“So let me get this straight,” Brandy said. She gripped her chin and stared intently at Nesse and Aeris. “Your friends were kidnapped by the former District Lord—one of the most influential humans in the city—to force you to attack the current District Lord in order to prevent her dividing the humans and dragons and starting a war?”

“That’s about the long and the short of it,” Nesse replied. She upended the mug in front of her only to slam it back down with a frown.

Brandy immediately ran to the cabinet then rushed back with another wine bottle. It didn’t take long to rip the cork out and refill the dragon’s cup which she drank eagerly.

“I can’t believe she would do that,” Brandy said. “I mean, I never met the woman, and I have no idea what she’s like, but it still sounds so extreme. It would be something out of a story except this is real life and real people could end up really dead.”

Nesse slammed her mug down again. “It’s a damn mess is what it is! And I thought covens were cutthroat.”

“But enough about that. I can’t believe Snowflake has been using a fake name! Are you like a spy? Or a fugitive? Oh! You’re secretly the daughter of a powerful Matriarch from the Dragonlands who wants you to take over her clan but you don’t want to and fled here to live your own life?”

“Brandy, please calm down. Don’t forget this is Aeris’—oh, right. Is it okay if we call you Aeris or do you prefer Snowflake?”

Aeris wasn’t really listening. Their words got through to her, but it was like standing in the rain; the water ran down her body but she wasn’t absorbing it. She was too focused on how she was supposed to kill another dragon. Assuming she could work up the nerve, she had never killed another dragon before. She had killed humans, but it wasn’t something she was proud of. Dragons were something else entirely and the dragon she was tasked with killing was a Matriarch. They didn’t go down easy.

A knock on the door brought her back to her senses. Nesse looked at Brandy who shrugged.

The pair cautiously approached the door. Aeris remained where she was, feeling like a stranger peering through a window.

Brandy snatched the door open as Nesse crouched and growled. Reban backed away.

“Please, I didn’t come to fight,” he said.

“Then why are you here?” Nesse asked.

“I wanted to help you. Can I come in? I don’t want to talk about it outside.”

Nesse straightened up and stepped aside, allowing the drake to come inside. The moment he entered he bowed to Aeris.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened. I spoke against kidnapping your friends, but Teresa wouldn’t hear it.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Aeris said, tonelessly.

“It does. I came here to help you get them back.”

“Would’ve been better to bring them with you,” Nesse mumbled.

Reban’s tail slapped against the floor. “Teresa has been increasingly paranoid lately. You have no idea what it’s been like these last few months. You heard what happened to the Dragon’s Den, right?” When Aeris eventually nodded, he said, “That restaurant isn’t the only one. Nearly half the human-owned businesses have either hired dragons as partners or sold their businesses out of fear.”

“Wow, that’s so sad,” Brandy said. “But it doesn’t make any sense. Everyone just gave up like that? I thought the humans would be more outspoken against the dragons.”

“They were until one of the businesses burned down. The family was still inside and no one made it out. Everyone says the dragons did it, but without proof, it’s all rumor.”

“But everyone got the message,” Nesse said solemnly. “So that was it? The governor nor the city council had nothing to say about it?”

“No one’s heard from them since the Dracaena’s visit.”

Nesse tilted her head. “Wait, what? They haven’t said anything? Done anything? The dragons are taking over their city one business at a time and no one’s doing a thing about it?”

Aeris wasn’t sure what the Genial was implying but Reban’s eyes widened at her words.

Without a word, the two dragons rushed to the door. Brandy followed close behind. Fearing being left alone, Aeris followed as well.

“Wait, I have to get Dr. Nesse’s flying license.”

Reban huffed. “Don’t bother. The aerial patrol stopped checking weeks ago. Dragons are free to fly around as they please.”

Not much was said as they flew across the city. Aeris gazed down at the many lights and small figures moving about in the distance. From up there, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. She couldn’t see the tension, the hatred, permeating from the citizens below. The moment she missed it all, she realized it didn’t matter. This city could tear itself apart for all she cared.

Finding Janine was all that mattered.

