Oliver ran a hand through his beard, seeming thoughtful of Mel’s question. “Derek was killed shortly after Austin returned to the city.”

Mel’s head snapped over to him as he walked beside her down through the dark corridor. Luthel and Hanon trailing after them in silence. Oliver had been the one who located them out on the streets and now he was leading them to Austin and the headquarters of the resistance.

“What? Who? Why?” Mel asked.

Oliver shook his head, a tired expression covering his face, making him look older than his middle-age. “We don’t know who. But he was found dead in his father’s study, in the Taveck mansion. There were clear signs of a struggle, but no sign of who he’d been arguing with. It took me by surprise and after his death it was like the void got a new breath of life. The shadows multiplied and fought harder each night. We didn’t stand a chance.”

His eyes traveled down to the floor and Mel averted her gaze, looking straight forward into the dark tunnel. She wondered how Austin had taken this. His own brother had been killed in their family house. She couldn’t even imagine how that must feel. If something were to happen with Andrew, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. She needed to protect the valley at all costs and make sure the void didn’t reach Windbrook.

“I’ve always served the Taveck line, but after I let you and Austin go into the wasteland, a part of me wondered if I’d made the right decision. I was only supposed to help you kill the dragon, not actually help you flee the city. My orders back then came from Derek. But now, he's gone and I’m glad I chose to help you. Now I serve Austin in his place.”

Mel’s eyes narrowed, glancing over at Oliver again and his thick beard. “So you were following me and Marcus back when I came to Aldrion, right? It was you who always sat at the bar at Pedro’s noodle place. Just in different clothing and…”

Oliver gave her a sheepish look and then smiled at her. “I do admit my disguise wasn’t that good. But in my defense, you didn’t know me by then and I never thought we would fight on the same side one day.”

Mel opened her mouth and then closed it again. He’d made her feel paranoid and for weeks after she’d looked over her shoulder everywhere, expecting someone to be following her. But that was a long time ago now and she couldn’t help but feel her tiredness spreading all the way into her heart. Maybe she just didn’t have the energy to feel angry anymore.

“So, the resistance, what are you doing here in the city, exactly?” Mel asked, changing the topic.

Oliver shrugged and kept walking. “We’re resisting, I guess. But mostly, we’re trying to funnel as many people out of here as possible. It’s been harder lately since most of the remaining survivors in the city are kept down at town hall with shadows watching them. We can’t just bust in there and get them all out. We need to either decide to leave them or risk everything.”

“How are you even getting people out of here?” Mel asked. “I saw the huge line of shadows by the western gate. The mountain pass is flooded with them. There’s no way you can get people past that.”

“We don’t have to,” Oliver said. “The Taveck family has a smuggling route running under the mountain. It’s been in their family for generations.” He gave her a sideways glance. “How did you think they became so rich?”

Mel swallowed, sidestepping away from Oliver. She watched his features more intently, looking for signs of a lie. But there were none. He looked entirely sincere, and Mel got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She’d never thought about why Austin’s family was rich, they just were. Because they were leading the elemental warriors, perhaps, or for their connection with the governor. She’d never realized that they had those powerful positions because of their money, not the other way around.

“And the void doesn’t know?” Mel asked.

Oliver shook his head. “No, otherwise this place would be overrun by monsters by now. But luckily, the path through the mountain has been a guarded secret for sometime. Only the people working for or with it have been in the know. Perhaps one or two civilians too, those who wondered why the Taveck’s got what they wanted. But most people don’t question the world in which they live. Most just accept the facts they are given.”

Mel could see that. After all, she hadn’t questioned Austin’s family’s position, not even when she’d been with Austin, day and night, out in the wasteland. Not even when they’d shared so many intimate moments already. A blush spread over her cheeks at the thought of knowing his secret. She wondered if he would ever have told her himself. Or if he didn’t deem her consequential enough to be let in on this secret. Her blush almost immediately morphed into anger and her heart picked up speed as they reached the end of the corridor.

Oliver opened the door in front of them and for the first time since they’d started walking down this narrow path, Mel looked behind her. Hanon and Luthel stood quiet and waited for the door to be opened just like her. Mel sucked in a breath and let it out through clenched teeth. She hoped Luthel wouldn’t inform the void of this path through the mountain. Then they’d all be dead.

Mel’s head turned when the door swung open and revealed a large room beneath the mountain. There were guards and civilians loitering at the edges of the space and out of the room, narrow corridors lead away to places Mel didn’t know. But her eyes traveled to a big opening, carved like a round hole and in front of it stood several guards with swords in their hilts.

