The Dragon Slayer's Queen
Zayla reached the pillar, grabbed Bella’s arm, and pulled—only to find herself yanked off her feet and slammed to the floor by the Queen, whose hands radiated a green, predatory fire.
“You have to let go, Daughter,” the Queen hissed, her face inches from Zayla’s. The words were both a curse and an order. “Cordiva survives if you kill her now.”
But Zayla saw through the Queen’s intentions. For the first time, she perceived her mother not as a monarch but as a caged animal, desperate enough to sacrifice her own children to the darkness. Zayla, blood in her mouth, spat out the word: “No.”