Eventually, Reban landed in front of a large mansion. The curtains remained still against the dark windows. Looking about and checking for scents, Aeris found no signs of life.

“This isn’t right,” Nesse said. “Three dragons and a human can just waltz right up to the governor’s mansion without an invite?”

“No, they shouldn’t,” Reban replied grimly.

Brandy walked up to the door and banged on it with her fist. “Hello? We need to speak to you! It’s urgent! Like really urgent!”

Nesse quickly steered the woman away from the door. “Let’s try to keep things subtle, okay? The situation is tense as it is, and I don’t want to be greeted by a bullet.”

They stood in front of the door for several moments, waiting for it to swing open with the barrel of a rifle awaiting on the other side.

But nothing happened. Not a single flutter of the curtains nor any movement from the door.

“Something’s wrong,” Reban said. “It shouldn’t be this quiet.”

“Maybe they’re not home,” Aeris said.

“There should still be someone tending to the house.” He stepped back far enough to examine the front of the house. “There. A window up there is partially open. Human, can you get to it?”

“Excuse me, but my name is Brandy. I don’t call you, dragon.”

“Time is of the essence,” Nesse interjected, lowering herself so Brandy can easily climb on her back. “If we stay out here too long someone is going to see us and get the wrong idea.”

No more words were exchanged as the Genial carefully flew up to the window and Brandy crawled inside. Aeris almost expected a shot to ring out and send them both crashing to the ground. Her anxiety didn’t lift until Nesse touched down again.

It felt like an hour of tense silence had passed before the door opened and Brandy poked her head outside. Her face was pale and her eyes wide with worry. She carefully maneuvered to get through without letting them see anything beyond the portal.

“Um, it’s…well…Dr. Nesse, you should wait out here. You, you really don’t want to see what’s in there.”

Nesse nodded. Aeris’ chest tightened. She could only think of one reason why Nesse wouldn’t want to go inside.

Reban tilted his head but shrugged without saying anything and stepped around the woman. Aeris braced herself for the worst and followed him inside.

The stench of death and blood hit her before she even crossed the threshold. A storm of flies assaulted them as they went inside. Even in the dark, she could sense the carnage inside. The dried blood painting the walls, the broken paintings on the floor, and overturned furniture.

“What happened here?” Reban asked.

“Maybe the dragons got to them,” Aeris offered.

“No, they would have announced it. This was done quietly, and judging from these bodies, a while ago.” He nuzzled the corpse of a maid on the floor and flipped it over.

Aeris reeled at the sight of the woman’s red hair and slightly wrinkled face. Maggie?! Here? Why? How? She backed into the wall, causing something to slam onto her rump. Letting out a frightened yelp, she scrambled to the other side of the hall.

A painting sat on the floor where she once stood, the silent family mocking her with their permanent smiles.

“Can you be more careful?” Reban asked through clenched teeth. “This is serious.”

“Sorry,” Aeris mumbled. She looked back at the woman on the floor again. Even with most of the flesh rotted away it was plain to see this woman wasn’t Maggie. This woman’s hair was too straight and her head too thin. She cursed herself for her reaction. She should know Maggie anywhere.

Eager to change the subject, she added, “What were you saying?”

He gave her a long, suspecting look as he turned back to the body. “This woman was shot. Her clothes aren’t torn. There’s no way a dragon could have killed her this cleanly.”

“The humans did this? But why?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Come on. I need to know if the governor is all right.”

“Would they still be here after all this time?”

“No, but I need to see it for myself.”

She nodded and followed the Ramscale upstairs. It felt so strange. After leaving the maid behind, the rest of the house had been undisturbed as if the world carried on around the violence. A blanket of dust covered everything, only recently disturbed in certain areas. She assumed that was Brandy’s doing when she came through.

It didn’t feel right. The smell was too strong to come from one body, especially in a house this size. She waited in the hall while Reban checked the bedrooms, not wanting to look at any more corpses. Each time, he returned with a solemn shake of his head and his expression looking more and more defeated.

After checking the final room, he said, “Let’s go. There’s nothing here.”

