Hailey’s breaths were coming in ragged bursts and she focused on that, trying to shove the pain out of her mind. She needed to move, needed to do anything. She couldn’t heal. There was no magic left. Tears of pain and frustration slid down her face and behind her ears as she watched the sky lighten. She could not even manage to pull herself upright.

The men were staying clear of this area, doing their best to fight the fairies while also staying way from the massive beasts that threatened to destroy anything left on the battlefield.

Lillith lunged for her, and Hailey screamed, knowing that at any moment, she would die, but Isabella slammed herself between Hailey and the other dragon. The claws that would have ended Hailey’s life ripped into Isabella’s front leg.

“Take a scale and heal yourself!” Isabella shouted in her mind.

“What?”

“Scales are pure magic, even conjured ones like the ones I wear.” She gripped a scale in her massive and flung it in Hailey’s direction. The silvery scale gleamed despite its being covered in blood.

Hailey couldn’t move her legs. In agony, rolled herself over. Then, she dragged her body across the ground, using her elbows to move her forward, reaching for the scale as she went. A man ran past, screaming, a fairy floating in his vision. Hailey tried to scream, but he stomped on her outreached hand. Her entire body screamed at her to stop, screamed at her to lie down and die, but she couldn’t give in. The scale was just within reach. Her injured fingers trembled as she grabbed the scale.

“Cosano ossiculum,” Hailey chanted, feeling the bones that had crushed mend back together. She cried out in pain. Chest heaving. Magic flooded through her again. She had had nothing yet. Her fingers gripped the scale even tighter. “ Cosano nervus, cosano cuticula,” she chanted. Feeling shot through her legs, a stabbing pain, and finally the cuts and scrapes all over her body began to heal.

Isabella screamed in pain. The other dragon was on top of her, shredding her belly.

Hailey scrambled forward. She could not let Isabella die, could not let Lillith destroy the mage who had helped Taivalon survive the battle. She clutched the scale and ran straight for the dragons. Aware that she was doing something reckless, she grabbed the tip of Isabella’s tail and chanted, drawing power from the scale on Isabella’s own hide.

Isabella roared and Hailey jumped back as Lillith was thrown aside. The green dragon glared at Hailey, and charged towards her but Isabella held her off. Hailey threw a fireball at Lillith’s face. Lillith growled, but Hailey hit her again and again. Once side of the dragon was a smoking ruin.

Isabella crushed Lillith’s head. Lillith kicked at her, scraping her feet down Isabella’s stomach and leaving a long red gash on the silvery scales. Isabella was thrown back and Hailey dodged Lillith’s green claws.

Isabella was gasping in pain, but Lillith was coming straight for her, a wicked glare on her dragon face.

You can heal yourself, Hailey thought at Isabella. She didn’t know if Lillith would learn this, too but couldn’t get close enough to heal her ally.

I am a dragon. I cannot speak the words of the spell, Isabella said in Hailey.

You did it before. I don’t know how.

Hailey launched a lighting spell at Lillith, scrambling back to stay away from those claws. Lillith froze, lightning crackling over her scales. Then she swiped at Hailey, but Hailey’s shield was in place.

Isabella slammed into the other dragon, knocking her back. Lillith launched herself to her feet, wings beating the earth. A cloud of dust and dirt filled the air, making Hailey cough and cringe.

I’m not going to win this, Isabella said in Hailey’s mind.

Hailey gritted her teeth. Was her ally giving up so soon? She didn’t think she could hold her own against the green dragon. They were so difficult to kill. She wracked her mind for anything she could use against her foe, but the only spells that came to mind were the ones she had used on Isabella when Barinon was by her side. You have to keep trying. You have to kill her for what she has done.

Listen. Lillith has someone else in the castle, another spy. Trust no one. They will try to kill the final heir.

Hailey did not have time to think over Isabella’s words. She focused on her enemy. If she could stop Lillith from being able to move around, from being able to hurt Isabella, maybe they could win this.

