“So that’s it then,” Madrin said softly. “Our clan is gone.”

Lyndria said nothing. After concluding the story, her throat suddenly felt tight and dry. So she settled for nodding numbly instead. This wasn’t the reunion she wanted. They were supposed to laugh and celebrate seeing each other again. For beating the odds and finding one another. Instead of a smile, she got to watch the growing horror on her sister’s face as she recounted the narrow brushes with death that led up to this moment.

There were no words of comfort she could offer, no reassuring phrases she could speak, so she settled for nodding in the hopes it carried her message. Despite the multitude of scars marking her inside and out, despite having no home to go back to, despite having no family to call upon, they were together again.

A nod was all she could manage. Hopefully, it was enough.

“Good,” Madrin said.

Lyndria blinked in confusion.

“What? Did you think I liked them? They abandoned our mother, shunned my sister, and treated me like dirt. I wasn’t outcasted like you but I may as well have. The clan would barely talk to me. I’m not sad they’re gone.”

“Sorry,” Lyndria mumbled. Madrin had been punished because of her. If she had simply fallen in line and not defied Delour, things would have been different.

Different how? Her mind asked. You know who Delour answered to. Tanor would have taken over and probably crushed you under her foot at some point. Things would have been different. Not better. Just different.

A nip on her shoulder snapped her out of her trance. She whirled around only to see Madrin smiling softly at her.

“You still do that thing where you space out,” Madrin said.

“Yeah, and you would bite me to get my attention. Which I hate by the way.”

“I didn’t bite you that hard.”

“That’s what you always say,” Lyndria replied, giving her sister a playful bump with her snout. “So that’s my depressing story. What about you? How did you even get here? Last I heard, no one can get here--”

“Without the second sight,” Madrin finished. “Yeah, someone led me here. One of the drakes. They found me wandering around alone and brought me here.”

“Oh really? I was wondering what that smell was.”

Her sister’s fins flattened against her head. “Sh-Shut up!”

“Oh, come on, we all need a little stress relief.”

“Look, I like him but we’re not doing…that.”

Lyndria grinned devilishly. “Yet.”

Madrin tucked her head and stared at the wall. “It’s not like that!”

“So what’s his name?”

“Turlin.”

“And when can I meet him?”

Her sister lifted her head and looked Lyndria straight in the eye. “Never.”

Lyndria laughed and nuzzled her sister. “That’s my girl.  But come on, I have to meet him eventually.”

“You’re gonna chase him away.”

“Only if I think he’s not good enough for you.”

“That’s exactly the problem!” Madrin cried, stamping.

Lyndria laughed harder. It started as a soft chuckle but quickly grew into rambunctious cachinnations. She fell over on her side and curled into a ball. Her sides hurt and it was difficult to breathe but she couldn’t stop. There was no point in fighting it. How long had it been since she laughed this hard? Since she laughed at all? Thinking back, she couldn’t recall the last time she had a good laugh. It seemed like she had never so much as smiled since their mother’s death.

When she finally stopped and caught her breath, she slowly rose. She felt lighter than ever. All the worries of before were just gone. Madrin stared with her head tilted.

“What?” Lyndria asked.

“Are you okay?”

“Actually…I am. I just really needed that. I haven’t had a chance to laugh much.”

“I can imagine.”

No, you can’t. And I hope you never do.

“So what happened to that human from before?” she asked, hoping to steer the conversation to something more cheerful.

“You mean Timothy? He…He didn’t make it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“He got sick and there was nothing I could do. He asked me to…”

Lyndria tilted her head. “To what?”

“Nothing. So what about you? Did you meet anyone?”

She understood the reason for the subject change and decided to leave it at that. “I haven’t met anyone. I thought I did for a moment, but I realized he’s…occupied.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will when you’re older.” It was fine. She didn’t need the distraction anyway with the threat of Tanor hanging overhead. Her mind had to be clear to deal with what was to come.

Madrin’s fins flared as she pouted. Lyndria laughed again.