Aeris was glad to finally be able to leave. The smell of death made her nauseous and brought up memories she’d rather not think about.

Brandy and Nesse turned to them the moment they stepped outside. Brandy looked very pale and her face was wet with tears.

“I heard what Brandy found inside,” Nesse said. “It sounds like a massacre.”

“It was,” Reban said. “Everyone inside is dead. The governor and his family, and probably all the servants as well.”

“I know,” Brandy said. “I had to crawl through one of the children’s bedrooms to get in, and…and…”

Nesse curled a wing around the woman and pulled her closer. “Shh. It’s all right now. Do we know how they died?”

“They were all shot,” Reban said grimly.

“Shot? But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“I don’t get it either. Anyway, I fear for the other council members,” Reban said. “We have to make sure they’re all right. If the city leaders are all dead—”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but there’s a good chance they’re all dead,” Nesse said.

Brandy covered her mouth, her eyes bulging. “The city council is dead? But who’s going to run the place?”

“There are safeguards for the event of an untimely death,” Nesse explained. “Although I don’t think they planned for them all to die at once. It’ll be chaos for sure especially in the current climate.”

“I want to make sure first,” Reban said. “There may be survivors.”

He spread his wings and leaped into the air. Nesse lowered herself so Brandy could climb on.

“Brace yourself, Aeris,” Nesse said. “Things just got very ugly.”

Aeris said nothing as she followed Nesse into the sky. She didn’t care about the council. She just wanted to find Janine and leave this place before the dragons rebelled.

They landed at the next house. Reban rushed up to the door and tapped it with his tail. There was no response. He knocked again and paced for several minutes, but silence answered.

With a frustrated growl, he slammed into the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges as it swung open into the wall. He disappeared inside, calling out if anyone was there.

Aeris remained outside. The smell of death and decay was strong here as well. She wanted to go inside, but the thought of seeing Janine’s body on the floor made her hesitant.

“Aeris, I have a question,” Nesse said. “The last house you were in, were there any signs of forced entry?”

“I don’t remember seeing any. But we didn’t check the whole house.”

“I didn’t see anything either,” Brandy said. “Actually, it didn’t even look like anyone tried to escape. But that can’t be possible. They would have to launch a simultaneous attack on everyone in the house at the same time or have someone watching all the exits.”

“Which would still mean it’s far too organized to have gone unnoticed. I have a theory, but it’s a little out there.”

“What is it?”

“They killed each other.”

Brandy broke the silence first with a nervous chuckle. “Dr. Nesse that sounds…very creepy. Why would the council members kill each other? And if it’s like this for every member--”

“And yet it’s still a valid theory. Something spooked Teresa so badly, she’s locked herself in her home and resorted to kidnapping and blackmail to keep the peace. Unless she was always that paranoid.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Aeris said.

Nesse continued. “Exactly. Whatever is going on, someone isn’t playing around. We have to get out of the city.”

“I’m not going anywhere without Janine,” Aeris said flatly.

A heavy silence fell over the group.

Nesse broke the silence first. “Aeris, you might have to. You can’t kill Shai. I can tell by looking at you, you can’t beat her.”

“But I can’t—" Aeris began.

“Which is why we’ll have to try a different approach,” Nesse interjected quickly. “Teresa didn’t say specifically you had to kill the District Lord, but after meeting Shai, that’s exactly what it would come to.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Brandy said. “Aeris won’t leave, and I don’t want to leave Aeris. I haven’t known you for long, Aeris, but I like you and I don’t want anything to happen to you. It just wouldn’t be right to—"

Nesse nuzzled the woman. “Calm down. No one’s leaving anyone. She’s probably the last of her kind; there’s no damn way we’re leaving her here to die.” She pointed her tail at Aeris. There was a strong now-listen-up expression on her face that Aeris recognized from her time with Maggie. She straightened up.

“Shai is only here to avenge the death of her sister,” the genial said. “She doesn’t care about the position. So all we have to do is come to an agreement. She agrees to step down, and in return, we’ll help her get justice for her sister.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I hope so for your sake.”

Aeris tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“If all goes as planned, you won’t need to worry about that.”

