“I wonder what would happen if we fed one a piece of the mushroom?” Roam added.
“You’re not helping,” Spring growled, elbowing Roam.
“A gift?” Nali grinned, her curiosity piqued. “Now I’m truly intrigued.”
Phoenix looked up at her with a faint smile. “You’re braver than the rest of us.”
“I am the Empress of the Monsters. I’ve faced a few scary things in my time. What’s the worst two dragonlings could give me?”
“Don’t ask that,” Orion muttered.
Drago, chuckling, added, “Think of your sea monkeys crossed with Ashure’s delightful personality.”
“Ohh, now that sounds exciting,” she chuckled, reaching for the box Jade was holding.
“We’re doomed,” Alice groaned loudly.
Adaline whispered to Zohar, “It’s a good thing I can turn into mist. I’ll rescue you guys.”
Bálint sighed dramatically. “Let’s hope the dungeons are lovely this time of year.”
Nali laughed. She hadn’t felt this entertained in a long while.
She peered inside the box, her lips parting with delight. Asahi peeked over her shoulder, chuckling when he saw dozens of misshaped eyes gazing up at them. She quickly closed the lid before the creatures could escape. She would need to find a very special place for these creatures to live—a place where they could enjoy creating chaos and be the little monsters that they were.
The village was in pandemonium.
Jabir sprinted down the narrow path, his boots hammering the boards of the dock as the air filled with shouting. The smell of churned lake water and wet wood hit his nose, sharp and briny like metal. Beyond the end of the dock, the lake—usually as calm as glass—boiled in violent swells, dark green water frothing as if something huge moved beneath its surface.
His heart lurched. Out on the water, Jack’s rowboat pitched sideways, oars useless against the sudden waves. Jack clung to the sides, his paws scrambling for a grip to balance him.
“Jack!” Cory’s scream carried across the dock. “Jack!”
Jabir’s stomach dropped as the boat rocked violently. Jack’s grip broke. In an instant, he was in the water, his arms flailing as the boat spun away like a toy.
“Hold on!” Jabir shouted, but the roar of the churning water swallowed his voice.
Jack disappeared beneath the surface. For a heartbeat—then two—Jabir couldn’t breathe. Then Jack broke through again, coughing, fighting whatever was pulling at him and tugging the boat farther away.
Jabir didn’t think—he just moved.
Power thrummed through his blood as he called forth his dragon mid-stride. Bones shifted, wings burst free with a crack of air, and sapphire scales rippled down his arms in a wave of heat. By the time his boots left the dock, he was already a dragon, his wings slicing the wind, his tail snapping behind him like a whip.
Faster, faster, faster, he encouraged his dragon.
The water roiled angrily below. His eyes locked on Jack as he sank, struggling, beneath the surface. His dragon’s voice roared inside his skull: He too big. Boat. Get him to boat.
Jabir’s claws flexed. I know. Just get him out of the water first. We can do this!
From above, he could see the sirens—silver streaks, sinuous and glinting under the waves, wrapping their hands around Jack’s legs like living chains. His stomach twisted, and he dove.
He folded his wings tight, stretched out his claws, and hit the water with a massive splash. A few feet down, his claws closed around the back of Jack’s collar. Jack’s head jerked back, his eyes wide with terror as Jabir yanked him clear of the grasping silver shapes. Water churned around them, biting and dense, slapping at Jabir’s wings.
“Hold on!” he growled, his dragon’s voice vibrating through the water.
With frantic wing beats, he broke the surface and dragged Jack toward the boat, the effort burning through his muscles. Jack lunged for the rowboat, his sharp claws catching the side, and hauled himself over the gunwale, coughing and sputtering.
Push the boat, he hissed to his dragon. Get Jack to shore.