Behind them there was a gaping darkness that felt like an abyss of nothingness staring back at her. Instinctively she knew this was the path leading through the mountain and she also knew she didn’t feel like traveling through it. There was a different darkness in there than she was used to. One that was never ending. One that wouldn’t be broken by rays of sunlight. She could feel her body rejecting this place beneath the surface.

Her breath came in ragged bursts and she felt the panic rising in her throat. She wanted to turn back, she wanted to get up and see the sky again. Her eyes searched around her for something to anchor in. But there was nothing calm or settling about this place.

Around her there were people cooking food, and the smell rose to her nostrils like ammonia. She took a step back, feeling the scents mingle with that of unwashed bodies and too many people in a confined space. Her eyes still wandered the halls and her mouth felt dry and sticky somehow. A hand on her shoulder made her jump and her eyes connected with Hanon. He pressed his fingers into her shoulder, grounding her in the moment.

“I can feel it too,” he said. “This isn’t the place for people like us. But I don’t think we have much of a choice. You saw the shadows walking into the mountain pass. We can’t go back up there.”

Mel nodded, knowing he was right, and turned back to Oliver, who was yelling something at them. She saw that he was several feet in front of her and waving at them to hurry up. Mel took Hanon’s hand in hers and together they walked across the large cavernous room with Luthel trailing behind them like an anxious shadow.

They reached the other side, and Oliver disappeared into one of the paths leading them away. Mel followed behind him, but without his lantern, it was impossible to see anything. Both she and Hanon reacted at the same time and spread a white glow around them, like a halo. Luthel walked close behind, seemingly terrified of being left down here without them.

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The path finally ended in a smaller room filled with tables and papers strewn all around them. There were lanterns hanging from the walls and a few chairs were mixed in between the people. But no one was seated. They were all standing and in the middle of the room stood Austin. His eyebrows were raised and his hands were spread out over a map on a table, his posture hulking and his eyes intense.

His gaze roamed over her face and then down to her side. Mel followed it and realized she was still clutching Hanon’s hand for support. She let go of it and looked back up at Austin again. His eyes had narrowed and his gaze had turned cold. It made Mel’s heart break, and she wanted to walk up to him and throw her arms around him, saying all the things she wasn’t able to say the last time.

In her center, a thunderstorm was raging and Mel extinguished it, letting her energy rest, and the white glow fell away from her body. Beside her, someone tugged at her arm and Mel’s eyes reluctantly stopped focusing on Austin on the other side of the room. They traveled to her right, seeing Gabriella stand close to her and smiling.

She embraced her friend in a long hug and let her hand brush against the blonde locks of her hair. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“I didn’t know if you’d…” Gabriella’s voice broke and she dragged in a loud breath. “You made it back here. I knew you’d make it back here.”

It sounded more like Gabs was trying to convince herself that to state the obvious and Mel squeezed her harder into her body. She wouldn’t leave her again. She could barely stand hearing how choked up she was.

Mel pulled back from the embrace and let her eyes trail the rest of the room and the people still standing quietly, watching her entrance. There were guards here in Aldrion blue uniforms and people dressed like nobles, too. There were even familiar faces in the crowd. Flavio, Clara, and Brandon were standing along the wall to the side of Gabs. Mel gave them a short wave and received a smile from everyone except for Flavio. But she hadn’t thought he would return her sentiments.

Austin walked around the table, coming closer to her, and Mel’s breath hitched. He grabbed her gently by the arm and addressed the room. “I think we can continue tomorrow. It’s late now and I need to take care of some things.”

Austin turned with Mel at his side and didn’t wait for people in the room to even acknowledge his comment. He grabbed a lantern off the wall and led her out of the room. His hand slipped from her arm and landed at the small of her back, guiding her forward. She felt his hand flex against her back and then twitch, the only sign of him even being slightly nervous about seeing her again.

“So, how have you been?” Mel asked. “I mean, it’s great to see you again.”

Austin didn’t answer, leading her out to the large open room again and then down into another narrow corridor.

Mel felt herself grow more nervous as they walked. Wondering where he was leading her. If he was angry because of how things had ended the last time they saw each other or if he was just annoyed she’d showed up here at all.

They finally got to another room down in the underground. This room was small and only had a simple bed, a bedside table and a small dresser. Nothing fancy or austere-looking at all. But Mel knew this was his bedroom, and that made her skin prickle. She took a step away from him when he stopped and placed his lantern on the bedside table.

