AERYN'S POV

Hyrule dove into the water, causing a wave to crash over my head and dunk me under. I pushed off the sandy ground and resurfaced with a gasp, lungs burning. Treading water, I panicked as Hyrule swam up to me and I hurried to say, "What do you mean? My mother's dead. Your bond died with her. You've just been choosing to remain without a summoner."

I cannot bond with another as long as the bond is still intact. You have three of my children, two of which are because their bonds have been cut with the death of their summoners and you are unbonded with an essence, albeit a weak one, but an essence, nonetheless.

Hyrule dove back under the water and my heart drummed in my chest as I searched for his golden form.

My body was lifted out of the water and my thighs strained as my legs were separated on either side of the dragon's neck. I grappled with his horns as I slid down the slippery scales and pulled myself back up to a seated position, staring down at his forehead. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips as I focused on the faint outline of my mother's substance-manipulating Insignia; a vial of bubbling liquid pouring down the sides of the glass among shards of minerals. The faded Insignia reminded me of the ones on Rays' and Tanwen's foreheads after their summoners were killed.

Tears pricked my eyes as I touched my fingertips to the symbol and whispered, "My mother's Insignia."

The scale beneath my fingers glowed a blinding yellow and Trainer Reishell's amplified voice announced, "Aeryn has found the scale!"

"Oh great, now everyone and their dragon is going to zoom over here to take it from me," I grumbled, heart racing.

They're going to try to kill you for it. Give me one reason I should give it to you, and I won't let anyone touch you.

"I'm going to use it to join the Force and avenge my mother's death. I will kill every last one of those Ravos demons, or die trying," I vowed. "And I will bring back Armaeda."

Hyrule was silent for several moments before he obliged. Very well. Do not make me regret choosing you as the winner.

I wrapped my fingers over the raised scale and plucked it free. Shoving it in the air, I shouted to Misty, "We did it! We get to pick our-!"

Trainer Reishell swooped down on her red dragon, interrupting, "Only one partner may take the scale. You must face off against each other to determine the ultimate winner."

I met Misty's shocked expression from where she stood with Blythe at the shoreline and looked down at her as I bit my lip, head whirring with the additional rule. The sound of distant wings flapping drew my attention to the sky, but the thick throng of clouds prohibited me from seeing beyond them.

Hyrule growled in my head and stretched his neck out to Misty, permitting me to jump off and stand next to her as he swam back to his original spot of leisure.

Misty stared at the gold scale in my hand with such longing that I instinctively tightened my hand into a fist to cover the glimmering object. Her eyes swung to mine and her pupils enlarged, expanding into her green irises as she backed up with jerky movements. Red veins spindled in the whites of her eyes and her dark veins protruded from her pasty skin. Her skin appeared to be stretched thin across her high cheekbones and the bones in her hands were too prominent as she unsheathed a dagger and raised her other hand, emitting a green light.

The wet droplets on my hair evaporated in a mist of suffocating gas as she altered the state of the water's matter.

"Since this challenge is meant to be a real representation of war, this battle will be a fight to the death," Reishell added. "You do not have to remain in the air to win. Take out your opponent or get taken out. The fate of the scale is in your hands. Literally."

Even more killing was required in order to win the challenge and keep the scale. Reishell's motives did not make any sense to me, but I did not have time to protest the obscenity.

I inhaled the fumes of the gaseous state of matter and choked as it clouded the space in front of my eyes. Misty emerged through the smoke and swept my legs out from under me with a low kick to my ankles. She sprung on top of me and grabbed my wrists in one hand, pinning them on the ground above my head as she straddled my waist.

"I'm really sorry, Aer," she apologized, lacking any remorse as she hushed, "I need that scale. I must be a scout to search for a possible antidote, or an apothecary to work on one."

"Well, you can't be both," I snapped through clenched teeth, rocking my hips to try to knock her off me. Her grip tightened around my wrists and her nails dug into the delicate skin as I writhed underneath her.

