Amara cut quickly through the moonlit forest, her horse moving at a gallop across the isolated dirt road. The lithe woman had no time to worry for her mount, likely exhausted after traveling through both the day and night. Her mind instead drifted towards a cabin, tucked away in the woods at the base of a small mountain, half sheltered by a cliff overhang. 

She could almost see it in the distance, a thin trail of what Amara desperately hoped to be chimney smoke, drifting up into the sky. She cursed under her breath, nerves alight with panic and fear as she held the reins tighter, urging her horse to move faster. 

I have to make it in time. She reminded herself, adrenaline sharp in her veins. I have to. 

At last the trees began to clear, and Amara could see the edge of the clearing where the cabin sat, wooden walls standing tall. No lights were on, and the only panic was that which Amara brough herself. She felt relief flood her bones, as she exhaled, leaning back in her saddle ever so slightly. 

The moment was ruined as a cry shook the earth, deep and guttural as it echoed across the sky. The breath was gone from Amaras lungs as she heard it, the sound startling her horse into a stop. She said nothing, wincing as she felt her heart break in her chest, before she snapped the reins. The clearing was still far off, and now she was on a time limit. 

Amara emerged into the clearing just as she began to hear it, wings beating through the air, rhythmic almost like a heartbeat. She wasted no time, leaping from her horse without stopping and charging towards the doors of the house. She shoved the doors open, practically knocking them off their hinges with the surprising force she held for such a lithe woman. 

The long entryway was empty of life, two wooden swords scattered haphazardly across the floor. She ran past it quickly, making her way into the home and up towards the second floor. She found the room she was looking for with ease, halfway down the hallway, the door painted with all sorts of colours, as well as two, small handprints. 

She threw open the door with little hesitation, taking in the room for only a moment. It was the biggest bedroom in the house, wooden toys and cloth animals littered the floor between two small beds, where Amaras two daughters were awakening. 

“Girls get up! Grab what you need and do it quickly. We haven't time to spare.” Amara urged as she rushed inside, moving to help the younger of the two, Kamira. 

While neither of her daughters were hers by blood, Kamira was the one who most resembled Amara. The same straight black hair, deep brown eyes that looked orange in sunlight, long, extended helixs that ended in a point, and fair skin, altho Kamiras was much paler. Amara had taken care of Kamira since she was first born, a request from her sister nearly seven years prior. 

“Mom, what's going on?” Amaras oldest daughter, Elrah asked groggily as she sat up from bed, her hair a mop of curly black, cascading down her shoulders and around her half pointed ears. Amara paused for a moment, glancing back towards her, trying to hide a pained expression. She opened her mouth to speak, but realized suddenly she didn't have an answer. 

“It doesn't matter.” Amara gritted her teeth as she picked up Kamira in her arms, the child still holding a yellow cloth dragon, wings hanging low. “We need to leave the cabin for a bit, okay?” She tried to smile as she looked towards the older girl, nearly twelve years old next month. 

Amara had found Elrah nearly ten years prior, a toddler, barely able to walk, wandering the ruins of her desert village in the aftermath of a wyvern attack. She loved the child immediately, doing her best to find a suitable home for her. In the end, Amara had decided to simply adopt the child herself, nevermind her dangerous occupation as a mercenary. 

“I wanna go back to sleep” Kamira yawned, nestling her face into Amaras shoulder affectionately, eyes squeezed shut. 

Amara could hear the steady wingbeats approaching, loud enough for her to hear it inside the house. She tensed for a moment, before she grasped Elrahs hand, pulling her from the bed and leading her back into the hallway. She risked a glance through one of the windows, leading out into the front of the cabin. She could see, just in the edges of the woods that surrounded the home, figures darting from tree to tree, attempting to keep out of sight. Amaras jaw tightened as she saw them, continuing down the hallway. 

She paused as she came to another room, where the girls nanny slept when Amara was out, her work often taking her across the continent. The door was closed, no light peeking from under the doorway, and Amara could hear nothing from inside. She knocked twice, before turning the handle, not quite using the same amount of force she had with doors prior. 

She was dumbstruck for a moment as she was in an empty room, the bed neatly made, decorated with a small, orange flower, partially wilting. An orange lily. Amara cursed silently as she shut the door with force, turning and beginning to walk faster. 

“Mom, where's Elenor?” Elrah asked tentatively, her little legs moving fast to keep up. Once more, Amara grit her teeth. 

“She’s waiting for us where we’re going.” She responded, trying to sound cheerful, despite the hollow pit forming in her stomach. Elenor was gone. There would be no friendly faces within at least a mile. Amaras options were growing slimmer. 

As she reached the first floor, she paused. The sound of massive wings cutting through air was getting louder, a constant reminder of their approaching enemies. She tightened her grip on her daughter's hand, realizing what this approach meant. Her inhale was shaky, before she gave a soft smile, crouching down to meet Elrah eye to eye. 

“Elrah, do you remember my friend Almander?” She asked, her voice steady. Elrah gave a quick nod, eyes wide as she sensed the panic in the air. “good! He lives in Greyport, you’ll want to find a tavern called The Spirits Grace. He’ll know you. Until then, keep your face covered, don't talk to anyone, and watch over your sister, don't let her wander off.” She gave a smile, her fake confidence beginning to wane. 

“Mom, aren't you going with us?” Elrah asked, tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. For the second time that evening, Amara felt her heart shatter. 

“I’ll catch up, I promise.” She smiled, her vision beginning to blur. She shook her head, standing up and taking a deep, shaky inhale. 

Amara moved forward again, stepping out into the night air. There was a moment of stillness, before a roar, louder than the loudest horn, with a rage unbridled. Amara could feel her daughters tense, like a deer facing down a hunter a moment before the arrow was released. Amara had no such reaction, as she pulled her daughters forward and towards her horse, now drinking from a trough beside the house. 

Amara quickly set Kamira up on the horse, her half asleep daze seemingly broken by the sound of the cry. She turned to Elrah next, lifting her up and setting her behind Kamira, handing her the reins. Amara could see the fear and panic in her eyes, glancing between the horse to her. 

“Hey hey hey.” Amara cooed, reaching up and gently cupping the side of her daughter's face. “I will see you in Greyport.” she smiled, leaned forward and gently tapped her forehead to Elrahs. 

“Mom!” The girl cried, tears now running freely down her face. Amara smiled, a bittersweet smile as she felt the warmth reach her own cheeks. She said nothing, reaching back and violently hitting the flank of her horse. The beast was sent bolting down the pathway, and Amara watched. She knew she had lied, and that hurt so much, but she knew Elrah and Kamira would be safe. They would have to be. 

A blast of flame engulfing the home behind her was no surprise to Amara, as she glanced back sorrowfully, hearing the impact of a great beast against the ground. She turned, faced with a massive scaled beast, breathing smoke, its eyes turned a crimson hue. The dragon had scales like copper, with the strength of steel, its neck glistening with a crimson hue of magic that occasionally came to form chains in the moonlight, before returning to immaterial.

Amara faced it with no real aggression, only sorrow as she gazed upon the great beast. She glanced back, towards the road where her daughters were now out of sight. Not safe, but safer than they were moments before. 

“They're safe.” Amara whispered under her breath as she unsheathed the twin blades at her hip. “I kept my promise.”