“I did know why the blessed came here,” I finally admit.
And you just figured, ‘Who cares?’
“I asked Freya what would happen to the other dragons, and she said it was unknown, but when she asked me to choose, to let Gordon and Rufus die, to let the earth dragons continue to be abused and eaten by the others, she simply told me they’d be stronger, they’d lose their power to shift—you never liked your human form anyway—and they’d lose the power to procreate.She never mentioned starving to death.”
Why was a human making these decisions?
“I wish I knew the answer to that.I might think it’s because Freya’s human—she looked like one.But she also said she was Odin’s wife.”
Azar snorts.Ahumanmarried to my father?Ridiculous.
“Or.”I frown.“What if, like the earth blessed, like the cursed who shifted from demonic forms to dragon ones...what if she can shift?”
Then why can’t the rest of us?
I don’t have an answer for that.“I’m sorry,” I say.“I really—I thought I was doing the right thing.None of the options were great.I was watching you and Rufus and Gordon being eaten and I panicked.”
Hyperion threw us in?
I nod.
It’s the doom the prophecy spoke of.His expression’s grim.It said he’d destroy us all.
“But you can save your people,” I say.“It said that, too.”I stare at him for one moment, and then another.
Until Gordon finds us.He’s wheezing when he lands, but he looks pleased.Not everyone can’t eat.
“What?”Not everyone can’t?What does that mean?
Gordon breathes a few times, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly.He blinks.Then he finally sends another message.The blessed that ensnared a human can eat—anything.All of them.
How can that be?Azar looks almost angry.
We think it’s tied to the earth blessed being unable to bond humans.They could eat on their own before now, but the strike and water blessed couldn’t.At least, not until they ensnared humans.
“You’re saying all the dragons who bonded a bright...they can eat?”
Gordon nods.
“For how long?”
Gordon doesn’t look pleased.It’s been the case for a while, apparently.They didn’t think it was relevant to share.
My eyes widen—every dragon will want to bond a human now, and I know of three who are close.“Where’s Sammy?And Coral and Jade?”
Rufus fled with them—straight to the Hotel Selfoss.
“We need to get back right away.Three tiny, unbonded brights?It’s too dangerous to ever leave them alone.”
Four, Gordon says.Don’t forget yourself.
I can already imagine Hyperion’s next move.He’ll take a massive army of dragons and start invading human cities everywhere, just to steal brights.We’re about to ensure that human-dragon relations can never, ever be repaired.
Unless I can stop it.
5
Axel
