They had ended the fight, the king and the queen turning back to the castle. Sasha, Ivy, Isaak, and Denise heading inside Isaak’s place.

“That was a stupid thing to do”, Ivy noted. She sat down at the kitchen table with a bounce. Resting her head in her palms.

“Feels pretty good though”, Sasha said.

Of course, it had been stupid. Now she had wasted the moment of surprise. The royals would forever be on their watch, knowing what she could do. Aware of the hatred that burned inside her chest. Not that it could wash away the smile on her face.

“What do we do now?” Ivy said. “Continue on the list tomorrow?”

Ivy looked pretty worn out. Sasha felt ashamed for the thrill that was building up inside of her on the prospect of using more of the black magic.

“I tend to agree with Ivy”, Isaak said. He brought a kettle from the oven, slowly shaking his head. “That was stupid.”

He poured some soup to them then sat down at the table.

“The chef has some meat in the kitchen if you are hungry?” Isaak said to Denise. “Still raw.”

“We dragons don’t need to eat that often. I will be fine.”

“Well, then.” Isaak ate his soup, all the time looking carefully at Sasha.

“What is it?” Sasha sneered. “Just say it and stop looking at me.”

“I think you need a better teacher. I want you to go back to Elias.”

“Elias!” Sasha looked with narrowed eyes at Isaak. Since when had he grown a sprout?

“You think that is very wise? Going into the castle?” Denise interrupted. The dragon had been about to lay down to take a quick nap, but now she lifted her head, leaning in on the discussion.

“No”, Isaak said. “But I saw the look in the queen's eyes. She will choose him next time, and the queen defends what she loves, mercilessly.”

“And that ain’t me”, Sasha dully noted. “He deserves to die.”

Isaak put down his spoon, patting Sasha’s shoulder.

“We will come back to the list, eventually, but right now you need Elias. I have already sent him a message.”

“You have what?”

Both Ivy and Sasha turned to him, surprise written on their face.

“I am not wrong about this Sasha”, Isaak said. “I have a guard that will let you in during the night. Let no one else see you.”

Sasha wanted to protest, but she said nothing. She ate her soup in silence. Isaak seldom said anything, and Isaak was never wrong. She would do as he said. If he said she needed training, she did.

“You think I made her that pissed off?”

“Yes”, Isaak said. “You did.”

She had to swallow her pride. It tasted bad, but the fight with the king had learned her one thing. She had been high and mighty, thinking she was strong enough to deal the blow. Well, she was not and she had done a big mistake. Showing the royals her love for them, but learning her weakness in the process. She was thankful she learned it before it was too late.

Sasha had to gain access to all of the stolen magic inside her to deliver the blow of the orb, otherwise, they all would fail. She couldn’t take the risk of maybe. It would take more than she had planned. What's more, she had to attack him when he was alone. Greg had made a fantastic work, but it wouldn’t be enough if she didn’t come close enough to plant it where it actually could hurt. Somebody had to distract the queen. She was a surprisingly irritating nuisance. And she had to find the kings Achilles.