Lola stormed into Thol’s tent. A lantern cast shadows on the canvas walls. The narrow bedroll that took up a third of the floor was unoccupied. The rebel leader was with his younger brother, and Vardom glared at her for intruding. However, Thol gestured for him to leave. As the teen pushed past her, Lola’s apology remained lodged in her throat. She was too distraught to speak.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Thol asked.

“No.” She crumpled to the floor, on the verge of hyperventilating. Not again, she thought. She couldn’t go through losing him again. Ugly images of Soleis in a cage filled her mind. He had been near death when she had rescued him before. Would Belzaan succeed in killing him this round?

“He’s gone,” she managed. “I-I woke up, and Soleis wasn’t in the tent. I searched the entire camp. The Mad King must’ve returned for him.”

“Are you sure? Last time Belzaan opened the ground right beneath Soleis. If he had done that tonight, he would’ve taken you, too.”

“Well, he didn’t just disappear!”

“Lola, calm down, darling. You’ll wake everyone. Let’s think this through rationally. How do you know Soleis didn’t leave on his own? Hasn’t he indicated he would do something like this?”

“Oh, to hell with you! I’ll go after him myself!”

“And, get yourself killed? Sit down, Lola.”

“You don’t—!”

“Lola. Sit.”

His fierce command compelled her. She covered her face as agonized tears fell. Sighing, Thol drew her into a hug. “I know in my heart something has happened to him. I know it,” she sniffed.

“Of course, not. Look, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I saw him leaving. He slipped out about thirty minutes ago, and it didn’t look like he was under duress to me.”

Lola sharply drew back. “Thirty minutes ago? That means he’s still in the vicinity.”

“Maybe he is, but what do you plan to do? Force him to come back? You can’t keep him hostage if he doesn’t want to be here anymore. Besides, you have other obligations. You promised those children a vaccine. Now, I just convinced Vardom to trust you enough to work with you. If you walk out, what do I tell him?”

“Thol, a vaccine could take years,” she sobbed.

“Then, you should probably get started sooner, rather than later, right?” he asked gently. He tilted her face up to his. “Let Soleis take care of himself, and let’s do the job he asked of us. The cure is within reach.”

Lola was torn. Everything Thol said made sense, but she didn’t want to hear it. She thought of the Healers counting on her to make good on her promise. The children looked up to her. They needed her. However, Soleis needed her, too. Never mind how he had told her on the beach he would leave at the first chance. It was too soon for goodbyes, but if they had to be said, then she wanted him to at least say it to her face.

“You’re right, Thol. I’ll…I’ll get a fresh syringe for a blood draw.”

With a skeptical quirk of his brow, he gave her a sideways glance. “Let me walk with you to make sure you don’t get lost along the way.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary!”

“I insist.” He smiled wryly. Her heartrate kicked up a notch when they exited the tent. Did he know her so well that he guessed at her real reason for capitulating so easily? She needed to be alone to make the leap.

“You can go find your brother and get him ready. I won’t be but a second.”

“Lola, I’m not letting you out of my sight,” Thol chuckled. “With Flev and Soleis gone, it’s my job to protect you.”

“I’m not a helpless damsel in distress. I still have the ring,” she retorted.

“You mean the ring you intend to use to find him as soon as I turn my back? Don’t bother denying it. Go ahead. Take us to where he is so you can satisfy your curiosity. When he tells you it was his choice to leave, we’re coming back here, and we’re devoting ourselves to finding the cure. Deal?”

Relief washed over her. “Deal! Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me. I want to do something for you, too. Something that might benefit us both if Soleis hasn’t simply walked away from camp the way you think.”

“Such as?” Thol asked.

She realized they were too near the tents. “Come on. We need to get someplace private,” she insisted. “I don’t know what we’ll encounter when we find him. I’d feel much more comfortable with extra muscle along. So, I’m going to try this crazy idea, and I hope it works.”

Leading him by the hand, she dashed to the clearing where she had taught her first class. With the full moon high and bright, the place was a silver-leafed paradise. The crickets whirred loudly in the underbrush, and dusky flowers bobbed in the wind. It seemed a fitting backdrop for magic. They were shielded from prying eyes by oversized palm fronds.

