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She cries, cradling her screaming infant. "No. Please. I beg you. If I can't stay, take my child…" Her pleas are desperate, grasping at the last remnants of hope for her child, if not herself. She holds the baby out like an offering to a cruel god, and the Enforcer pauses, his face troubled as he glances at his partner who doesn't appear nearly as bothered by conscience. He looks back at the woman but avoids eye contact. "I'm sorry, but I have my own young ones, and if I don't follow the rules, then…"

Enough is enough. I can't watch any more of this.

"Let go of them," I say in my most commanding voice. I walk forward holding up the dragon ring I received earlier. "On order of Ava'Kara, let this woman and her child through."

The Enforcer freezes, his eyes darting between me and the ring I now wield like a weapon.

My heart is pounding in my chest, and I'm soaking my tunic with sweat, the heat of the Dragon’s Breath rolling off my skin. Behind me I can feel the Night brothers staring, their eyes drilling holes in my back.

While his partner looks annoyed at my intervention, the head Enforcer looks confused as to the right course of action. "But my orders…" he says.

I think he wants a way out of this. I don't believe he wants this woman and her child to die, but he’s also a man who follows the law blindly, who values his own safety and health above that of others. He is like so many in my world who refuse to challenge what is clearly wrong, who refuse to look at the whole truth. Willfully blind and just as dangerous, just as cruel and evil as those who actively seek to harm. Maybe even worse, because their evil is subtle, insidious, unintentional. It's caused more by self-interest and an unwillingness to challenge a corrupt system than by any truly evil aspiration. It is the most prevalent kind of evil, and it enrages me to see it played out with such crass openness. He justifies it to himself because he thinks he's protecting his own family. His own children. But what of this woman? What of her child? What of their lives?

"Your orders are overruled," I say. "The dragons created this quarantine, did they not?"

He nods nervously.

"Then they are in a position to modify it as the need arises. I carry the authority of Ava'Kara. This woman and her child are clearly no threat, and they just as clearly are not hiding any egg. Let them through."

"Yes," he says, glancing once more at my ring. "Let them go."

His partner hesitates, and I see the small sadistic part of him that likes this power. Likes making others feel weaker. Less than. He likes being the big man with the big stick. He doesn't like that I'm taking it away from him.

"Let them go!" the Enforcer repeats again, and his partner pulls away from Kaya and spits on the ground by the tree. Kaya rights herself slowly, her eyes locked on the man who electrocuted her. She looks pissed, and I don't blame her. I'm pissed on her behalf, and I wasn't the one manhandled.

"Welcome to the Otherworld," the head Enforcer says, tipping his hat to the woman and her child. "I apologize for the—uh—for the misunderstanding."

Misunderstanding. Right. If we hadn't been here, they would have shoved her back into a world where she was being hunted. A world that would have killed them both, likely after doing unspeakable things to her.

He turns to leave, his partner following him. As he walks past me, he mumbles a ‘thank you.’

I reach for his arm and pause him. "You might want to find work more suited to you," I whisper, giving him a meaningful look. He nods and continues walking.

The woman stands and comes to me, her eyes streaming with tears. "Thank you. You saved us."

I place a hand on her shoulder. "I hope you find safety here."

She sniffs and nods, and other dryads I didn't see before now come out of their trees to care for her and the child.

"Come, love," one says, taking her arm gently. "Let's get you cleaned up and find somewhere for you to stay."

Liam steps up to me, placing a hand on my back, a small smile on his face. "You sure know how to make an entrance."

"I guess you're not the only one with a temper," I say.

Kaya walks over to me and bows her head. "Thank you. It's not often someone bearing one of the dragon's seals actually helps me. Usually they're just trying to shut down my business."

"And what is your business?" I ask, curious.

“Helping folks get to the Otherworld, even if they can’t pay their way." She cocks her head. "Especially if they can’t pay their way.”

“That sounds like a good cause," I say, holding out a hand to shake hers. "I'm Eve Oliver. My friend, Lily, said you may be able to help us.”

At Lily's name, Kaya's face lights up. “Lily. How’s she doing? Still getting into trouble?”

I pause. Clearly, she hasn't heard. "Lily was…she was injured in the explosion that happened in town. But she's recovering well."

Kaya's face pales. She looks over to the brothers. "You must be her uncles?"