Apollo? She tried to look at him, but the damn Grim Reaper was in the way.

He’s subtly pointing at the doorway guarded by his tawny comrade.

Describe ‘subtly pointing’.

Scratching his hindquarters with his middle finger pointed kind of in the direction of that doorway.

That’s what you’ve got? For all we know, he’s just flicking me off.

Her dragon shrugged. That’s a distinct possibility. You do tend to bring that out in people. And dragons.

Hey!

Chuckles buzzed inside her mind and her dragon said, I know it sucks, but Goldilocks and his middle finger are the best chance that we’ve got.

Sera gave her a mental grunt. Her dragon was right. She began to pace, angling toward the questionable exit. Alden watched her, his eyes growing wary. Maybe he thought she’d try to pull something. Well, she wasn’t one to disappoint.

“I am not your sentinel,” she told him. “Not your lackey, your brain-dead worshipper, or whatever else the hell you want to make me.”

His lips thinned. “How disappointing.”

His magic pounded against hers—once, with the force of a great big hammer. He hit her again, harder. And again. Her mind was crinkling like an aluminum can beneath a battering ram. Fissures formed in her shield, and he slithered inside. She saw her house burning and her friends screaming in torment.

Keep him talking, her dragon said.

I don’t think I can talk. She winced, buckling beneath the pain. She’d never felt anything like it before. Her brain felt like it was melting from the inside.

Toughen up and shoot off that smart mouth of yours! We need time to build up our power for a single concentrated burst.

Sera didn’t think she could do anything more sophisticated with her magic right now than let it collapse to the ground like a deflated balloon, but she didn’t think that to her dragon. Her head hurt too much to think, let alone talk.

“You don’t know me at all,” she croaked out, glaring out at Alden. Standing was getting difficult. So was staying conscious.

“Don’t I?” His mouth quirked up. “I know what you are. Dragon Born.”

The words echoes through the hollow chamber like a spell on the wind. Some of the mages began to mutter, their faces twisted in shock. They gaped at her, disgust rolling off of them. The word ‘abomination’ hummed over their heads. Even Finn looked shocked. He turned to Alden like a confused child seeking comfort and answers from his father.

Alden pivoted, his cloak swirling around him. “She is not an abomination,” he told his loyal followers.

The frightened whispers died down.

“No more than I am the Grim Reaper,” he continued. “They are just vile names forced onto us by lesser mages. By the Magic Council.” His eyes, alight with sweet, seductive magic, turned to Sera. “We are much alike. Both powerful, both feared for our power.”

“We are nothing alike,” she ground out. He hadn’t lessened his attack on her mind, not even for a second. “You killed people. You wreaked havoc and devastation.”

His laughter roared through the chamber, and the walls quaked. “And what do you think the Dragon Born did, my dear? Why they were sentenced to death?”

Dread crawled its way down her throat, choking her rebuttal.

“That’s right.” Victory sang in his eyes. “I was there. There the day the Dragon Born were sentenced to oblivion. I could tell you all about it. All you have to do is listen.”

Lies!

How do you know? she asked her dragon. Does your magic allows you to see back to that time?

No, through my magic—our blood—a see fleeting glimpses of past days, but it’s been too long. The history, the bonds of magic of the Dragon Born, are withered and old because any time one of us is discovered, we’re killed. The mage dynasties with the right magic to produce Dragon Born twins have been all but destroyed. It’s a rare condition of birth, the chance of a Dragon Born birth only one in millions. It requires the right combination of blood, magic, and luck.

“The others, the members of the Magic Council, are small-minded,” Alden said, cutting into her thoughts. “They don’t understand you, and they don’t want to. I do. I alone am sympathetic to your plight, and I alone can help you. I can unlock your potential. You are special, Sera. You’re worth more than the entire Magic Council put together.”

She grimaced against the pain. Her skin felt like it was being slowly and methodically scraped off her back.

“I know what will happen if the rest of the world finds out about you. You will die. Your sister will die. Your brother will die. Everyone you care about will die. But that doesn’t have to happen. You are a threat to their world, but you’re an asset in mine.” He extended his hand out to her. “Join me. Protect those you care about. And eliminate those who threaten you.”

Temptation churned inside of her, his words like cool, liquid relief on a hot and sticky day, but she pushed it down and gave his hand a scathing look.

“Don’t you want to know who sent the assassin after you and Alex? The assassin who killed your father,” he added, his voice dropping to a scathing whisper.

“The assassin was working alone.”

“How little you know, dear girl! A mage sent the assassin. This mage sent him running after rumors of Dragon Born sisters. The assassin tracked down these rumors, but he was never able to report back who you were to his employer because you killed him. And by the time the mage sent another, you and your family were long gone, your house burned to the ground, no evidence of your existence there remaining.”