turned back to her. Taking turns, they each crawled up her arms and settled on her shoulders. Scarlet could feel their sharp little claws tickling her skin and couldn’t help but laugh. Zoe flapped her wings and squawked with alarm at the sudden noise.
“Sorry!” Scarlet soothed her, reaching up to stroke her gently. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Zoe flapped her wings reproachfully a couple more times, as if to make her point, then grudgingly settled back on Scarlet’s shoulder, small throaty noises that sounded like purring escaping her mouth. Scarlet smiled, forcing herself not giggle this time. “That’s a good girl,” she cooed to the dragon. “That’s a very good girl.”
She heard a shuffling at the mouth of the cave and remembered Emmy was still waiting for her outside—probably dying to be reunited with her precious offspring. Scarlet felt her heart melting a little as she imagined the impending reunion between mother and babies, proud that Emmy had trusted her with the task. Moving slowly, so as not to startle them again, she crawled out of the cave and back to the mother dragon.
As she emerged, her eyes fell on Emmy, who was pacing the cliff side with obvious agitation, puffs of smoke billowing from her nostrils. She’s worried about them, Scarlet thought. How sweet is that?
“Look, guys!” she said aloud to the baby dragons. “It’s your mommy!” She stepped toward Emmy to allow the babies to get closer. Seriously, this had to be the cutest thing ever. Two baby dragons. A worried mom. And she was the one who would reunite them. The one who would—
Emmy let out a low growl from deep in her throat and backed away. Scarlet stopped, confused.
“What’s wrong, Emmy?” she asked, squinting her eyes at the dragon.
But Emmy wouldn’t look at her. And she wouldn’t look at the babies on her shoulders either. Scarlet’s heart started pounding uncomfortably in her chest.
“These are your babies, aren’t they?” she tried.
Emmy was still for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.
“Well then, don’t you want to see them?”
To her surprise, Emmy snorted again, shaking her head violently from side to side. Scarlet took a hesitant step backward, confused as anything. This didn’t make any sense.
“I don’t understand. Didn’t you want me to rescue your babies? Why else would you have brought me here?”
Emmy turned to look at her. You wanted blood for Caleb, she said. I can’t give it to you. But they can.
Scarlet stared at the dragon in shock. In her excitement at finding Emmy’s children, she’d almost forgotten their original purpose for coming here.
“Right, I mean, that’s great,” she stammered. “That’s a good idea, in fact. But, Emmy, these are your children, right? Don’t you want to—?”
After you take their blood, I need you to kill them, Emmy said suddenly. Then we will leave this place and not return.
“What?” Scarlet cried, now completely shocked. She switched to mind speak, worried the baby dragons would sense something was wrong. The poor little things. The poor, helpless little babies! Emmy, what are you talking about?
You agreed to help me, the dragon reminded her, giving her a worried look. You said, whatever it was…
Yeah, but I didn’t mean… Emmy, why on earth would you want me to kill your children?
Because they will not die on their own.
She said it so casually, so matter-of-fact. Scarlet suddenly felt as if she might throw up. I wasn’t asking why you needed me to do it, she corrected, hardly able to believe she had to clarify this point, but why would you want your own children dead?
For a moment, the dragon didn’t answer, choosing instead to stare silently out over the horizon. Finally, Emmy turned and leveled her gaze on Scarlet. Her usually warm blue eyes were now icy cold.
Because if they live, they will burn down the world.
Scarlet swallowed hard, frightened at the conviction she saw written on Emmy’s face. The revulsion as she gazed on her own two children. She had warned Trinity and Connor that Emmy wasn’t the same dragon she once was. But this…this was too much. Was she crazy? Delusional? Paranoid? Or did she know something that Scarlet didn’t? She wondered, again, if Trinity would know. But then, she’d promised Emmy she wouldn’t tell Trinity.
Her gut wrenched. Emmy…
Zoe hopped off her shoulder, flapping her way to the ground and cautiously approaching her mother, a heartbreakingly hopeful look on her tiny face. She stared up at the giant dragon, batting her eyes and giving her what looked a lot