The world shuddered.

Iska growled low in her throat from her perch in the depths of the cave. The rocks vibrated around her, evidence of the great evil that had stirred in the bowels of the earth for far too long.

She didn’t know how it’d escaped everyone’s notice until only a few months ago. It had escaped even hers, despite the scope of her sight.

But now that she knew where to look, she couldn’t miss it.

Taking a deep breath, she activated her boon, Universe’s Sight.

Immediately the dark rocks of the cave faded from her vision and brightness filled her mind. After a moment, it settled into a gently churning pool of color.

Iska forced herself to focus on her target, needing to check its status.

Not that I can do anything no matter what the situation is.

The pool of color dulled, then turned dark. For a moment she saw the great expanse of the Northern Ocean, gray storm clouds gathering in the distance over angry white-capped waters.

Then her sight plunged into the water itself. Down, down, speeding past the better-lit upper layer and into the dark depths, past schools of fish and speeding dolphins, then past even the leviathans and kings of the deep, creatures even her great brethren could scarce imagine. And finally—

She saw it.

Snorting as she fought the urge to recoil from the unnatural creature, a deep sense of wrongness spread through her mind and blood like ink through water.

A seething mass of oily darkness, the Abomination twisted with an unnatural movement—not quite alive, not dead, a stain even in the suffocating darkness of the depths of the ocean. All black and dark gray except for two spots on it, those two spots filled Iska with a deeper dread than anything else.

One spot pulsed light blue, shaped like one of the humans’ line drawings of a thistle. And the other a rust-orange in a shape that Iska would have called a sun with wavy rays coming from it if she didn’t know better.

She pulled her thoughts away from what the two marks meant and the history they told. Studying the Abomination, she thought it’d gained more form since she’d looked in on it just a few days ago. She had no way to truly tell how large it was, but her instincts told her it was probably close to her size.

Given that she as an Air dragon stood twice as tall as the average man at the shoulder, the Abomination was already large. And it seemed to just keep growing.

Looking more like a giant ball of ink, tendrils lashed out from the Abomination, striking into the water with a viciousness Iska didn’t know something unliving could possess. The oily sheen moved around the orb-like shape chaotically, reminding Iska of the great beasts humans kept caged for their entertainment.

Unlike those beasts, nothing caged this one.

After a moment of watching, she shuddered at the realization that the water around the Abomination had also changed since she’d last seen it. To her sight, it usually pulsed with a pleasant blue color with the essence it contained, the color getting stronger the deeper in the ocean she looked.

Now it just churned with the Abomination’s motions. Dull, lifeless, devoid of any of the essence it should have as water.

Her attention snapped back to the unliving beast as one of its tendrils reached out and slammed into the ocean floor far below.

She could see the tremor it sent out. No doubt she’d feel it here at some point.

The great white dragon shifted on her perch, keeping her attention on the Abomination. The tremors had become more frequent. Not frequent enough that most humans would recognize them as anything other than minor earthquakes, but the more intelligent and observant minds among the hairless creatures had begun wondering if something more was going on.

Iska snorted, sending a wave of Air essence from her nose. The small meat-sticks were so clueless. Yet they were the only species in all of the world of Renthow that could ever vie against dragons, whether that be in power, control, prestige, art, or anything else.

It’s what had made the alliance between the two races so effective. And what had made it end in such turmoil.

“Has there been any change?”

Raising her great head from where she’d dropped it in her trance, Iska pulled her sight back from the Abomination. She shuddered as she did, a vile feeling coating her mind and making her flesh crawl. It felt as if some of the monster’s oil had soaked into her.

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She looked down several hundred feet to her one ally in the battle she’d taken upon herself. Simu, a massive Fire dragon with deep red scales and a golden underbelly, strode along the dark cavern far below her. Even though his body spoke of power, there was a weariness in how he moved.

The world had not been kind to him when he’d left their sanctuary. That much was certain.

Even so, his words echoed through the chamber, their deep rumble running through Iska’s bones. He looked up at her, his bright eyes filled with a deep sorrow.

“It’s taking on a greater shape.” She stood, then leaned forward on the perch. Spreading her wings, she dropped over the edge and circled down to land by Simu. She barely reached his shoulder, and her body looked like a willow tree compared to his boulder-like build.

Tilting her head back to look at him, she asked, “What did the others say?” She’d been here alone while Simu spoke with the elders and patriarchs of the dragon flights. He’d insisted on going alone, claiming that he could travel faster without her.