Isabella knocked Lillith to the ground. The green dragon sprawled on its side. Hailey bound Lillith to the ground, the same basic binding that Barinon had taught her all those months ago. Lillith screamed, unable to move.

Isabella did not hesitate. She slashed and bit at the dragon while Lillith could do nothing but move her legs around in an attempt to hold the other dragon back. Isabella grabbed the other dragon’s long neck in her teeth and shook it and for a moment, Hailey thought that this was it, they might be victorious after all,

But then the green dragon disappeared, a ragged and tired Lillith standing in its place. She grinned, and the ground shook again as it had before.

Again, Hailey couldn’t move, couldn’t see what was going on. Where were any of the soldiers? Had they all fallen? She had been so focused on the dragons that she had not even thought about what else might be happening on the battle field. All she could see was men who had fallen, the shimmer, still holding and the shapes of fairies pushing against it. Her muscles ached to move. She needed to know what was going on. Was Lillith coming for her again? She had seemed so determined to kill her.

And then she could move again. She looked around. Isabella was gone. The dragon scale was still clutched in one hand. She scanned the battlefield for Lillith, but she didn’t see her. The fairies were fighting again. Men were screaming and dying again. Hailey regained the place where she and Isabella had stood, and pushed magic into the shimmer. The fairies that had been pouring through moments before stopped.

They might not be able to take down Isabella, but they could destroy the fairies before they did any more destruction to the shimmer, to the land.

In the distance, she could see Aaron screaming for his soldiers to take a stand. The scattered and ragged bunch of men began to regroup. “This is it, men! Give them everything you’ve got. Do not let them into the kingdom!”

Where was Derrick or Gillian. Then she remembered, Gillian had fallen. There were so few of them that Hailey’s heart ached just seeing them stand. But Aaron had taken the lead, had gathered the men they had left and the fairies were flying straight for them, the nearest humans that they could get to.

Hailey watched in horror as she saw how many of them were pouring through the weakened shimmer. Even though she was dumping everything she could into it, too much time had passed while she hadn’t even worried about maintaining the spell.

People were coming from behind them now, men and women and children, all with fairies leading them towards the shimmer. She could see the warg pacing one the other side. Natalia had not killed them all. She felt sick, but she had to hold the shimmer and swatting the fairies away from the faces of the people might be too risky. She groaned, unsure of what to do.

Then, she remembered, she had a defense agains this, she picked up a gleaming green scale and pocketed the slivery one that Isabella had given her. Then, she cast true sight on all of the people coming her way. “Perspicacitas,” she said, focusing on the group of people. It required a massive amount of energy to get them all, and she didn’t know how long it would last, but instantly, the town’s people’s eyes were cleared.

“Help the soldiers! Kill the fairies before they kill you!” Hailey screamed at them, handing a man a sword that lay by a fallen soldier. He looked at it dumbly for a moment and then he swung at the fairy in front of them. Many of the people, even some the children followed suit, picking up the weapons of the fallen and forming a line with the soldiers. Still, fairies were flowing through the weakened shimmer.

She squared her shoulders and marched down the hill. She would not let the fairies win.

She stood close to the shimmer, close enough that she could almost touch it, and then she pulled the magic from the scale and formed her mage’s sword. Power flooded through her. She chanted as she swung, killing dozens of fairies in a single stroke.

She used her anger and frustration to move her forward, along the line, swinging and crying out her chant, determined not to let the wargs through, determined to keep people safe from these viscous little creatures.

A dozen of them appeared before her with bows at the ready. She swiped, but she could not kill them all. One of them launched a tiny arrow, spearing her in the shoulder. She ignored the pain and continued to chant, pouring more and more energy into the shimmer, hoping that she would have enough to last the battle. She swung again and her blade began to fade, her power almost gone. Then the fairies that were left retreated, fading back into the shimmer. Finally, there was nothing left to fight.

Hailey dropped to her knees, feeling exhausted and victorious. This day had required everything she had to give.