Lola lifted her hand to look at the ring. She had gotten used to its strange heat after weeks of wearing it, and she no longer thought of taking it off. More and more, she thought of its broad-reaching powers.

Watching her, Thol nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “We have our privacy. Now what?” he prompted. She took a deep breath and flashed a nervous smile.

“Picture yourself as a dragon. Visualize it as clearly as possible. It’s how all the other magic is activated.”

“You’re going to transform me?”

He looked stunned. Lola nodded with a grin as she looked from him to the ring. It slowly grew brighter, pulsing in tandem to her heartbeat. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how to proceed. Not until a soft chant began whispering in her mind. As she strained to decipher it, the words rolled off her tongue and she hitched in a breath. She was speaking dragonspeak! Presumably power words.

An expectant hush fell over the clearing. It was like a shade being drawn, shutting them off from the rest of the world. Thol’s eyes bore into hers, and their breathing matched. Their heartrates synchronized. She clutched both his hands tighter and spoke the chant with increasing confidence.

“…I don’t feel any different…”

“Shh!” The repetitive chant continued a moment longer, but he was right. Nothing was happening. Lola grimaced and opened her eyes. “I guess I’m just not—”

Before she could finish, the shockwave struck. The force of it blasted her off her feet. Her bottom thumped the ground, and she yelped from discomfort. Yet, she forgot the minor pain as she squinted through blinding light where Thol had been. Lola emitted a triumphant laugh.

In place of the rebel leader, a topaz colored dragon stretched its sinuous neck and shook tawny yellow wings. His diamond-shaped scales glimmered. Muscles bulged as he looked at himself in amazement. Dark horns curved from his head, and his thick tail was tipped with matching spikes. He was intimidatingly huge. In fact, she had to crane to stare up at him. The newly minted reptile squawked with joy as she clapped her hands.

“It worked!” she exclaimed.

“It worked. I had to think bigger,” he confirmed, snorting a laugh. Tendrils of smoke escaped his nostrils. His voice didn’t seem to come from his mouth; it seemed to emanate from within. Lola circled around him in awe.

“This is unbelievable,” she hissed.

He lifted a taloned foot, and she hopped back from the wicked looking claws. “This will take some getting used to. I’ve never flown before.” He tried his wings. A hesitant flap took him a few feet into the air, and he let himself down easy. As exciting as it looked, Lola was bursting to get their journey underway.

“We’ll have all the time for a crash course later. Right now, change back to man-shape for the leap. He’s getting further away as we speak, and that’s if he left voluntarily. If he was coerced to leave, then I’m sure the Mad King already has him in his dungeon. We have to go.”

“What if he’s in the air when we morph to him, Lola?”

She arched a brow because he had a point. “Then, I suggest you master the art of thinking big at a much faster rate.”

* * *

It was her luck. Soleis wasn’t soaring through the air when they found him. He was deep undersea.

Lola opened her eyes submerged in the ocean. Oh, no! she panicked. She flailed her arms wildly as her lungs constricted. Her wide eyes frantically scanned her surroundings. Thol was a blur beside her. There were frightened sea creatures swimming away from her.

Lola! Soleis screamed in her head.

She whimpered as the jewel-toned Water Dragon appeared. She wasn’t sure how she felt when she saw him—angry, terrified, relieved. It was clear he wasn’t in bondage. It was equally clear she didn’t have time to rage against his disappearing act. She had to breathe!

Soleis swiftly grabbed her and raced toward the surface. The tightness in her chest told her they would never make it in time. Thol cut through the water, keeping up with them. “Lola, inhale! Just try,” he mouthed. She adamantly shook her head.

The clock ticked with ever quickening seconds. Still too far. Her anxiety reached its zenith. Then, a deadly calm washed over her. So, she would drown. She waited for her life to flash before her eyes, or the white light at the end of the tunnel, or whatever happened when one gave up the ghost. Fighting was futile against the crushing weight of the sea.

Don’t you dare give up on me! Soleis channeled as he pushed himself faster.

