Evelyn aimed at the Forest Antlerdeer leader and unleashed a blast of Acid Breath, hoping to force it away from the fawn.
The stag had no intention of retreating.
Just before the acid reached it, the beast jerked its head upward and thrust its enormous antlers into the incoming breath.
A milky-white glow spread across the antlers, blocking most of the acid.
The little that slipped past splashed onto the ground and hissed as it ate several shallow pits into the soil.
“MRAAAH!”
The herd leader let out a piercing cry.
At the sound, the fawn it had been protecting immediately bolted toward the forest.
The stag stayed behind.
It was deliberately drawing their attention.
Evelyn didn’t hesitate.
Wind howled around her as she folded her wings and dove after the fleeing fawn.
The herd leader suddenly turned its head.
Milky-white light gathered between its antlers.
A second later...
Bang!
A glowing orb shot into the air, streaking straight toward Evelyn.
Danger!
Evelyn beat her wings frantically and twisted aside on instinct, barely avoiding the attack.
Then several more orbs came flying after her.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
They filled the air like a barrage.
“Tch. What a pain.”
Evelyn glanced back and unleashed another burst of Acid Breath.
Boom!
Acid collided with the incoming light and exploded in midair.
Droplets of corrosive liquid scattered through the sky like rain.
Evelyn seized the opening.
“Keep it busy!”
Darrien had been having just as much trouble getting past the herd leader.
At Evelyn’s shout, he climbed sharply into the air, dodged another glowing projectile, and fired a stream of acid downward.
The stag was forced to defend itself again.
That finally stopped it from pursuing Evelyn.
She wasted no time.
Evelyn turned and shot toward the forest, the wind screaming past her as she accelerated.
Even with dense trees filling her vision, her eyes never lost track of the fleeing fawn.
The young Forest Antlerdeer was sprinting through the woods at full speed.
The difficult terrain barely slowed it down.
Countless generations of survival instincts were etched into its blood.
Even after the terrifying Draconic Presence behind it faded, the fawn kept running with everything it had.
It leaped between roots and fallen branches, weaving around tree trunks and using the forest itself as cover.
Then...
That terrifying pressure descended again.
Along with it came a stream of dark green acid.
The Acid Breath cut through the gaps between the trees and struck the fawn across the head.
Its scalp began to corrode almost immediately.
Overwhelmed by pain, the fawn lost its footing and crashed to the ground.
Momentum carried it several more yards through the dirt, carving a shallow trench behind its body.
A moment later, leaves rustled in a rush of wind.
Evelyn caught up.
She folded her wings and landed steadily nearby.
The fawn was still alive, breathing in weak, ragged gasps.
Evelyn drew in a breath.
Then she lowered herself, closed her jaws around its neck, and bit down.
Crack.
The struggling stopped.
“Haa...”
Evelyn let out a long breath, as if she had just finished a mile-long run.
In truth, the hunt had barely exhausted her physically.
It was the mental part she wasn’t used to.
Since hatching, she hadn’t personally killed a single living creature.
Now she had just bitten a fawn’s neck until it died.
“My first hunt still feels a little strange.”
Evelyn muttered quietly to herself.
A dozen seconds later...
Rustling came from the trees.
Then came Darrien’s unmistakably loud voice.
“FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!”
“I’M COMING!”
The canopy shook violently.
Darrien burst through the leaves.
Then promptly crashed into the ground.
Thud!
Several small holes had been torn through his wings.
Apparently, the herd leader had given him quite a beating.
Darrien didn’t seem to care about his injuries.
He scrambled upright, saw the prey lying in front of Evelyn, and licked his lips.
He was about to throw himself onto it when a black claw suddenly blocked his path.
“My stupid little brother, this isn’t the time to eat yet.”
“Huh?”
Darrien stared at her, his tail swishing rapidly from side to side.
“Why not?”
“Guess, and I’ll tell you.”
Evelyn didn’t bother explaining further.
She picked up the fawn in her jaws and took off toward the dragon lair.
Eating in the middle of the wilderness was a terrible idea.
The smell of blood would quickly attract dangerous predators.
With the two hatchlings’ current strength, trying to defend a fresh kill from one of those creatures could easily end with Evelyn and Darrien becoming dessert.
Taking the food home was safer.
“Guess?”
Darrien blinked, looking completely innocent.
Then he realized Evelyn was already flying away.
“Hey! Wait for me!”
He quickly beat his somewhat battered wings and hurried after her.
...
Four years later.
Blackbriar Forest.
Darrien flew leisurely behind a herd of Forest Antlerdeer, releasing his Draconic Presence in controlled waves and driving them toward a swamp.
At the rear of the herd ran three male antlerdeer, each nearly thirteen feet long.
Their antlers extended more than six feet.
Against ordinary predators, those weapons would have been more than enough to fight back.
Most beasts would have taken one look at them and decided to search for easier prey.
Against a young black dragon, however, the stags could only run.
The antlers that normally kept them alive had become a burden.
Their sheer size created drag as they fled, forcing the three males toward the back of the herd.
Whenever they sensed the black dragon above preparing to spit acid, they would turn around together.