I watched in undulated terror as Misty braced herself and her empty stare focused on the horizon beyond me. Her eyes widened as the red veins in them brightened and struck her dilated pupils, blending them from black to a haunting crimson. Pure darkness bled from the corners of her eyes and flowed across the whites until both eyes were encased in black with red pupils and dismal emerald irises.

Her skin paled, lightening to an ashen tone as her back caved inwards and a chilling screech exited her purple lips. Dark veins pumped Cursed blood through her body as she turned into a demon, fingernails elongating into sharp talons as two pairs of thin fangs extended from her gums. Poison budded on the tips, and I squirmed as she brought her face down to mine, pressing her weight onto my chest to further trap me.

Misty jabbed a clawed finger into the pressure point on the inside of my wrist at the base of my palm, causing my hand to spasm and release Hyrule's scale. She snatched it and tucked it into the breast pocket of her armored vest, sneering in a grave nature unlike her friendly personality. "You can't be both either; a princess and a Champion – not that you're even performing your royal duties or likely to make it to the Force in the first place."

Misty's harsh demeanor was a stark contrast to her usual vivacious and cheerful attitude. Her red pupils spun to the back of her head and rotated around her sockets as her haunting grin widened. She flicked a fang with her tongue and lapped up the venom, making my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

The transformation happened quick.

But then again, it hadn't. Misty had been bitten during the ambush weeks ago, yet her symptoms had only just started to progress at a fast rate.

Nevertheless, Misty had turned into a Cursed demon.

The haze in her eyes cleared and her fangs retracted. She scrambled off me, crouching in front of me as she hugged herself and rocked back and forth on her heels. "I-I don't know what just overcame me...Aeryn, I didn't mean any of that."

I scurried to my feet and brandished my ruben-infused dagger. My voice wavered as I retorted, "Misty, you just tried to kill me."

"N-No," she stuttered, color draining from her high cheekbones. "Th-that wasn't me."

Misty's neck cracked to the side and her eyes darkened to such an abysmal black that I could see my frightened expression staring back at me as her fangs elongated once again, body losing the fight to the Curse. Smoke exuded from her palm and her Insignia turned into a giant scar as the Curse stripped her of her power. Blythe roared as her skin and scales thinned and her spine arched, jagged bone jutting through the papery skin. She disappeared in a puff of dark gray fumes as she was recalled to the demon realm to complete the transformation.

In the span of a couple weeks, I'd lost one friend, watched as another was abducted, found out my best friend was a demon spy, and watched as the last turned into a demon in front of me – and none had even been thrown into the war yet.

"Yikes," I said under my breath. "That's horrifying. I'm not sure an antidote is going to work anymore. I don't think anything is powerful enough to reverse the Curse."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say because Misty snarled and revealed her fangs. She bent her legs at the knees and prepared to pounce on me when the sound of beating wings intensified. We both looked to the sky as a pair of black wings tore through the clouds. The shifter drew her wings against her back and spiraled in a steep nosedive right for us. Her palm cast a green illumination as emerald static climbed up her arm that she had pointed at me.

Nyaxia careened toward us, extending her wings as she approached. Her identical eyes shined brighter than her twin's as she landed in front of Misty in a protective stance, blocking her sister with her wingspan. Static crackled all over her body as she stepped closer to me, glowering at the dagger in my hand. She threatened, "I told you to protect her – not kill her. I'm going to make you regret partnering with my sister, you scum of a princess."

I wanted to throw my hands up in exasperation, but it was not the time to be dramatic. There was no use reasoning with a jealous, self-righteous, haughty Draconian, especially one as pissed off as Nyaxia.

Restraining the urge to chuck my dagger at her face, I stated, "She's all set to kill me for the scale and she's a - "

"I don't care what happened! That scale is hers and I will ensure she keeps it."

I clenched my jaw to keep from saying I was the one who found it and Hyrule had chosen to give his scale to me, not Misty.

Nyaxia sent a jolt of electricity at me, and I ducked, shouting to Reishell who hovered above us.

"Is that allowed?" I asked, covering the top of my head with my arms. "I thought Misty has to be the one to kill me since she's my partner."

"To hell with the rules," Nyaxia quipped, stepping forward as she raised her hand again.

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