“I need to find Mira.”

Allegra gasped and whirled at the sound of Gia’s voice, her hand over her heart.

“Gia! You scared me,” she laughed nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to find Mira. Now.” There was a flatness in her own tone that Gia didn’t recognize. Allegra must’ve heard it, too, because she stared closely at Gia.

“Are you all right?”

“Tell me where to find Mira,” Gia said, her tone growing aggravated. “It’s important.”

Allegra’s eyes narrowed. “Gia, what’s going on?”

“You tell me,” Gia answered. “Was I somehow part of this plan? Is that why you befriended me?” Allegra’s face paled, and Gia saw a shadow of worry cross her eyes before she had a chance to hide it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Allegra insisted. “Why don’t you come and sit down?” She gestured at a nearby stool close to the display counter.

“You really do think I’m gullible and stupid, don’t you?” Gia hissed, folding her arms defiantly. “Is that why you picked me to be a pawn in your plan? All that talk about me sticking up for myself and being stronger… I bet you and Mira had a good laugh at my expense.”

“Gia, I don’t know—”

“Stop it!” she screamed, her voice ricocheting through the boutique like gunfire. “I’m onto you, Allegra! I know why you and Mira met in secret! I know about the uprising!”

This time, Allegra couldn’t hide her shock. She stepped back from Gia, and when she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. “Who told you? Do the dragons know?”

Pain and betrayal surged through Gia like a hot knife.

“Where is Mira?” she demanded through clenched teeth. “I need to know where she is so she can stop this before it’s too late.”

Allegra moved around the side of the counter, her arms extended as if she wanted to embrace Gia. Gia was having none of it.

“Don’t touch me!” she spat. “Don’t pretend to be my friend! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve trapped an innocent man and caused a war in your own home, and for what? What benefit could this be to you?”

“Gia, you don’t understand,” Allegra said softly. “You weren’t around when the dragons were different, when we all lived in fear every day. We know what they’re capable of, and some of us worry that they will fall back into their old ways.”

“Some of you like Mira?” Gia scowled. “Where is she? She needs to undo what she’s done.”

Allegra shook her head sadly. “I don’t know where she is, Gia. I swear I don’t!”

Like she would tell her even if she did know. It was clear where Allegra’s loyalties lay, and they weren’t with Gia.

The fairy scoffed and spun away, her heart swollen with disappointment. She had trusted Allegra so much, and that had been a mistake she was decided not to repeat. If Gia survived the upcoming war, she would never let her guard down again.

“Gia, wait!” Allegra begged. “I really don’t know where she is! When word got out that Lennox had been dethroned, the attack plan went into action. Without a ruler in the palace, no decisions can be made. The dragons have always harbored a sick brotherly rivalry amongst themselves, one that blinds them to anything else going on around them. It’s their weakness: the envy of one another.”

“Lennox is not envious of anyone!” Gia cried, tears burning behind her lids. “He just wanted to be free to love me!” The second the words left her mouth, she was struck by a sudden realization that made her gasp. “You knew this would happen! That’s why you set me up to work in the palace! You knew this stupid clause would be grounds to overthrow him! You set me up, too!”

“It was a plan we fashioned before I got to know you!” Allegra sobbed, tears rolling down her pale cheeks. “I didn’t realize how much I would grow to love you. I meant what I said about you. You’re special and—”

“You’re the devil!” Gia hissed, spinning to storm away. “And now you can live with the fact that you’ve double-crossed a woman who would have done anything for you. I hope you can say the same about Mira.”

She ran from the store before her own tears could begin to flow, shaking with shame and devastation. Her best friend had set her up with her fated mate, knowing that she was going to wedge them apart.

Gia knew she couldn’t waste time wallowing in self-pity. Mira had to be found and stopped. She had a job to do. She just had no idea how to do it.

“Castor, if this is some sort of trick, I promise you’ll spend the rest of eternity in limbo,” Reef growled, following the servant through the bowels of the palace, toward the glass room that held Lennox.

“It’s not a trick,” Castor quickly assured him. “I am just repeating what His Highness—”

“He’s not ‘His Highness’ anymore,” Wilder chirped. His brothers chuckled.

“This is not a matter to be taken lightly,” Castor said sharply. “Moreover, I believe what he is saying is true.”

“Why do you think so?” Keppler asked curiously. “Have you heard rumors?”

“Whiffs and innuendos,” Castor answered. “But I have been under your employ for so long; a rebellion is not apt to come looking to me for assistance. I am as good as the enemy to the rest of the Hollows.”

“You’re making it sound like they have been planning this for eons, waiting to lock us away.” Castor remained silent as he led the way to the glass cage. “Castor?” Keppler urged. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“I’m saying that some of the oldest souls and immortals have been waiting for a chance to get back at you for stealing the peace of the Hollows.”

