Carly sighed as her gaze remained glued to Drago’s fading figure. She would never get tired of watching him shift into a dragon. She lifted her hand to push her hair out of her eyes when a gentle breeze caught it. Lowering her hand, she couldn’t resist pinching herself to see if all of this was real.

“Ouch! Yep, it’s real,” she said with a disbelieving shake of her head.

So much had happened in just twenty-four hours that her head was swirling. She froze as she turned when a horrible thought popped into her head. Her gaze swept over the walls of the palace to the ocean.

What if time moved faster here than it did back in Yachats?

“Jenny could be a little old lady! I have to find a way back. I have to at least let Jenny know I’m okay,” she said, glancing back at the table where the barely touched breakfast was before looking in the direction Drago had disappeared.

With a determined nod, Carly turned back to the table and gathered the dishes. She would take the fruit and nuts with her. There was no telling how long Drago would be gone or how long she would be for that matter.

Carly thought about what she would do and Drago’s warning for her to stay in the palace. Since where she was going was still technically a part of the building, she wasn’t disobeying him. She was smart enough to know that if a dragon said to stay put, that meant there might be bigger and meaner things out there than he was. She might be clumsy, but she wasn’t too stupid to live – well, most of the time. Exercising didn’t count.

First, she would find a way down to the lower levels. From what she could see, there were a lot of levels in the palace. Then, she would find a way beneath it until she found the cavern with all the gold and jewels. Once she found that, it wouldn’t take long to find the passage, hike the rest of the trail, hope she hadn’t gotten a parking ticket – or worse, her car had been towed – then drive home, call Jenny, tell her that everything would be fine, quit her job, gather all her personal belongings, drive back, hike up, squeeze through, and be back.

“All of that should only take me about a week,” Carly sighed, walking down the hallway to get her backpack. “I’ll have to leave Drago a note. Argh! What if he can’t read it? What if our written language is different and the only reason we can talk to each other is because of the magic here? There is no guarantee that it will work for writing.”

She groaned in frustration. Opening her backpack, she placed it on the bed and rummaged through it, searching for the small notepad at the bottom. She grunted in triumph when her fingers closed over the paper and pen. Pulling them out, she sat on the edge of the bed and thought about what she could write to convey what she was doing.

She decided that stick figures worked. She carefully drew out a picture of herself with her backpack going down the stairs to the cavern below. Next, she drew a figure of herself going through the passageway to her world. Drawing out the mountain and a line for the trail down to her car, she added a series of stick figures.

Turning the page, she continued drawing pictures of herself in her car going to her house. There, she added her backpack bulging along with a suitcase. By the time she was done and coming back to the palace, she had used up ten of the small square pages of the notepad she’d gotten from the bank. Numbering the corner of each page, she placed them in sequence on the bed.

“That should work,” she said, gazing down at the drawings and following them to make sure they made sense.

Carly thought the added touch of her hugging Drago in his dragon form should be enough to reassure him that she was coming back. Satisfied that she had done everything she could to communicate clearly with him, she picked up her backpack and crossed the bedroom to the door. She turned and glanced at the bed, remembering waking up in Drago’s arms just a few hours ago.

“I’ll be back. I promise,” she swore before turning and hurrying down the hallway and out of the doors.

The warmth of the sun caressed his scales and heated his body as much as the anger coursing through him. Drago soared through the air with a deadly purpose. His piercing gaze swept over the land below him, searching for the cause of the unease building inside him.

His lips tightened when he caught sight of the ship offshore. He swerved over the tall trees and down along the treacherous cliffs. Weaving in and out of the towering rocks rising from the sea, he flew closer to the ship. Reaching out, he slowed enough to grasp onto one of the large, black rock towers. He gripped the uneven rock face, clinging to it with his claws, and worked his way to the side until he could see the ship.

Monster! he thought with distaste.

His lip curled as the large ship touched down on the water. Each of the four winged creatures which were carrying it landed on a long perch – two in the front and two in the back. The four beasts were sleek, covered in blue-green feathers, and had long, wispy tails that snapped in the wind. Small bolts of lightning interconnected them, effectively warning any to keep their distance. Each beast had four translucent wings that folded back against their bodies. Drago could see the lines of electricity running through the veins in their wings. Their heads were long and narrow and their beaks filled with razor sharp teeth.

Drago watched as a slender, dark skinned woman climbed up the steps to the bow of the ship. He would have recognized that confident stride and jerk of her head anywhere – Nali. The Empress of the Isle of the Monsters was as beautiful as she was deadly. She was also smart enough and powerful enough to feel the wards he had spun around the Isle and made sure that she kept her ship just far enough out to sea to let him know it was there without becoming entangled in the spell.

He pushed back against the rock. His wings opened and he twisted. Using the wind to give him the lift he needed to rise above the pillars, he soared upward.

Drago kept a healthy distance from the thunderbirds perched on each corner of the ship. High above the vessel, he locked gazes with Nali. She returned his heated gaze with a steady one of her own. The thunderbirds snapped their beaks at him as shafts of white hot energy danced along the veins of their translucent wings. Nali’s chin lifted and her hands shot out in warning to the creatures protecting her.

“Drago! It is true. You have awakened,” Nali called out when she saw him.

“What do you want Empress?” Drago demanded.

“I need your help,” she admitted.

Drago’s eyes narrowed. Unease washed through him at her admission. His first thought was to deny her, but something held him back. How had she known he had awakened?

“Calm your beasts, Empress,” Drago ordered.

“Yetiz!” Nali ordered with a wave of her hands.

The thunderbirds immediately calmed. Drago’s gaze moved to the crew warily watching him. Nali sensed his hesitation. A reluctant smile curved her lips. She raised her right arm and snapped her fingers. Within seconds, the men and women aboard disappeared below deck.

