Anastasia had been gone all morning.

Dejected, Ero sighed and collapsed back down onto his bed.

Lucille shook her son’s shoulder. “Get up! Why are you being so sulky?”

The calf-shifter, currently in human boy form, made a moue. “I don’t feel like getting up. Just leave me alone.”

After a while of filial strife, and occasional soft entreaties from Mateo, Lucille finally gave up and left the room.

Little Ero stared up at the tall ceiling with its large glass chandelier. He had woken up later than usual. When he went out for breakfast with his family, he learned that Ana had already left.

Ero felt too disappointed — and hurt — and decided to mope and stay in bed for the rest of the day.

He had thought that Ana liked and trusted him. They hadn’t known each other for long, but they were cousins, even close friends, right? Ero sighed again and dwelled in the gloom of his thoughts.

But while he lay flat and listless on his bed, he heard a whirring sound from the corner of his room.

A small creature with four wings and big eyes crouched there. It was like a dragonfly except its body was the size of a piglet’s.

Ero’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Before he could speak, however, the creature appeared before him; Ero had no idea when it had moved. The creature spoke in a syrupy voice, “Are you lonely, little boy? Don’t you wish you had some company?”

The calf-shifter narrowed his eyes at the dragonfly-like creature. “I’m fine. I just want to sleep.” He even shut his eyes in defiance.

But he felt a light prod on his arm. He grumbled and opened one eye. The dragonfly creature was staring at him. It said, “Don’t be afraid. I only want to help. You miss your cousin, Anastasia, don’t you?”

Now, Ero opened both his eyes and sat up in bed. “Yes, and?” He was still suspicious of this mysterious creature, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity and longing.

The dragonfly creature — Ero decided he would just call it “Dragonfly” until he found out its name — gave him a wide, sly smile. “I know where ze is right now. Ze isn’t in any — normal place at the moment, but if you trust me…”

“Why should I trust you?” Ero asked, genuinely dismayed. “We’ve only just met.”

Dragonfly laughed; it was a trilling, yet unpleasant sound. “You’ve only just met your cousin Ana for a few days.”

“That’s different,” Ero insisted.

Dragonfly just shrugged. “The choice is yours. If you want to find your cousin, follow me. If you don’t want to see zir ever again, then I’ll excuse myself from your presence.” The creature began to amble away.

“Wait!” Ero leapt out of his bed, and rushed to block Dragonfly’s path. He huffed. “What are you saying? Why would I never be able to see Ana again?” His stomach clenched at the thought.

The hideous creature smirked. “You are really attached to zir, aren’t you? So have you decided?”

Ero puffed up his cheeks. “I still don’t trust you, but are you suggesting that my cousin will be in danger?”

Dragonfly looked away, though its lips were still curled up in a sardonic smile. “Ze isn’t in danger yet, but ze is about to be.”

“That’s very vague,” Ero said. “Let me at least call my mom — ”

Stolen story; please report.

Dragonfly snorted. “Are you such a baby that you still need your mom to go with you?”

The calf-shifter shook his head defensively. “No, but why should I believe a random creature like you? How do I know you won’t lead me to my doom, where I would definitely never see Ana again?”

Ero was an impulsive and adventurous calf, but he was still haunted by his experience at The Valley. He didn’t want to be trapped in a dark cage again.

The more Ero looked at the Dragonfly, the more sinister it appeared. Ero was going to tell the creature to leave him alone; he would ask for help from other dragons in the palace, even Grandma Freya if necessary. But before he could say anything, the bedroom door burst open.

Standing there, brown hair in disarray, was Mildred. “Ero, don’t listen to him. Come with me.”

The insect-like creature hissed, while Ero ran towards her, relieved beyond measure at her presence. The dragonfly pounced, but Mildred punched his face.

A crunch sounded and the creature howled. Mildred dragged Ero out of the room and slammed the door before the creature could retaliate further.

***

Mildred’s heart was thudding, even as she tried to look calm for her cousin’s sake.

