a look at the blast radius.”
“Right? Maybe the military needs to start recruiting dragons,” added her cohost. “Talk about a weapon of mass destruction! I mean, can you picture the look on a terrorist’s face when they suddenly find themselves up against a real-life dragon?”
Trinity stalked over to the TV and switched it off. Emmy whined, looking angry, then guilty—then just plain sad.
“Talk to me, Emmy,” Trinity commanded, sitting down in the chair across from the dragon. “Tell me everything that went down.”
Emmy didn’t reply. Instead, she dropped her head to the floor and stared off into space. Trinity’s heart wrenched to see the anguish on the dragon’s face. But she couldn’t let her get off that easily. She thought back to her talk with Scarlet. If she didn’t make good, the girl was going to do something rash. And things were bad enough already.
“You thought they were dead, didn’t you?” she pushed. “You told Scarlet to kill them, and you thought she had.”
Emmy gave a small huff. Trinity decided to take that as a yes.
“Why didn’t you come to me from the start?” she demanded, her voice rising in frustration. “I could have helped you. We could have dealt with this together. Instead, you went and hid it from me!”
I didn’t want you to know.
“But why?” Trinity cried. “I thought we were a team. I thought we shared a bond. And yet, over and over, you’ve chosen to go behind my back. How am I supposed to help you, Emmy, if you never tell me what you need?”
I don’t deserve your help. Not when I can’t help you in return.
Trinity sighed. “What are you talking about, Emmy? You’ve done so much. Hell, you sacrificed your one chance at true happiness to save the boy I loved.”
And now all you do is fight with him—because of me.
Trinity cringed. She hadn’t realized the dragon had picked up on the tension between her and Connor. “That’s not your fault,” she tried to protest.
But Emmy wasn’t listening. Because of me, you have lost everything. Your mother, your grandfather, your normal life. She closed her eyes, letting out a soft groan. If I had just done what you asked. If I had gone to the place with all the dragons, none of this would be happening now. The world would not be doomed.
Trinity cringed at the self-loathing she saw clear on the dragon’s face. Poor Emmy. No wonder she’d been so miserable this whole time. The guilt she’d been living under must have been suffocating.
When I saw you walk into that lab, I could barely look at you. I was so ashamed. After what I let them do to me…
“You didn’t let them do anything,” Trinity corrected, her voice cracking with frustration. “Emmy, you were captured. You were tortured. You were experimented on and impregnated against your will. How can any of that be your fault?”
Emmy didn’t answer, and the silence stretched out between them. Finally, she looked up at Trinity, her eyes unbearably sad.
You said there might be a way to turn back the clock? she asked. A way to undo all that’s been done?
“Maybe,” Trinity said hesitantly. “I mean, my dad’s still trying to work that out, to see if it’s even possible. I don’t know how much progress he’s made though. Maybe someday. But in the meantime, Emmy, we have to deal with what’s happening now. You have two children, whether you like it or not. And how we deal with them now will make all the difference for the future.”
Emmy regarded her with solemn eyes. You want me to give them a chance, don’t you? Even knowing what we know?
Trinity bit her lower lip. “We don’t know anything,” she corrected. “Not anymore. Connor and Caleb’s future, as far as I’m concerned, has already been eradicated. We’re on a new path now. And each step on that path can lead to a new destiny.”
But is it worth the risk?
“You were a risk once,” Trinity reminded her. “If Connor had had his way, you’d have been dropped into a volcano when you were still in your egg. But Caleb convinced me that we should give you a chance to prove yourself. And you did, Emmy. Ten times over. Don’t these dragons deserve the same opportunity? They are your children after all.”
She rose to her feet, giving the dragon a sympathetic look. “I’ll let you think it over, okay?” she told her. “But, Emmy, really think about it. Think about what it could