My blood froze for two reasons.

First, another dragon was staring straight into our souls.

The monster had mysterious silver eyes like liquid metal, and sky-blue scales glittered instead of the shimmering green.

It wasn’t the size of a large building, and it probably couldn’t crush us in a single stomp. However, it was the size of the bus, and it could probably crush us in two stomps.

The second reason was the sub zero frost flowing from its nostrils.

Each breath of the dragon released a mist of frozen air, which solidified instantly into ice crystals that rained down to the ground. The cold was unnatural; it felt like a knife of winter slicing viciously through the air… the kind of cold that hot chocolate and fireplaces could not warm up.

Amber, Max, and I exploded away from each other and we fled.

I took off straight into the forest, trying to memorize as many branches and roots as I could.

A gathering of ferns sat underneath a tree.

I dove right into them, scraping myself flat against the ground. Despite having my breath knocked out of my chest, I shuffled and nested myself deep into them.

Oddly enough, the ferns stilled themselves almost immediately, and seemed to bend closer to me, as if shielding me from whatever is to come.

Minh’s magic. I thought as the pain subsided with surprising speed.

Frozen in fear and confusion, I relied on my senses. With my sight blocked by the ferns, I imagined reaching my hearing as far as I could. Maybe it was my imagination, or perhaps Minh’s magic, but I thought I felt the trees and undergrowth around me. There were almost nothing but moss covered trees and dirty submerged rocks.

The thought of Amber and Max swallowed my mind. I prayed that they had all escaped safely. The alternative was that they had been eaten alive, which was a terrifying possibility to entertain.

Abruptly, the dragon roared. The ferns quaked as if a strong gust of wind ripped through them.

Then it was cold.

The temperature must have plummeted because immediate chills consumed my entire back. I slapped my hand over my mouth before a cry could escape my throat.

I poked my head out from the ferns.

A mistake.

A tail swept out from nowhere. My feet were knocked out from underneath me, and everything went dark.

Then, it was bright again. My eyes blurred, my ribs ached, my ears rang.

Amber’s hands closed in like claws on my shoulders. She jerked me back into the air right as the massive tail slammed into the ground.

I was lucky this time. I could have been crushed into pieces, flying around with the rest of the dirt and debris that the dragon’s tail had swept up from the ground.

Do you know the game Helicopter? When someone spins around holding one side of a jump rope, and the people around them jump to avoid getting hit? Yeah, we got an upgraded rope. The tail of that dragon was like a whip, made of sharp blades on a 20-foot-long tail.

A scream echoed from the other side of the dragon as Max dodged another strike to his life. Suddenly turning into a small bird, he zipped over to us before poofing back into himself, falling in a helpless heap on the ground.

“Ha ha,” Max said, shaking with fear. I guess he was trying to lighten the mood while almost peeing himself. “This dragon is pretty dumb, c-cause by now I would’ve used my f-fire breath, if I was a dragon... of course.”

Thanks for the great advice, Max. The dragon was definitely grateful for it.

Ice erupted like a tsunami from the beast’s fanged mouth. The cold radiating from the frost stung my eyes. Sheer hoarfrost enveloped the entirety of the forest floor.

The blades of our swords froze in our holds as a block of ice formed around it and extended all the way to the ground.

Not nice.

Hah, not nice.

Please laugh, I’m about to die.

The crystalline-blue ice was strong, but my adrenaline was stronger. I began to furiously tug and shake and push and pull and scratch, Amber and Max instantly following suit.

“Heck yeah!” Max cried, his sword freed from the frost.

Side note: Max did not say heck.

Without warning, a large shadow flickered down upon us. We all looked up. A blue spiked tail had appeared.

And then the entire dragon erupted into view. I caught a glimpse of its dagger-sharp teeth before it opened its jaw, and blew a monstrous sheet of ice onto us.

