Chapter 29: Fire Above Kings

It was just another flight. I'd left my family back at the den, the cubs wrestling over a half-eaten boar, my mate sunning herself near the mouth of our cave. I needed the air, the silence. My wings beat rhythmically against the sky, each flap echoing the strength I'd earned over time. I could fly for hours now without tiring, and I often did—watching, learning, remembering where I came from.

I glided low across the jungle canopy, letting the wind whistle across my horns when something below made me stop.

A roar.

Loud. Brutal. Familiar.

I hovered midair, wings still, eyes narrowing toward a clearing surrounded by shattered trees. There—Kong. I hadn't seen him in a long time, not this close anyway. The last time I did, I was barely strong enough to fly. Now? I was nearly 30 feet from nose to tail. Lean muscle, thick scales, horns sharper than blades, and a fire that no longer sputtered, but roared.

Kong was locked in battle.

And not just with any beast.

Ramarak.

The Alpha Skullcrawler. Larger than the rest. Smarter. Meaner. A true monster among monsters.

I floated down silently, my shadow sliding across the trees. Kong was fighting like hell, every swing of his fists sending shockwaves through the air. But he was bleeding. Slashed across the chest, side torn open. Ramarak coiled around him, hissing, barbed tail slamming into Kong's leg.

I could see it—Kong was losing.

Then the sound of machines cut through the air.

Helicopters.

Humans.

Weapons were locked, sights aimed. I knew what came next—they were about to intervene, throw their fire and metal at Ramarak to save their great ape ally.

But they wouldn't need to.

Because I was already diving.

Fire boiled in my throat.

For a split second, Ramarak looked up. Its soulless eyes met mine.

Then the sky erupted.

A blast of fire hotter than the sun slammed into Ramarak's back. It screamed in agony, twisting, writhing as I hit it with another searing wave. I circled above, relentless. Flame met flesh again and again until its screams became gurgles, and its scales split open in smoking lines of black and red.

Kong pulled free of the beast's loosened grip, staggering back, panting.

I didn't stop.

With one final roar, I unleashed a concentrated blast directly at Ramarak's face, the force of it throwing the massive crawler backward.

Silence.

It didn't rise again.

Smoke rose from its corpse, its massive form twitching one last time before going still.

I hovered above the battlefield, letting the smoke and flames curl around my wings. The humans had gone quiet in their helicopters, stunned into stillness. Kong looked up at me, eyes wide, breathing hard. We stared at each other across the clearing, two apex predators sharing a moment no one else could understand.

Then I nodded.

A slow, deliberate dip of my head.

Not submission.

Not dominance.

Respect.

He nodded back.

Then I descended.

My claws clamped onto Ramarak's smoldering corpse, and with a beat of my massive wings, I lifted it off the ground. It was heavy, yes—but I was stronger now. A year of battle, blood, and survival had changed me. I wasn't just a baby dragon anymore. I was becoming something else.

I carried Ramarak's charred body away, the stench of burned skullcrawler blood mixing with the air. Below, Kong watched, then turned back into the trees, limping but alive.

Back at my den, the cubs came rushing out when they saw me return. My mate joined them, eyes widening at the sight of my prize.

"Ramarak," I growled low, dropping the body before them.

They didn't know the name, but they could feel the power. Smell the victory.

My mate pressed her head against mine, proud. The cubs circled the kill, their fire lighting up in excitement.

As night fell, we feasted under the stars. I watched them eat, strong and wild, a family built in the fire of Skull Island. My flame lit the dark, casting flickering shadows against the trees.

One day, the world would know us.

But tonight, the island belonged to us.