Nali stood back as a white tiger with black stripes bounced past them followed by an assortment of different colored dragons, a young dark-haired girl made of mist, and another girl riding on a magic carpet.
“I’m glad my kids aren’t here. I’d never get Roo home,” Drago muttered.
Orion turned his head—and barked out a surprised laugh. “There’s a demented symbiot riding a sea monkey like a battle steed. Dolph and Juno would love this.”
Asahi grimaced. “I told you we should’ve put them in a containment cube instead of the storeroom.”
Nali raised a regal brow. “You saw the way they looked at me! How could I cage them?”
They stepped into the hallway just in time to witness a trail of chaos snaking down the corridor—overturned carts, goblin attendants dazed and tangled in curtain ropes, and one guard frantically trying to dislodge a symbiot from the top of his helmet.
A sea monkey zoomed by, dragging three demented symbiots on a streamer of bedsheets like a parade float.
“Is that one wearing one of Ashure’s hats?” Drago asked.
Orion sighed. “From the color and the spark of the attached feather, I’d say yes.”
Then—laughter.
It began low, a chuckle from Asahi.
Then Drago.
Then all of them, including Nali, who shook her head and let the warmth flood her chest. She leaned lightly against the wall, hand over her mouth as she gave in to the hilarity.
“Only the Dragonlings,” she said through laughter, “could turn breakfast into a full-blown parade of madness.”
“And we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Drago added.
Outside, the echo of goblin war cries and monkey hoots faded into the morning air, punctuated by the occasional clatter of falling dishes.
Chaos, yes.
But it was their chaos.
And for Nali… it was a reminder that even amid worry and responsibility, there was still room for joy.
And definitely room for better locks on the storeroom.
The palace loomed in the distance, gleaming like a polished jewel set into the cliffs. Jabir’s wings caught the updraft as he banked over the harbor, soaring in a slow arc. He’d missed this place—the scent of salt air, the colors of the rooftops, the laughter drifting up from the busy marketplace…
What that? his dragon asked, curious.
That wasn’t normal laughter.
That was screaming.
The hexer-goblins shrieking.
And… was that a sea monkey with a demented symbiot on its back?
“What in the—” Jabir murmured, squinting.
The moment he crested the final ridge and the full market came into view, he pulled up mid-air, hovering in stunned silence.
It was total, glorious, ridiculous chaos.
Hexer-goblins were launching themselves from the top of the tables, some with their fingers spread to gather demented symbiots with telekinesis, some with tablecloths flaring over their heads to capture the tiny mutated creatures, and some swinging the broad side of their wooden brooms like they were scoring a home run every time a symbiot was pinged into a container.