****

“Let me get this straight,” Shai said, her frown deepening with every word. “Most of the city officials are dead?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it,” Nesse replied. She shifted her weight, tail wrapping around her legs. Aeris braced for the worst. If the larger horntail attacked them, she wasn’t sure how much help she would be.

Shai roared and spun, slashing the wall with the spikes on her tail.

“How am I supposed to get the damn truth if they’re all dead?!”

“Think of it this way: your sister’s death has been avenged,” Nesse offered.

Shai whirled on her with such hatred, the genial backed into Aeris.

“I wanted to hear them say it! They were supposed to confess!”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen now,” Nesse said.

“No, not yet. There’s still one left.”

“But Teresa doesn’t know anything,” Aeris said quickly. “She said so herself!”

Shai snorted. “To you, right? You actually think she would admit it to a dragon? But she’s going to tell me even if I have to peel her skin off.”

“No!” Aeris leaped in front of the door. “I need her alive! She knows where Janine is!”

“Not my problem.”

“Now hold on a moment,” Nesse said. She stepped between Aeris and Shai. “There’s a way we can both get what we want. Teresa trusts Snowflake so we can use that to get her—”

“No more sneaking around. No more taking my time. She talks now.”

Aeris refused to budge. She knew if Shai got to Teresa, the woman would die. She was too paranoid to avoid a confrontation.

“I can’t let you do that.”

“And you think you’re gonna stop me? You? A pet? The only reason I never killed you from the start is because you were under someone’s protection.”

“Yes, and that protection is still there!” Nesse interjected, the desperation clear in her voice.

“That was back when I gave a damn.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Nesse said. “You can’t go after Teresa now. With the city leaders dead, attacking her will make everyone think you did it.”

“Like I care.”

She started forward again but Nesse stood her ground. A growl filled the room.

“Move,” Shai said.

A familiar pressure fell over Aeris. It wasn’t nearly as intense as Sareen’s or she supposed she had just gotten used to it. Nesse dropped her head and stepped out of the way.

Shai stood over Aeris.

“You may be the Dracaena’s new plaything, but she’s not here to save your ass. Now, are you going to move, or do I need to make you?”

Aeris swallowed and straightened up as best she could, fighting to hide the quivering of her tail. If she let her go, she would never see Janine again. No matter what, that couldn’t happen again.

She reacted on pure instinct, ducking just in time to avoid Shai’s initial lunge. The larger dragoness turned her maw downward to give chase, using her bulk to pin Aeris to the wall.

Aeris shot a blast of ice. It struck Shai directly in the face, covering most of it in a layer of ice. She thrashed about flailing her tail wildly as she clawed at the icy muzzle. Nesse was struck in the side by Shai’s spiked tail and fell against the wall. She shook her head, seemingly confused, then shrank further into the floor as the spiked appendage narrowly missed her face.

Without a word, Nesse looked at Aeris and nodded before rushing Shai. The Horntail had reared up on her hind legs to scratch at the ice on her face. Nesse tackled her, knocking them both to the floor.

With any creature, the throat is the most vulnerable part, a familiar voice said in Aeris’ mind. She knew that voice but couldn’t recall its owner or when she heard the words.

The thought repeated as she moved on autopilot, going straight for Shai’s exposed neck. Nesse threw herself on top of Shai’s tail, pinning it down.

“Wait, don’t kill her!” Nesse cried. “We need her alive.”

Aeris held on but didn’t bite down. She had a good view of Shai’s face. Most of the ice had been clawed off and left deep scratches in the process.

“So here’s how this is going to play out,” Nesse said. “You agree to step down as District Lord and let us deal with Teresa. In return, we’ll let you live and find out what really happened to your sister. Deal?”

“Deal,” Shai replied in a garbled voice.

“I want your word!”

“Fine!”

“All right then. Aeris, let her up.”

Aeris slowly released her and backed away. Shai didn’t attack but the murderous scowl sent their way made Aeris wonder if they were doing the right thing.

Shai stood and backed away, her gaze never leaving Aeris. “What the fuck are you? No dragon can do that.”

