Enders looked half asleep.

Suddenly everyone was moving. Odix was lunging for the old man, Scorpian was jumping over the table to get to him, Night was going for Candy, and Silver stood, frozen in place.

Odix tackled - without any real struggle (or any struggle for that matter) - the old man to the ground and pinned him there as Scorpian came up next to them. Candy had wondered why Night was going for her of all people, but as she held herself up on her legs, she started to understand.

"You okay?" He asked, coming up beside her. She smiled and nodded. Maybe she needed to be held up at the moment because her leg was hurting, but she didn't want any help. Why? She didn't know for sure.

Odix was pressing his forearm against not-Enders, hovering over the man's face. Scorpian was assessing his wounds.

"What did you do with Enders!?" He growled. The man chocked something out, but it was inaudible. Odix shoved his arm farther into the stranger's neck, encouraging a strangled gag sound. He croaked something out, and Odix leaned back just enough for him to talk.

"Okay! Okay! He's in his own room," He said. Silver bolted up the stairs nearby in the direction of Enders' room. Odix grabbed the man and pulled him to his feet.

"Reveal yourself, thief," He slammed him against the wall for effect. The man gritted his teeth and locked his jaw, shaking his head. Candy caught whisps of the man underneath here and there, but it wasn't near enough to identify him.

"Why are you here!?" Odix shouted. The man was breathing heavily. Candy knew his already present injuries must not be helping. Silver returned with the real Enders leaning on him for support. Candy could practically see steam coming out of his ears.

"You are an arrogant fool. Did you really think they'd be fooled by your disguise?" He gestured around the room. The man remained quiet. "Tell us why you're here," Odix added, pressing him harder against the wall which was now stained red permanently from the stranger's blood.

"You might as well kill me now. I'll never speak," he hissed. Odix tilted his head down in a smile. Oh no. "Is that so?"

Odix took ahold of the man's shirt, yanking him out the door in front of him.

"Odix . . ." Scorpian took a step towards the door. Candy could physically see her change her mind about following him. The sound of feathers whooshed to life outside, followed by a scream and an abundance of yelps. Enders sighed, turning to the backroom.

"I'm going to make some tea," He walked slowly into the room and disappeared. Candy looked over to Night as if he had the answers. All she got was a shrug.

After about half an hour, Odix returned in his griffin form, which was slightly smaller than a dragon so he could fit under the door. Candy, Scorpian and Night had been working with the papers, trying to figure something out, Silver was drinking tea and reading, Enders was reorganizing his books.

Candy had forgotten how beautiful griffins were, especially Odix. Despite his holding a bloody, beat-up man in his talons, he himself looked no different than when she'd last seen him, with vibrant blue feathers, some areas along his neck and wings dotted with black and white speckles, along with a black beak, black talons, and a multitude of feathers dipped in silver to match his human hair.

He shrank down - though not that far - into his human form and pushed the man to the floor.

"Odix, what did you do?" Scorpian grabbed a ready pack of medical supplies and started fixing the man up. Candy could see how different the real man looked, much younger and more wide-eyed than Enders. He had brown hair and a scrawny figure, but that was all she could make out. She looked over to Odix. She'd imagined him looking proud or victorious, instead, he looked more tired and angry.

"His real name is Charles Grandrick. It's true, he is our killer, but . . ." he sighed," he isn't our murderer."

"What does that mean?" Scorpian asked from her position on the floor.

"It means he's been working for someone this entire time," he sighed dramatically along with the rest of the room. Charles let out a yelp as Scorpian purposely yanked one of the bandages on too tight. "Did you get who he works for at least?" Night asked, his eyes fixed on Charles.

Odix shook his head. "By the time I got the information I did, he was pretty, uh, in a bad way," He stared at the ground. Suddenly he perked up.

"But . . . he did mention something about a couple of other people that worked for his boss. Uh, but I can only remember one name."

Scorpian snorted. "Greatest interrogator ever."

"Hey! I was tired myself! Besides, I've had a long day and I don't know about you guys but I'm hungry," He started making his way to the backroom.

"Wait, what was the name?" Candy asked, stopping him in his tracks.

"Oh, yeah, it was Derek Pines," With that, he was gone. Candy's eyes went wide.

"No way," she breathed, catching the attention of the others in the room. "That guy, Derek, he was one of the guards posted outside my- the queen and king's bedroom the night they were murdered!"

"If one of us could get to Nigintia city . . ." Scorpian stared at the ground in thought. "I wonder if that's were Kade is."

