from her mind, she contented herself with running her fingers through Callum’s now dusty brown hair.