The Dragon Slayer's Queen
The Elders join hands, adding their own sigils—red, gold, black, an unholy rainbow of power aimed at the rebel children.
Zayla sees it perfectly momentarily: the entire court, the world, frozen between the old and the new. She knows that if they fail now, it’s over.
“Ari, what do we do?”
“You burn. You show them what we are.”
Zayla inhales—her chest explodes in violet fire, a lance of power that carves through the Queen’s storm, splits the dais, and sends half the palace guards tumbling. The Queen recoils, her crown shattered, blood running from her brow. For the first time, she looks afraid.