They spent the rest of the night talking about Opalana and its people. Rather Madrin did the talking and Lyndria lay on the floor and listened. It turned out there was a lot to do in the city. Between farming, construction, crafting, cooking, and patrolling for other survivors, everyone was doing a lot to keep busy. Madrin’s favorite thing was visiting something called a theater. It was supposedly a large building where a bunch of people gathered, dressed up in weird clothes and pretended to be someone else. It was meant as some form of dramatic storytelling. Lyndria supposed she understood. She did like a good story but could do without the dramatic part. The story would provide enough drama for her.

It reminded her that if this were a clan, her role as oracle would have been to do the same. Tell stories to the whelps about the Matriarchs of old and the clan’s history. But she had no intention of doing that. For one she only did it to get back at Delour. And also, her clan’s history was not something she wanted to share.

Unfortunately, her sister wasn’t in a sharing mood either. Madrin made a point of avoiding talking about Tulrin much, but Lyndria decided not to pry. She would meet him eventually.

They stayed up until a bell rang. Madrin mentioned that it was late. Lyndria couldn’t tell. From inside the house, nothing looked any different. It seemed darker outside but it was already pretty dark to begin with. She looked forward to seeing that theater her sister mentioned but the bell meant most of the city had gone to bed. It was a good time for them to call it a night as well.

Lyndria couldn’t sleep. Her mind was caught in a maelstrom of thoughts. She wanted her vengeance against Tanor but seeing her sister changed things. Going to war meant putting Madrin at risk. Was she okay with that? Was avenging their mother worth more than keeping her sister alive?

But her promise to end Tanor and get revenge for their mother, was it okay to abandon that? And it wasn’t as if Tanor would leave them to live happy lives.

She tossed and turned all night, struggling with those thoughts. Finally, she gave up on sleeping and slipped out before the first bell rang to signal the start of the next day.

The first place she needed to go was to see Eber and give him her answer. Thankfully, finding the building was easy even with the maze-like structure of the city. She just had to keep going up.

At first, the streets were practically empty, making progression smooth and easy. She took her time to think up something to say. Once the bell rang, the streets began to fill like a basin slowly filling with water. It forced her to slow even more.

“Heed our warnings, friends! The end of all things is upon us, but there is still hope!”

Lyndria, drawn by curiosity, took a detour through an alley toward the source of the noise. She found herself in a large circular space filled with humans and dragons. In the center of it all near a large statue of a dragon stood a small group of humans stood on a makeshift stage of crates. They wore long grey robes covered in stains and full of holes. The passersby seemed to take no notice of them.

The human in the front spread his arms and said in a loud voice, “The All-Mother has not abandoned us! But we must act now! We must repent for our sins and ask for Her forgiveness! We strayed too far from the path, abandoned the teachings, and worse still—attacked Her own! Those created in her image and meant to carry on her will, we slaughtered, cursed, and defiled!”

He raised his arms higher, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everyone was ignoring him. “Please, my friends! It is our only hope to turn the tide and heal this broken world! She has sent her agent—a Matriarch whose power knows no equal--to punish the wicked and re-establish the natural order, but we must still do our part!”

Lyndria tilted her head. This was her first time hearing of this “agent”. Was he talking about Tanor?

“I did not take you for the religious sort,” Eber said in Lyndria’s ear.

She whirled around, surprised the drake got the drop on her.

“You’re one to talk. I thought you still be up in the temple.”

“Sometimes I descend to check on things…and to remind myself what I’m fighting for.”

“Not fond of humans is she?”

“She has no respect for the weak.”

“Humans aren’t as weak as you think,” she replied, fighting to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

The drake motioned to the humans preaching on the stage. “That is what she sees in humans. Mewling at her feet and begging for her protection like newly hatched whelps.”

“That doesn’t make them weak. The believers are actually the most dangerous. I’m surprised you let this guy run his mouth. I didn’t think dragon worship was a popular topic here.”

“I see no harm in his actions and I promised sanctuary to all who seek it. There are many who think as they do, they simply don’t say it openly. Besides, he is not wrong. This world needs our help if it is to heal which it cannot do if we hide down here and do nothing.”

“And what about the whole dragons ruling over humans bit?”

He stared at the group of humans for a moment then turned away. “I have no desire to rule over others.”

“Aren’t you in charge here?”

“That is different. The humans who come to the temple to pray and give me offerings do so because they choose to, not because I demand it.”

“Then why not turn them down?”

