The Dragon Slayer's Queen
The scepter pulses once, twice, and the world splits in three: Zayla and Bella, fused in a shell of ice and fire; Mariah, crawling with black veins as she channels all the Council’s stolen magic into a single stroke; and the storm above, spiraling tighter, waiting for the blood to settle.
Bella’s voice is in Zayla’s head, panicked but clear. “I can’t hold it much longer, Zee. It hurts.”
Zayla squeezes her sister’s hand and says, “Then we burn together.”
Ari roars: “Hold nothing back.”
The convergence circle glows hot enough to melt bone. Zayla and Bella, side by side now, gather the last of their strength. Bella’s ice meets Zayla’s fire and fuses into something new—a cold, blue flame that ea