Page 63 of I Am the Night

The queen of dragon roars, holding a claw in front of her chest to protect her gaping wound. "I should have destroyed this cesspool without warning. It is over. You cannot defeat me. Give up!" Her voice carries through the sky and the destruction continues.

But then she glances behind us and her eyes widen. Her words stop. Her glow fades. For the first time, I see the dragon queen afraid. "No. It can't be. I killed you a millennium ago. You cannot be here. You're supposed to be dead."

I follow her gaze behind me, to the garden.

To the creature that is now free. A black and golden monstrosity, with wings that look crooked and torn, and a venomous drill-like horn. Ana. In her true form. She grows in size, flying towards the Queen—her mother.

How did she get out? But then I realize… the Queen freed her child herself when she tore apart the earth. It must have broken the magical seal we created.

The two clash in the sky, the dragon queen moving desperately to avoid her daughters horn, striking out with her claws, cutting into the hybrid-creature’s shoulder. Ana cries out into the storm, a hideous sound of pain and anguish and fury.

And in that moment, with the Queen of Dragons and her abandoned child fixed completely on each other, I see my opportunity. I use my Darkness to track the dagger once more, and with my Air, I retrieve the blade, hovering in midair before me, and aim it at the Queen's heart.

That’s it.

I have the shot.

All I need is a push.

But something shifts within me.

A struggle at my very core.

I’ve taken a life before. But my past self was in control then. The ancient Maiden Fate. But now… Now I am in control. The dragon’s blood will be on my hands.

I can’t take another life.

But I can't let her take my world.

“In lumen et lumen,” I whisper.

And with flick of my wrist, the dagger flies true.

And penetrates the Queen's heart.

She screamsand drops from the sky, but as she does, she shoots one last golden arch of lightning at Ana, hitting her in the heart.

They both land hard on the wet crumbling earth, creating a wave of earthquakes that is felt across the world.

I lower myself from the sky and race to them, praying it's over, that we are safe.

As I approach the Queen, she shifts into her human form, clutching the dagger in her heart. Golden blood seeps out of her wound and mouth, but still she smiles. "At least I will die knowing I am taking this wretched world with me. It is over. It is done. I have completed the spell to end the Otherworld."

I reel back, terrified, sickened, my soul feeling as if it's being sucked from my body. "What did you do?" I scream at the dying dragon. "What have you done?" I can't control my tears, or my rage, as her life fades away and my world continues to crumble.

Near her, Ana lies still. Too still. Her body now that of a little girl, but not as before. A small unicorn horn protrudes from her forehead and delicate dragon wings span out behind her.

I crawl over to the motionless form, my body hurting as if it too is being torn apart.

I am dying.

As the world dies, I too am becoming undone.

I take Ana's hand, and her eyes flicker open. "I remember now,” she says, words barely a whisper. “But I didn't mean to. You have to believe me. I didn’t mean to. My friend… she made me… " Her eyes flicker closed again, and she goes still. Her hand goes limp in mine.

I can't see through my tears. Through my pain. Through my rage.

And then the Night brothers, all five of them, surround me. They hold me, support me, and give me strength.