“It would be an insult to their faith. And many others look up to me to lead but do not bow as I pass. Is it truly so different?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t care. I’m done having others dictate what I can have and what I’m allowed to want.”

He turned to her with a serious expression but it wasn’t condescending like the first time they met. “And what do you want?”

Now it was Lyndria’s turn to look away. It suddenly felt silly to say it out loud. “I want my sister to feel the sun on her scales again. I want her to have a clutch and raise a bunch of brats who follow me around and hang on to my every word. I want her to feel safe in the place she calls home for once. And there’s only one way that’s gonna happen.”

She risked a look at her companion and found the drake smiling.

“What?” she asked.

“My daughters said I underestimated you. I’m glad to see they were right. Now we must simply convince the others.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. She’s more stubborn than me. She’s convinced the only thing Tanor will agree to is everyone bowing to her.”

“That is a very distinct possibility,” Eber said with a somber shake of his head. “Tanor is very proud and she will not yield to any agreement that is not in her favor.”

“Then why are we even trying it then?”

“Because the only impossible things are those we haven’t attempted.” A sad smile crossed his face. “She said that. I never believed it until she proved that the power of dragons could very well be limitless.”

Lyndria turned to the group still preaching on their “stage”. The other two humans had joined in now. All three were beginning to sound hoarse from making themselves heard over the ever-growing crowd. The passersby continued to ignore them.

“Do you think it’s true?” she asked. “That dragons really are the descendants of a goddess?”

“What I believe does not change what is true.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I guess not. No. I don’t believe, but as I said, what does it matter when the truth is unobtainable? Come. I’m hungry and hearing them repeat themselves is getting obnoxious.”

****

“So you have lost your senses as well I see,” Sareen said.

Lyndria shrugged. After eating with Eber, she had gone straight to see the others and tell them her decision, and also hopefully convince them to do the same. Looking at Garreth’s face, he was on board. Silias was as unreadable as ever.

“I know you don’t like Tanor but shouldn’t we at least try?” Lyndria asked. “I mean, you saw what Tanor can do. Is going to war with her really the best idea? Because I don’t think you’ve noticed but we don’t exactly have an army here.”

Sareen snorted. “Are you afraid of her?”

“No, I’m afraid there’s gonna be nothing left! Look, what’s the harm in at least trying it? Worst case, we wind up fighting it out like you wanted.”

“I don’t want conflict, but Tanor will not concede without a heavy price.”

“Look at this way then, you’ll get the chance to tell where she can put her offer.”

Sareen rolled her eyes and crossed the room then sat down on the large cushion by the window. Her back was turned and she refused to look at any of them.

“If I can chime in here,” Garreth said. “Tanor isn’t the only threat out there. A lot of power-hungry groups are looking for a chance at taking control. If we weaken ourselves in the fight with Tanor, it’ll just make their job easier.”

“So you’re in favor of the peace talks?” Silias asked.

The human shrugged. “Like Lyndria said, what do we have to lose really? The world’s dying and we’re fighting each other like idiots.”

“So Garreth’s on board,” Lyndria said. She turned back to Sareen. “Well?”

The dragoness sighed heavily. “I suppose you won’t cease your incessant pestering unless I acquiesce?”

“It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

“Fine. I will play along with this visionary scheme.”

“Great. I’ll let Eber know.”

She just stepped outside when Garreth called out to her. Seconds later, the human appeared at her side.

“Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What’s up?”

Garreth looked around as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping. In the thickness of the crowd, it was impossible to tell. “Not here. Meet me outside the temple when you’re done there.”

Before she could ask why all the secrecy, he disappeared into the crowd.

She shrugged and continued to the temple. Even from the outside, it was clear something was wrong. The dragons sitting guard outside were too stiff as if they were uncomfortable.

After crossing the threshold, it was clear why. Gennoni’s shouts carried easily through the large chamber despite the dragoness being nowhere in sight.

“You can’t be serious! That’s your plan?!...No, I won’t calm down! I thought you had a better plan than that!...Because it’s stupid, and you know it!”

Lyndria followed the sounds to the back room where they met Eber before. The door was open. Just as she reached it, Genonni burst out, her face scrunched up in rage. She pushed past Lyndria without even a glance and continued without slowing or apologizing.