Lola kicked her legs weakly, but that was the final iota of her strength. Her body became boneless and went limp. She made her peace with dying and deeply inhaled the stinging saltwater. She heard Soleis growl deep in his chest as he swam harder, faster. (Another breath. Another.) Thol helped him drag her to the surface. The aquamarine water gave way to light and air.

“Don’t you dare die on me, Lola!” Soleis shouted.

Lola blinked, her eyes hurting from the sudden brightness of the full moon. She inhaled normally. No giant gasp. No overwhelming sense of relief at finally having the painful band around her chest released. She could breathe, but she had been breathing. Underwater. Her eyebrows clashed together as she bobbed in the choppy waves.

“What happened?” she asked.

Thol and the Water Dragon examined her. “Are you alright?”

“I think so,” she said uncertainly.

Thol’s face split into a grin. “It’s as I suspected. She’s been here long enough.”

“You’re telling me she was breathing,” Soleis whispered in awe.

The waves rippled out from him in a swift shockwave when he shifted to man-shape. Water droplet clung to his blond hair and slid down his angular face. Lola was so happy to see him that she forgot she had just cheated death. With a laugh, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him while they treaded water. He stared at her in awe.

“Did you know you could breathe underwater?”

She shrugged, giggling. “It’s highly possible I’m past the point of being surprised by anything in this world.”

“Mm! You may not be surprised, but you never cease to amaze me,” Soleis laughed.

His warm mouth crushed hers. She reveled in the hot, sweet taste of him as is tongue parted her lips and unlocked a flood of desire. It was Thol’s cue to swim a discreet distance away. Yet, her joyous expression faded to a somber one by the time they broke apart.

“Why did you leave me?” she whispered.

“You were supposed to stay with the rebels where you were safe,” he sighed.

“But, you left without saying goodbye. I thought something had happened to you.”

“Well, this wasn’t goodbye…I hope. I may have discovered a way to beat the Mad King without having to part ways with you, but I need you to go with Thol until I know my plan works.”

“Wat? You have a plan? Why didn’t you tell us? We can help.”

“Lola, I’ve already put you in enough danger. I’m the only one who—” Thol exhaled gustily behind them. “If I’m successful, I can save every—” Another loud sigh. “What? What is it?” Soleis growled at him.

“I’m sorry. Am I interrupting your ego? She’s right, you know. You need us. If you’re headed to the castle complex, there’s no way you’ll get past the guards without detection unless you let her use the ring to transport you.”

“You should be on my side,” Soleis complained.

“I am on your side. In more ways than you know.”

“Taking her to Belzaan is exactly what he wants.”

“But, it’s not what he’ll expect,” Thol said with a shrewd grin. “The element of surprise is on our side. We can get in and out at a moment’s notice. You’ll have me to guard your back, and Lola will be there to heal either of us if were injured. So, what’s the plan? Are we going to retrieve the stone?”

“No,” Soleis frowned. “We’re going to destroy the Essence of the Dragon.”

The rebel leader’s smile tightened. “You mean the stuff he uses to absorb the life from people? I’m not sure I want to go anywhere near that.”

“In my…research, I learned he needs both the Essence and the Heart to make a full return to power. We may not be able to the Heart, but I saw that murky pool of black death in his dungeon. It’s unguarded. We can definitely get to it,” said Soleis.

Lola inquired, “How do we destroy it?”

“I believe a superheated fire could do the trick. Not just any fire. Dragon fire.”

“And, what if you’re wrong?” Thol asked.

Soleis lifted his eyebrows and shrugged. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

The cold ocean was no place to linger. Lola clapped a hand on each of her men’s shoulders and gave them pointed stares. “We have one shot at this. Once he knows we realize the Essence holds the key to his power, he’ll never let us get near it again. Hold onto me.”

“Wait. Above all, you can’t let him get to that ring. No matter who has to be left behind,” Thol replied. Soleis met his gaze and nodded. Lola reserved comment.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on their destination, hoping the leap to the dungeon would be as successful as the time prior. It had been easier when she only had to think about getting to Soleis. She visualized the dimensions of the room, the feel of the stone floor beneath her feet. She saw open cell doors and the elevator bay. With a clear mental picture, she opened her eyes and felt the pressure change.

