Elias was held in the tower, to which only the queen had access. Or at least she thought so. Sasha hoped Anna didn’t know, otherwise it was a well-designed trap and she was a lovesick fool.

“Take it easy Sasha, the queen has no reason to believe you would know, nor that the king's heart would matter to you.”

Isaak and Sasha were on their way out of the dragon maze. It was just some stairs left, then they would be in the royal garden. Sasha had hesitated on the last steps.

“I am not worried about the king's heart”, Sasha grunted. “But just in case, what if Elias had spilled our plan?”

“He ain’t stupid, and he might be angry at you, but he would not betray you. I know him.”

Sasha wasn’t so sure of it. She hesitated, letting the magic scan the area above her, but it felt empty. She was concentrating on Denise, who was waiting for them up there, beside the tower. The calmness she felt seeping from the dragon's thoughts calmed her. No one was outside. They just had to do a quick grab and run, it would be a piece of the pie.

“Come on Sasha, let's do this”, Isaak pushed.

Sasha nodded, Isaak was right.

“Well, he's your friend, you know him. Besides, I guess without me he will not get what he wants. I hope he has been a good boy.”

“Elias has always been a good boy”, Isaak said. “I’m the bad one. I just want to put the record straight.”

Sasha chuckled a bit and finally took the last stairs up to the garden.

“I know.” She looked around, jabbing Isaak's shoulder. It felt good. He put his hands in her hair, ruffling it.

“It's you and me again. We know this”, Isaak said.

Yes, they did. They had prepared, and they were perfectly synchronized. They were alone, and the night was dark. The moonlight was almost none, just occasionally some stray of light was seen through the heavy clouds. Everything seemed alright.

“Well, we have Denise on our side, so we can't lose, can we?”

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“We go there, release Elias, and then we are off”, Isaak said and went first. “Who in their right mind would mess with that dragon?”

“You”, Sasha pointed out and smiled at Isaak.

They walked the dark path with brisk steps, Denise meeting them halfway.

“How long have the queen been away?” Isaak asked, not taking the time for niceties.

“Hopefully she will be gone for the night. This is probably the best chance you get.” Denise circled them, all the time looking for intruders, but no one seemed to be outside at this time of the night. “I will keep watch.”

Sasha nodded. The guards have no reason to be up here and the curtains in the queen's chamber were down. Still, when they reached the tower, Sasha felt uneasy, questioning whether she really should put her hand on the lock.

“If this is a trap we are so screwed.”

“No child, I will burn anything trying to mess with us.”

“Ok”, Sasha took a deep breath of air, putting her hand on the stones. The door slide easily open. A faint light was seen on the wall. Sasha took a quick look around, but no one was there and the light hadn’t drawn any attention.

“Come on Sasha”, Isaak whispered, already halfway up the stairs. “The sooner we do this, the less risk of surprises.”

Sasha took the steps two at a time, keeping up with Isaak. When she came up to the room everything looked almost like last time. The queen's desk was filled with bottles and notes, but on the sofa, she saw a sleeping body.

“Elias!”

She bends down beside him, putting her arms at his shoulders and briefly shaking him.

“Sasha? Isaak?” Elias sat up, looking drowsy. “What are you doing here?”

“We don’t have time now Elias, we have to leave before they send someone after us”, Isaak said.

“Sasha”, Elias said, and suddenly he was all awake. “The king tried to... You cant be here.”

He stood up and tried to take some steps forward, but immediately fell backward, looking sluggish. Elias shook his head, taking another try, failing miserably.

“I don’t know what has happened, but it seems like someone has given you something to sleep on”, Isaak said, helping Elias up and giving him a shoulder. He maneuvered Elias towards the stairs. “I have your back, come on now, we don’t have all night man.”

Isaak succeeded in getting Elias down the stairs with not too much noise, and Sasha's shoulders relaxed when she could close the door and saw Denise.

“No problems down here?” She asked.

“No”, Denise answered, “Now let's go.”

She whisked up all of them on her back, letting her body grow from the small dragon to an impressive five-meter giant.

“Elias is groggy”, Isaak said, “take it easy so I don’t drop him.”

“I won't drop anyone”, Denise said. “At least not yet. Where do I drop you, Sasha?”

“No”, Elias sputtered. “Sasha is coming with us.”

“You need some sobering up, and we need to pick up Ivy, we will meet Sasha later”, Isaak explained, “It will be okay.”

“Drop me off at the village”, Sasha said, not looking at Elias. She needed to do this, but if she look him in the eyes, he would know.

Denise circled the air, landing at the outside of the village. When the dragon's feet touch the ground Sasha slid off her back, quick confirmation and a nod to Isaak confirming he would have her back. Sasha waved them off. It was time for her to meet the queen of death and pay her debt.