The world snapped back into motion. Every sound was sharper, every shadow was deeper. Her legs moved, almost involuntarily, towards the irresistible cry. She barely felt the ache in her legs or the sting of blood on her arms. The monsters didn’t fight her; they were too focused on chasing the runaway kids through the streets. Edge should’ve been helping them. She should’ve been there. But…she couldn’t turn back now.

Weaving through the wreckage, she hesitated at the corner of a toppled market stall, breath trembling. The cry came again. Closer this time, raw and desperate. Ahead, just beyond a shattered stone wall, something shifted in the shadows.

Edge swallowed hard, forcing herself forward. Part of her screamed to turn back, to run after her friends. But the sound tugged her on. As she rounded the wall, her eyes widened, locking onto the source of the cry.

It was a large, black dragon, spread out a few inches away. It was huge, at least twice the length of Edge, with large, majestic wings crumpled beneath it. Covered completely in shimmery black scales, it was completely smooth except for a few tiny scales running down the length of its back. Its long black tail folded behind it, twitching occasionally. Its small ears stuck straight up like a cat’s, and, honestly, it was kind of cute. The thing that made Edge’s heart stop, however, was the eyes.

They were silver like the full moon, and held a kind of gentleness and fierceness all rolled into one.

The dragon groaned again, making an attempt to stand up. All it did was flop right back onto the ground, legs fumbling behind it. Edge’s eyes wandered onto the net tangled between its wings and legs, as well as the sharp piece of metal—a sword—lodged in its wing.

Shouldn’t she be running?

The thought pried its way into her head before she could stop it. It was true…the dragon could probably kill her in a heartbeat. But…the dragon looked at Edge, eyes so full of pain she couldn’t help but take a step forward.

And then another one.

And another.

Before she could even register what was happening, she was crouched right beside it. Her trembling hand slowly inched its way towards the dragon, flinching as she touched the cold scales. The dragon jerked, and Edge’s gasp echoed through the alleyway. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she tried again. Her hands grasped the handle of the sword sticking out of its wing. Squeezing her eyes shut, she counted to ten, then pulled.

A horrible squelching sound followed as Edge tumbled backward, sword in hand. The dragon groaned, shifted its head to stare at her with its silver eyes. A flicker of relief crossed its face, and its eyes closed with a heavy sigh. Edge waited another second, just to make sure it wasn’t going to do anything, before walking up to it again. Bile rose up in her throat as she stared at the blood-coated sword. Somehow, she had a sneaking suspicion she would see a lot more of that as she went back into battle.

Steadying her hands, she gingerly picked up the net and wire tangled around the dragon. Carefully, she spent a few minutes sawing and hacking at the thick ropes. Eventually, they gave, gently falling off onto the stone below.

And then, there was only one rope knotted around its wings.

At first, Edge was tempted to just leave it at that. Maybe the dragon would figure out how to get itself loose. At least that way she wouldn’t be in the ‘eating range’. She turned away.

It felt wrong, though.

Really wrong.

She couldn’t just leave the creature to die, no matter how deadly it could be. So, she turned back to face the huge dragon. Her heart fluttered as she sawed at the final piece of rope, and her stomach dropped at the same time the rope did. There was a split-second pause where the world held its breath. Then, the dragon roared and leaped to its feet. Edge scrambled backwards, tripping over a stone and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

The dragon, in its full glory, was nothing to scoff at. It was at least the size of two merchant stalls put together, and about the same height. Its black scales shimmered as it stared at Edge, swishing its tail back and forth like a lion about to pounce.

It snorted, stepping closer to Edge. Its long, sharp talons made a soft clicking noise on the stone ground. She sat perfectly still as it sniffed her curiously. Its scaly nose pressed against her chest, and it made a soft, growling noise. It stepped even closer, wings quivering menacingly.

Without warning, the dragon sat down with a huge thump that practically rattled Edge’s bones. Cocking its head sideways, its eyes almost said ‘thank you’. Like it actually appreciated what she did for it.

Pushing herself up onto her shaking legs, she stared at the surprisingly calm dragon in front of her. Disbelief crawled at the corners of her mind. Since when did she come face-to-face with a dragon? Sure, she met one briefly when she first got teleported. But this was…different.

“What are you, hm?” Edge said softly, waiting for the dragon to react.

It didn’t.

“A…girl?”

It cocked its head sideways, a tiny grumbling sound coming from the back of its throat.