Lyndria chose to let it go and went inside. Eber and Cutter sat inside in front of the still unfinished painting.

“I thought she was on board,” Lyndria asked.

“She was until I mentioned my plan to her,” Eber replied. “I proposed that we ally with Tanor as an independent clan.”

It took everything she had to avoid blowing up like Genonni did. “You want to do what? What happened to peace talks?”

“These are the peace talks,” Cutter said. “Look, before you piss all over the floor, just listen: We have nothing to bargain with. She has no reason to listen to us outside of 'the world’s fucked and we shouldn’t do this.' ”

Lyndria lashed her tail on the floor and said nothing. She still waited for the part where agreeing to be Tanor’s subordinates was a good idea.

“I know my chosen. She will not agree to any terms that are not in her favor,” Eber said. “However, I am not going to simply bow and beg her forgiveness. That is merely a last resort.”

“True dragons don’t beg,” Lyndria said with a growl.

“I’m more worried about the people of this city than my pride,” the drake shot back. “I will not stand in front of them and tell them to watch their children starve because I’m a ‘true dragon’.”

“Look, we’re hoping that having you and Sareen there will give her something to think about,” Cutter added. “You beat one of her vessels. She’ll respect that, and it’s basically the only leverage we got.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

She shrugged. “Then we go to plan B.”

“Sareen will never agree to that.”

“Then don’t tell her,” Eber said. “The fact remains that a war will mean the death of us all. I will not doom others so I may save face.” He stepped closer and spoke in a low voice. “You said yourself, that you want your sister to live again. This is the only way. Are you going to go back on that?”

Lyndria growled and held her tail on the floor. “You don’t get it. My life is ruined because of her. My mother is dead because of her. And now I’m supposed to bow down and call her my Matriarch? I didn’t do it for Delour and I damn sure won’t do it for her.”

“You killed her daughter. I would say that makes you even. I will not have our only chance at peace destroyed over a grudge!”

“And what if she’s the one who wants to hold a grudge and turns you down?” she asked calmly. “What happens if she decides she’d rather have us dead than as her followers?”

Eber broke eye contact. Lyndria snorted.

“I thought so.”

She headed for the door. She didn’t get far before hearing Eber’s voice again.

“I promised sanctuary to all those who want it. If Tanor decides she wants your heads, then I will no choice but to oppose her.”

Lyndria said nothing and left. In silence she respected his decision. She expected to see Genonni on the way out, but the dragoness was nowhere to be seen. It didn’t matter as someone was waiting for her.

Garreth stood around the corner outside. Seeing him look around for anyone watching made her nervous. It surprised her to see Darien with him.

“Okay, what’s this about?” she asked.

“First, I want to say thanks for hearing us out,” Dariens said. “Honestly, I can’t be sure the other dragons will even listen to us. It’s about the peace talks. We think it might be best to have a backup plan in the highly likely event that our resident dragon overlord decides not to play nice.”

“And you can’t bring this up to the others because…?”

“They’ll never go along with it,” Garreth said. “Dragons are too proud—no offense.”

“We think we should position someone outside the meeting spot,” Darien said. “They’ll lie in wait out of sight and should the worst happen, just signal them and they’ll put Tanor down.”

Lyndria started to laugh until she saw they were serious.

“What makes you think a human can take her down?” she asked.

“Because she underestimates them,” Darien replied. “There’s a gun, the most powerful ever designed. It’ll punch right through her scales especially if she doesn’t have her guard up.”

“And she’s going to just stand there while you aim at her?”

“It’s a long-range weapon,” Garreth said. “She won’t see me.”

Lyndria tilted her head. “You?”

“It’s our idea, so we’re going to be the ones to carry it out.”

It was clear why the others would never go along with this. For one, they didn’t put that much faith in human weapons. Second, they would never agree to a long-range sneak attack. She wasn’t sure she liked it. They stood no chance against Tanor in a straight fight, but this?

She hated it, but they had no choice. Eber’s plan wasn’t perfect. They needed something else. Besides, she made a promise to ensure Madrin had a good life. She would do whatever it took to make that happen.

“All right. Let’s do it,” she said. “But only if things don’t work out.”

“Only on your signal, my lady,” Darien said, bowing low.