The portal lets me out the other side, and the bright light from the suns blind me for a little bit, until I can open my eyes and see what’s in front of me. Elias, Dagan, and Thorne are stood to one side and Korbin is right in front of me, with a long red sword resting under his chin. A tiny amount of blood dripping down his neck. I follow the sword to see Esmeralda holding it, a smug smile on her painted red lips that match her red cloak. Guards come from all directions surrounding us, raising their swords that shine in the moonlight. I know she has won, I can’t do anything other than lower my hands. She would kill Korbin in a second because he means nothing to her, and I won’t let her kill anyone else I care about again.
“You are all coming to the castle, and then meeting your true fate,” she glances at Thorne, “even you, who dares to betray his mother for a stupid girl.”
“Not a girl, a queen. I didn’t betray my mother, I’m putting right the mistakes we have made. The throne isn’t ours, and my mother is going mad from the power!” he shouts at her, and she shakes her head.
“So, so disappointing,” she tuts.
“No, that would be you. You should really tell your dear sister where you go next time, Esmeralda, and maybe get some more guards,” Melody’s voice comes from above us, and I look up just as she jumps down, slamming Esmeralda to the ground. Korbin grabs her sword, as Esmeralda throws Melody off her. Elias slams a hand into his guard in the corner of my eye, grabbing his sword and running it through the guards stomach. Korbin runs to help them, just as all hell breaks loose and my dragon guard make quick work of killing the guards surrounding us.
“Are you going to fight me fairly, princess?” Esmeralda taunts, “or die quietly, in shock, just like your pretty ice dragon and dead daddy did.”
“You never played fair, and neither will I,” I say, stepping forward. I raise my hands out in front of me, making a long ice shaped bo staff, with deadly spikes on either end. Esmeralda doesn’t wait for more than a second, shooting three arrow shaped fire sticks at me. I raise my staff, hitting each one as I walk slowly towards her. She shoots more and more, until I can just about see her over the fire in front of me until I’m stood right in front of her. I whack her legs out from under her, holding the spike at the bottom of the staff right above her heart.
“Don’t even think about it,” I say, leaning down as she looks up at me with fear filled eyes.
“You…will…regret…this,” she whispers each word as I lift the staff and slam it into her heart, without a second thought. Her eyes widen, her lips parting as blood drips down the side of her face.
“That is for Jace, you goddamn bitch,” I say, making sure she hears every word before letting go of the staff. I look around, seeing the guys still fighting three guards. I make three ice spikes, spinning around and throwing them at each guard using my dragon’s eyesight, pinning them to the trees with the spike in the middle of their stomachs. Thorne and Korbin run to my sides, protecting me even though there is no one left to hurt me now. I run to Melody, shaking her a little, and she groggily wakes up, holding a hand to the back of her head. I help her sit up as Elias and Dagan get to us, surrounding me and Melody.
“You did it, sis,” she says, pulling me to her and holding me tight. I hear her sharp intake of breath, and she pulls back. I follow her gaze to Esmeralda’s body.
“We have to leave, you shouldn’t have killed her. I see her alive no matter what you did here,” Melody tells me, pulling my arm and I look away from Esmeralda to see the desperation in her eyes.
“The future is changing, and it's darker than ever. That's why we are here. We must run before she gets here, the light must live,” a small voice says, a green head of hair popping out of Melody’s cloak.
“Bee,” I shout, as she flies to me, landing on my hand. She is bigger, and brighter, her skin almost glows now. I feel so relieved to see her, to have her close to me. “I missed you, I thought I’d never get to see you again.”
“Stop darkness, light must win. We must win,” she demands, her voice older and far more serious than she has ever been. I lower my hand as Bee flies to my shoulder, holding onto my hair as I stand up. Melody stands with me, and we look around at all the bodies. So much death.
“I made a vow, and I won’t regret it,” I tell Melody.
“Death always comes with a price,” she says, nodding her head to the left of me. I look around to see Melody’s face full of worry, Elias wiping blood off a sword, Dagan staring at the ice. That is until I see Thorne, who is just staring at the body of his aunt. I killed his aunt. Our families...we have all killed so much of each other. With so much death, can there be anything left but hate? Or just pain. I still walk over to him, softly placing my hand on his arm, making him flinch, but he doesn’t move away.
“I’m sorry, I know she is family,” I whisper.
“She wasn’t family, not after the choices she made and the deaths she caused. You have no idea the destruction she has caused in Dragca since you have been gone,” Thorne snaps out, walking away from me. I go to follow him when I hear a pained grunt.
“Issy,” Korbin whispers, and then falls to the ground as I turn to look at him. I drop down next to him as the others run over, and I look to where he is holding a hand against his shirt and it’s bleeding. I lift it up, seeing a deep cut, with purple lines spreading out from it slowly. I panic, pulling my hoodie off and pressing it against the cut.
“I’m going to be fine,” Korbin says, but any fool could hear the pain in his voice.
“Don’t lie,” I say, and he holds my hand, squeezing it tightly.
“Here, out the way,” Dagan says, kneeling next to me.
“I’m going to burn the cut, seal it and stop it bleeding. It’s the best we can do until we find somewhere to go,” Dagan explains, moving my hoodie off the long cut.
“Do you even have your fire still? Without your dragon?”
“I can’t hear my dragon anymore, but yes,” Dagan says, holding out a small flame in his hand. “Only I can’t do it for long. Nothing like the power I used to have.”
“You can’t do that,” I say and look to Bee. “Can you heal him?”
“Not from poison, not without power,” she says sadly and my dragon growls, whines, and demands I do something in my mind. Anything to save him.
“Look away,” Korbin demands of me, and Elias pulls me away, turning my head into his chest as I hear Korbin scream and scream. I don’t think I will ever forget the sounds of his screams, I don’t want to. It reminds me that I could lose him, it reminds me what I need to fight for. When it stops, I fall to Korbin’s side next to Dagan. I examine the cut, it's burnt and no longer bleeding, but the purple lines look darker and longer.
“I’m okay, don’t worry, doll,” he tries to reassure me, reaching up and wiping some of my tears away.
“He is poisoned, we need to find a town, and a healer quickly,” Melody says nervously, looking over my shoulder.
“Can you walk?” I ask Korbin, and he shakes his head with a tired look. Elias and Dagan lift him up, keeping an arm around their shoulders. But I know he won’t be walking fast.
“Save mine,” my dragon whimpers, before disappearing away in my head.
“What is the nearest town? Where do we go now?” I ask, but I don’t really know who I’m asking. I don’t know where we are, it’s just trees and mountains for a long time.
“To the seers near here, we have to show them you’re alive. To show that you want to fight, and hope they will let their healers save him,” Melody says.
“We have allies here, things you don’t know, Issy. We have a lot to tell you,” Dagan comments.
“I could fly ahead and get help,” I suggest.