Drago circled the ship once before coming in for a landing. His wings folded and he shifted less than a meter from the ship, landing on the upper deck near the helm. He ignored Nali’s raised eyebrow at this maneuver which placed him above her.

“How did you know I slept?” Drago demanded, folding his arms across his chest and watching Nali walk toward him.

“No dragons have been seen for years – since the Great Battle ended. It was known those who came to trade with the Isle of the Dragon either returned empty handed, unable to find entrance through the mists, or did not return at all,” Nali stated.

“That does not explain how you knew I slept and that I had awakened,” Drago retorted.

Nali’s expression softened. “Your dragons were not the only ones affected by the Sea Witch’s magic. When one of my cyclops’ ships did not return, I sent another and then another. One by one, each ship failed to return. Finally, two of my crew members were rescued. They explained what they had seen to me. I came to see for myself and felt the wards you had spun. I could see beyond the veil and saw the tainted remains of the Sea Witch’s evil. I knew from the spells cast that you lived, but all the Goddess’ Mirror revealed was your slumbering form,” she admitted with a rueful smile.

“You would use the Goddess’ magic to spy on me?” Drago demanded, dropping his arms to his sides and stepping toward Nali.

Nali warily moved from one foot to the other on the bottom step. Drago paused at the top and placed his hands on each side of the railing. His fingers dug into the wood at the violation to the sacred magical agreement between Kingdoms not to use the Goddess’ gift against another kingdom.

“I was desperate, Drago. The Sea Witch’s darkness is threatening my kingdom also. I fought it as long as I could, but even we are not infallible. My powers are weakening, dark threads are creeping up out of the ocean and slowly killing my kingdom. My people are in danger,” Nali fervently explained.

“The Goddess’ Mirror was given to you to protect your people, not to spy on me, Nali. It is against the Laws of the Seven Kingdoms to use a gift from the Goddess on another Kingdom,” Drago argued.

“I did use it in order to protect my people! It does not show me everything, but I saw the strange woman who awakened you, and I am certain she is the key to saving us all. The Goddess gave you the Dragon’s Heart to protect your people, Drago, do not tell me that you would not have used it to save them if you could have,” Nali retorted, suddenly angry. She waved her hands toward his kingdom. “What do you want me to do – let my subjects perish like yours have done?”

Drago paused to contain his fury, then spoke in a measured voice. “You have brought the Goddess’ Mirror out into the open – into the ocean, and it did not occur to you that doing so tempts the Sea Witch to take it from you?” he challenged.

“If she did obtain it, she would see nothing,” Nali insisted in a quiet voice.

Drago shook his head. “You do not know that,” he said.

Nali lifted her chin in defiance. “The mirror is a reflection of the Goddess’ soul, Drago. It reflects the hope inside her and cannot be used for evil – despite what the Sea Witch wishes. The Goddess’ Mirror was only banned because you and the other rulers do not understand it. As an extra precaution, I also ensured that neither she nor anyone else can see what the mirror holds,” she informed him.

Drago’s gaze narrowed on Nali’s face. For a brief second, sorrow glittered in her eyes before it was replaced with a confident mask once again. His gut – and his dragon – told him that he would have done anything to save his people, even if it meant violating their most sacred treaty. These were truly desperate times. He also knew without a doubt that she had told him far more than she wished to about the mirror, and he would learn nothing more about it. Releasing a tense sigh, he shook his head.

“There is nothing I can do to help you, Nali. My people are gone. My only desire now is to find and kill the Sea Witch,” he stated, looking over the bow to his kingdom.

“I know what happened to your people. Many sea monkeys saw your people beneath the waves near the cliffs, their bodies turned to stone,” Nali said, climbing the steps until she stood in front of him. “There may be a way to save them, but not if you kill the Sea Witch. I saw it in the mirror. Something otherworldly controls her. If you and Orion can capture her, you can kill it. Once free, the Sea Witch could reverse her spells.”

Drago looked down at Nali with a hard expression. “Nothing controls the Sea Witch but her own greed for power. I will capture her, but only to end her life. Leave the waters around my kingdom, Empress, there is nothing left here for you or anyone else,” he ordered.

“You are wrong, Drago. If you kill the Sea Witch without killing the creature that has taken over her body, you will condemn all of us,” Nali warned.

Drago shook his head. “There is no creature, Nali. I saw her. I saw what she did. Return to your kingdom. I hope you are more successful at protecting your people than I was at protecting mine.”

“Drago… You obstinate dragon! The creature is not from…,” Nali began to insist before she threw up her hands in exasperation. “Fine! If you will not listen to me, then I will seek Orion’s support to stop you!” she threatened.

Drago heard Nali’s reply, but didn’t respond. Stepping back, he shifted into his dragon and swept upward. The thunderbirds, sensing his turbulent emotions, glowed with the electricity inside them. Turning back toward the land, Drago soared upward and landed on one of the tall spires of rock that rose from the ocean floor.

Nali stared at him for several long minutes before he saw her turn and snap out a command. Her crew appeared from the companionway and lower hatches, pouring onto the deck. The thunderbirds’ wings spread wide, electricity crackling in the air. The crew harnessed the energy using long, iron rods that channeled the energy to the engines. The beasts rose into the air, lifting the ship by the harnesses attached to them.

Drago watched from his perch as Nali cast him one last, frustrated look before motioning for the ship’s helmsman to turn the craft around. It wasn’t until the ship was a distant smudge on the horizon that Drago turned his attention away. He twisted on the rock and pushed off. He would fly around the isle to ensure he had no more visitors, then he would return to Carly.