I turn from Avani to look at my son, my eyes wide. Four explosives? “Then, we’d better start getting them out,” Ancalagon says quietly. ‘So much stronger than his mother.’ ‘She’d never have survived what he has.’ ‘She’s worthless, can’t even protect her own son.’ Ishir’s snarl snaps my attention back to him. He pulls me to him, putting his mouth to my ear. “Focus, Zephyr. Ancalagon is safe and we’re going to keep him that way. But I need you to stay focused and be here with me,” he says. I tuck my face against his neck, inhaling his exotic, earthy scent. When I feel settled, I nod and step back, suddenly realizing that everyone has stopped and is watching me. “I’m okay. We need to focus on Ancalagon,” I say. Ancalagon leans his large head over, nudging me. “Are you sure you’re okay, mother?” I slide my hands over his snout, laying my head on him. “Yes, my brave son. I’m fine. Let’s get those nasty explosives out of your head.” “I just want to repeat, it’s going to be painful

The next morning, I go out to spend time with Ancalagon and the other dragons. I realize that their abuse at the hands of Oliver and The Chief may not have been the same as mine, but they are all suffering in their own ways. I let Ancalagon know that we’ll be checking out the space where we found him tonight and he immediately asks to join us. I really don’t want him to come, I want to protect him, but Ishir told me that he needs this. So, I tell him yes. I follow Kaylani and Everett around, checking over the dragonlings. Some are younger than others and some are getting closer to the their fifth birthdays when they will finally shift and get their human form. “How do you feel about having some of these little ones having your DNA, Kaylani?” I ask her. My sister as always wanted a child, but she was never able to have one, not even with Avani. “Mixed feelings I guess. It’s nice to know that I have what you could call true children, and that the water dragon line won’t die with me,

I lay strapped to the bed, a needle in each of my arms and legs. My father told me I needed to think about what I had done. What had I done? I’m not even sure. I had been helping Ancalagon get free, trying to help him escape and my father had come in and found me. Cal had tried to reach down to grab me. My father says he was trying to kill me, but I think he was trying to save me. Of course, then, he blew his fire on me. He already knew it was too hot for me, I had told him, so then, maybe my father was right and he was trying to kill. He should have killed me, except….except, something happened. Somehow and I don’t now how, I blocked the fire. My father had grabbed me and I had put a protective covering over us. As soon as the fire stopping raining down on us and we heard Ancalagon scream as he flew away with the others, my father had yanked me out of the burning building. “Do you know what you’ve done, Eliane?” he had yelled at me. “Father, I’m sorry. I didn’t want him to die.”

I know Ishir is worried about me, but I also know that Tana would never hurt me. She, Kaylani, and I were the last female dragons for a very long time. Kaylani and I are older than Tana, but there was never any animosity between us. And, I know that Tana killed innocents a lot longer than I have while she was in the Arena. She may not have killed that many more than I did, since Oliver was pushing me to kill more and more frequently, but she still has quite a list of supernaturals that she killed. As we walk into the forest, Tana takes my hand. “Do you mind telling me about the voices in your head?” she asks me. I think about the ghosts of the shifters in my mind and it’s Tana’s hand in mine that helps to keep me grounded. “They talk to me,” I say to her. She nods as she finds a place for us to sit. “They say horrible things to you?” she asks me. I nod. “Yes.” “Things that you believe?” “I believe them because they are true,” I say. “Are they, Zephyr?” she asks. “I killed t

The next morning, we’re up early. When I get outside, Morgan is already there with Kaylani. If she had a human form, she’d be bouncing on her feet. Instead, her scales are rippling and the excited energy coming off of her is palpable. “So, this is a good training exercise for both of you,” Kaylani begins. “Both of you need to learn to have control of your element. Watch as Zephyr and I show you,” she says, and Zephyr pulls a small tornado onto her hand. “The key is to trust each other, Zephyr and I are sisters and have grown up together, so we know that the other can control their element. But you also have the responsibility when you mix elements to maintain control of your element. If ones goes out of control, they both do,” Kaylani says, as she adds water to the tornado, making it a water spout. As we watch, she begins to add too much water, making waves around the tornado, making the tornado sloppy and eventually it falls off Zephyr’s hand and splashes on the ground at our feet