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Liam shifts, his posture still on alert. "I agree with Eve. We can't leave them behind."

Elijah nods. "It would be fascinating to learn more about the behaviors and habits of a newly hatched dragon. So little is known about them given how rare they are in general."

Derek sighs and looks to Sebastian for support, but Zara purrs against his chest, snuggled tight and looking quite content. The Earth Druid shrugs and I smile at the scene of him looking so nurturing.

"You all realize we could lose our license to practice law for this, right?" asks Derek.

"Maybe it's time we found a new calling anyways," Liam says, surprising us all.

"You don't want to be a lawyer anymore?" I ask.

"I didn't say that," he says, "but when you are immortal, it does well to change things up a bit from time to time. I've been thinking a lot about the past and what our future might hold. I'm just not sure I want to spend too many more years at this."

Derek looks beyond exasperated, but shakes his head. "We can't have this conversation right now. We have to go. Particularly if we are kidnapping two children."

"We are," I confirm, smiling at the baby dragon and trying not to look at Lyx's body lying by the water. "We should go.” But we don’t leave right away. Without exchanging words, we all pause before the water and stand in silence for a moment. In honor of Lyx's life, in mourning of her death. Then we turn to the carriage.

Derek, still annoyed with all of our plans, sits up front. Liam joins him, leaving me in the back with the two kids, Sebastian and Elijah.

The plan is to head straight to the castle and to avoid any confrontation on the way.

But, that plan is shit upon within fifteen minutes of driving.

The steady rainfall that began earlier turns into a full-scale storm, cracking the sky open and shifting the earth with its power and force. Everyone looks at me, but I shrug. "I'm not doing this."

The horses neigh in panic, pulling against each other and toppling our carriage to the side.

Sebastian clutches the dragon, and I reach for Ana, holding her close and cocooning us in a ball of air to cushion our fall.

Still, we land hard, and I know I'll have bruises tomorrow to tell this tale.

Liam rushes to help pull Ana out of the carriage just as a fire ball lands a few feet away, singeing the earth and nearly incinerating us.

The baby dragon hiccups and a stream of water flows out of her mouth, quenching the flames, but another fire ball hits to our right and Ana screams and hides behind me.

"What the hell is happening?" I shout, using my magic to quench the fires as quickly as they appear.

The wind is a frenzied thing, whipping around us as flames continue to rain from the sky and burn the earth. I look up and see them. Two giant dragons fighting amidst the thunderous clouds. I recognize the red one. Dath'Racul, the Fire Dragon. But the other is new to me. It's a pale blue dragon with shimmering white scales around its face. "That's the Air Dragon?" I ask.

Elijah nods. "Ventus'Arak. He and Dath'Racul don't always see eye to eye."

I snort. "That's pretty clear."

Through the wind we can hear them speaking…or rather shouting at each other. "You killed her!" Ventus says.

Racul roars, sending another fire ball flaming through the sky. "I did no such thing."

"If not you, then who? You always hated her for leaving the Council," Arak says.

"That does not mean I killed her," he bellows.

Two more dragons fly up. One a deep green and the other dark as pitch. Ra'Terr, the Darkness Dragon, I recognize as the one who guards the prison. But I've never seen the earth dragon before. She's magnificent. Her scales sparkle under the Dragon's Breath and look like emeralds shining in the sky.

"That's Brock'Mir," Elijah says. "And this is what remains of the Dragon Council," he says with sadness in his voice. "To lose two dragons so close together is a true tragedy for our world."

"Brothers, cease this bickering. We must work together to find out who killed our sister," Brock'Mir says, but they ignore her and continue fighting, shaking the earth and splitting the sky with their fury.

I fear their wrath will not end until another dragon has been killed, very likely taking us with them.