"What?" Avery stuttered, unable to coherently speak.

I was just as shocked as she was. I couldn't believe it, and I wouldn't.

"When does this happen?" I question and Hermia shook her head.

"I can't tell you." She said and I shook my head.

"If you really were our grandmother, you would tell us." I said, and she sighed. She simply raised her hand and pointed to the other carvings. I went over to them quickly, seeing a carving of me looking at this exact carving. I watched as the carvings on the wall shifted slightly as I moved.

"What is happening?" I questioned and looked back at Hermia.

"The future is shifting." She said and I looked at the charred carving, hoping it would change. Everything around it shifted and then, the same form reappeared.

I growled and grabbed a hold of one of the blue candles, throwing it directly at the wooden carving. It lit up in a ball of smoke and then de-lit, going back to its charred state.

I growled in frustration, throwing another candle at the wall. I punched the wall, cracking it. Aaron came into the room quickly, seeing my distress. He was followed by Cornelius and everyone else as they took in the carvings on the wall.

"We found out how to activate Andrea's powers," Aaron said and my face turned to stone. I bottled up my emotions and put them away in my brain.

"We need to leave." I said and pushed past Aaron. I ran down the stairs and Aaron caught up to me, grabbing my arm.

"What is going on?" He questioned and I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. My emotions were pushing back to the front of my brain.

"I think I'm going to kill Avery," I said, and Cornelius hissed.

"What do you mean?" Cornelius questioned, looking at Avery.

"The future has been predicted, and it won't change no matter what we do. One of us kills the other." Avery said, pointing back to the room.

"We can fight it," I said and she shook her head, pushing me back.

"Avery, we can do it. We just need to-" I was saying when she pushed me back again.

"No! We need to stay away from each other!" She said, and I shook my head.

"Avery, we can't just run from it!" I said, and she shook her head.

"Well unlike you, I don't want to die, so we are leaving." She said, grabbing hold of Cornelius' hand. I followed after them, yelling as Cornelius flew away with her. I ran after them and Aaron grabbed hold of me as I struggled to get after them.

"Stop." He said and I tried getting out from his grip. I was mid shift in his arms, my bones cracking and snapping around as I fought my insides.

"Nooo, Avery!!!" I screamed and got free. I fully shifted into a dragon and flew off after them, right out of the dragon village.

I flew fast, trying to catch them when I saw a helicopter smash into Cornelius and Avery was thrown into the air.

I roared and dove after her, catching her in my claws.

I put her on the ground and watched as a rally of men came after her on the ground as I landed. I stood over her, guarding her body.

The men rushed me and I threw them to the sides, hearing their bones snap as they hit the trees. The others joined ran out of the dragon village to join us, including Andrea.

Aaron came over to me, pulling the earth from underneath the men around me. They screamed and fell below, the earth swallowing them whole. Aaron swept the earth back over them, trapping them underground.

We had landed in a large field surrounded by forest and ended up fighting a huge battle against over two hundred human soldiers.

All of them ended up dead within minutes. I watched as Cornelius landed on top of a few of them, his talons ripping into their bodies as their screams filled the air. Cassie shocked people, lightning flying from different parts of the ground. The smell of sizzled flesh hung in the air.

I shifted back to my form and helped Avery up, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry." She said and I nodded. Avery backed up and looked around at all the destruction that had been caused, seemingly overwhelmed by the fresh stench of death.

"It's ok. We can change the future." I said and she nodded. Suddenly she was knocked back by something, her eyes widening. My world slowed down, almost coming to a complete halt. I looked her over slowly, watching her hand rise to her side. A black hilted knife was lodged deep into her side. She gasped for air, falling to her knees and then collapsing to the other side.

"NO!" I screamed, running over to Avery as fast as I could. Cornelius swooped in out of nowhere in his dragon form and grabbed the man who threw the knife. He took the scared man in his claws, tearing him into two separate pieces as the man screamed bloody murder. Cornelius roared as he launched the pieces in two separate directions, never to be seen again.

I bent down next to Avery, my world crumbling into little pieces as she struggled to hold on to life. I just found out that she's my sister; this couldn't be happening.

"Avery, stay with me," I said and watched as Cornelius shifted and ran to join us.