Nesse quickly cut in before Aeris could respond. “That’s what you get for underestimating her. Now I hate to rush you but I need you to announce your stepping down tonight and get out of the city. Once word gets out about the city leaders, they’ll start pointing fingers.”

“Why do you care?”

“Honestly, I just don’t like seeing others punished for things they didn’t do. Now this situation may have been your doing, but I also know this pot was due to boil over long before you got here.”

Shai snorted. “And where am I going?”

“Strendor isn’t far from here. We’ll meet up there once we get out.”

A single nod was exchanged before Shai headed for the exit. It was what Aeris wanted, but she still felt guilty knowing she had forced someone else out of their home. Better than bloodshed, but this wasn’t how she wanted it to go at all.

Just before leaving, she looked back at Aeris. “I see why the Dracaena picked you. You really should be careful around her.”

Aeris waited until they were alone before tuning to Nesse. “Thank you. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here.”

“Nah. I should be thanking you. It was your ice that gave us the opening. It caught her off-guard and snapped me out of her Call. It’s pretty helpful; you might wanna remember that for later. Now let’s get what we can out of Teresa, rescue your friend, and get out of here.”

****

“I’m surprised you haven’t left by now,” Reban said. He stepped aside to let them in. “Teresa knows what happened and she’s panicking.”

“She should,” Nesse said, stepping past him. “The governor was killed under her nose, and she didn’t even notice.”

“We were focused on other things,” Reban replied with a low growl. “Someone needed to keep the peace before things went too far.”

“And look where it got you.”

The drake stopped long enough to give her a forlorn look before continuing down the hall.

“You don’t understand,” he said. “If things escalate, thousands of people will die. Diamus could be destroyed. This is my home. Teresa’s home. And there’s nothing we can do but watch it crumble in front of us.”

Teresa was still in her study. This time she was pouring over a table cluttered with various papers and books. Her face looked more haggard than ever.

Reban nuzzled her hand. “Teresa, Aeris is back.”

Teresa jumped at his touch but quickly calmed down. “Huh, what? Oh. Is she? That’s perfect. Does she have good news?”

“Depends on what you mean by good,” Nesse said as she stepped forward. “We convinced Shai to step down as District Lord. She’ll be leaving the city tonight.”

Teresa had gone back to looking over the documents in front of her and didn’t even look up. “Yes, yes. That’s very good.”

“I did what you asked,” Aeris asked. “Now tell me where Janine is.”

There was no reply.

Reban nuzzled her again. “Teresa, the girl. We have to let her go.”

“What? No, I can’t do that. Not now.”

Aeris’ mouth fell open. “That’s not what we agreed!”

The woman lifted her head, her eyes widening as if realizing two more dragons had entered the room. “I need you, Aeris. You’re the only one who can establish order.”

“Oh come on!” Nesse cried. “She can’t be the only dragon here with any kind of pull.”

“No, but she is the only one is supported by the Dracaena,” Reban said. “If Aeris tells the dragons to step back, they’ll do it without question.”

“But the only time she ever does anything is when that girl is threatened,” Teresa added, her voice rising. “So much potential wasted! This whole situation could have been avoided if she had taken the role from the start!” She leaned on the table and sighed. “Well, now I’m afraid I can’t play nice anymore. Until the situation is under control, Janine will remain in my care.”

“But—” Aeris started forward only for Nesse to cut her off.

“Can she at least see her and know she’s okay?”

“I’m not a fool. The moment you set eyes on her you’ll attempt a desperate rescue. I can’t have that. Once we regain control of the situation, I’ll disclose her location to you and not a moment before.”

“And we’re just supposed to take you at your word because you’re just so trusting? Just like the last District Lord, right?”

Teresa snatched her head up, eyes burning with outrage. But Aeris noticed Reban had stiffened at the remark and refused to look at them.

“I just want to know if she’s okay,” Aeris said. “Tell us the truth. Is Janine alive?”

Reban spoke up before Teresa could. “We…don’t know.”

