She jerked her head toward the open door. “You call it escape, but if I go out there, I’m dead. Every greedy snake on the planet will be hunting me down to eat my fire the second I reemerge. You know that perfectly well, because you hid too. Not that I get much news down here, but you wouldn’t still be alive to bother me if you hadn’t. But whatever madness you’re trying to pull tonight, I’m not stupid enough to go along. The Gameskeeper and I have a deal. He’ll let me live down here in safety, and all I have to do in return is fight in his arena.”
My father looked more appalled than ever. “So you’re going to allow him to humiliate you just so you can hide in a cave?”
“Yes,” White Snake said, resting her head on her claws. “Because unlike the Great Yong, pride isn’t a luxury I’ve ever been able to afford. You think life’s easy for a dragon living in exile? The only reason I’ve lived as long as I have is because I’m willing to do whatever I must to survive. This is just more of the same. All I have to do is endure down here for a century or so until this blows over, and then I’ll see about rebuilding. It won’t be pretty, but I’ve done more with worse, and I’ll do so again. I’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive. That is my strength, brother. It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got.”
“It’s a lie!” Yong roared, knocking aside the brittle bars and marching forward until he was standing practically on his sister’s face. “This is your victory? To live in a hole like a worm?” He sneered. “I respected you more when you were trying to kill me and take my lands! At least then you were living as a dragon should.”
“You think that’s what this was about?” she asked, her voice despairing. “I never wanted to be Dragon of Korea. All I wanted was to go home!”
My father looked disgusted, but I jumped up. “Wait,” I said, moving as close to White Snake as I dared. “If that’s true, why were you always trying to kill him?”
“Because he’d made it clear that ‘over his dead body’ was the only way I’d ever get back to Korea,” White Snake replied, her resentful eyes locked on my father. “It’s the only home I’ve ever known, the only place in the world I’ve ever felt safe. All I wanted was to live on my mountain in peace, but as soon as he came to power, he kicked me out! Left me to wander alone and clanless, an easy target for any dragon looking for someone to trap under their claws.”
I turned to my dad. “Is that true?”
“She tried to stab me in the back the moment our father was dead!” he cried. “What kind of fool welcomes a viper into his house?”
“I only attacked you because I knew what you were going to do!” White Snake yelled back. “You told me to my face that you’d kick me out the moment you had the power to do so! Of course I fought. What else was I supposed to do? You never listened to anything I said!”
“Because you always lied.”
“Not about this,” she said, her slitted eyes pleading. “I’ve spent a thousand years begging you to let me come home. I’ve bribed you, bargained with you, brought you treasure, promised you eternal service. You never listened to any of it, but there’s still no way you couldn’t know what I wanted. Not after I came so many times. You knew exactly what I longed for most, and you made it perfectly clear that so long as you were its dragon, Korea would be forever beyond my reach.” Her claws dug into the stone. “You say we were enemies from our hatching, but we both know that’s not how it was. You made me your enemy. I would have done anything you wanted if you’d just let me come home, but I was never good enough for you. You enjoyed watching me suffer while you sat secure on your throne surrounded by your fawning mortals because it made you feel strong. Of course I attacked the moment you were weak! You gave me no other choice!”
She was shouting by the time she finished, her huge voice booming off the stone walls. It should have been terrifying, but I wasn’t afraid anymore. All I felt for White Snake now was pity, because her description of my father was very similar to what my own view had been barely a week ago. Things between us were better now, but I was still leaning toward White Snake’s side in all this. My dad had made his opinion of other dragons—and White Snake in particular—very clear, and while I couldn’t remember if I’d been present for any of her visits, I knew she’d come to his fortress in Korea several times bearing gifts. Seeing my father’s look of disgust now, I had no problem believing he’d been cruel to her. Not that I thought she’d been a saint or anything, but their bad blood put us in a very poor position. Our plan hinged on removing White Snake from the equation. As things stood currently, it was looking as if she’d fight Nik just to stick it to my