Candy was happy to know she wasn't the only one thinking of their lost friend. Lost friend, she'd had way too many of those. Thunder appeared in the doorway. Speaking of lost friends.

"Woah, wait, shouldn't you be resting?" Silver asked from over the top of his book. Thunder shrugged.

"I feel fine. Besides, it's lonely up there. I can't believe none of your guys wanted to see my beautiful new face," For a split second, Candy thought he'd gone right back to being a jerk until he smiled and made her relax. I didn't know he could joke.

"I didn't know you could joke now," Scorpian grinned up at him.

"What happened to that guy?" Thunder pointed to the beaten man on the ground.

"Thunder, meet Charles Grandrick. The worker for a mysterious murderer, a shape-shifter, and the murderer of the queen and king of Nigintia."

"Woah, I didn't know . . . I'm glad . . . well, I guess someone good has to have the throne now," he struggled to get out the words. Candy wondered if someone had told him about her history with the rulers of Nigintia.

"Oh, by the way, look," He lifted his shirt, showing his stomach which - Candy noticed - lacked a bandage or four. All that was left was a scar.

"That's . . . Thunder, that's impossible . . . how?" Scorpian couldn't talk like she normally could. She'd finished with Charles and stood, leaving him on the floor and stepping over to see her friend's magical new body.

"I have a lot of questions . . ." Night said, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"Plus, there's this," Thunder twisted so that they could see the right side of his ribs. There, slashed permanently into his skin was a strange mark, reminding Candy of his dragon shifter mark on his other side. Scorpian studied it for a moment.

"Weird. That looks like a slashy, painful version of a griffiner's mark," Odix cut in from the doorway - a piece of toast in one hand and a glass of tea in the other.

Everyone turned to him, waiting for him to go on. He took a giant bite of toast, swallowed, and then stepped farther into the room.

"That swoopy thing right there looks like the arch in my birthmark next to the-"

"Odix," Scorpian raised an eyebrow at him. The griffiner laughed, setting down his piece of toast and his glass. Instead of showing off his eight-pack - Candy was positive it was there - he took a paper and charcoal stick and sketched something out.

The others - except, of course, Charles who was still laying on the floor in bandages - crowded around the paper to see what he'd drawn. It reminded her of a wave, with two curved lines swooping - on over the other - to the right with a fairly big dot right underneath. It was a good drawing too because when Candy looked back to Thunder's side, through the thick of the scratches she could see the same shape.

"Are we saying . . . is Thunder a dragon shifter and a griffiner?" Night searched his friends' faces, all of their eyes just as wide as the others.

No one said anything for a moment.

"We're still called griffin shifters but we've shortened it to griffiners," Everyone turned to Odix.

"Wait, so not only did terrible scientists make our dragon friend here a shifter, but they also made him a griffiner?" Night asked again. A few of them slowly nodded. If it had been Candy in Thunder's place, she would've been excited to have both abilities, but when she looked at her friend, he looked just the opposite.

"Guys, I don't want to be both. I didn't even want to be a dragon shifter, much less anything else . . ." he swallowed. Candy could tell he was trying not to cry.

"Here, I'll make you some tea," she put her hand gently on his back and led him to the backroom. "But I warn you, I've never made tea before. Prepare for this to possibly kill you," she was relieved to see him smile.

They sat together at the table in the backroom. It got actually really cozy the farther back they went. There was a window next to the table that looked out at the space behind the building. It wasn't much to look at, but for once, Candy didn't need it to be.

She did manage to make (what she assumed was) peppermint tea.

Thunder took a sip and started coughing, but he had a smile on his face - which was rapidly turning red and a vein was popping out of the side of his neck. Candy both wanted to laugh her heart out and make sure he was okay. When he finally stopped, he took another sip, making her burst out laughing. He grinned.

"It's not actually bad I just drank down the wrong tube," his words only made her laugh harder. She slapped her hand on the table, trying to suck in at least one full breath of air, which was currently impossible. When she finally calmed down, taking deep, laughter-threatening breaths, she managed to cool down and be serious.

"I'm sorry," she said, giving him a soft smile.

"It's okay. It wasn't as bad as you'd think, you actually make pretty good tea," for a moment she thought he was talking about his painful last few weeks, but when she realized he was talking about the tea, she smiled, giggling.

They both sat for a moment, the air of laughter melted away.

"I don't know if I'll eve be able to turn again," she glanced down at her leg.

"What do you mean?" He tilted his head slightly in wonder. She took a deep breath, then stretched her leg out where he could see it. Since it was summer, and in the city, she wore a cool outfit; a black, red, yellow, and blue striped tank top and high-waisted, beige shorts.