She rushed around Nesse, going straight for the woman. Reban cut in front of her and the two collided. The larger Ramscale dug his claws into the floor, stopping her advance. Nesse pulled on her tail. Between the two, they held her back from reaching Teresa shaking behind the table.

“Aeris, no!” Nesse said. “She can’t talk if she’s dead!”

That calmed Aeris down, but only enough to stop trying to rip Teresa’s head off. She continued to watch the woman, chest heaving despite only moving a few feet. She flexed her claws repeatedly, enjoying the pressure from scraping on the floor. It reminded her of tearing through flesh.

Reban continued to stand between Aeris and sweet revenge, never taking his eyes off her. “I’m sorry, Teresa, but she needs to know the truth. We can’t save the city by lying to her. We need her help.”

“Her help with what?” Nesse asked slowly.

“The truth is, I used to work closely with the previous District Lord, Shai’s sister. We had grand plans to further peace between humans and dragons. But then one day, the District Lord vanished, and I was given her position without warning.”

“So this whole thing was planned,” Nesse said. “Isn’t that what everyone’s been saying already?”

Reban shook his head. “You don’t understand. We always thought the Governor planned this. That he was trying to take control away from the dragons.”

“Which now that I examine the facts, was a foolish notion,” Teresa added. “Granting a human a dragon-controlled title and position is far too obvious. He would have all but dared the dragons to challenge him and I know—knew he was smarter than that.”

Aeris paced in front of Reban. “I don’t care about that. Just tell me where Janine is.”

“I’m explaining it now if you would listen,” Teresa said, voice quivering with fear. “This wasn’t the Governor’s doing but I foolishly believed it was. If he truly wanted control over the dragons, he would have picked someone he could easily manipulate. But it didn’t matter now. The dragons were angry and we needed someone to take the position quickly.”

“So what tipped you off you were set up?” Nesse asked.

“Aeris, actually.”

Aeris stopped pacing and tilted her head.

“Whenever another dragon tried to step forward, some scandal would come to light that ruined their chances. One was revealed to being a domesticate, another was said to be in a relationship with a human, another one was revealed to have broken a promise—the typical dragon propaganda. It turns out they are quite picky about their leaders.

“I again paid it no mind, believing it to be more of the Governor’s games. But when I first saw you, I saw the perfect solution to the current dilemma. You commanded with authority and clearly had no interest in politics.” She sighed heavily and rubbed her temple. “Then the Dracaena arrived. When I received word that she claimed to want to see you specifically, I realized the truth. The Dracaena had arranged all of this.”

No one spoke. Even the ticking of the clock in the corner seemed distant as if worried about disrupting the silence. Aeris tilted her head further. Sareen had not mentioned any of this to her. Nothing Teresa said made any sense.

Nesse broke the silence first. “Okay, I’m gonna need you to explain this one to me because I don’t know what rules of reality you broke to make that leap.”

“It’s quite simple,” Teresa said. “A human District Lord can only serve one purpose: to infuriate the dragons. Then Aeris appears and shows her potential as a leader just before the Dracaena comes along and endorses her publicly. After her visit, the dragons were practically shouting in the streets for you to be made District Lord.”

“And you think this was all some master plan to make Aeris the District Lord?” Nesse asked. “You’re still grasping at straws.”

“Yes, I had never seen Sareen before in my life!”

Teresa stared at them as if the answer was obvious. “That’s the beauty of it. The two of you had never been seen together so no one can accuse you of planning it.”

“The dragons were angry, and every other candidate wasn’t good enough for one reason or another,” Reban said. “It’s like finding something good to eat among rotted food. You don’t question it. You’re just happy to find something to eat that won’t turn your stomach. Most humans don’t care either way so long as they can live their lives.”

“Okay, I can see that,” Nesse said. “But it still feels a little roundabout. And what about Shai? She took over while Aeris was away. And why do you want Aeris to take over so badly if you think she’s working for the Dracaena?”

“Because she outplayed us,” Teresa said. “Shai has stressed the relations between humans and dragons to the breaking point. The humans I can placate, but the dragons are a different matter. Aeris openly admitted she doesn’t crave power, making her one of the few who can take the position without making things worse. And now that the Governor is dead, we don’t have time to find anyone else.” 