Just like that, they were there.

The dungeon was dark and empty. Something gurgled in a globe over a burner. Other than that, there was no sound. Soleis nearly whispered a power word to bring up the lights, but Lola quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. “Remember the surveillance,” she warned. He nodded. It was better to move in silence and darkness, even if it rendered them blind.

The trio drifted closer together, back to back, as they cautiously surveyed the room in all directions. Their footsteps were too loud to Lola’s ears, though they made almost no noise. Her heart thudded in her chest and was loud, too. She heard the hiss of a blade leaving its sheath. Thol met her nervous glance as he palmed the weapon. She looked at Soleis. He pointed to the shadowy far left corner of the dungeon.

“It’s somewhere over there.”

“I hear it.”

“Yes,” said Thol. “I’ve seen it before. When I was younger, my father tried to get me a job as a guard. I lasted a day. What they did to people, tearing families apart, baptizing them in that unholy black blood…” He shuddered. “Let’s just do what we came to do and get out of here.”

Soleis suddenly clutched their arms. “Wait! Look,” he gasped. They saw it. The Heart of the Dragon rested on a desk near the monitors. Yearning flushed his face. Thol looked from him to Lola. She knew something wasn’t right. It was too easy.

“It’s a trap,” the rebel leader stated.

“You said yourself Belzaan isn’t expecting us here,” Soleis countered.

Thol caught his elbow. “Leave it.”

“We could get the Heart, destroy the Essence and banish him for good! This might be our only chance.” Soleis broke away from him and ran across the dungeon to the desk. With a terse growl, Thol followed.

“Hurry,” Lola whispered. She hugged herself as fear and anticipation prickled along her skin. The situation had all the markings of an obvious trap, and she didn’t like it. Soleis grabbed the stone, but her heart dropped when the elevator dinged.

Thol whispered an expletive. The color drained from his face as he clenched his jaw and gripped his dagger tighter. His attention was glued to the elevator door; it was slow to open. “Get out of here, Lola,” he muttered. She couldn’t move.

Soleis locked eyes with her. “Leap!” Lola shook her head, and tears welled at her lover’s look of anguish and regret. He shoved his fingers through his hair and pleaded, “Lola, don’t do this. Go!”

They were too far apart. “I’m not leaving without you,” she swore.

Anyway, they were too late. Belzaan laughed dryly as he stepped from the elevator. His shiny leather shoes clacked the floor in a slow stroll to the middle of the room. All eyes were on him, but he patted his hands in applause as if he were the audience and they were the show.

“How touching!” the Mad King mused. “She’s not leaving you. It’s not every day you meet a woman who’ll die for you.”

* * *

Lola Cambridge was an ant beneath the magnifying glass of a cruel tormentor. At least, that was how she felt. Belzaan sized her up, wearing that leering smile that made her skin crawl. She took a step back to run. He threw up a hand that halted her in her tracks. Quite literally, she couldn’t move. Whatever strange power he wielded froze her in place.

“Now, now. No sudden moves. The ring, please,” he purred genteelly.

“Let her go. It’s a worthless trinket,” Soleis argued.

“Unlike you, I know the difference between the real thing and a fake.” Belzaan jerked his chin at the decoy red diamond, and its crimson light faded to a dull gleam. It was nothing more than a clunky piece of glass. Thol growled with rage as Soleis dropped the dud. The Mad King took a menacing step toward Lola.

Whimpering and trembling, she no longer felt like a warrior. She felt like a woman who hated to be the center of attention. Her father’s face came to mind, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. The last thing she had told him was that he might never see her again. The strikingly accurate premonition made her sad, but the memory also galvanized her.

She hadn’t said goodbye to John Cambridge. She hadn’t said goodbye to Soleis. There were ten children in a rebel camp who were counting on her to get back to them. She hadn’t officially become a doctor yet. Too much remained on her bucket list. She wouldn’t die without a fight.

Squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin, she said defiantly, “If you want the ring, you’ll have to cut it from my dead body.”

