It was a silent walk until they finally reached an area where the land finally stopped for a little bit before reaching over to an island. Spectrum was the first to cross, eager and quick. Jackal helped nudge Caldera on, the small dragonet barely standing up by now.
"We can rest as soon as we get to the island." Jackal said. "It's too late to stop now."
With Mallow helping, the two managed to nudge Caldera over the small stream of water.
Spectrum stood in front of them. Jackal walked so then he could see what she was looking at. Just in front of her talons sat a stone with something scribbled on it.
Mallow moved to the other side of Spectrum. "Here lies Rainbow, forever a burden and curse." Mallow read. "Well, that's much better than what Vervain put on Frute's grave."
"She said she'd be here when I woke up." Spectrum said. "She promised me she'd be here. She'd never make a promise she couldn't keep. I was going to do this by her side…but all I have is this grave and a broken heart." With venom in her eyes that rivaled her previous sadness, she turned to Mallow and Jackal. Jackal noticed that Caldera had already fallen asleep. "I guess you want to know why I was trapped in that cave."
"That was the deal." Mallow said.
"Well, then." Spectrum replied. "Long ago, there was a dragonet who played with her sister in harmless fun. One day the adults saw something involving the dragonet. A dark future with no possible way to avoid it. The next night, the dragonet was trapped. The last words she heard were her sister's; I'll be there when you wake up, she said. It was a promise, as empty as the cave the dragonet as trapped in. That dragonet is me.
"The adults thought that the only way to protect the world from me was to trap me, with no air, no water, no weapons or anything to defend myself with. They left me to die because they didn't have the hearts to murder me themselves. They put me to sleep, tricking me into doing it with my own animus magic. They left a prophecy beside my form, thinking that I would be dead by the time I woke up. But I didn't die. The made me use my own magic! They didn't think that I would make myself wake up. You're just the unlucky dragonets who did it. I guess I should thank you for that." Spectrum finished. "Don't think that you'll be safe forever; I will destroy Pyrrhia one day or another. Remember that. This isn't over!" Suddenly, her wings began to stitch together to something that would actually fly. Every cut and bruise she had earned in the cave disappeared. Jackal watched in a mix of horror and awe as Spectrum grew in size as well. About twice the size of Mallow. Jackal shivered. Spectrum laughed bitterly. "I will avenge whoever murdered my sister. I will take down Pyrrhia and put it under my reign!"
"Have you ever thought that maybe no one murdered your sister?" Mallow asked. Spectrum seemed to pause, then glared at the hybrid.
"What?" Spectrum growled.
"There's a good chance that no one killed your sister. She could've died naturally. Old age can creep up on a dragon." Mallow replied. Jackal couldn't believe that Mallow was the one saying this; the dragon who had who own brother killed in battle. "Revenge is just something to waste your time on. It's not needed—sometimes it won't even make you feel better in the end."
"If you're trying to get me to pity you, you're doing a horrible job." Spectrum said. "I know all of your secrets! And I will expose them one by one if I need to. Every single minute that I stand here alive while my sister is dead is a waste of time. I'll come back for you; don't think you can hide!" And with that, Spectrum took off.
Jackal looked back at Caldera. "We should probably sleep, too." He said.
"Yeah." Mallow said. She walked over to Caldera, and sat down. Jackal sat beside her, and fell asleep beneath the clear night sky.
To be continued in Book 3