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My hair whips in the wind, cutting into my face as it does. I'm soaked to the bone despite my fire magic blazing within me to keep me warm. Lightning flashes in the sky, splitting a tree on the ground near us. It catches flames but is put out by the rain.

"Stop!" I scream, channeling my Fate powers until I'm glowing with them. I ride a wind current and rise above the building to face her. "You cannot do this. Not now! Not yet."

"More of my children are dead," she screams, her eyes glowing with fury, her voice layered with power that nearly undoes me.

"And so you would murder even more innocent people?" I shout. "You gave your word. Does that mean nothing?"

"This world does not deserve to live!" As she screams, thunder crashes through the Dragon's Breath, shaking the ground.

"This is our world," Brock says, transforming into her dragon form and rising up with us. "You cannot take it from us."

Ra'Terr takes longer to join, and when he does arrive, his deep ebony black looks greyed out and he appears less vibrant than he was.

Sebastian remains on the roof watching from below. But I can feel him sending me as much power as he can, and I'm glad he came with me.

This is all terrifying, but I put on a brave face against the Mother—and Queen— of the Dragons.

"You are my children," the queen says. "I must do this to protect you."

"You are taking from them a piece of them," I say. "What do you think it will do to your remaining children if you destroy the world they helped build? A part of them will die too."

She pauses at that, looking at the two dragons flanking her. "I should never have let you do this thing," she says. "If we had stayed in our world, all would be well. Dath'Racul would rule by my side. You would all have your own kingdoms. Our world would be at peace. This world would never exist."

"If we had stayed in our world," Brock says, "we would have let all these people die. They cannot survive in the mortal world any longer. The humans have taken over and made it inhospitable for anyone else. And we are the reason these people exist."

My ears perk at that. This is the first time I've heard that particular news.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

Brock looks at me. "Magic exists because of dragons. When our kind began breeding with human, mixing our blood with them, it created all the races that now exist. These people are our people. These races exist because our kind fell in love with humans."

The queen rages again, spewing boiling golden lava from her mouth that destroys a side of the Cathedral. Sebastian has to dodge to avoid being hit himself.

Brock continues, now focused on her mother. "We owed it to them to create a world of safety for their kind."

"We owe these mixed bloods nothing," she sneers. "Dragons should have never shared their bloodline with such inferior beings."

Ha! That's rich coming from the woman who created a magical baby hybrid monster with her lover. But then, maybe that's part of the problem. She's punishing the world for her own mistakes.

"And yet they did," Brock says. "We cannot turn our back on our people." She pauses. "If you destroy the world now, I will not leave. I will die with it."

Ra'Terr nods his giant black dragon head. "As will I," he says.

"And your grandchild will also die," I say, pulling my last card. "We are still searching for her, but she's in this world somewhere. If you destroy it now, not only will you never find out who killed your children, but you will lose your last two children and your only grandchild."

I swallow a lump in my throat and pray to whatever gods are listening that she will be swayed by our words.

Finally, she lowers herself back to the roof, turning into her human form. The other dragons do as well, until we are all facing each other. Sebastian rushes to my side as support.

"I do not understand your loyalty to this wretched place," she says. "But I will honor my word. On one condition," she says, looking to her children. "When this is over, however it ends, you agree to come home with me and take your rightful places in our kingdom. Swear to it on the blood of the dragons."

I hold my breath, waiting.

Ra'Terr nods. "If we all make it through this, I will come home."

Brock hesitates, but eventually nods too. "Very well. I swear it on the blood of the dragons."

The queen doesn't look happy, despite getting her way. "I will hold you all to your promises." Then she turns her golden eyes to me. "You are running out of time, Fate. Bring me my children's killer and my grandchild, or be prepared to face the consequences."