Her eyes were wide, and her heart was beating hard. He turned to her, his face still tense and his eyes narrowed. She swallowed, wondering what he would do now. If he would yell at her or just tell her to leave Aldrion with an ice cold tone.

But he didn’t say anything, instead he took a step forward and when she didn’t step back again, he took another step toward her. He swung his arms around her body and squeezed her tightly against his chest. Mel felt his heart beating fast through his black shirt and her arms wrapped around his body. He pushed her even closer then, making her feel his breath on her neck and then his nose nuzzled into the sensitive skin behind her ear.

He took a deep breath in, like he was inhaling her scent and then released the air with a loud sigh. His body seemed to relax, his tense shoulders slumping down toward her and pressing into her collarbone.

“I’m sorry,” she heard herself say. But wasn’t entirely sure what she was sorry for.

He murmured something into her neck, making his lips brush against her skin, and her body felt tingly from the sensation.

“What?” Mel asked.

He pulled back a little, his eyes connecting with hers, and his face looked calmer now. But a bit like a kid who was being forced to put down his favorite toy. “I said, I love you.”

His eyes were dark and hooded, and Mel felt the irrational pang of anger again. Just like last time when he’d said it. But this time it was different though, she was different. She’d gone to Krazaa as a broken person who was convinced she would never be good enough for him. But she’d come back here as a dragon. As someone who finally understood her own destiny.

“I’m not who you think I am,” Mel said.

Austin cocked an eyebrow, but still kept his arms wrapped around her. She guessed this was as good as an opportunity she would get and if he didn’t want to be close to her anymore after that, she would just have to survive.

“I’m…” she swallowed. “...a… dragon.”

It was quiet for a beat and Mel felt her stomach clench. She pulled back from his embrace, leaving his warmth and the sensation of him caring for her. She didn’t want it if he wasn’t into the real her. She didn’t want him like this.

“I know it sounds strange,” she continued. “But it’s true. Me and Hanon figured it out in Krazaa. We’re both dragons. I’ve also been tainted by the void. There is smoke running inside of my veins and it can take control of my body sometimes. Making me do things I don’t want to do. I… I’m not sure I’m explaining this all too well. But I’m just not who you think I am.”

“So, you want to be with him?” Austin asked.

“Who? The void?” Mel said, the incredulity in her voice peeking through.

Austin shook his head. “No, with Hanon. You’re the same. Right?”

Mel took another step back from him, shaking her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, yes, we are the same. We’re both dragons. But this has nothing to do with my feelings. I don’t want to be with Hanon. We’re friends and kin, I guess.”

“Okay,” Austin said. “So does it still make you uncomfortable to hear me say that I love you?”

Mel flinched. She didn’t know if it was from the words themselves or from how he said it. “No, I mean, yes. You don’t know me. You’re in love with something I’m not. Of course, that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. It just does.”

Austin shook his head. “So other than you not believing I actually like you for who you are, do you have a problem with it?”

Mel stared at him like he wasn’t even listening to her. This was a big deal. It wasn’t just like a minor reveal. She’d told him something life changing, something earth shattering. The dragons were thought to be dead and now they weren’t. She was here in front of him, not, in fact, extinct.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“I heard you. You’re a dragon,” Austin said. “I don’t care. I still love you.”

Mel’s heart grew impossibly large in her chest, and she didn’t know why it hit her this hard. But it just did. A tear slipped down her cheek and she dragged in a ragged breath. “You… you don’t care?”

Austin nodded, taking a step toward her and stretching out his hand to her. Mel looked down at his outreached palm, the tears clouding her vision a little. If she took it now, it would mean she accepted his feelings. It would mean she admitted she had feelings of her own.

She reached forward, hesitating, and looked up at his face. His eyes were calm and his face looked serene. Like he’d already accepted these things. Like he already knew she would take his hand, and they’d be together. It calmed her, and she grabbed his palm, intertwining her fingers with his.

A smile stretched across her features and she saw him mirror it on his lips. She took a step forward and placed her other hand on his chest, feeling the heat of him radiate through his shirt. He was looking down at her, searching her eyes and waiting patiently for her to make the next move. Just as he had when she’d first kissed him.

Her smile grew even wider, and she pressed up on her toes, breathing in the scent of his skin. It felt like home. Mel pressed her lips against his and felt his hands slip around her again, holding her close. She sighed against him and brushed her fingertips against the black strands of his hair. She didn’t want to be anywhere else tonight.