He stepped out of the water. “For the good of dragonkind. You want to cage me to save one insignificant, little human. I wanted to protect all of you!”
“She is not insignificant.” A burst of fire erupted from Malcolm’s jaws, evidence of the magnitude of his anger. “You know nothing about her and don’t care to.”
Argentum spread his wings, and water rained down on all of us. “I’ve seen what she’ll become. The Nephilim have seen what she’ll become. Yet you fools believe she’ll always be what she is now.”
“Have you forgotten what we stand for?” Aurelia narrowed her eyes at him and prowled forward. Her talons clacked across the rocky ground. “Since when do we sentence beings to death for what they might become?”
His chest puffed up. “Since we made the mistake of allowing Draconian to live.”
I walked forward, picking my way over the charred bones that littered the floor. The cave air was cool and damp and smelled stagnant, but sweat beaded on my forehead. I tucked my shaking hands into my pockets. “I will never be like Draconian. Would Death have sent me back if I was going to turn into some monster?”
“Death cares about nothing but ferrying bodies to the afterworld.” Argentum cocked his head, looking down at me like I was a bug.
I nodded. “And, yet, he gave me a choice.”
“So, you think you’re special?” He lunged at me.
Malcolm rushed between us. His black scales shimmered as he darted in front of me. Argentum roared. His fangs sank into Malcolm’s neck, and a choked, gurgling noise spilled from Malcolm’s mouth. Pain glazed his eyes.
Cash plowed into Argentum, knocking Malcolm loose. Black blood dripped from Argentum’s fangs. Malcolm hit the ground with a thud. His eyes rolled back, and he didn’t move.
Argentum swung his head around, snapping his jaws. Cash ducked beneath his maw, narrowly escaping Malcolm’s fate. He drove Argentum away from Malcolm’s body, and I ran to the injured dragon, praying I could save him.
I pressed my palms to Malcolm’s neck, sending healing energy into him. The punctures pulled together, and his breathing eased. His bronze eye cracked open, then immediately closed again. “Save … your … energy.” He jerked his neck away from my hands.
Cash howled in pain. Argentum stood above him. “You hated humans. You hated her. Why are you protecting her?”
“I’m protecting humans. You’re killing dragons.” He snarled. “Seems we’re both confused.”
Argentum raised his taloned claw.
“Stop!” Aurelia yelled. “Come with us, Argentum. End this the way you lived your life, peacefully with honor and dignity.”
He growled at Aurelia and swiped his paw down. Cash rolled away but not fast enough. Argentum’s claws tore through Cash’s side. Purple scales drifted through the air, and Cash roared.
Aurelia strode toward them, but Argentum lifted his paw again. “I’ll kill him if you come closer.”
She skidded to a halt. “Stop Argentum. You will regret this.”
“I regret every drop of dragon blood that gets spilled.” He dragged a single claw along Cash’s side. “So, give me the girl and end this.”
My power writhed under my skin. I called it to me, sensing its enormity. “I’m right here, Argentum. Come get me if you’re brave enough.” I stepped to the water’s edge, away from Malcolm, hoping he wouldn’t get hurt worse.
Argentum strode through the lake toward me. Water splashed onto the shore. The earth rumbled under his footsteps.
“What are you doing, Dacia?” Arianna’s voice came from behind me, but I didn’t turn around.
Pulling my power from deep within me, I said, “It’ll be okay.”
Argentum’s low, rumbling laugh filled the cavern. “Yes, once you’re gone, everything will be all right.”
If you need Mavros, draw on our strength, say his true name, and command him to come to you. Once he’s here, bind him to you. Malcolm’s voice was stronger than before, but I worried what drawing on the dragons’ strength would do to him, what it would do to Cash.
I lowered myself into a defensive stance and watched every move Argentum made. His head sank to my height, and a blast of fire shot from his mouth toward me. I pressed my hands against the air, and the flames fanned out around me, like Moses parting the Red Sea.
Argentum took a deep breath, preparing to blast me with fire again. I threw my shield around his head, tightening it like I’d done before. He stood perfectly still and tugged on my power, pulling it toward him, but I clung to it.
“Noooo.” Val slid across the rocky floor toward Argentum. His claws scrabbled at the ground.
When he came to a stop, Argentum stomped on his chest. The air whooshed out of Val’s lungs. Argentum snapped his jaws, and the shield disappeared. “You brought all these dragons with you, delivered them right to me so I could use their strength against you.”
“A dragon as ancient as you should be able to fight a teenage girl on his own.” I shoved my hands into the water and shot lightning into it.
He spread his wings and hovered above the lake. “If you want to kill me, you’ll have to try harder than that.”
“I don’t want to kill anybody!” I clenched my hands at my sides. “I never have. Can’t you see that?”
He perched on a ledge above the lake. I would’ve never noticed it. It blended in with the cavern wall. I narrowed my eyes, scanning the rocks, wondering if there were others that might give me an advantage.
“You say that now, but as the power rots your heart, you will change. You will thirst for blood, and you will be too powerful to be stopped.” Argentum’s chest expanded, and flames spewed from his jaws. Fire roared through the cave. I held my hands up, and ice rushed from my fingertips. The force knocked me back a step. The ice crashed into the flames, like a wave breaking