“It was you and the vampires who eradicated the peace of the Hollows, if it ever really existed,” Reef spat. “They can’t blame us.”

“Well,” Castor mumbled. “They do.”

None of them spoke another word, making their way toward Lennox in silence.

Lennox stopped his pacing inside his glass cage when he heard the door to the room open. He sighed in relief at the sight of Castor, followed by his four brothers.

“Oh, thank the gods, you all came!” he exhaled. “You have to let me out!”

In unison, all four dragons outside the case burst into laughter.

“I told you this was bullshit,” Owen muttered, turning away. “Come on.”

“It’s not bullshit!” Lennox exclaimed. “I am only in power because I was granted a wish by a pixie.”

Wilder’s face contorted with rage. “That’s forbidden!” he howled. “Which pixie? I’ll have her head stuffed and mounted in the game room!”

“Her name is Mira,” Lennox said, “and Gia is looking for her. But you can’t kill her until she reverses the spell!”

Reef scoffed. “You sent a meek little fairy to find a mischievous pixie? If she has any idea you’re looking for her, she could be anywhere in Sunside or the Hollows!”

“Not if she’s leading the rebellion,” Lennox replied. “You didn’t ask me what my wish was.”

“What rebellion?” Keppler asked. At least he seemed willing to hear Lennox out. “What did you wish for, Lennox?”

“I wished to take over power from Wilder.”

His brothers were silent for a long moment, their gazes turning toward the most static of them all. They were probably trying to envision a world with Wilder in charge, having forgotten how it had been like before Lennox’s wish was granted.

“Lennox,” Wilder began, the anger in his voice barely restrained. “If this is true—”

“We don’t have time to bicker about this!” Lennox exploded, shaking his head in disbelief. “Mira is not here to reverse what she’s done, and we have a battle coming to our walls! We have to prepare!”

“So let them come,” Owen said. “We’ll blow them out of the water like we have before. What the hell do we need you for? Unless you’re distracting us as a part of their rebellion.”

His brother’s eyes turned to Lennox, staring at him with suspicion.

“Let me out!” Lennox yelled, holding back an exasperated groan. “The Hollows are twice as populated as they were in the last uprising! You can’t be down a dragon if you hope to win! It took every ounce of energy to make it through the last one. Be reasonable!”

“We’ll survive,” Wilder said coldly, and Lennox could see he was still furious about the news he had learned. “You better pray that your girlfriend finds that pixie and that she reverses the spell.”

“My lords, I highly suggest you listen to him,” Castor offered tentatively. “As I said, I don’t believe he’s—”

“For all we know, you’re in on it, too!” Owen shouted. “And what about that scared little fairy? What is she hiding?”

“You leave Gia the hell out of this!” Lennox roared, slamming his fists against the glass so hard that everyone jumped back. “She is trying to save your oblivious asses!”

“You do seem awfully defensive,” Reef muttered.

Lennox felt his blood rushing into his head as he realized that he was not getting through to his brothers. A war was at their doorsteps, and they were too busy having a pissing contest to notice.

Oh, Gia, he thought. Please tell me you’ve found Mira. She’s our only hope right now. I can feel them closing in.

“Guys, you need to listen to me,” Lennox begged, knowing that his words were falling on deaf ears. “We’re probably already too late!”

“I thought your girlfriend was coming back?” Wilder mocked him. “I’ve heard enough. If there’s any truth to this, we can’t be down here distracted by our self-serving brother. We need to be ready. Let’s go.”

Lennox could do nothing except stare helplessly after his brothers as they turned toward the door. He had hoped that Gia would have better luck locating Mira, but Mira was not the only pixie with the power to grant a wish.

“Find another pixie and have her reverse the spell!” Lennox yelled out to them. “Any pixie! Just go into the palace and pick one!”

His brothers paused. Keppler, Owen, and Reef half-turned back to him while Wilder kept his back to Lennox. Lennox could see, though, that they were all considering the idea. Unfortunately, he knew that only Wilder would be willing to do such a thing.

After all, there was no benefit to the others if they were not in power.

“We can sit down after things go back to the way they were meant to be!” Lennox cried, losing what little patience he had left. “We can work something out so that none of us is in absolute control, but for now, we need to undo what’s been done! Please!”

A long silence followed his plea, and Lennox held his breath, waiting for at least one of his brothers to oblige, to listen to his request.

After a moment, Keppler breathed deeply. “All right,” he said. “We’ll go find a pixie—”

An explosion rocked the foundation they stood upon, causing debris to fall and crumble around them.

“What the hell was that?” Owen yelled.

Lennox closed his eyes as a second explosion followed shortly after, and he heard the screams overhead as the palace ran for cover.

“We’re too late,” he moaned quietly. “The attack has begun.”