"Of course." She said weakly, pulling the knife out. She looked faint and could barely sit up. I laid her down on her back and she winced.

"I think I've been poisoned." She huffed out, and I looked at the knife. The goop that was supposed to be blood soaking the end of the knife was black. I threw it to the ground and watched as my sister struggled to hold onto life.

"You can't die. It won't happen. It can't." I said, and she looked up at me sadly.

"We can't change what the carvings said. That's our destiny." She said softly, and I let the tears fall from my eyes.

Avery's heartbeat slowed and came to a complete stop. I waited a few seconds and listened, putting my ear to her chest. There wasn't the usual sound of thudding against her ribcage as I remembered hearing those nights when I couldn't sleep. My eye's widened and I shook my head.

"No no no! Stay with me! No!" I stuttered, pulling her body into my arms as she lay limp and unmoving. I screamed in furry, my entire body shaking. Cornelius' face was a sickening white, as though his entire life was drained from him. He cried out, pounding his fists into the ground. His pale face was wet from the stream of tears pouring out from his eyes.

The battle was over, we had won. The enemy was dead, but they did not die without taking one of our own with them.

Andrea came over, blood covering her clothes. She had a determined look on her face as she glared at Avery. I held her closer, shaking from every sob and scream that left my body. Aaron came over to me; he seemed saddened at my own sadness. He placed his hands on my shoulders lightly, supporting me through the pain. Andrea rolled her shoulders back and kneeled next to Avery, putting her hand on the open wound on her side. I glared at her through the tears, suddenly angry at Andrea for touching my sister's body.

For a few seconds, we sat there as Cornelius moaned in pain, his mate bond fading away. He cried hard, but he hadn't known her for the time I had. I remembered running around the forest floor with our parents watching behind us and laughing at us dancing away under a big oak tree. Another memory of us laying on our backs in a field behind the dorm, naming the stars we thought were unnamed. I remember her laughing at my terrible jokes and the tears she had one day when she thought of her mother. Our mother.

Andrea sighed and lifted her hand from Avery's side, shaking her head. She backed away and stared at Avery's body. I followed Andrea's gaze and landed on the spot where the wound had been.

The wound was gone. I stared at it in disbelief, unsure if I was imagining it or not. Aaron's grip on my shoulders tightened, and Cornelius' head shot up and his eyes were wide.

. . .

Avery shot up, gasping for air.

She quickly stood up and seemed surprised, as she clutched her shirt and struggled to get enough air in her lungs.

I screamed and launched myself at her. I pulled her into the tightest hug, thinking it was a dream. I kissed the side of her head and held her tightly, not letting her go. Cornelius let out a little laugh as the tears continued to roll down his cheeks and joined in, hugging her as well. He kissed her and smiled, then kissed her again. I struggled to find words and looked at Aaron, then at Andrea.

"How?" I blew out, utterly shocked.

"Saphire unlocked my powers. I can give or take life, and I can't die. She called me a 'life essence'." She said and I let go of Avery to hug her.

"Congrats on not being completely useless," Claudius snickered as Ethan swatted him upside the head. They glared at each other but said nothing.

"Now what?" Aaron said, and I looked back at him. He smiled down at me and I shrugged. I looked at Avery and Cornelius who seemed happier than ever, holding each close as Cornelius whispered little non-senses in her ear. I grinned at Aaron, standing up straight.

"Now you prove how badly you want me," I said, spinning on my heels and sprinting away. I jumped and shifted mid-air into another dragon, putting as much space between me and him as possible.

Running from him was a rush. I never wanted to run from him before, but his father hadn't given me a choice. Now, I was free to love him endlessly. Pumping my wings, I soared up into the air. I felt a hand on my ankle and looked down to see Aaron. He grinned wildly and pulled my leg, bringing us down towards the ground.

We landed and I shifted back, landing on top of him. We laid on the ground for a moment, staring into each other's eyes.

A glint reflected in his eyes as his smile grew wider. He pushed a piece of my hair from in front of my face to behind my ear. I smiled down at him, then leaned in close and placed a kiss on his soft lips.

This was our first kiss, the first of many, and the beginning of an entirely new adventure.