Given their size difference and that they’d tested it before, Iska knew he was right. And time was critical, so she didn’t argue with him. But that didn’t mean she liked it.

Simu tipped his head back with a roar at her question, flaring his wings. Shaking himself as he brought them down, he growled, “They say the same thing as before. All dragon-kind are leaving Renthow. They do not see why they should concern themselves with something that is ultimately the humans’ fault.”

Iska’s claws dug into the stone. “They do not fully understand the situation.”

“Nor will they,” Simu said, fire puffing from his mouth. “Their apathy has blinded them to the threat it poses to us all.” He sighed, body slumping. The motion made it all the more clear that the trek from their cave drained him. “It’s just us.”

Iska didn’t hide the bitterness in her voice. “For all the good that will do.” She’d seen the marks on the monster. Those had been perverted from their original purpose, from the gift they were supposed to be.

She sank her claws deeper into the stone, the crack of the rock splitting echoing through the space. She could see why her brethren turned a blind eye to this matter, how they wanted to deny their part in it. But if they didn’t find a way to deal with it now, it wouldn’t matter the world they were on. It’d find them. And it’d destroy them. The way it consumed essence and the two marks on it made that certain.

“Then there’s only one option,” she said, turning away from Simu.

“You’re still stuck on this?” Simu asked. “Do you realize what will happen if the other dragons find out what we did?”

Iska whirled on him, snapping her teeth toward his face. “Do not think I don’t understand the risks! I wouldn’t suggest it if there were no other way.”

Simu growled at her, deep and low. She stared at him, holding her ground as she said, “We can’t get close to the Abomination. No dragon can. Not without risking it gaining our boons and strength. That’s assuming we could survive getting to it. This world has been failing the greater dragons for decades now.” She tilted her head. “But a human can get close to it. And we already know one’s coming here. And he—”

“No,” Simu said, stepping toward her. “I won’t grant him what you ask of me. I will not give him my gift.”

Iska bared her teeth at him. “Then you side with the others.”

“Fool!” Simu shouted, voice booming through the cavern. “I do not side with them.” He dropped his voice. “I merely want to consider another way.” He paused, the silence weighing on them before he said, “Remember what caused this mess in the first place. The last alliance between a human and a dragon did not end favorably. And you know what they will do if they find us out.”

Iska was silent for several long moments before she said, “Simu, if there were another way, I would try it. I don’t see how though.” She leaned back, tilting her head at him. “There is nothing of meaning that has ever been accomplished—”

“Without great risk. I know.” Simu sighed again, the sound carrying a sorrow to it that spoke of ages forgotten. “I’ve known that longer than you have.”

“And yet somehow I’m always reminding you of it,” she said.

Simu remained quiet, small puffs of smoke curling from his nostrils.

“He has to make it here first,” he finally said. “If he can survive everything that it takes to get down to this level, then I will consider doing as you ask.”

She bowed her head to him, but he cut her off before she could say anything. “I don’t consider this because I believe in his potential. I consider this because I’ve never known you to do something lightly or if you think there is a better option.” He leaned toward her again, voice lowering to a growl. “If I find any reason to regret that decision, I will end him. Do you understand?”

“I do,” she said. “Will you help me?”

He stared at her a moment longer, and she met his vibrant golden eyes with her own pale green ones.

Then he turned and stalked from the cavern without answering, back down the passage he’d come from.

Iska let out a slow breath once he disappeared. She’d hoped he’d have decided to help her, but Simu didn’t take any decision lightly, but especially ones like this.

She would wait. She had a bit of time still before she’d need what Simu could give.

Leaping up, she returned to her perch. A small flutter of wings above her caught her attention.

She glanced up, but barely caught sight of a gray wing disappearing behind a stalactite on the ceiling far above.

How much of that did you hear, my small friend? she thought.

The sound of wings disappeared into the height of the cave. She stared where they’d been for a moment longer before she settled down, mind pulled a dozen different directions.

Even if Simu had agreed to consider giving the human his gift didn’t mean the young man would be able to accomplish all Iska would ask of him. It didn’t even mean he’d live long enough to try to save them from the Abomination. After all, he still had to make it to the dungeon, then down to them. That would be no small feat for a meat-stick.

But he’s the only one I would trust who I will also have access to without my brethren’s knowledge. Even if I could go to the humans without the other dragons knowing, the chances are high that I would die before I succeeded in finding another person better suited with how the world is failing my kind… But this human, he’s a good choice. He’s known hardship and survived. He’s more than survived—he’s forged his experiences into a determination to become more, to break the confines that others have put around him.

He has to be enough. For all of us.