“Fine,” Belzaan muttered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thol and Soleis. Dual shockwaves slammed the room at the same time the sorcerer lunged toward her. Lola reflexively screamed. The force of the shifter transformations propelled the Mad King into her, and they both went crashing down. However, two fantastic dragons ascended.

“How did you—?” Soleis looked stunned.

Thol whipped his tail in frustration. “Not now! We have to save her!”

Belzaan hardly spared a glance for them. His scowling face was inches from hers as his meaty hands clamped around her throat and tightened. Lola hoarsely inhaled. His heavy weight crushed her. Her mouth opened and closed as she fought to breathe.

There was merciless insanity in his dark, foreboding eyes, and she knew he would kill her. He would have to kill her. If she took off the ring, she’d return home. If she leapt, he would have to find her. Belzaan had no choice but to do as she had taunted—cut it off her dead body.

“Get…off!” she croaked, clawing at his fingers. Belzaan laughed.

“A fighter to the end,” he sneered. “I see why he’s enamored. Such fire! Once upon a time, I would’ve given my kingdom to have a woman like you.” He nuzzled her neck with his nose, and Lola sobbed and struggled harder.

Soleis roared in fury. Flying over them, his gaping maw brandished frightening rows of teeth. Still, the Mad King didn’t let up. Every blow the Water Dragon and the rebel leader tried to land deflected off him. He had the Heart and his powers for protection, and the dungeon was vastly undersized for two massive beasts to effectively wage war.

Lola’s vision swam. Things fell and shattered around her. Everything was chaotic, but she managed to focus on the wading pool. “The…Ess….” She gasped.

“Destroy it!” Soleis shouted at Thol.

His wings snapped open like sails, and he swooped to the roiling black water. With a mighty gasp—his golden chest gleaming white hot—Thol expelled his first dragon’s breath. Lola quickly averted her face from the scorching heat. She smelled singed hair and heard the roar as flames ignited on the surface of the pool. Spinning and twirling fire in shades of red, orange, blue and white danced over the choppy black waves.

“What have you done?” the Mad King bellowed.

He loosened his grip on her. She kicked away from him. She scrambled across the floor and pressed against the wall as far from the inferno as she could. Thick, black smoke plunged the room in darkness. Her skin was covered in sweat. The conflagration sucked the oxygen from the air. Then, as suddenly as the flames exploded to life, they faded. She coughed, trying to see what had happened.

It didn’t work, Thol channeled in disbelief.

“No!” she cried out in desolation.

Lola, please! You have to get out of here, Soleis ordered. The plan hadn’t worked. She remembered his warning. This had been their only shot. The Essence of the Dragon would no longer be a viable way to defeat the Mad King. Her eyes sparkled with hot tears as she watched Thol crouch in dragon-shape, on guard.

Advancing toward the yellow dragon, the sorcerer removed the real red diamond from its hiding place in the Between. “All I had to sustain me all these centuries was my Essence, and you tried to take it from me,” he said in a lethal whisper. “Nothing else will be taken from me.”

“Leave them alone! Your fight is with me!” Soleis morphed into man-shape. He desperately threw himself at his predecessor. They grappled for the stone. It was all the distraction Thol needed. Lola gasped as he shot across the room and clenched her in his taloned fist. She was yanked into the air.

Her wild eyes went to Soleis. He almost had the Heart of the Dragon, but he teetered dangerously close to the Essence. “We can’t leave him,” she wept.

“I know!” Thol flew at the wall and used his tail to propel him toward the fight, like a swimmer using the edge of the pool to turn. He reached for Soleis. He would snatch him to safety so she could leap.

But, at that precise moment, the Water Dragon triumphantly wrestled the stone from Belzaan’s grasp. The Mad King’s face registered shock. The world held its breath. Soleis was half on the ledge. He wobbled, balanced, wobbled again, and his great-grandfather clutched the collar of his shirt. Another split-second, they stared into each other’s eyes. Then, they both splashed into the murky black waters of the wading pool.

“Soleis!” Lola screamed. Thol hovered over where they had fallen. Neither man re-emerged.

“We have to go,” the yellow dragon sighed.

“He’ll resurface! He can breathe underwater. Just give him some time.”

“Lola, the Essence isn’t water…It’s Death.”