Sasha whimpered. She wasn’t afraid of the queen, but she felt at odd. The underground was moving, and the sound of snakes, a lot of snakes, moving closer and closer filled her ears. It was like her heart and soul reached out to them, as if she could feel them inside of her. The impact of all the impressions hit her full force.

“You are so small. The others, they are much bigger?” Sasha said. She was not to say it out loud, but it was as if she was drugged, and all her thoughts left her mouth unfiltered.

“I am the oldest, dear. We grow smaller with age.” The queen moved closer, enclosing both her and Elias in a hug. “Now, how we do things around here is easy. All my snakes will come forward and give you their tribute. Since you have my essence within you, they will just have to smell your scent. Could you be a brave little girl and welcome them?”

It was years since her mother had asked her to be a brave little girl, and still, when she saw the first dragon snake closing in on them, she felt just as then. Her body was trembling. This was a creature thicker than her length, a head as a massive tree, with eyes shining in light green and a body covered in black and orange stripes. She felt just as a small child.

Sasha took a big gulp of air and steadied herself. She had never been a coward, and regardless how much she liked the queens reassuring voice and lightly hugging body, and how much her body stilled hummed to be close to Elias, she entangled herself out of their hug. She took a deep breath and walked the steps forward.

“Sasha”, she said and let her hand out, welcoming the big creature in front of her.

“Evelyn”, the snake hissed and let her tongue out. “Friend.”

One after one they presented themselves. If Sasha first only saw their big bodies, and the slit of their eyes, she started to see something beneath that. She saw a personality, something beyond the surface, something almost human. The stiffness in her body released, and she smiled. This was family, she didn’t know why, but they were. She wanted to hug them.

Last in line, was a dragon, a magnificent black lady, her eyes were yellow. This time, when she came close, Sasha understood her language.

“So we meet again”, the dragon said. Her tongue coming out, close the Sasha’s ear. “I heard you are the one.”

“She is”, the queen said. “I’ve tasted her. She has the soul of a dragon.”

“There were twins”, the black dragon said and now she licked the skin on Sasha’s neck. “Why choose this one?”

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“They might both have the same soul. It doesn’t matter. This one is mine.” The queen came closer, moving up towards the much bigger snake. “You are biased Elly. I don’t like this.”

“I guess the reason being Aiden”, Sasha said, looking closer at the giant, suddenly understanding the aura that was flowing from her. She went forward, putting her hand on the snake, petting her. “You are conflicted.” Sasha just knew. She could feel the snake’s soul underneath her fingers. “With Anna you never had this issue.”

“Anna and Aiden agree”, Elly answered.

The queen hummed, looking from Elly to Sasha. She came closer, laying her body around Sasha, holding her tight. A while ago Sasha would have been afraid. Now she knew the queen protected her. Her long white teeth’s didn’t bother her.

“You will have to grow a stronger bond. I can’t afford mistakes”, the dragon queen bent forward and bite the bigger dragon. Her teeth'sj was pinching through the scales. The drops pouring out of the wound were green.

“Sasha baby, give me your finger. We will have to redo the procedure. I want you to blend your blood with Elly.”

“It is really not necessary”, Elly grunted.

“Well”, the queen almost smiled when the teeth’s sliced through Sasha’s fingers. “I will not take the risk.”

It was actually less painful than the first time. Maybe some of Elias healing was still working on her. Sasha put her finger on Elly’s scale, stroking the dragon. Her instinct told her to trust the queen. The pulsating feeling in her finger was not bothering her at all.

“You really are something”, Elly said as she gently stroked her head against Sasha. “I can see your struggle, and I can see your pain.”

“She will do what has to be done”, the queen filled in. “I will give you an advice Sasha. Don’t let Elias fool you. You are not a giver, you are a taker, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Use it my girl. You have the dragon inside of you.”

“He has taken all my magic”, Sasha said. “I am powerless.”

“I know”, the queen said. “I know everything. I can feel you. Now, I will guide you, but only if you want me to.”

The queen entangled herself from Sasha and pulled back. Sasha sat down on the floor. She wanted to take Aiden down, and they both knew. She could see the small nod from the snakes. But more than Aiden, she needed to give the land a new leader. The old ones had burned all their chances. She hated them dearly.

“You know what I am aiming at?” Sasha asked. Elias was here. She couldn’t ask what she really wanted. “How does this work?”

“Sometimes the strongest are the weakest, and what is delivered with love will burn us to ashes”, the queen said. “Don’t bother Sasha with the bigger picture. It will come to you in time. Now, just grow strong for me. Grow strong, and I will protect you.”

“You always know?” Sasha had to know. It was as if the queen spoke to her both through her ears and from inside. She could feel all the dragons, as if they somewhere were a part of her. The question was if they were her protectors or if she was their tool? As of now, she wasn’t sure.

“Only the ones that have the dragon in their soul can hear our whispers. And you are a dragon, I know who you are, I know your desires and your needs. I know what you know.”

Elias put a hand on her shoulder. He sat down beside her, taking her hand in his.

“I will heal this, and we will bring Aiden down here. The dragons will deliver their justice.”

“We will meet with him here”, Sasha said. “But I will deliver my own justice. He had done nothing to them.” She leaned in closer, unsure of this sudden desire to not feed him to the dragons. “I still don’t know if I will need him.”

“It´s time to leave”, the queen pushed at them with her head. “Grow strong princess.”