The nature mage stood between the dragons and her son. While she tried to back away slowly, Fia and Viliant took some eager steps forward. As the uninjured one, Viliant could naturally walk faster and stand firmly between her and the humans.

"You're welcome," the older dragon spoke gruffly to the woman, translating for Fia over his words. "We helped you, now we'd like to ask for a favor in return."

The human woman seemed momentarily shocked that she had received an intelligent response. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before words managed to come out. "I'm sorry. I don't think there's any way a humble woman like me could be of service to dragons." She attempted a curtsy and continued backing away from them.

"Nonsense," Viliant said, sickly sweet. "You're a nature mage. Heal my friend." He lifted one ratty wing like a curtain to reveal Fia behind him. Her rigid foreleg was propped up in the makeshift splint and sling, where her shoulder was covered with a slightly muddy bandage. At least the inside of her wound had stayed mostly clean.

"I'm not a nature mage—" the woman began.

"Don't lie to us!" Viliant growled. Crouched low, he stalked closer to the woman with each word of his accusation, "We saw how the leaves reacted around you and the root you summoned to trip the bear. Now cast a healing spell!"

"I'm really not capable of that. I'm not a mage!"

"I saved your life," Viliant said in a hushed tone. "I can undo that just as easily."

Fia's heart was racing in her chest. For a second, she questioned if her own eyes had betrayed her. Have I messed up again? Did I put the two humans back in danger? If she mistakenly told Viliant that the human was a nature mage, then she did not know if she could calm his wrath after the correction was made. No, I'm sure of what I saw!

The mystical reaction of the forest, rising to the woman's defense, surely indicated that she had bent nature according to her will. Yet the woman insisted that she had no magic in her veins, unless she was truly that unwilling to repay the dragons.

Based on her situation, a refusal to help made no sense. The flabbergasted woman backed up against a tree, letting go of her child instead of clutching him close. Just like the bear, she was prepared to face the dragons to buy her child some precious seconds to escape.

Viliant's eyes flitted to her child. That cunning mind of his had just identified the woman's biggest vulnerability.

No! Fia yelled in his mind at once. More rationally, she tried placating Viliant by suggesting, What if she doesn't know she's a nature mage, just like how you didn't realize you were a shadow mage—?

I don't care about unlocking her hidden, magical talent, Viliant replied derisively. I'm just trying to get her to heal you before we dispose of her.

What? Fia shrieked back in his head.

Even if she helps us, what do you think she'll do once we let her go? She'll report us, if not because we're dangerous, then because she can make some quick gold. Then the humans will be hot on our tails, and if they catch us, you might get injured again—undoing any healing that the woman is able to provide.

No matter what she did, Viliant did not intend to let her go, and the trick was working on her. She got on her knees, frantically making her little boy turn to face her. "I can try my best, but this is the most that I'm capable of!" Her shaking fingers steadied as she brushed along the child's cheeks, down his shoulders, and took both of his hands into hers. "Did you hurt yourself, Citrio? Let me see."

At some point, the boy must have fallen while playing with the cub or trying to run away. His palms had red, muddied scuffs. He could hardly look his mother in the eye as she brought his hands to her face.

The woman placed a gentle kiss along the base of his palms, first one hand, then the other. The tilt of her head revealed a green glow of light from her lips. "I love you, Citrio." The glow was left on her breath.

"I love you too, Ma." Citrio managed to look up, steel in his gaze, yet his lip still wavered.

She gave his hand a feeble squeeze, likely a signal to run again. The mother turned to Fia and said, "Okay, darling, let me see how bad your shoulder is." With an undue amount of care, she undid the bandage.

Viliant could have unwrapped the bandage faster than that, and he had neither fingers nor opposable thumbs. His eyes narrowed, and his lids drooped over the slitted pupils, unamused by the obvious attempt to stall.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

While the dragons were preoccupied, Citrio backed away carefully. If the mother's plan worked out, this would be the last time that the young boy would see his mom alive. Once he made it to the nearest tree, he slipped behind it—out of view for a time.

Fia's bandage fell away, and the woman gaped at the cavern of cauterized flesh. "God, how did this happen?" she murmured, more so out of shock than as a genuine question.

Viliant was not about to answer. He only gave the order, "Fix it."

