The mood was somber as the fighting died down.

Cinira and her guards touched down on the tower roof after Ashur and she walked over to the edge to survey the destruction of her city.

The worst of it was nearby, buildings that were still on fire, though her people were trying to put them out. Parts of some buildings were also crumpled in and damaged from falling bodies, both dragons and phoenixes alike. What was just hours ago a beautiful fairy-tale setting now looked like a war zone. Which was exactly what it had just become.

Ashur pulled me in close and I took a moment just to breathe in his scent, absorb the comfort of his arms around me. We were still alive.

That wasn't the case with everybody.

I pulled back and looked over at Cinira, lit by the glow of the fire from her city. The devastation she was feeling wasn't clear in her stoic expression, but I could see it in her eyes, in the way her shoulders stooped slightly when she usually had an almost military straight posture.

I looked up at Ashur.

"Go," he urged, his arms sliding off me. "She needs you right now."

I kissed his cheek softly, sliding a hand down his chest. Then I walked over to Cinira. I could feel the stares from her guards, though they didn't try to stop me. I wouldn't have blamed them if they had.

This was all my fault. I felt like wherever I went, destruction followed me.

When I reached Cinira at the wall, I licked my lips, not knowing how to start.

"I'm...sorry," I finally said quietly. "I should never have come here. They only attacked because they knew this was where I was." I cleared my throat. "We'll leave immediately."

There was no denying that my conclusion was true. I was certain if I changed forms and flew above the city, Cinira's tower would be at the center of what looked like a giant bullseye.

Cinira shook her head, not even looking over at me.

"Don't waste time blaming yourself for somebody else's actions," she said in a hard tone. "You didn't order this attack." She turned to me, her eyes hard, all softness gone. This was the leader that her people knew would keep them safe. "But we both know who did."

She turned sharply headed directly for the door leading into the tower. I hurried after her, Ashur and the guards falling into step with us.

"What are you going to do?" I asked as we headed down in the elevator. And I realized she was going to her study.

"I don't believe in beating around the bush when I can go straight to the source," she explained, marching into her study and sitting down at her desk, firing up her computer. "Emberich will be waiting for my message. The bastard."

I met Ashur's eyes. He shrugged.

"I wouldn't put it past him," he murmured.

I moved to stand behind her and watched her as she typed out an email.

It felt a little anticlimactic in terms of the mode of messaging someone after being attacked, but how else was she going to get this over to him this fast?

Is this a declaration of war?

That was all she wrote. She hit send.

The response was almost instantaneous. Cinira knew Emberich well enough to predict that he would be waiting for her message.

I don't know what you're talking about.

That was it. I saw Cinira narrow her eyes at the screen, her lips pressing into a thin line.

I have sustained casualties. And I have your people imprisoned. Don't play coy.

She hit send again.

Again, an almost immediate response.

I do not know what you are talking about. If you have any of my people, they acted without my knowledge, my permission, or my orders. Do with them what you will.

"That son of a bitch," Cinira muttered, leaning back in her chair. "He's just going to leave his people to rot."

That was what it looked like.

"What now?" I asked, frowning.

What did you do when someone attacked and then denied the act itself?

"This is an act of war, whether or not Emberich admits to it," she said grimly. "He's more of an idiot than I thought if he thinks otherwise. Perhaps this is simply a ploy to absolve himself of guilt in his own people's eyes in case they suffer any retaliation." She shook her head. "Some of my people are dead. I cannot—I will not—let that stand." She looked up at me. "It looks like you might get your wish after all."

It was my turn to shake my head.

"It was never my wish," I murmured.

Cinira sighed.

"Even so. If this is to be done, we will have to go through the proper channels. If Emberich decides to officially declare an all-out war, he has more than enough numbers to wipe out Ashur's skein and mine without breaking a sweat." She stood up and braced her arms against the desk, looking at all of us. "It's time to send out a call for the other Dragon Lords."

Her eyes went to the window overlooking the flickering fires that were just starting to be put out, her eyes reflecting them eerily.

"This is war."