"I don't know what else to do

"I don't know what else to do. She avoids me completely. Last night, everything was perfect, and now…I just don't want you two to leave because of me," Jared confessed to Bryne.

The dragon's glowing green eyes were sympathetic. She gave a rumble, deep in her throat, as if to say, Maybe you pushed a little too early, or too hard.

"Or maybe it was a mistake to try to change her," Jared added glumly. It had been easier than he thought to learn to understand the dragon, not that it helped his mood now. "Maybe she would've been better off if we'd never met. Less pain for her, anyway."

Bryne let out an indignant snort, bent down, and began hissing right in Jared's face. You listen here—no matter what she convinces herself, she needs someone like you! Someone who's willing just to be present. And you think that's not worth having?

Jared fell backwards off his perch in surprise. Friendly or not, having a dragon's face right level with his own was rather frightening.

"Ooff! Okay, okay, I get it!"

"I hope so," said Nadia as she strode in through the doorway. "What do you want?"

"I want to apologize," Jared said nervously. "What I said last night was offensive and inappropriate."

"Do ya think?"

"And I beg your forgiveness. Give this place another chance?"

Nadia's piercing gaze bored into him. "It's not so easy to just forget broken trust. I took a big step out to let myself trust you the first time, and look what I got. How do I know it won't happen again? I just don't think I have the durability to risk it." She turned to go.

"But Nadia, wait! I—"

"I'm sorry, Jared. Be understanding of me one last time, please." She hissed softly to Bryne, and the two walked outside. There was a flurry of activity for a couple of minutes as everyone said goodbye, then a whoosh of air, then nothing. Jared sat down on a pile of rubble, head in hands.

"It's never easy to let go when you care about someone," Quinn said as he wandered in. Jared jumped.

"I didn't hear you coming." He went back to studying the ground.

"Sorry. I couldn't help noticing that she glanced this way more than once, so I figured you couldn't be far."

That got Jared's attention. "She was expecting me to come after her? I thought she'd made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with me."

"Ahh, the complexities of women," chuckled Quinn. "When they have the attention of one certain individual, sooner or later they'll test the relationship—see if your interest lies in them personally, or just because they're female. It's one men never seem to fully pass."

"So deep down, she was hoping I'd try to stop her at any cost?"

Quinn was about to answer, but a roar and several screams distracted him. The pair ran outside.

Just above the crest of the hill, Bryne could be seen dodging a formidable-looking, larger female—one could tell by the narrow head. Every now and then, the new dragon would breathe fire, but to no avail. Why was she so intent on Bryne?

Terror rose in Jared's throat. Nadia was up there. He could only look on, powerless, and the bigger dragon took a swipe at Bryne's back on the next pass. Bryne twisted.

The other roared and dropped lower. Only Jared understood it to be a cry of pain—mixed with some dragon insults hurled at her pale opponent. Bryne hovered to see if she would counter-attack, but it never came. The big female drifted down to the cave and out of sight. Bryne decided it best to head back to the castle.

"Everybody in the shelter!" shouted Quinn. "No one comes out until further notice!"

It was just him, Alex, and Jared by the time Bryne landed.

"Nadia! Are you okay?" Jared ran forward to help the girl down. She had slanted claw marks across her back and arms, miraculously shallow.

"It hurts, but I'll live," she replied wryly, hurrying to make an adjustment to the saddle. "Right now I have to go back."

Oh, no you're not," Quinn interjected. "You're injured, and in no condition to fly. Anyway, what happened? Did you just run into her on the way out?"

Nadia shook her head grimly. "No, I know her, unfortunately. She's the matron dragon of Northern Ireland. You know how there was only one male? Well, that means somebody has to keep everyone in line when he's not around. She's a bully and a tyrant, another reason why we left in the first place. And she's greedy. She said she tracked Bryne when she found out we'd gone, and was here to punish the offenders and claim their feeding grounds."

"But these aren't Bryne's 'feeding grounds,'" said Alex.

"I know. That's why I have to go back—maybe I can negotiate something for her to wrap her twisted mind around."

"You're sure you want to do this?" Quinn asked.

Nadia gazed at him, fear, determination, and apology all showing in her eyes. "I have to. Not just for our sake, but for yours." Her gaze shifted to Jared, who was staring at the ground. "Trust me."

Jared's head snapped up; she was smiling grimly at him. Then, before they could stop her, she had remounted, and they were off toward the cave. The three on the ground watched with bated breath.

Bryne landed outside the cave. For nearly five minutes, nothing seemed to happen. Suddenly the larger female zoomed into view, knocking the tiny figure of Nadia to the ground. Jared started for the gate, only to have Quinn grab him by the back of his coat.

"There's nothing you can do, Jared!" he hissed, holding him back.

"No…" Jared moaned. "She can't be…"

Bryne dealt the other dragon a hefty enough blow to drive her back into hiding, picked up something off the ground, and flew as fast as she could for the castle. Landing deftly on her hind legs, she gently deposited Nadia into Quinn's arms. Furious hissing and short roars followed.

"I—I—" Quinn tried to say. Jared held up a hand to silence him.

"W-wait, slow down," he told Bryne. After much agitation from the white dragon, he took a deep breath and turned to Quinn and Alex. "Uh, okay, I think. She said that the other dragon gave them only two responses—to attack the castle imminently, and invisible fire." At this, Jared looked quizzically at Bryne.

"What's invisible fire?" asked Quinn. Apprehension showed on his face.

Bryne started up again, and Jared tried to listen and interpret at the same time. "It's—it's not really fire. It burns you up from the inside. Few dragons have the ability, but it's deadly and hard to detect at first. Here, it hasn't shown up yet. She's just unconscious from the impact of the dragon's charge."

All eyes immediately fell on Nadia. After several moments' search, Jared discovered a tiny, tooth-like barb pinning her chain to her neck. He picked it up for Quinn to inspect.

Quinn's conclusion was summed up in one word: "Poison."

"Is there any cure for it?" Jared asked Bryne desperately. She thought hard before choosing her response with apparent care. Jared swallowed hard before translating for Quinn and Alex. "She says…the only way to counter invisible fire is with the blood of the dragon whose fire it is. And Nadia only has a couple hours, at best."

Alex put a hand to her mouth. Quinn stared knowingly at Jared, who remained steadfast in his decision.

"I have to do it, Quinn. You know I do."