Beyan, Rhyss, and Farrah instinctively ducked to either side, anticipating an oncoming wave of fire. I remained where I stood, frozen in place.

But instead of incinerating us, the dragon spoke.

“I understand you’re looking for me.” His thundering, deep voice rumbled through my body.

“How … how did you know that?” Instinctively, I moved closer to the dragon, mesmerized by his liquid eyes.

“Allayne.” Beyan’s warning—and his hand on my arm—stopped me.

“You have a Seeker among you,” Joichan said. “And, dragons have excellent hearing.”

I nodded. I seemed to have trouble forming coherent thoughts. No one else spoke for a few moments. We just stood there, humans and dragon, staring at each other.

“Well?” Joichan broke the stalemate. “State your business, or be on your way.”

Without thinking, my hand went to my neck and tugged the necklace out from under my collar. The moonstone gleamed, catching Joichan’s eye. Curiosity aroused, he turned his full attention on me.

And then reared back, screaming in pain.

Beyan’s dagger was lodged in Joichan’s side, sticking out under one of his golden scales. Blood dripped from the creature, pooling on the grass underneath him.

I had been so focused on the dragon that I hadn’t noticed Beyan had moved from my side. While I had unwittingly distracted Joichan, Beyan had taken advantage of the moment to strike.

Now Beyan had his sword drawn, ready to finish the job.

“Beyan, no!” I spun, reaching out to grab his sword hilt. Beyan easily avoided my hand, swinging the sword away from me so he wouldn’t accidentally cut me.

“Allayne, move away.”

“Beyan, this is insane. You don’t want to do this.” I looked to Rhyss and Farrah for help. They didn’t draw their weapons, but they didn’t try to stop their friend either. I turned back to Beyan, trying to appeal to his sense of logic. “This will break your mind. Don’t go down this path.”

With his free hand, he pointed toward Farrah and Rhyss. “Go join the others.”

“Beyan! Stop and think for a second. Kye needs you.”

Beyan paused. For a moment, he looked uncertain, and I hoped I had gotten through to him. Then his face hardened. “Some things are worth the sacrifice.”

“No. You don’t mean that.” I stayed firmly in place.

Keeping his eyes on the dragon, Beyan called over his shoulder to his team. “You two, quit standing around and get her out of the way.”

Reluctantly, Rhyss and Farrah moved toward me. Panicked, I held out my hand at them, blowing them back with the force of my unexpected spell. Stunned, we shared equal looks of horror, but they continued to advance on me. I waved my hand, gluing them to the ground so they couldn’t move.

Beyan growled and raised his hand—to grab me or attack me, I wasn’t sure. I sidestepped, narrowly missing his swipe. But while I was safe, this meant that I was no longer standing between him and Joichan.

Beyan raised his sword, ready to thrust it into the dragon’s heart.

I shouted and pointed.

The hilt of Beyan’s sword turned a dull red. Cursing, he threw the hot metal down to the ground, shaking his hand. The skin on his right hand was beginning to blister from the slight burn.

Beyan drew another dagger from his side with his good hand and charged the dragon.

I yelled again, motioning at Beyan. He blew backwards, forced back by my magical wind spell.

The natural wind began to swirl as Joichan launched into the air. He hovered over us, then grabbed me in his claws. We began to gain altitude.

“No!” Beyan threw his dagger skyward, but thankfully, it missed both the dragon and me. As we flew away, Beyan’s screams echoed in my head and burrowed into my heart.

“I trusted you, Allayne! I trusted you.”