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Because the floor dropped beneath me. I plummeted through the sky.
* * *
Branok
I flew franticallytoward my brother’s location, but long before I could reach him, I caught a glimpse of him—as the stone island fell apart. He fell through the air.
The next second, a small golden dragon darted up toward him. She looked as if she were going to catch him, but then she began to move downward. His body plummeted toward her and she kept going lower, until he finally slammed into her body. A few seconds later, both of them slammed into the earth.
I skimmed low to the ground and clipped a few trees in my desperation to get to my brother. I transformed back, only to find Lynx and Alina sitting in the grass.
“Gods, you terrified me,” Lynx complained.
“If I’d snatched you out of the air, I could’ve broken your spine,” she said. “I was trying to match our speeds.”
“You were trying to make me die of nerves,” he shot back, but he was grinning at her. “You were brilliant, Alina.”
I stared at her open-mouthed. “You?”
“I know it seems insane a mere female like your sister could be a dragon, even for a moment,” she said drily. To Lynx, she said warmly, “Thanks for letting me borrow your wings.”
“Any time,” Lynx said. “We need to get Lucien down.”
We all looked up. He seemed to be looking down over the edge from as far toward the center of the broken island as he could be, and he was shouting something none of us could hear.
“I can’t transform back,” Alina said worriedly.
“I gave you all my magic,” Lynx said. “I don’t have anymore.”
The two of them looked at me.
I didn’t even know what the hell they wanted yet, for sure, but I swore anyway. I knew that look, when they were conspiring, and it never ended well for me. “What?”
It took some persuading for them to convince me to give all my magic over to Alina. “Then the three of us will all be helpless.”
Alina scoffed at me. “You’re never helpless, Branok.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I ended up giving her my power and as she soared up toward Lucien, I told Branok, “I thought I was coming to save you, but it seems you never needed me anyway.”
“I always need you.” Lynx nodded at our sister, soaring through the sky. “And so does she. We’re family.”
“We’re a mess.”
“It’s possible to be both.”
When Alina landed, she seemed to be braced for my reaction. “I’m sure you’re annoyed not to be the hero.”
I swallowed a suggestion I had plenty of experience being the hero and I was happy for others to shoulder their fair share. She didn’t need my usual sarcasm; she needed the truth. “Alina… you were amazing. I am so proud of you.”
Her lips parted in surprise. She hadn’t expected those words.
And I hadn’t expected the sudden tears that came to her eyes.
She turned away, her cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment. “Sorry. You know our asshole father never said any such thing—I don’t know what came over me—”
“Alina.” I gripped her shoulder, spun her to face me. The sight of my little sister’s face creased as she tried to hold back tears never failed to make my heart drop, even if she was barely younger than me. “I’m sorry.”
I pulled her into a hug, and she hugged me back hard.
