No, no, no,” I breathed, rushing to the courtyard in the center of Graynar. I heard there was commotion between Boradrith and the D’Sharr and I couldn’t pretend not to know why.

I walked up to the pike that stood mounted with the head of Sillevia, her long, white hair still and lifeless. I told the D’Karr of Sillevia’s plan to have me killed. I begged for him to get rid of her. He was filled with fury and fiery passions for me. I finally got what I wanted.

But seeing her here now, it didn’t feel like anything. Not a victory or a sadness. I just felt numb.

It made me uneasy that Boradrith would make her pay for her crimes and not tell me about it.

I stared up at the vision of her and couldn’t help but notice how empty Graynar was. No one had crowded together to see her here. No one was mourning or cheering. It was just me.

Vaikrand flew down in front of me, the dust flying up into the air as the yellow shifter landed with a large flap of his wings.

I set my jaw and stopped in my tracks, meeting his eyes. “If you’re looking for Athena…” I said unsurely.

“I know exactly where she is,” he said, his eyes flitting about the courtyard. “Boradrith knows.” Then his pupils went wide. “About Kavryiss and you.”

I swallowed hard and felt as though my legs were knocked out from under me. I struggled for breath and spun on my heel. If I could get to Boradrith, I could fix it. I could make him believe me.

“How?” I demanded.

“How else?” he asked with a taunting raise of his brow, gesturing to Sillevia’s body with a single flick of the eye. “He wants…” His voice faded suddenly, and he offered me apologetic eyes, and with a sigh, he mouthed: ‘I’m sorry.’

I turned to follow his sightline and saw Boradrith walking up behind us. He had a hollow stare that seemed to follow him in an unseen shadow: an evil commanding him secretly.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I seethed under my breath as Vaikrand gripped my arm firmly and held it up toward the D’Karr. I scowled wickedly at him.

It seemed the yellow shifter had come to warn me and was caught. So now he would do the exact opposite. He would give me up.

“I found her!” the yellow shifter shouted and jerked me toward Boradrith, still firmly grabbing hold of me. “With your permission, I’ll take her to the tower,” Vaikrand said coolly.

“No,” Boradrith said, looking me over; his golden scales looking hard and dull as he walked closer to me. He grabbed my wrist. “Leave her to me.”

Vaikrand breathed hotly into the air and looked in my direction, never loosening his grip on me. “Let me get rid of her for you,” he said through gritted teeth. “Let me do what needs to be done and save yourself the–”

“No,” the D’Karr waved him off again, raising my chin to him in the same, sweet way he used to do. But his eyes were empty now. “I’d quite like to get it done.”

With a single motion, he ripped me from Vaikrand’s grasp and pulled me into his arms. I grabbed his chest like a small child would and burst into violent sobs.

“Please, Boradrith,” I said with quivering lips.

“I found Kavryiss,” the yellow shifted offered, interrupting me.

“Where?” Boradrith demanded.

“Seized in T’nemtar,” he replied formally. “Shall I bring him to you?”

The D’Karr smiled pointedly and looked down at me. “No,” he said slowly; carefully. “There are lava fields flowing there now, aren’t there?”

Vaikrand swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

“Then that’s where I should like to be.”

Within an instant, I was jettisoned skyward with the D’Karr, and Vaikrand following closely behind.

“Please don’t do this,” I begged desperately, pushing away from him. “I didn’t… Whatever she said was a lie, my love. Please. Why would I do that to you after all you’ve done for me?”

“Hm,” he grunted, but didn’t look at me.

“Please,” I begged, squirming away from his grasp. “Sillevia would say anything to have you hate me. Please.”

“Do you want me to drop you right now?” he seethed calmly, gripping me firmly as the power from his wings shook me with each flutter. I shook my head but said nothing. “Then shut up.”

I balled my fists and looked to the ground below; the diamond-shaped plains of T’nemtar were letting me know that we were close. The fields once held lakes and water. Now those hollows were filled with great rivers of lava, swamping up from the surface and bubbling with oily heat. They radiated from the ground below and set the whole sky into a deep shade or orange.

It was surreal to be held in his grasp amidst the impossibly colored skies, knowing that soon he would get rid of me.

He brought his wings tight to his body and made his decent quicker than I’d ever seen. His eyes scanned the fields for Kavryiss to no avail. We came skidding to a halt, and he tossed me to the ground.

“Why?” It wasn’t a question from him; it was a demand.

I swallowed and got on my knees, crawling up to his feet. “I promise you it was a lie,” I lied desperately. “What reason would I have to do it? You’ve promised me the world, and I love you. Why would you believe her over me?”

He stared down at me, watching my fingers carefully, before his eyes filled with a burning hate.

“Sillevia is not a liar,” he said sharply, crushing his foot down on my hand and turning it painfully from left to right. I let out a sharp scream and pulled my hand from under his grasp. “But you humans are. The lot of you.”

I screamed and cradled my hand against my chest, curled up on the ground before him.

“Kavryiss!” he called to the air, his yellow eyes seeming to glow with vengeance in the lava’s heat. “Come out!”

He stood there in silence and scanned the skies for my love, but nothing came. I could see Vaikrand watching in the distance, but he did nothing.

“What are you?” he asked thoughtfully, walking closer to me and edging me toward a deep pool of red and black magma. He leaned down and grabbed me by my neck, pulling me up off the heavy dirt and raising me to his face, my feet just shy of the ground.

“D'ierdaree?” I croaked, gripping his fingers and desperately trying to pry them from my neck.

He blinked in surprise at the phrase and then let out a loud laugh. “No, no. That other word.”

I stared at him, bloodshot red infesting my eyes as tears spilled down. I felt stoic and strong as I pushed the word out, “Bitch.”

With that, he squeezed my neck harder and held me over the thick, syrupy lava. The orange liquid sloshed around beneath me, and I could feel my legs burning just from getting closer to it.

“Yes,” he smiled. “You are a bitch. I gave you everything. Power. Food. A child. I brought you up from nothing!” he gripped me tighter, breathing hot against my face. "I could have had you slaughtered, but I saw so much in you, Diana. All you could have done for us. You would have ruled beside me, and you would be with him over me?” he raged. "I can't understand it."

"It was a trick," I struggled for breath. "Sillevia set me up."

"So he took you by force?” he seemed suddenly calmer then. His grip on me eased, and he stared down into my eyes, willing himself to believe me. "Then which is it, Diana? Did he take you or was Sillevia lying?"

The tears stopped spilling then; I let out a small gasp, and suddenly my brows drew to a deep frown. I grabbed his hands on my neck and spat at him. The muscles in my neck tightened and I could barely breathe.

"I loved you," I stormed. "And you slept with—”

"That's my right!” he screamed, his voice coming out in a loud bellow of a roar. He seemed wild then; no longer the shifter I knew.

I looked down at the burning lava, felt my legs pinching with heat as though they might melt away from me. I looked back at the dragon I once loved and said tersely, "And so I took my right."

Just as I thought the D’Karr might let me drop into the thick red waters below, I heard Vaikrand let out a deafening cry, and Boradrith turned around, taking me with him.

We looked up, and I heard a crack soar through the sky like nothing I'd ever experienced before. My ears went numb with ringing and immense heat. Looking up to the sky, I heard another boom of vibration, and then the sky went black.