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Yes. She was too late. The fire would travel over the distance faster than she could pull the trigger. Her heart dropped to her stomach, the moment triggering past memories of her mother being burned. She would die the same way.

Ravina ignored the weapon and covered the mother and her child with her body instead. Stupid but it was instinctual. She shivered and froze because of the feeling that she had done this before. Her last thought was Corinna before she felt the heat of the fire near. The mother and her child screamed and Ravina held onto them tightly as if seeking shelter herself.

When the awaited death was delayed, Ravina turned around.

Ares.

He had opened his shield and came to protect them. “Come in. Hurry!” He called.

Ravina took the mother and her child and hurried to step closer behind the shield. She quickly began to prepare her weapon and look around knowing they couldn’t stand behind the shield forever.

Ares was using all his strength angling the shield wherever the fire went, but his shield could only protect so long and the heat from it was now burning his forearm.

“Don’t do anything!” He ordered when she tried to use her weapon.

But…

Suddenly the fire stopped after someone yelled “clamp!”

Ravina breathed out in relief. “Go somewhere safe,” Ares told her as he quickly got rid of his shield that burned through to his arm. The fire had somehow also reached his shoulder and he dusted it off before quickly leaving her side.

He used a wire that he shot out of his sleeve and then ensnared around the dragon’s legs. He used it to swing and climb the dragon by attaching another one to the dragon’s back with a hook, and then he mounted it.

Ravina stared stunned for a moment. It was very pirate-like, swinging with ropes but what surprised her was the blades that snapped out of his sleeve. They were slightly bent and he hooked them to the dragon’s wing. Sliding down, he used the weight of his body to force the blades to cut off the dragon’s wing.

The dragon couldn’t make a sound with the clamp around its mouth, but she could see it struggle with pain and try to keep flying with one wing alone. Soon it fell to the ground with a loud thud while Ares already landed smoothly somewhere else with the help of his wires.

The army gathered and finished off the dragon.

The crucifiers had managed to kill the one they held off and Ravina looked up to see where the third one was. Since she couldn’t see any, she guessed the army on the other side must have killed it.

“Ravina? Are you alright?” Ares came to her.

“Where is the third one?” She asked unable to relax yet.

“The terrorizers took it down.”

She turned to him. His whole warmth was burned. “You are injured.” She said knowing how painful burns could be.

“I am fine. I wear protective pads under. It is not that bad.” He assured her.

Ravina looked over at the mother and her child and the whole town that was burned. Rage grew within her again, so much that it brought tears to her eyes.

The soldiers began to help the citizens as much as they could, removing the rocks from the underground entrance and freeing the ones that got stuck there. They also tried to free other entrances and people who got stuck under the fallen buildings.

It was chaos and Ravina walked in it feeling her heart sink lower and lower. So many homes and so many lives were lost.

She found her uncle standing somewhere in the chaos, just looking around with a frown, probably pained by what he saw as well. She could see the anger slowly becoming more evident in his eyes and his jaw clenched. He turned around and their eyes locked but he quickly looked away as if ashamed.

Ravina wanted to let him know that it wasn’t his fault. They were doing what they could.

The men with Ares were his crew. They had weapons and tools effective for such situations. They joined the soldiers and helped out everyone. Ravina helped out as much as she could as well and then they began to head toward the castle.

The way back home was very quiet and felt very long. Ravina was still shaken by everything that happened. Everything reminded her of that day. That terrifying day.

By the time she reached the castle, she felt paralyzed. As she walked through the halls back to her room, she heard her uncle in a corner speaking to the commanders.

“A second attack might happen soon. We should still be on guard and prepared.” He spoke in hushed tones.

Ignoring them she continued on to her room. She felt exhausted by the time she arrived. Ester waited for her and helped her get rid of the armor.

She didn’t say a word, guessing why she was like this. Instead, she made the room warm and made her a cup of warm tea that she served beside the bed. But Ravina just wanted to sleep.

She hid under the covers shaking even though she wasn’t cold.

When she finally fell asleep, nightmares haunted her. Screams and cries echoed in her head, terror made her skin glisten with sweat.

She turned back and forth fighting the monsters in her sleep, trying to get away and save her sister, crying out at the loss of her parents, crumbling from all the agony and despair. She wanted to escape this pain. She pleaded, turned, fought, and finally with a cry, wrenched herself away.

Ravina shot her eyes open with heart-pounding and tears streaming down her face. She sat up, looking out the window ahead. The sky was dark and the crescent moon shone among the many stars.

Ravina took a deep breath, but her heart still pained in her chest. She wiped her face clean with the back of her hand and removed the covers to cool her burning body.

She went and took a shawl from among her clothes and left the room to get some fresh air. The breeze was calm and cool. She sat in the quietness, allowing the wind to gently blow her hair while she emptily stared ahead.

Her sadness slowly turned to madness. Those black dragons would pay and King Malachi… well, if she turned out to be his breedmate she would laugh. She would laugh out loud and then she would keep smiling because he wouldn’t.

As much as she wanted to go downstairs now and see his face when she told him they killed three of his people, she knew that alone wouldn’t satisfy her. Shooting him to death wouldn’t satisfy her either.

Her uncle must have already begun his torture now after what he witnessed but she knew that kind of torture wouldn’t work on him much. That was why shooting him was the least she could have done. She just wanted to test out her new invention while threatening him.

She wasn’t good with pistols but she knew this one was somewhat a success. He wasn’t able to hide his pain completely. Maybe the infected wound added to it. Perhaps she would have tried to shoot him somewhere else to know the true impact, but she needed answers and she got them.

No dragon language.

Now she knew she would have to look somewhere else. But where? Her guess was that it wasn’t an existing language but possibly a code. A language created by the notetaker so that only he could understand. That would make it impossible for her to know what was written there.

Standing up, she decided to take a walk in the garden. As she walked between the hedges she found her uncle seated in a secluded part, all alone. He stared ahead emptily, not noticing her presence until she came near.

He turned his head. “Ravina. What are you doing here this late?”

“I just woke up. Why are you awake?” She asked.

He sighed leaning back. Ravina sat beside him. “I couldn’t sleep.” He said.

“You did what you could.” She told him.

“I know.”

“Did you go down to the prisoner?” She asked.

“No.”

She nodded, happy that he didn’t make himself angrier by going down there.

“You could have died today.” He began. “I want you to listen to my orders next time.” His voice was firm.

“I understand.” She said. “I just wish you could rely on me more. I only have you. I consider you a father.”

“Don’t. It will be difficult if you lose your father twice.” He said avoiding her gaze. “Just go away from this place. Leave this life behind or… you will turn out like me.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“Many things. I am not who you think I am. I have changed and not for the better.”

“I understand. I won’t blame you.”

He chuckled. “No. You won’t just blame me.”

Ravina frowned. He was scaring her and his eyes burned as he turned to look at her. “You should go away Ravina. Things will only get worse from now on.”