Under her knee was mostly swollen, which made her flinch to see, but the most disturbing thing was the giant, fresh, nasty-looking (and feeling) scar reaching up and down her shin and the thought of the metal rod in her leg.

"When I came to rescue you, I came in wrong and broke my leg on the window. After all the work it took to save you and your ego," he mirrored her grin, "I needed a metal stick to keep my bones straight and strong."

He winced empathetically, leaning closer to see it better.

The sight made her feel both dizzy and invincible somehow.

"I guess we both get something out of this - some crazy scar and memory," he said. She snorted.

"Just the souvenir I wanted."

His eyes sparkled from the window light, which was slowly seeping into a sunset. They were so blue and vibrant and reminded her of his glorious dragon self. Although she hated them, and everything they did and stood for, and wanted to burn their everything to the ground, the scientists had actually done a good job of making Thunder a human. But how? How did that do that!? How did they do this!?

"Do you think you can turn?" she wanted to get her mind of the angry fireball she had raging inside her gut. He shrugged.

"Believe it or not I have done it before - once - but it hurt like crazy."

"Oh," she stared at the table. Something told her he was smiling so she looked up. Sure enough, he was gazing out the window with the edges of his mouth curled up.

"Just watch," he pulled open the window and clambered onto the pavement outside. Candy followed, stepping out as gracefully as possible.

"Woah, you guys aren't trying to run away, are you?" Night appeared in the doorway, but Candy just beckoned him over.

Outside, with fresh air, Candy could suddenly breathe, something she didn't know had been so hard inside. Thunder seemed to feel the same, as he took in giant gulps of air.

"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea," Night said as he climbed out after them.

"Says the guy who got himself trapped in a royal prison cell the farthest level below the castle," Candy raised her eyebrows, making him roll his eyes and shake his head with a smile.

"Okay, if I pass out or die, tell my story," Thunder said, squaring his shoulders. The three of them stood, waiting anxiously and curiously.

"Here goes nothing," Thunder took one last big breath, then grew. Wings emerged from his back and a tail stretched out. The familiar greys, blues, and whites came to life, dancing over his beautiful scales.

Candy breathed. "Thunder . . ." he looked just like she'd remembered, except more humble and kind, which made him look even better, of course. He towered over them, slender and beautiful. Candy laughed, just about jumping up and down and hugged one of his legs. They didn't need to understand each other to understand how they both felt. Night looked slightly in shock.

Thunder breathed out a strong breath of air all over Candy, making her laugh and smile like a nymph (not the one's on the island, of course). Suddenly, his scales turned into feathers and his size shrank slightly. His snout turned into a beak. Despite his now being a griffin, Thunder still looked beautiful and the same Thunder she knew. He still had his electric blue eyes.

His feathers were still as grey as they'd been as a dragon, with white speckled dappled in stripey patterns and sparkling blue feathers. At that moment, Candy never felt so stuck on the ground.

Thunder's eyes were wide as he staggered back slightly. Candy held out her arms, trying to say, be careful!

He shook, letting a few feathers loose. Then, something came across his face. Even as a griffin, she already knew what that look meant. She made the same expression back, grabbed Night, and pulled him up with her as she climbed onto Thunder's back.

He shifted under her, turning into a dragon to blend into the city better.

In the window down below, Odix, Scorpian, Silver, and Enders' heads all popped into view. Enders was shouting something, waving his arms, Scorpian and Odix were struggling out the window, and Silver just stood, his eyes wider than Candy thought possible.

All she caught from Enders was, "Stop!" and "Not safe!" before Thunder crouched down, spread his wings - Scorpian and Odix screaming and struggling to stop him - and then leaped off the ground and beat his wings as they soared into the air.

Candy laughed hysterically as the wind grabbed at her clothes and pulled at her hair. As a dragon, the wind felt much stiller than it did riding a dragon.

She wrapped her arms around Thunder's neck, hoping he could hear her joy as he carried them into the air. The sky was turning from orange and pink to purple.

After a timeless hour, the sky was black, with stars dappling it. Thunder made a funny sound in his throat, which vibrated Candy and Night, and made the white and blue stripes and patterns across him light up. Candy's breath caught in her throat at the sight. Thunder glowed in the night like a star. She couldn't be happier for him.

Out of the darkness - despite the city lights far below, the sky still kept dark by some magic - Candy heard before she saw Scorpian and Odix, frantically flapping through the air after them.

