She stepped toward Chalia. She wouldn’t leave her behind.
Chalia’s eyes found hers, and she saw her thoughts reflected back at her. A blast of icy air hit Sofia in the chest, throwing her back and away from her dragon.
Before Chalia could move to follow, her mother sent a wave of ice to engulf her claws, freezing her where she stood. Betrayal twisted through her—Chalia’s own emotions flying from her in waves.
Aurelia’s wings were spread wide as she opened her jaw and sent another chilled gale in their direction. Sofia’s feet slid across the ice, pushing her farther and farther from Chalia. Something pulled within her chest. She felt torn in two.
“No!” she screamed, her words lost on the wind. The snow froze against her legs as she stomped down hard, sinking her feet into it, trying to stop herself from skidding farther. She bent forward, taking the wind head-on, arms outstretched as if she might stop it.
An unfamiliar power hummed through her blood, and she could have sworn the wind faltered for just an instant.
“Mother, please,”Chalia begged, feathers ruffling and neck stretching long. But Sofia could feel it—Chalia was going to give in. She felt the hopelessness settling over her, the sense of being too small and insignificant. Sofia’s own chest ached, and she breathed in, trying not to suffocate under the pressure.
“Stop!” Sofia said, eyes burning with tears.
No no no.
Chalia was struggling, trying to break away from the ice holding her, but Sofia could feel her strength giving out.
Never enough. She couldn’t do anything. She wasn’t enough to fix this.
Sofia could no longer tell the difference between her thoughts and Chalia’s. And then Fox was there, wrapping his arms around her, and she realized she’d collapsed onto her knees. Her face was wet, her tears freezing to her skin.
Chalia met her eyes, and Sofia felt a rush of coolness through her. Resolve.
“No!”Chalia’s roar was so loud in her head that Sofia swore she heard it echoing in the still mountain air. The wind pushing them back ceased, and Sofia lifted her head to see that the air had shifted. It was swirling in an icy blizzard directly toward Chalia’s mother.
The enormous dragon fell back.
“How dare you!”Aurelia yelled, letting out a roar that crackled in the air.“For worthless humans.”
“They are not worthless,”Chalia said, a talon slamming into the ground as ice shards exploded from where she stood, throwing back the rest of the dragons gathered around. The sky cracked and shone bright for only an instant, and then it was gone.
Silence fell.
Sofia held her breath as Chalia’s mother slowly stood, her claws biting into the snow so deep they dug into mud. The dragon was looking between her and Chalia, eyes narrowed into slits that spoke of her rage. But Chalia didn’t stand down, her neck straight and wings flared out wide. Sofia stood, legs shaky but determined. She wouldn’t let Chalia stand alone.
“You choose them? Over your own kind?”
“It’s not about choosing between you and them,”Chalia said.“It’s about choosing to do what I know is right. I’ve looked up to you for fifteen decades, but this time you’re wrong.”
“Go, then,”Aurelia said, her voice turning from passionate to complacent in the blink of an eye.“But do not return. You are no longer welcome at Quelia’s Rest.”
Chalia didn’t move for a moment, and Sofia felt the breaking—the pain and hurt that echoed from her mother’s words. She let out a snort of affirmation before turning away from her family.
Chalia’s father pawed at the ground in agitation, but he didn’t argue.
Even Micael was silent as he mounted Chalia, though Sofia saw the way his hand landed on her scales, a soft pat that said more than words.
And when they swept into the air, Sofia didn’t look back. If thedragon gods wouldn’t come to save them, then she’d have to come up with another plan. She wouldn’t let the chief commander win. She wouldn’t let Chalia down.
They weresilent on the flight back. Sofia was too aware of Fox behind her, in every shift of his body. She knew he wanted to grab her—to hold her—but every time he got closer to her, she went rigid. She couldn’t give in to his comfort, not now. She needed to think. They needed a plan. She wouldn’t let this be the end. General Luna wouldn’t get to the dragons, even if she had to fight the army herself.
“And me,”Chalia said, a growl in her voice even as she smoothly landed in the snow just outside the cave.
The rest of their group came out of the cave opening, eyes wide and hopeful. They should have been gone longer, but their group still gazed at them as if they expected good news. Sofia felt sick to her stomach as she slipped from Chalia’s back and strode into the cave. She kept her eyes down, unable to stand the light leaving their eyes as Micael killed their hope with his words.
She walked through the main cave, retreating into the tunnel she and Fox had found, following the dim light and heat from the springs.