“And you don’t think the humans will have a problem with a dragon being friends with the most powerful Matriarch in Geolga rising to power?” Nesse asked. “There’s also one major flaw in your plan. How did she get you to become District Lord if all of this was planned? She would need leverage over the city leaders which sounds like she has the place under her control already.”

“Whatever her plans are, she is not done manipulating things from the shadows.”

Aeris slapped the floor with her tail, drawing everyone’s attention. “I don’t care about that! You said you would tell me where Janine is!”

“After you came back, a woman approached us,” Reban explained. “She said we had to help you become District Lord or watch Diamus burn.”

“And you just went along with it?” Nesse said.

Teresa brushed aside several documents on the table before picking one up and placing it on top of the pile. “This document is my death certificate. It’s already been signed. The woman said this was a copy and unless I wanted it to be true, I would do as she said.”

“Well, now your paranoia makes sense.”

“Yes, so we acquired the girl and she is now in an undisclosed location. I gave specific orders that she is not to be harmed. And I give you my word she will be returned to you in one piece.”

Aeris sank to the floor. There was nothing she could do. She couldn’t force the information out of her. Using her Call was risky. She had never knowingly used it on a human before and if she destroyed Teresa’s mind, her only chance at seeing Janine again went with her. No, she messed up once with the man; she couldn’t risk that again.

She slowly nodded, fighting the clenching feeling in her gut.

“Good. Now our first plan is to determine what the Dracaena wants. If we can figure that out, we may just get ahead of this. I doubt she would have divulged her plans to you, but it would help immensely if we knew what she was after. What exactly did you discuss during your time with her?”

Aeris didn’t want to talk about it. Sareen had done so much for her, and she wouldn’t repay that kindness with betrayal. “She…she just told me how to control my Call.”

“That’s all?”

“And she sent me to get Jefferey Jackman’s notes.” She cursed herself for letting that part slip.

Nesse’s eyes widened. “Wait, he left notes? I thought all of his work was published.”

“She did all of this for a researcher’s notes?” Reban asked.

“No, the notes are a part of whatever scheme she’s hatching,” Teresa said. “That’s your first task. Get this notebook and bring it to me. It may just contain the leverage we need.”

“But—” Aeris began.

“Get rough with him if you have to. We don’t have time for niceties. This book is important and we can’t afford for it to fall in the wrong hands.”

Aeris quickly turned and left. The sounds of claws followed closely behind.

The moment they were outside, Nesse appeared at her side and said, “You do know she’s never giving her back, right?”

“I know. But I have to believe she’ll give her back one day. I don’t have any other options.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve dealt with people like this. It’ll take some time though so I need you to play her game until then, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Look, I know you probably don’t want to, but it’s been a long night. We need to get some sleep before doing anything else.”

Aeris spread her wings and flew behind Nesse. She didn’t feel like sleeping, but there was nothing else to do now.

She hated it so much. Janine was likely somewhere alone and scared, and all she could do was get some sleep.

Flying usually was how she relaxed. Forgot about the stresses plaguing her. But now the wind rushing across her scales did nothing for the storm of thoughts haunting her. Teresa’s theory sounded outrageous, but it also made sense. But Aeris couldn’t believe that Sareen would do such a thing. It had to be a trick. Some kind of ruse to make her doubt herself and drive a wedge between them as everyone had been doing since the day they met. She doubted the Dracaena’s teaching practices and she could be a bit cold at times, but Sareen still helped her when she didn’t have to. Invited her to her home, taught her how to control her Call.

She wouldn’t repay that debt with speculations. Only a direct admission from Sareen would convince her otherwise.

Once she got the notebook and Janine, she would ask her about it. She was done being lied to and manipulated. This time, she was getting the truth.

She stopped mid-flight and let Nesse continue without her. Once a large gap was between them, Aeris turned around and flew towards Logan’s house.

No more games, she thought. A Matriarch has to be strong, unflinching, and driven. No more waiting around. I need to get Janine back. And I will get her back no matter what. I won’t rest until I do.