Night slid off Thunder and turned into his dragon self, hovering in front of them with his talons out. A series of grunts and growls emerged from him - none of which Candy understood - but by the looks of it, he was trying to make it look like he'd been trying to convince them not to go on.

When the other two arrived, they were all roars and growls. Candy was sure they didn't completely use words. Scorpian gestured to Candy, which made her tense on Thunder's back. He sensed it and turned to glance at her, making sure she was alright.

The night air was chilly, and Candy shivered, which Thunder must've also felt, but scales turned to feathers and rippled over him until he was a griffin. He earned himself another round of roars and growls.

When they landed, three of them turned back to people, but Thunder stayed a griffin. Candy had just about fallen asleep on his back, which was so soft as a griffin - and warm too.

Night and Odix helped her off before Thunder melted into his human form again.

"Guys, you don't get it. It doesn't feel right to be a human to me, I don't-"

"Thunder, that's enough," Scorpian said firmly but softly. Thunder breathed hard but didn't push them as the five of them walked back inside. Candy felt woozy and dizzy, but she didn't want to tell the others. It's nothing. I think I'm just not used to flying or so much air.

This is what she told herself as she snuggled down into her bed. She knew she should probably feel something stronger about the whole thing, but the nausea that engulfed her made her more numb and tired than anything.

The next morning when Candy awoke, Night was standing there, whispering to Enders. Candy sat up quickly, startled at seeing them.

"Can I help you?" she was still wearing the clothes from the night before, but she instinctively pulled the blankets up to her chin.

"Do you feel okay?" Night looked tired, but she knew he'd never admit it and she couldn't convince him to get rest.

"Yeah, why?" she lied. The truth was, the room looked weird, sounds were weird, everything was just weird. The good news was, she couldn't feel her leg. At all.

"Because this morning I was going to get a drink, then I heard something coming from your room, so I came in to check on you, and you were all sweaty. The weirdest thing was that you were trying to turn."

"Well, I did have funny strange dreams," she said. His face looked . . . odd. Maybe it was the third eye.

"Last night, when you kidnapped me to go on a flight on Thunder, did anything happen then?" Night sat on the edge of her bed, making her lean towards him.

"Uh, we flew . . . the sky . . . he was a griffin," she slowly blinked. Night looked worried and slightly pale - that she knew was real - as he leaned forward and gently put his hand against her forehead.

She let all her weight against him as he tried to pull his hand away.

"Candy? Candy? What's wrong!?" his voice was far away now but she could hear his heartbeat loud and clear. Probably because her head was resting on his chest.

"Can-"

"You're pretty fit, you know," she poked his arm. The muscles were right there.

He said something, then pulled her close to him, picking her up as he stood. The room and the world blurred, then she was laying against him on the floor suddenly. Oh, and they were downstairs.

Her other leg was numb, and she was losing feeling in her waist, but besides that, she felt fine. Voices hovered in the air over and around her, but they all sounded like jibberish. Something yanked her consciousness.

Come on, Candy. You know something's wrong. Don't give into it. What's the problem? She reached back in her memories, although they were fuzzy, everything seemed normal. For some reason, Dr. Ouial popped into her head, and she couldn't shake him.

She looked down at her leg. It looked worse than it had the day before. I know what I need to do, she pulled herself back to her body, using all her strength to do it.

She could hear her friends now, but it took all her energy not to slip back into a daze so she ignored them. Come on, Candy. You can do this. Do it for them. She looked up at her friends' faces. But they won't understand.

"I need some water," she struggled to say. Silver was gone. But it wasn't enough. "A-and some toast, please," Now Scorpian left. This'll have to do.

"Night, Thunder," they both eagerly leaned close. "You have to trust me - I don't have much time," she wanted to add more, but that was all she could get out. She let herself sit there for one moment more.

She took a deep breath, then moving with more strength than she meant to, got to her feet, grabbed a hold of both Night and Thunder, then staggered back with them into the library.

Odix shouted in protest, but she closed the door and locked it.

She pushed Night over to a window seat and grabbed Thunder's hands, holding them close to her. She knew she was losing it and would only be able to get out one word, but she knew exactly what she had to do.

"Turn," she pressed her head against his and closed her eyes. He was breathing fast and his heart was beating hard. She hoped he'd understand, gripping his hands tighter.

Then, just when she was about to pass out, something washed over her.

It didn't hurt, exactly, it just felt strange, like all of her nerves shook themselves. Then painful ripples of fire dug at her every cell, especially in her leg. She was in that pain forever and for just a second, then she opened her eyes.

She was still in the library, clutching Thunder's talons in her own.