Their glowing antlers intercepted most of the Acid Breath.
The cost was obvious.
Corrosion had eaten pits and scars all across them.
But ruined antlers were better than death.
Antlers could grow back.
Lives couldn’t.
At the very front of the herd ran its leader.
The massive stag was nearly sixteen feet long and possessed the strongest body among them.
Even with its huge antlers cutting through the air and creating considerable resistance, it still maintained its position at the head of the herd.
It kept the others moving together.
That strength was its pride.
It was also why it had become the leader.
When the herd reached the edge of the swamp, the stag glanced from side to side.
There was nowhere left to go.
Swamp ahead.
Black dragon behind.
For a moment, it hesitated.
Entering the swamp might mean drowning.
Getting caught by the dragon meant death for certain.
“ROAAAR!”
A thunderous dragon roar erupted behind them as Draconic Presence crashed over the herd.
The stag made its choice instantly.
Its legs pushed off the ground.
It leaped toward the swamp.
The swamp might kill it.
The dragon definitely would.
Unfortunately for the stag...
Something had been waiting beneath the water.
Evelyn exploded from the murky swamp.
The filthy water had concealed her perfectly.
More importantly, after four years of practice, she had become extremely skilled at suppressing her presence.
Not even a trace of Draconic Presence had leaked out.
The Forest Antlerdeer leader didn’t realize another black dragon was hiding in the swamp until Evelyn broke the surface.
By then, it was too late.
The stag was already airborne.
There was nothing for it to push against.
Evelyn’s claws plunged into its chest.
Her jaws clamped around its neck.
Then she dragged the powerful magical beast straight into the swamp.
The rest of the herd immediately fell into chaos.
Some antlerdeer charged into the water and desperately tried to swim away.
Others panicked and ran back the way they had come.
A few simply froze in place.
A terrible smell quickly spread through the air.
Whatever discipline the herd had possessed was gone.
Darrien ignored the terrified animals.
He flew over the swamp and locked onto the struggling herd leader that Evelyn had dragged into the water.
Then he opened his jaws.
A stream of acid struck the stag directly.
The beast screamed.
Darrien folded his wings and dove.
Boom!
He slammed into the stag from above, using the impact to help Evelyn force it deeper into the swamp.
A trail of bubbles rose to the surface.
Then another.
Then fewer.
With two black dragons working together, the powerful Forest Antlerdeer leader soon stopped struggling entirely.
Only after making sure their prey was completely dead did Evelyn and Darrien tear into the meat.
Four years had changed the two young dragons enormously.
The same kind of herd leader that had once frightened them was no longer a serious opponent.
Both black dragons had now entered a period of rapid juvenile growth.
Evelyn had reached an impressive sixteen feet in length, with a wingspan of nearly twenty-three feet.
Darrien was about thirteen feet long, with a wingspan of more than twenty feet.
Even without an ambush, the two of them could have killed the stag head-on.
But that would have been troublesome.
They might even have gotten hurt.
So Evelyn had suggested an ambush instead.
Much easier.
As for Selvira...
Once she realized her hatchlings were capable of feeding themselves, she simply stopped hunting altogether and left them to fend for themselves.
Her days now consisted almost entirely of sleeping.
Sometimes an entire year passed without her properly waking up.
If Evelyn and Darrien failed to catch anything and went hungry, she didn’t care.
As a result, whenever hunting went badly, the two young dragons were forced to search the forest for edible fruits and mushrooms.
They didn’t taste as good as meat.
But they were still better than dirt.
Fortunately, black dragons possessed excellent resistance to poison.
Over the years, neither sibling had ever finished a meal of suspicious mushrooms and started seeing strange little people afterward.
Once they finished eating, Evelyn and Darrien each grabbed another Forest Antlerdeer that had become trapped in the swamp.
They killed the animals and carried them back toward the lair.
The extra meat could be buried in the swamp near home.
Once sealed away from the air, it would keep for a long time.
That meant they wouldn’t need to hunt again for a while.
Of course, by the time they dug the meat back up, it usually smelled sour and rotten.
The flavor was something like extremely old fermented pickles.
“Hey, Evelyn. Want to fight again when we get back?”
Darrien called to her as they flew.
As he grew older and the day approached when Selvira would finally drive them away from the lair, he had become increasingly obsessed with overthrowing Evelyn’s rule before leaving home.
Apparently, he wanted to give his childhood a satisfying ending.
He had never succeeded.
“Forget it. I don’t want to beat that deer meat back out of you.”
Evelyn glanced at her ridiculous brother and curled her lip.
Over the years, Darrien had developed a habit of suddenly becoming absurdly confident.
Whenever that happened, he would shout one of the overly dramatic lines Evelyn had once taught him.
“The three-year deadline is over...”
Then he would challenge Evelyn for control of the household.
And then...
Evelyn would beat him like a punching bag.
Despite that, Darrien had never given up.
Year after year, he continued challenging her.
If nothing else, he perfectly embodied a black dragon’s tendency to hold a grudge.
At this point, Evelyn was beginning to wonder whether her brother actually enjoyed getting beaten up.
Maybe there was something wrong with him from birth.