Ero shook out of her clutch before demanding, “What — who was that?”

The cow-shifter gritted her teeth. “Come with me first. Let’s not talk where the creature can still hear us.”

She was thankful that Ero didn’t argue, for once, though he was still sullen. Regardless, Mildred was grudgingly impressed that Ero had resisted the creature’s temptation, given how much the calf worshiped his other cousin.

Mildred took Ero outside to the palace gardens, and they sat on a bench in a quiet, but not isolated, place. She wanted to be out in the sun, in public where there would be witnesses if anyone tried anything, but where they would still have some privacy.

She patted down her unruly hair, as if that would fix things. Ero glanced at her with impatience. “So? And is Ana really in danger?” he demanded.

Mildred pressed her lips together with displeasure. “It’s not really about Ana at all, not directly, at least. It’s about you. These creatures will do anything to trick you into following them, and they will hold you captive forever.”

She held out a hand when Ero began to protest. “I know you already guessed that,” she clarified, “and I’m proud of you for resisting. Truly, I am. I should have known that even Queen Freya’s guest bedrooms wouldn’t be protected from tricksters.”

The cow-shifter frowned and continued, “Goodness knows I’ve dealt with enough liars, but the fae are accomplished liars, where they can lie without telling a single falsehood. But they do know what — or who — you care most about in your heart.”

Ero glanced down at the grass. His short legs dangled from the bench, some distance above the ground.

They were silent for a bit, until Mildred added, “It won’t be the last time someone uses your affection for Ana against you, so be prepared.”

Ero lifted his chin at that. “I know. But can you tell me if Ana could be in trouble? Or do you not actually know?”

Talking to him could be such a pain. She replied, in as soothing a voice as she could manage, “I’m not sure. I asked around and some guards saw Anastasia fly off in that direction.” She pointed. “Some other guards suggested ze might have gone to visit Revi, who is a gold dragon lord here. Apparently, they’re close.” She shrugged.

The calf-shifter hopped off the bench, and a barely concealed ire thrummed through his body. “Well, whoever this Revi is, he might be up to no good.”

“Ero…,” she began.

But he waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not going to leave Ana alone, even without the fae creature in the picture.”

Mildred furrowed her brow. “You plan to go alone?”

Ero looked away. “I would if I could, but if ze is in danger, I’d need some backup.”

“But not me, right?” Mildred asked with a faint smile.

Ero glared at her. “I was going to ask my parents, but they wouldn’t let me near a dragon lord’s mansion. So that only leaves you.”

The cow-shifter let out a dry laugh. “How wonderful. You chose me because there’s nobody else.”

Ero shrugged his small shoulders. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Mildred muttered. “If I don’t at least escort you, your mother would kill me. Let’s go.”

***

Meanwhile, Anastasia and Revi dismounted from the ice unicorn. They had landed in a surreal-looking field.

It was farmland with rows of crops. Except the crops weren’t vegetables. They were glass vials of liquid.

Phaeton stretched his back in a lazy way. His icy body and its aura of cold vapor, seemed oddly compatible with the fragile, crystalline vibe of the landscape.

The unicorn whinnied with amusement. “Pick one of the vials. Let’s see if you can find the right cure.”

Ana cut him a glare. “Is this a joke?”

“No joke, future sovereign,” the unicorn answered in a mocking tone. “But since there’s royal blood in you, you must have a special intuition to help you find the right one.”

Anastasia was adopted, but even if ze was biologically related to Teefa and Freya, ze wouldn’t believe this “royal intuition” nonsense. Instead, ze glanced over at the gold dragon shifter. “Revi, come with me. I’ll need your help.”

Revi seemed skeptical but came without complaint.

Anastasia thought hard about zir next steps.

“Oh, and one more thing,” the ice unicorn announced. “You have to stay in human form. If you can’t resist shifting back to dragon, it’s game over for you and all the vials will be destroyed.” His grin was malevolent.