Aeris hadn’t slept at all. She couldn’t. Her nightmares had been plagued with images of Janine cowering behind the bullet-filled corpse of Windor while dark shadows descended on them. She would awake with a start, clawing at the air. After the third time, she gave up any hope of getting any rest.

Instead, she lay there until the sunlight poured through the windows and Nesse appeared to tell her it was time to go. The others hadn’t slept well either. They moved sluggishly and their gazes were unfocused. They didn’t eat anything, citing they could eat on the road. Aeris knew the truth. They didn’t have appetites.

What supplies could be carried was gathered and they set out into the city again. Things had changed over the last few hours. The streets were no longer packed and the few beings they did pass were city watch and always in a human-dragon pair. Damaged and abandoned items littered the streets. The silence was the most unnerving. Not even their steps seemed to break the veil of gloom surrounding them.

They rounded the corner onto the road that would lead them out of Peridan for good. Aeris looked back one last time at the bridge cutting her off from her friend. The bridge was still raised like a giant hand barring passage. Her muscles tensed. If she was fast enough, maybe she could fly across before anyone noticed.

“Why do you hesitate?” Tanor asked, appearing at Aeris’ side.

“There’s rules in place,” Aeris mumbled.

“Those rules do not apply to you. Have you forgotten who you are?”

“But—”

The large Celestial circled her. “You are a dragon, a Matriarch—no, you are a Dracaena. Standing above the masses is your birthright. If you want something it is yours. You do not wait around for someone else to tell you can have it.”

Aeris shook her head, trying to chase away the dull throb forming in her temple.

“Your inaction cost you once, remember?” Tanor continued. “Because you couldn’t do what was necessary, you lost your eggs.”

“That was different,” Aeris said through clenched teeth. The pain in her skull had flared from a dull throb to white-hot agony.

“Oh, because you didn’t know how to use your Call then. Or did you? I seem to recall a group of mercenaries standing by obediently while you slaughtered them.”

A hand gently touched her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?” Terran asked.

“I’m…fine.”

“You’re weak,” Tanor said in her ear. “You refuse to act. Refuse to do what is necessary. You know what you want, you have the power to seize it, why do you hesitate?”

“What’s going on?” Nesse asked.

“I don’t know,” Terran said. “She just stopped.”

“Aeris? Aeris can you hear me?”

She could but she couldn’t respond. Her focus was elsewhere. Three baby dragons sat on the road, their backs turned to her, facing the bridge. A fourth figure stood next to them. An older woman with flaming red hair. It was Maggie. Her back was turned but Aeris knew her form anywhere.

Aeris wanted to go to them. She tried but her paws were rooted to the ground.

“How much more are you going to give up because you failed to act?” Tanor asked. “Or do you still honestly believe that if you’re a ‘good dragon’ everything will fall into place for you?”

“No.”

“Then why do you insist on following these rules? Ideals put into place to shackle you? All your life, you’ve done what you were told, and look where it got you!”

A pair of paws seized her face and forced it to turn away from Maggie and the hatchlings, pointing it at her flank. Tanor used her wing to force Aeris’ out of the way, lifting her cloak and exposing her scars to the light.

Aeris tried to turn away. Just looking at it made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Look at it!” Tanor cried. “That is what your obedience got you! That is your reward for being a good dragon! Open your fucking eyes and see your prize!”

“Aeris, listen, it’s going to be fine,” Nesse said. Her voice sounded so distant and grew fainter. “You’re going to…”

Her voice was too far away to hear. The pain in Aeris’ temple worsened. It was hard to keep her eyes open. She dug her claws into the dirt and fought not to close them. She couldn’t look away. Her eyes were glued to the scars dotting her body. Something pushed against her but she wouldn’t budge.

She felt hot breath—Tanor’s breath—on the side of her face. “Wishful thinking will not get you results. I do not wait and I do not hesitate. When I want something, I take it!”

Aeris was released and she turned back to Maggie and hatchlings. They were walking away and beginning to fade. Aeris broke her paralysis and charged after them. Even though they were walking, the gap between them never closed. Not even when running at full speed.

Finally, they disappeared completely. She stopped running and realized she stood in front of the bridge. It looked so much larger than before. From the base, it looked as if it reached the sky, an imposing monolith barring passage to the world beyond.

A line of dragons and humans stood in front of the gate. She ignored them and focused on the massive wall towering over her.

They were just there on the other side. This one obstacle was all that stood in her way. It didn’t seem fair. The solution was so simple so why was she running away from it?

She’s right. I keep losing the ones I love because I don’t fight for them.

“Hey, you got rocks in your ears?” one of the guards asked. “The border’s closed until further notice. Now move along.”

Aeris ignored him and instead focused on her Call.

Lower the bridge.

The human guards raised their rifles and the dragons adopted aggressive stances.

“Get down on the ground, now!” a guard commanded.

“It looks like they formed a pact with the Matriarch of this area,” Tanor said. “If you want their obedience, you’ll have to try harder than that.”

“But what if I--?”

“Are you still worrying about being a good dragon? Look around. Do these guards seem at all concerned with your well-being? With what you want?”

Aeris closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She never put any real focus behind her Call before. She had to focus, think. She thought back to that day a year ago, the worst day of her life. How helpless she felt. How much she wanted to get away. How badly she needed to protect herself and keep her eggs safe. And how she would never go through that again.

She clenched her jaw until it hurt as warmth spread through her body. A new pain spread across her skull.

I said, Lower. The. Bridge.

She opened her eyes. The guards’ expressions turned blank. They relaxed and lowered their weapons. The chains squealed as the bridge began to lower. Aeris dug her claws into the ground as she fought to maintain control. She wasn’t done yet. She wouldn’t undo it until Janine was safely before her.

Bring her to me.

The bridge fully lowered but no one crossed it. As far as she could see every human and dragon had lined up at the edge of the road.

“Aeris, what are you doing?” Nesse asked.

“What I should have done from the beginning.”

In the distance, a pair of dragons walked towards them. As they drew closer, it was revealed to be Windor and Maxis. They closed the distance and she saw someone was riding on Windor’s back.

Aeris wanted to rush over to them, but she sat patiently. That and she was focusing so much on her Call she couldn’t divert brainpower to anything else.

Eventually, the two drakes stood before her. They both wore looks of fear and awe. It turned out both Brandy and Janine rode on Windor, but Aeris’ attention was focused on Janine. She was a bit banged up but she seemed to be all right.

“Aeris, you’re alive,” Windor said. “But you’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing,” Aeris said, suddenly feeling lightheaded. She wobbled over to Janine and nuzzled the young woman, smearing blood on her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Janine sat stiffly and didn’t respond to the gesture. “I…Did you do all this for me?”

“I won’t let anyone take the people I care about away from me ever again.”

“Come on, we should go before they snap out of it,” Windor said. He started walking again.

Aeris was glad to finally leave Peridan behind. This was what she needed. This felt right. Now she was ready to move on.

No one spoke. No one looked their way. They simply bowed low or moved out of sight. Something about it felt different, familiar. It also felt good. It felt like she would never lose anyone ever again.

“You overexerted yourself but other than that, you did well,” Tanor said. “Good work, blood of my blood.