“No?” Edge asked, scrunching her eyebrows together. “A boy, then?”

He stared at her with a happy, lopsided dragon grin. His tail swished back and forth excitedly. Edge couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was. Not that she was usually a sucker for cuteness, but…

He was really cute. And terrifying. That too.

“Okay…” Edge murmured, uncertainty prickling her skin. She stared at the dragon. He stared right back, silver eyes unblinking. For a long moment, neither of them moved. A fragile truce hung in the air, heavy with questions and the possibility of something new.

Without warning, the dragon lurched forward. His powerful wings snapped open, sending a blast of wind that slammed Edge against the wall. Cold talons dug into her arm, a painful sensation running across her skin. Before she could react, her feet lifted off, and the world dropped away beneath her.

And she rose higher…

And higher…

Her scream split the air as she kicked her legs desperately, not even sure about what she’d do if the dragon actually let go. Horrible images flashed across her mind of her sprawled across the ground miles below. Edge squeezed her eyes shut, biting back even more fearful cries. The dragon warbled and stopped its accent. The world paused for a moment, then she felt the icy grip of talons slowly release, and suddenly she was free-falling towards the ground.

Freezing wind whipped past her face, biting every inch of skin it could find. Her heart was pounding steadily in her chest, every bone in her body bracing for impact.

It came sooner than she thought.

A scaly body interrupted her fall, the awkward landing sending small cascades of pain up her legs. Tears stung her eyes, but not from the pain. From the wind clawing at her skin and the lack of air at high altitudes.

Then it hit her.

She was riding on a dragon.

Edge hunched over, clinging to the dragon’s neck for support. Her legs clenched his sides desperately as she tried not to look down. Shivers ran up her arms, and she desperately wished she were wearing her leather jacket instead of a tank top.

Dredging up every ounce of courage she had left, she forced herself to look down. The view was…breathtaking. A wild, shattered landscape unfurled beneath her. Burning villages, twisting rivers of smoke, and flashes of dragon wings glinting in the dim light. It was terrifying…and beautiful all at once. The clouds hung like whips of smoke just above her, moving with even the slightest gust of wind. Upon it all, it was hard not to feel insignificant.

Letting her breath settle, Edge mumbled. “I’ll admit. I thought you were murderous for a second.”

The dragon snorted, as if he were amused by her fear. He dipped his wings, gracefully slicing through the air.

Closing her eyes yet again, Edge let her thoughts settle. She really was just a few meters away from crashing into the ground. And to think, if the dragon hadn’t decided to swoop in and catch her, who knows what could have happened?

Well, she did know, actually.

Death.

“You’re not just a monster, are you?” she whispered, voice hoarse.

The dragon cocked his head, leaning sideways through the sky.

Edge hesitated, searching for words. Part of her tried to convince her to think it was stupid, talking to a beast. But yet…she felt like he could understand her. Maybe even better than people could.

“I can’t keep calling you ‘dragon’, can I? That doesn’t seem right.” Edge decided. “How about…Echo?”

She didn’t know why. Maybe it was the way he always warbled something back to her after she was done speaking. Or maybe it was something…deeper. She and the dragon were both misunderstood. Wounded. Navigating worlds that would easily let them die.

Maybe the dragon truly was an echo of herself.

The dragon paused, wings spread out effortlessly, then rumbled deep in its chest. Not displeased, really.

“Echo, then,” Edge nodded, a little stronger this time.

Just as she was getting comfortable with being in the air, Echo dipped lower. Edge’s eyes traced the ground, and she choked.

Her friends were still down there. Fighting for their lives. Probably dead, at this point. And what was she doing? Taking a joy ride around a war zone?

Stealing her gaze, Edge peeled it towards the ground. Echo seemed to know what she wanted and flew lower. The more she stared, the more death and destruction she saw. A lump caught in her throat, but she shoved it back down. There was no time for sentiment.

Then, through the haze, she spotted them. Huddled near the ruins of a small cottage, surrounded by three advancing Dark Soldiers. Each was bigger than the last, their blood red capes flowing behind them as they walked. Slowly. Calmly. As if savoring the fear her friends were giving off. Kate stood in front of the group, Kalmar not much behind. They both held jagged swords in their shaking hands. And one thing was certain.

They stood no chance.

“Down there,” Edge whispered to Echo, placing a hand on the dagger concealed in her belt. Echo grunted, arching his wings and settling into a full dive towards the Dark Soldiers.

It was now or never.