“Damnit, I’ve lost connection too.”

Mel kept her gaze on the horizon, shocked into stillness and watching the dragon slip further away from her.

“Me too. What do we do now?”

“It’s getting away. We can’t just let it leave.”

“Calm down,” Austin said. “We can’t do anything. The mission has failed. It happens sometimes.”

His voice sounded strained, like he couldn’t believe the words he was saying. Mel didn’t look back at him.

“So what? Now we just wait until tomorrow night to kill it?”

“No. We go our separate ways,” Austin said. “We won’t have another opportunity like this. People will know too much about the magic, and Melissa needs to get out of here.”

Mel dragged in a shallow breath and when the dragon slipped past the eastern wall, she saw smoke rising from down by the gate. There were flashes of magic lighting up the dark, and she guessed Marcus was down there, fighting for his life.

There wouldn’t be another opportunity like this. Austin was right about that. Mel wouldn’t get a second chance at killing the black dragon. It was slipping through her fingers now and when the governor and Derek found out about what she’d done, she’d be sent back to the dungeons. She was sure of that.

She swallowed hard, staring at the black creature flapping its wings in the distance. There were at least four arrows still inside its flesh, taunting Mel with their presence.

They’d been so close to succeeding. If they’d killed the dragon today, then maybe she could have lifted her bad status with the governor. Prove that she didn’t belong locked up in the dungeons. That she could be an asset rather than a liability. But now those dreams were disappearing before her eyes.

After this, all she could do was run. Either back into the valley, though she doubted she’d get very far that way, or back into the wastes. The thought made a shiver run down her spine, and dread filled her body.

Austin put his hand on her arm. “We need to go Melissa. We need to get you out of here.”

She locked eyes with him, the darkness of his irises shining at her with a steadying calm. She didn’t want to run, and she didn’t want him to have to run with her. Mel took a step away from him, letting his hand fall away from her arm. Her gaze flew to the black dragon in the distance.

She closed her eyes, trying to hear the note of the double imbues stuck inside the dragon. But she heard nothing, not even the sound from the wind imbues inside. There was too much distance between her and the dragon, too much noise.

Mel licked her lips, reaching inside of herself. Searching for some way to connect to the dragon. She found a well of energy inside her belly and tried to play the double imbue note in her mind. The note rang clear. She was sure of it, but nothing happened. She was still too far away from the dragon.

There was a wisp of wind in her hair, tugging at the strands. A feeling of ascension and then the flapping of large wings. Melissa kept her eyes closed, focusing in on these sensations, keeping the double imbue note in her mind.

A voice cut through the silence, enveloping her. “Kill me.”

Mel’s forehead creased. She didn’t get it. If the dragon wanted to be killed, then why was it flying away? Who was the voice speaking to her now if not the black dragon?

Had Marcus been right to say that this creature hurtling down fire from the sky wasn’t a real dragon? Not in the sense she'd thought growing up, at least. Not one of their gods.

Mel dragged in a deep breath and asked the voice, “Who are you?”

“Kill me,” they said again in her mind.

The words seemed to come more as a command this time, and Mel leaned into it. A feeling of being taken over by some force washed over her and her hands reached up to the sky like she was throwing a big ball over her head. Mel’s eyes snapped open, and she saw through them, but it was like her vision had a dark tinge at the sides. Mel got the feeling that someone else was also using her eyes, seeing through them like she did.

Her body was stiff, unmovable, and when Mel tried to lower her hands, her body refused. Not even a flinch coursed through her body. Her eyes found the black dragon in the distance and the double imbue note played in her mind again, but this time much louder. Her entire body vibrated with the sound and she could feel energy slipping out from her fingertips and toward the dragon.

“Kill me,” the voice said once more in her mind.

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Mel thought she had nothing to lose at this moment and decided to do as the voice told her. She sent the command to melt to the arrowheads inside the dragon and she felt that this time she made a connection, although very weak.

At first nothing happened, except Mel’s body still being unmovable. The dragon was now in the wastes, flying further toward the east. But then it trashed in the sky, slipping off balance and letting out a howling roar. The sound was filled with pain and fear, making Mel want to step back and stop what she was doing. But the force held her stuck, like she was rooted to the ground by large black vines.

“What the…?”

Austin walked up to where Mel was standing, watching the dragon in the distance. A second later, rushes of air exploded inside the dark creature, and Mel saw its limbs twisted and its flesh spread across the sky. A cry emerged from the monster as it went down, spiraling toward the earth.

It was like the city held its breath and all other sounds vanished until the thump of the black dragon hitting the ground traveled all the way to where Mel stood. Her eyes closed and her hands suddenly dropped to her sides, like whatever had been holding her in place, released. She slumped and her back was too heavy to keep upright.