We tried to scramble out of the way, but it was too late. Amber’s right arm was coated in a thick layer of frost, and my leg was frozen to the ground. Max barely managed to roll away.

“DO SOMETHING!” I shouted, punching the ice around my foot in vain.

Max was obviously in a state of panic. He put his sword away and desperately attempted to shapeshift. Before he could even alter his appearance, the dragon swiped at him with a sinuously agile claw and knocked him to his knees.

I wobbled and slammed against the ice, my ankle twisting as I fell with my foot stuck.

“I got it!” Amber suddenly yelled, her voice cracking with panic. “I learned this spell in class!” She left her sword in the ice and started tearing through her spellbook. The pages fluttered helplessly like leaves in a tornado.

“Am-” I started. She silenced me with a finger to her lips.

“Tempestoric!” She bellowed, her hand pointed to the dragon in the sky. A bolt of lightning fled from her fingertips and zapped the armored dragon. I felt the electricity clap the air, bringing a distinct smell of ozone with it. My hair frizzed and began to curl up.

The dragon cried out in pain and crashed down from the sky. It twisted in the air, still in shock from Amber’s strike. Unable to open its wings in time, it landed in a few trees nearby with an immense crash.

A shockwave followed and I was blown flying backwards into a tree trunk.

This is the end of my spine. And the end of me. I thought weakly as I-

A branch seemingly crackled, and I rammed into twigs instead of solid wood.

Amber collapsed, the spellbook falling with her. Still, she slipped a hand into a crevice in the ice, trying to get back up. She spread her fingers and closed them together twice, a command spell that I recognized in class (it did not work for me, in case you were curious).

She looked down at her other hand. “Melt,” She told the ice. And melt it did, dissolving into water and evaporating where it trapped her hand. She crawled over and did the same for my own ice prison.

“Hurry up,” Amber croaked to Max who helped her up with an arm to support her weakened body. I pushed myself off the ground, twisting my foot around and wiggling the toes to regain my blood circulation.

“The ice won’t listen for long. I think my attack earlier managed to stop the dragon for a while. That’s why it melted so easily,” Amber said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I nodded in thanks. “Let’s go. We have to take that thing down.”

Max’s head whipped around in disbelief, but I silenced him.

“Let’s not wait until it comes after us again.”

We collected our swords and wove into the forest, finally coming across a hopeless dragon. The dragon was stuck, crushed underneath a mountainous tree that rivaled its own size. Strangely enough, the roots were gnarled in places that trapped it effectively.

Minh.

Amber, Max, and I shared a worried look before we edged closer to it.

The dragon didn’t struggle.

Cautiously, I inched forwards. Max guarded my side closely, his sword ready to block any incoming dragon tails. Behind me, Amber raised her hands, casting a small bubble around Max and I.

I touched my foot to its back, ready to spring away at any time.

The dragon’s head turned.

I flung myself away, one hand clinging to Max’s collar as we both launched away from the dragon. Amber scurried out of the way as we all retreated.

No movement…

Except for the sad silver eyes blinking at us.

Again, we edged closer.

Its eerie eyes followed us as we clambered up its huge body and began to hack away at its metal armor.

The other dragon’s eyes had flared with molten gold, and this one had a kind of misty glow, the silvery hue that formed between rain and cloud.

However, the silver looked more like a dull gray.

I searched around and saw the weak spot, a royal purple scale among the icy blue.

Gingerly, I snailed closer, Moonshiner ready.

“Please be quick with it,” The dragon suddenly said.

I jolted back in surprise.

It actually sounded like a normal human. “I’m a failure anyway. No wonder they sent me. To get rid of me quicker and call it collateral damage, I suppose.” The dragon closed its eyes in defeat.

I felt a pang of sympathy for the dragon. Its voice sounded young, frighteningly similar to the high-pitched squeak of Olive.

“Yeah, of course we’ll make it quick! Don’t try to play victim, you nasty villain.” Max spat as he raised his sword for the killing blow.

