“Aren’t you going to beg for your life, and the lives of your sisters, Princess?”
Zinnia felt a flash of fury, so potent it drove out even her fear. But a small whimper from behind her checked the rising tide of her reckless anger. This wasn’t about her pride. She didn’t think the dragon would show mercy—he didn’t seem the type. But if there was any chance, however slim, she had to think of her sisters, not herself.
“Yes,” she said, through gritted teeth. “For the lives of my sisters, I beg you to overlook the offense.”
The dragon’s reptilian lips curved into a truly terrifying smile. “Yes,” he breathed. “Your spark is strong, Princess. Very strong.” He withdrew his head, casting a contemptuous gaze over the group at large. “The silence of all of you is easily achieved.”
When the words finished, his enormous mouth stayed open. Zinnia felt the heat of his breath on her face, saw a shimmer in the moonlit air, and felt something heavy settle over her, like an invisible net. Gasps from behind her suggested that she wasn’t the only one to feel it, whatever it was.
“But you,” the dragon continued, as if his speech had been uninterrupted, “you have more to give. I think you will make an informative subject. I suppose the others may be worth considering,” he added lightly. “They are, after all, royal. But your spark is the one I want.”
“What do you mean my spark?” Zinnia demanded, bracing herself. “What did you do to us?”
With a guttural chuckle, the dragon opened his mouth wide again, his breath so hot on Zinnia’s skin that she actually cried out, sure she was about to be burned into nothingness, like the enchanter. She heard her sisters screaming behind her, and she clenched her teeth against the pain. But just as it became unbearable, the heat stopped abruptly. Zinnia opened her eyes, looking warily up at the dragon, who once again seemed amused.
“What did you do to me?” she growled.
The dragon smiled, giving no answer.
“If I’m the one you want,” Zinnia tried again, “then let my sisters go home.”
“Oh, you can all go home now,” said the dragon, sounding faintly surprised. “I have no more use for you at present.”
“We…we can?” Zinnia asked, dumbfounded. “We can just leave?”
“You will be seeing me again,” the dragon assured her. His eyes seemed to bore straight into Zinnia’s soul. “Especially you, Princess.”
Then, without a word, he bent into a crouch, taking to the air with a rush of wind that made Zinnia’s hair whip once more around her. She covered her face with an arm, and when she again looked up, the dark sky was empty of all but stars.
She turned slowly, met with eleven pairs of confused and terrified eyes. And she had no more comfort than answers to offer them.
* * *