Austin’s hands snaked around her, steadying her, and she leaned into him. When she opened her eyes again, the dark tinge was gone and Mel had a strange feeling spreading inside her body. Her heart made a couple of hesitant beats, before panic and fear finally hit her full force and her heart sped up to a manic pace.

Her back straightened and her limbs stiffened, exhaustion settling in, but her body refusing to let it take over. Something had gripped her. Had controlled her. What if it could do that again? What if it did something worse next time?

Her eyes narrowed, and she looked over at Austin. He was staring out into the distance, his eyes searching the horizon like he was expecting the dragon to pop-up again at any second. Mel put a hand on his arm and he tore his eyes away, looking at her.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

Mel shook her head, feeling her mouth dry. She hadn’t done that. Someone else had used her body to do that. A shiver ran down her spine and the night felt colder than it had before. The wind pierced her cloak and bit her skin.

Behind them, the elemental warriors broke out in a cheer, celebrating that the dragon was dead. They embraced each other and Mel saw them wearing genuine smiles of surprise and joy. In the midst of the cheering people, Oliver Reneti stood watching her with a dark expression on his face.

Mel swallowed hard, knowing he could tell Derek a different story. One where she came out looking like a villain today. One where she would be painted as dangerous. Perhaps he would be right to do so.

“Is that Gabriella?” Austin said, pointing up at the mountain.

Mel turned, seeing long blonde hair spilling out of a navy blue cloak. It was Gabs, and she was running toward them. She wasn’t supposed to be down here. If Oliver decided to turn on Austin, then she could be in danger, too. Mel didn’t want that.

Mel broke off from Austin and ran to Gabs, meeting her halfway. She grabbed Mel’s shoulders, stopping and panting in front of her. She said nothing, struggling to catch her breath.

“What happened? You’re worrying me.”

“The dragon stones…the magic…it's gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“The magic, it flickered out. It’s gone. The dragon stones are dead.”

Mel’s eyes went wide and her gaze left Gabs, searching the mountainside. But she couldn’t see the dragon forge in the distance. There was no glow emerging from the top. Mel shook her head in disbelief. No, it couldn’t be. They couldn’t be out.

“They’re looking for you. Saying it’s your fault they flickered out. Saying you destroyed them. You need to leave. Now.”

Mel shook her head again. “No, I can’t leave. We killed the dragon. It’s going to be okay. They’re going to release me now.”

“No, you don’t understand. We saw everything from the mountain. And when the dragon died, the stones went out. You couldn’t have known. But you did destroy the dragon stones. We all did.”

Mel swallowed hard. No, that wasn’t possible. The black dragon had nothing to do with the magic in the stones. What did she mean?

Austin walked up to them, grabbing Mel’s hand. “If what Gabriella says is true. We need to leave.”

Mel looked between the two of them, trying to search for another solution. “In that case, I’ll go alone. I’ll find Hanon and Luthel in the wastes. Stay there until all of this has blown over. Then I can come back. No one needs to follow me.”

“I think it’s better if we go with you,” Gabs said, grabbing her other hand. “We’ve all been involved in creating the arrows and killing the dragon. Besides, I wouldn’t want to leave you alone out there in the wastes.”

“But–”

“No, we’re coming with you,” Austin interrupted. “Whether you want it or not. We’ll figure it out later and find a way to get the magic in the dragon stones back.”

Mel let a small smile cover her lips. She hated them going with her because she didn’t want them to be in danger. But she liked having her friends by her side, too. She couldn’t imagine having to go by herself into the harsh wasteland, looking for a town that moved.

“What are you doing, Sir?”

Mel and the others turned around, seeing Oliver Reneti standing behind them. He’d probably listened in on some of their conversation, and Mel’s breath caught in her lungs. Gabs pulled her hood over her hair and tucked in the long blonde strands inside the cloak. They needed to leave now, not stand here being detained by one of Derek’s men.

“We need to leave,” Austin said. “There’s been some unexpected events and I need to leave you as my second in command to look after the warriors. Make sure they don’t get in trouble for this. At least as little trouble as possible. Do you understand?”

Oliver’s eyes slipped from Austin to Mel. He scrutinized her, and after a moment, he looked back at Austin again. “Where are you going, Sir?”

“Into the wasteland for the time being. But I’ll contact you as soon as I can with a plan to return.”

Oliver nodded, and Mel was sure he would give this information to his employer. But she knew Derek would probably guess where they’d gone, anyway. She hoped she could convince Austin later to not contact Oliver when they were heading back to Aldrion.

“Good luck, Sir. I’ll do what I can for the elemental warriors. Thank you for your trust in me.”