"I've never healed wounds this deep before. I don't even know how to restore broken bones, much less regrow… missing flesh."

It dawned on Fia that the nature mage at the coliseum was probably a highly skilled healer, highly paid to protect the valuable combatants. The coliseum owners had gathered many rare, dangerous creatures from faraway lands; Fia herself had been taken across an ocean. Perhaps the healer had been among the best in the human land, and this random woman that they had stumbled upon in the wilderness could not compare.

"I don't care," Viliant replied. "Then do everything you can. You are going to keep healing her until your mana is drained."

"I can do that." The woman placed a gentle hand against the exposed flesh. The physical contact was undetectable by Fia's scorched nerves, but she still looked away. Magical energy seeped into her shoulder, soothing the pain deeper in. Alas, relief was the sole thing that she experienced. To double check, Fia glanced over her shoulder.

The site looked slightly less inflamed but nothing beyond that. The shattered bone stayed lodged in place, and the flesh did not knit back together. The healer had done nothing substantial for Fia's wound.

"I'm sorry," the woman gasped. "This is the limit of my power. Please have mercy on me and let me go!"

Viliant's eyes drew wide and flashed with contempt. "Quiet!" he snapped. "Keep going."

"I really can't do anything more, but I can keep trying—"

"I don't want you to try. I want you to do it!"

The woman broke down to tears as her feeble magic kept failing and the ferocious dragon kept growing and snapping at her. At this point, Citrio had gotten far enough away that he started to run.

Fia assisted in the distraction by nipping at Viliant's cheek. Would you knock it off?

When he turned to glare at her, the boy was removed from his field of view.

You knock it off! Viliant said. I'm trying to help you!

This made Fia angrier because he was not helping at all. Your growling is doing nothing but distracting her!

"And you!" Viliant said, contorting his neck to snap back at the woman. His heavy, dark lids fell over those menacing eyes in a long blink. "This is your last chance."

The pitiful quaking of her hands had returned. The woman tried again to do the impossible which Viliant demanded of her. The longer that she tried, the more red-tinged that her deep-tanned skin would become. She wasted not even a second to breathe on her final attempt.

The energy intensified, and Fia felt a change in her muscles. The crawling itch started up in her flesh, exciting her as it reminded her of the healer's methods at the coliseum. Then, it felt all wrong, twisting and knotting in pain.

Stop! Fia squealed out a high-pitched note as she recoiled. It hurts!

Viliant reacted at once. He pounced on the woman who was crouched to his height and tackled her to the ground. In a roar, he asked, "What did you do to her?"

Pinned by the throat, she still could hardly take a breath unless she wanted the tip to draw blood. The roots of the trees must have shifted underneath her as the ground gave way enough for her to comfortably speak

"The body is a complex thing. I'll end up hurting her if I keep trying—!"

Viliant slung his claw through her throat.

Viliant, no! Still recovering from the bolt of pain sent through her shoulder, Fia was too slow to stop him.

The woman's eyes stared up at the treetops emptily. The clean, red gash seeped over either side of her neck and pooled in the recessed dirt. That did not satisfy Viliant's bloodlust, however. He turned back to look for the little boy.

By then, Citrio was far out of sight in the dense woods, but his shoes had left obvious tracks.

Viliant took off, but so did Fia, shooting a fireball in the same direction. Since he did not expect her to attack him, Viliant ran straight into the line of fire. The blaze connected with his cheek, and the sudden pain made him stop in his tracks and yowl. You've really lost it.

No, you've lost it! You're not killing the boy too. He's around our age— Fia began, but then she remembered that Viliant doubled her in years. He looks like my age, she said, even though she knew nothing about human maturity.

We have to kill all witnesses regardless, Viliant insisted and resumed his pursuit. The duo were no longer just rogue dragons in human territory, occasionally plundering livestock or killing only the knights sent after them in self defense. Now, they had actively killed innocent civilians which would warrant an even more extreme pursuit against them.

Worst of all, Fia and Viliant could no longer agree on a course of action. Before he could dash off, she got close enough to leap and tackle him. I'm not letting you do that! she said, and the dragons tumbled through the dirt. Fia grit her jaw to fight against the intensifying pain in her shoulder and also prepare her to fight Viliant—just enough to convince him that he was wrong.