Suddenly, his arms were met with resistance. Amber had stopped him.

“Respect her final words!” She hissed at him.

“You’re not a failure,” Amber turned to the dragon, sitting down on top of it, patting it gently.

I groaned lightly, seeing she was on the opposite side of the sympathy spectrum. Neither of the two techniques were being very helpful.

“I just suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of three humans and now I’m going to die for my efforts. I’ve failed in every literal sense, both in my mission and as a dragon,” the dragon whimpered in a little voice.

Amber looked down at the creature with sweetness and no small amount of gentleness in her eyes. That softie, I thought fondly. She might get us killed if she keeps this up.

“Oh, come on,” Max grumbled, “Just hurry and end it.”

He opened his mouth for another comment, but an icy glare from Amber silenced him. She turned back to the dragon. The dragon gave her a sorrowful stare. It looked genuine, but I wasn’t so sure. At any rate, the dragon had given up on fighting us any longer.

Turning to me, Amber asked: “What should we do with her?”

I stared at her, unsure what to say.

I was conflicted. The dragon sounded so… helpless… defeated. It didn’t help that its voice was almost like Olive’s.

But if we saved her, she might kill us in half a swipe. It was definitely a clever strategy.

The decision sat uncomfortably in front of me.

Max immediately replied for me. “We should kill her, of course!” He lifted his sword again-

Only for me to throw it across the road.

He whipped around and stared at me in disbelief. “Mackie?” He asked with wide eyes.

I met his gaze evenly. “Amber asked me for an opinion, Max. At the very least, could you give me a moment to think things over?” I appealed to him. “I don’t think you’re wrong in wanting to kill the dragon, but she isn’t exactly fighting back right now. A few moments of deliberation won’t hurt anyone.”

“Don’t. You don’t get to decide the consequences.” Max shot me a look of betrayal, his eyes blazing with anger. “Suddenly, you’re also standing up for dragons? Of all the people it could be, it’s you? Don’t you remember your mission? You made your choice, and you should stand by it. I thought-”

Amber let out a screech that froze Max right on the spot. “It is Mackie’s choice!” She raged.

“Why is it my choice all of a sudden? You guys have to help me!” I demanded. I didn’t know how to make these decisions.

“You’re the one who dragged us here! You make the choice because you’re the one who started this whole mess!” Max exclaimed, a sudden tendril of magic bursting from his fingers and retrieving his sword.

Rage prickled at my skin.

“No! You literally came up to me and begged me to take you! You made the decision to come with me so why don’t you stand by it? I am NOT a leader and I don’t plan on being one!” I yelled back.

The dragon whimpered as it held its two front claws over its head.

“If you wanna go home, then go now! Otherwise shut up and let me think!”

Max shrank to a small size, looking tinier than ever.

Great, now I had actually upset him. Whatever, he asked for it anyway.

I shook my head to clear my mind, then weighed my options.

If we kill her, we’d probably be better off. After all, she is a dragon. We’ll be safer with her gone. Then again, we could bring her along if we don’t kill her, with the added bonus of not having her death on our conscience.

I looked at its cowering form, my gaze flickering uncomfortably to the deadly claws.

On the other hand, she could kill us the moment we set her free. On the third hand, she might be willing to cooperate. Wait. That’s too many hands. How many hands are people supposed to have?

I shook myself.

Two. Obviously, Mackie. Wait, what was I supposed to be doing? Oh, right. I’m making a huge decision that may mean the difference between life and death.

I blinked.

“Okay, here goes,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’ve made my decision.”

My conflicting opinions started fighting again, but I shut them off. “Definitely.” I cleared my throat, stalling for time

Wait for it. Just a few more moments. And-

“KEEP HER OR KILL HER?!” Max demanded, right on cue. I sighed.

There wasn’t a right choice here. Just the best out of two risky ones.

I knew what I wanted to do. I just had to hope that it didn’t get us killed.