Revi flew in tense silence with Anastasia towards the palace.

Or what was once the palace.

Ana halted midair and gasped at the wreckage below. “There’s nothing left,” ze whispered.

Revi wanted to comfort zir, but couldn’t find the words. Besides, he felt torn over what he had done.

No, he didn’t regret working with Phaeton, the ice unicorn, to cause the cataclysm. You couldn’t create something new without destroying the old.

Yet, after Phaeton had removed some of Ana’s memories, Revi felt some remorse seep in. He was angry that the unicorn “misinterpreted” his request to soothe Ana’s distress, by erasing zir most traumatic memories. But a selfish part of him was relieved.

Perhaps he would never have to face the consequences of what he did to Ana, and their friendship would stay intact.

Anastasia sighed, drawing Revi away from his miserable thoughts. “Why did you have to resort to such extreme measures? I know you’re against the draconian policies that my grandmother laid out as well. But I was about to become ruler and would have inherited the power to change everything. Or, you could get what you wanted and have my mother's rule instead. I’m sure they would listen to reason and have a much kinder reign.”

So many thoughts ran through Revi’s head as the red dragon spoke. But what struck him the most was how calm and resigned Ana was. It was alarming that ze wasn’t more upset.

The ice unicorn’s power was terrible. Not for the first time, he questioned his decision to ally with Phaeton.

Yes, the unicorn gave him tremendous power to do things he could never do on his own. But Phaeton was a wild, wilful thing with no conscience.

Nevertheless, Revi had no love for most dragons in the court, least of all Queen Freya. He knew that Princess Teefa, one of Ana’s mothers, would escape to safety. He hoped her wife, Princess Leyla, would survive, too.

But to be honest, he hadn’t paid as much attention to Leyla. His main concern, other than Ana, was Teefa.

Revi rumbled a reply to Ana, “If nothing radical and catastrophic happened, the other dragons would never take your or your mother’s reforms seriously. People can defy laws, whether openly or covertly. We need to convince them with an actual wreckage that something needs to change.”

“But how would they know that this — senseless destruction was sending the message you intended?” Ana asked with a chill in zir voice.

Revi tensed, but his friend’s face was still receptive and not belligerent. In fact, it was eerie to hear Ana say these things with relative calm.

Maybe it had been a mistake to request that the unicorn soothe Ana’s anxieties. But Revi had been desperate and didn’t want zir to be miserable.

“They will know,” Revi said. “They will know.”

Ana wrinkled zir nose. “That sounds like superstition and guesswork.” Ze shook zir head, and glided towards what was left of the former palace.

***

Anastasia felt zirself couched in sorrow, but a thick silence echoed in zir chest. Revi looked morose, as if he felt lost, too, despite his assertion that the earthquake would send a clear message to the dragons, that their reign of terror over other species had come to an end.

But speaking of a reign…

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Ana asked, “If we truly want all species to be equal, can we even have a dragon ruler anymore?” Ze eyed him.

He looked stunned and a little shellshocked.

So Ana continued, “I never wanted to rule, and I have no idea whether my grandma or mothers are alive. But even if I’m the only one left, is it worth it to build another palace and rule from there?”

Revi flew on in silence, with a strained look on his face.

“You haven’t thought through the details, have you?” Ana said. Ze once again felt some sorrow, and maybe other emotions, but they felt remote, as if Ana were underwater. But ze just wanted Revi to answer.

The gold dragon seemed to sag and looked less glamorous than usual. “You’re right. I wanted a better ruler than Freya. Preferably Teefa and Leyla, and maybe you when you’re much older. But what if we don’t need a ruler?”

Ana nodded slowly, though ze eyed him with distrust. “You’re not sad that you won’t get to be the ruler? I seem to recall you saying that you wanted to be king of your new world.”

Revi shrunk away from the red dragon’s scrutiny. He looked pained. “Ana, I — ”

He was interrupted. A gust of wind hit them, and a great green dragon swooped into sight.

“Mother!” Ana cried out in joy.

It was indeed Princess Leyla. But something was wrong. She hovered around Ana in a protective manner, while she glowered at Revi. “Ana, why are you with this boy? Do you know what he did to us? The entire kingdom?”

Revi bowed his head in shame, and muttered, “My sincere apologies, Princess Leyla. It was all for the best. Queen Freya’s reign could not be over too soon. We shall seek out Princess Teefa as well, and your Highnesses and Ana can build a new realm.”

Ana shot him a side-eye, since he had only just admitted that in a truly equal world, there would be no dragon rulers at all. But ze didn’t want to have that discussion in front of zir mother.

Leyla tapped Ana’s wing with hers. “Come with me, Ana.” She shot Revi a death glare. “You’re not invited.”

Before the gold dragon could respond, Ana retorted, “Mother, please. I want to keep an eye on him, so he doesn’t try anything else.”

The green dragon appraised Revi with caution. “Good point. He’s already destroyed everything, though. Why does he even want to hang around?”

Ana and Revi exchanged a glance.

Anastasia just shrugged nevertheless, not accepting a no for an answer. Leyla rolled her eyes and flapped her wings, propelling her towards the north. Ana and Revi followed her like little ducklings.

***

Revi felt like ice was in his chest. He flew beside Ana, with Leyla leading the way and blocking out the sky.

Leyla was surprisingly silent as she took them to who-knew-where.

Ana said, “Revi, what are you thinking?”

Revi tensed up inside, partly because he still felt guilty, and partly because he was amazed by how unaggressive — even trusting — Ana seemed towards him.

He had debated with himself whether he should ever tell zir the truth of what happened, but he didn’t have the courage. It was too much of a relief that he didn’t have to lose Ana’s friendship.

With a tight smile, he made up a reply on the spot. “I’m wondering where everyone is. Ero, Teefa, Freya…”

But maybe that was the wrong thing to say. Anastasia’s nostrils flared. “Where is Ero? He’s still so young, and he isn’t even a dragon. I hope he’s safe.”

Goosebumps raced up Revi’s spine. This was the closest to anger that Ana had been, ever since zir amnesia.

Yet, Leyla interrupted and said, “I’m not sure where Ero is, but I have a feeling that he survived.” She paused. “I don’t know where Teefa is, though.”

Revi cut in now. “Are you certain? I thought you were with Princess Teefa when the earthquake occurred.”

Leyla darted a quick look over her shoulder at him. “If only I already found her.” The green dragon’s stare was baleful, and Revi lowered his head.

The three of them fell into silence. Then Ana said, “Mother, who else have you found who are still alive?”

The long pause from the green dragon was chilling. “Nobody you know.”

Anastasia frowned and stared straight ahead.

***

At length, they reached a mountainous area where there used to be an active volcano. A few other dragons were scattered about, lamenting over the destruction, going about their own business, or just resting.

Revi felt restless as he saw all these other dragons. He didn’t have anything against them personally, but needing to spend time with others who were not Anastasia or zir family, did not appeal to him.

He was glad that Leyla survived, but he wanted time alone with Ana.

Even if he couldn’t tell Ana the truth, he still wanted more mutual understanding. He did intend for Leyla and Teefa to rule at first, but there were complications now.

If he were honest with himself, he was uneasy when Ana rightly questioned whether they needed a ruler anymore. Would the world erupt into chaos without a leader?

Maybe a small part of him wanted to rule, but the larger part of him didn’t want to be tied down by responsibilities. He would rather be an advisor to Ana or Teefa (even Leyla).

While he was caught up in his thoughts, Anastasia nudged him with zir wing and said, “Revi, come with me. I want to talk to you in private about something.”

His heart leapt, feeling both joy and apprehension at the same time.