Anastasia backed away from him.

Revi the gold dragon, gigantic compared to Ana, leaned with menace towards zir. “Surely you understand. Ghosts deserve to live in harmony, too.”

As he spoke, phantoms swirled in the air above them, but didn’t approach.

Ana hissed. “Why did you think it would be okay to kill people? Destroying a system doesn’t mean destroying lives.” Ze paused. “And what about my mothers and grandmother? Did the potion work?”

At this, the gold dragon frowned and stopped his advance. “All three of them recovered from their illness. But — ”

“But what?” Ana snapped, zir frustration over the past few days brimming over like hot water.

Revi’s eyes dimmed. “But I’m not sure if they’re still alive anymore.”

Anastasia was aghast. “How can you be sure?” Ze was determined not to tremble, though ze felt like ze was about to collapse.

Revi leaned forward again, and Ana recoiled as if he were a snake. He said, “I can’t be absolutely sure, but many, probably most, people at the palace would have been killed in the earthquake. Some lucky ones would have flown away in time, others not so.”

Ana inhaled deeply. “And what about my cousin Ero?”

Revi cast a curious look at Ana, and his gold tail lashed at the ground. “Your cousin, huh? You’re technically cousins, I suppose, but…”

“But what?” Ana demanded. “Just because we’re not the same species, his mother is still my aunt by adoption.”

“And you were also adopted,” Revi said with a smile.

Ana gazed at him cautiously. “What are you implying?”

The gold dragon stretched, as if he were about to go on a stroll. But Ana suddenly didn’t want him to leave, and not just because his presence was keeping the ghosts at bay. Ana bit out, “Elaborate. What are you saying about me being adopted?”

Revi gave Ana a sly smile. He looked so different from the quiet, mild-mannered dragon that Ana had remembered. He whispered, “Would you like to know who your biological parents are?”

Ana froze, then growled. “You researched the antidote to a poison, but that doesn’t mean you can research my history.”

“Really?” Revi said with a light laugh. “I would think that digging up someone’s history would be much easier to do than to find a cure to a strange illness.”

The gold dragon took bigger strides to move away, while the ghosts crept closer to Ana.

Ana felt like a nitwit, but ze hurried after him. No matter how much ze despised him, ze still preferred his company to the ghosts. And Ana was not giving up without getting a clear answer out of him.

Revi chuckled as he kept striding, and eventually took off to the sky. As Ana leapt into the air as well, the gold dragon said, “Ah, just as I had dreamed. Anastasia, following me willingly!”

Anastasia glowered at him. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with power and control.”

Revi shook his head as his gold wings beat again to propel him further. “It was never about power and control for me, though I understand why you would see it that way. No. What I desire is harmony and peace.”

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Ana almost choked in dismay. “Do you call murdering people and turning ghosts loose ‘harmony and peace’?”

Revi sighed. “Oh, I mean harmony and peace in the long run. In the short term, we sadly have to take steps to reach our goal.” His eyes shone with a passion that would have been appealing if he weren’t a crazed dragon. “Ana, when we establish a new order, we could be together and do whatever we want. Isn’t freedom your ultimate wish?”

For once, Ana hesitated. Ze did desire the freedom to travel and do whatever ze wanted, but… “You can’t just slaughter a ton of people and call it a new era. That’s barbaric.”

Revi smirked. “You’re really kind, Ana, you truly are. If circumstances were different, I would love to be king and make you my queen.”

It felt like ice had crushed Ana’s heart. “What?” Firstly, the clearly feminine term “queen” gave zir a strange thrill, though ze typically preferred gender neutral terms as ze was nonbinary. Yet…The red dragon snarled viciously.

“Stop toying with me, Revi. It’s terrible enough to see you throw me in a cage, turn the ghosts immune to dragon fire, and even unleash an earthquake to kill so many others. Now you have to make this farce about…”

Revi didn’t look at Ana. “It wasn’t a farce, Ana. But I’m not completely deluded. I know where I stand in your heart. I would be content just to be able to see you.”

Anastasia was silent for a while, and the two dragons soared through the night sky for some time. The ghosts had abandoned them by now, which was a relief. The ice unicorn was nowhere in sight.

The red dragon snorted. “I’m not into that kind of thing anyway, even if I didn’t already hate you.”

Revi let out a dry laugh. “I’d rather you hate me than that you be indifferent.”

Anastasia felt lost. Too many things were happening at once. There was so much to figure out. Ze asked, more softly now, “But what did you mean about my biological parents? You weren’t bluffing?”

The gold dragon shook his head and looked sad. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Your parents died a long time ago.”

Ana fell silent again, taking this all in. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“If you don’t believe me, you could one day talk to someone who knows the truth. Well, if you can get them to admit it, that is,” he said solemnly. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

Ana sighed, feeling surprisingly tired.

Revi turned his head towards zir. “I am so thoughtless. You’ve had no rest or even food for ages, haven’t you? Let’s settle down somewhere you can rest and hunt.” He paused. “Or I could hunt for you, Princess Ana.”

His tone of caring was disconcerting, considering the treachery and destruction he had wrought. But the word “princess” felt oddly pleasant — or was Revi just trying to confuse zir?

The gold dragon was a horrible person, and Ana loathed him for so many reasons. Yet, even beyond Revi’s ability to keep the ghosts away, ze admittedly didn’t want to be alone, even if the company was atrocious.

It made Ana realize, all of a sudden, that despite zir desire for independence, ze had never truly been alone. Even at the Valve, ze was with other dragons. When ze ran away from the Valve, ze had Ero. Maybe Ana craved company more than ze thought.

As Revi turned towards zir with eyes that seemed kind, Ana thought that ze was going crazy. But whatever it was, ze told zirself that ze would bide zir time. Ze didn’t have to stay with Revi forever. Ze could break free and find zir family…whoever was left.

Ana’s chest clenched. Zir voice was tight. “Do you realize that I might have lost every member of my family? Adopted and otherwise?” How could you be so cruel? Ana wanted to add, but knew it would be fruitless to say that to him.

Revi said with a sigh, “I’m sorry, Ana, I really hoped things would turn out better for you. But maybe you will be blessed and lucky.”

Ana’s ears pricked up. Not only did he admit that some of zir family might still be alive, he also seemed to have a shift in tone. He sounded less like the mad cultist, and more like the unassuming and gentle boy ze had known.

Maybe Ana really needed to rest and eat, as ze clearly couldn’t think properly. “Don’t try any funny things with me, Revi.”

The gold dragon shook his head, almost indulgently. “Not to worry. Even the toughest warriors need to rest sometimes.” He tilted his head. “Do you want to hunt for yourself, or do you want me to hunt something for you?”

The two dragons had settled down on a wide, hilly area. Ana’s aching muscles wanted Revi to do the hunting, and zir hungry stomach agreed.

Yet, Ana was stubborn, perhaps prideful. Ze raised zir chin. “I’m no baby to be fed. I’ll rest up first, then I can do my own hunting.”

Revi’s lip curved up. “Okay. You can rest here, and I will seek out my own food.”

Without even a goodbye, the gold dragon lifted into the air again in search of prey.

Anastasia curled up next to a bush. Ze was too wary to want to sleep. Yet, exhaustion crept up on zir and sent zir into a deep slumber.

While the small red dragon was sound asleep, Phaeton the ice unicorn appeared from a portal nearby.

He smirked and stepped towards zir, with his unicorn’s horn pointed towards the unsuspecting dragon.