“Ba!” I shouted, but a loud, familiar roar stopped me in my tracks.
I whipped my head toward the sound just in time to see Ren—or rather, a Ren whose skin was bubbling green as his body morphed and grew.
“Another demon!” screamed Mrs. Zheng.
Turning in confused circles, the men seemed like they didn’t know who to attack—demon-Ashley or dragon-Ren.
“No, Ren’s harmless! He’s not a demon—he’s just—just—turning into a dragon!” I shouted, rushing toward Ren.
I reached out to Ren with my mind, fumbling for that telepathic communication that I’d had with him and all the dragons during the Lunar New Year. But my thoughts were met with silence. My heart pounded. I wasn’t reaching Ren. I wasn’t going to be able to stop his dragon form from doing something potentially dangerous. Then—
Heaven Breaker? The dragon’s voice rumbled in my mind.
Yes. Relief and surprise flooded my body. I hadn’t thought I’d be able to get through to him. I mean, no. I mean—it’s complicated. Just—cut that out, whatever you’re doing. Please give Ren his body back!
In a strange mid-transformation form, Ren turned toward me. His skin was mostly covered in scales, but his eyes were still his own. And what if I don’t?
I’ll—
Before I could come up with a threat that would somehow scare a dragon, a blinding flash of white light surged from Ashley’s body. It flooded through the whole hall. I ducked, and the heat of the energy crackled as it shot just over my head.
When I dared to look up again, no damage had befallen the arena, except that a couple of the men were huddled in a corner sobbing. Ren had shrunk back to his normal, albeit shaken, human self. But the flames around every last warrior had extinguished—except for Ashley’s, Jordan’s, and mine.
Ashley had won her duel and eliminated the rest of the competition in one blow. But how? And at what price?
The mother of Ashley’s unconscious opponent rushed forward and wailed. Another woman placed her fingers on his wrist and then shouted, “He’s alive!”
The damage had been done, though.
“Ashley,” Jordan moaned. “What’d you do?”
Xiong stepped forward. “The Ninety-Sixth Duels are over. The winners: Faryn, Ashley, and Jordan. Everyone is dismissed.” Beads of sweat shone on his forehead as he surveyed the crowd. Even Xiong couldn’t keep his cool in the face of what had just happened.
“But—” protested one of the men.
Xiong raised his hand for silence. “I wish to speak with the Liao siblings. And Ren. Alone.”
Whispering to one another, the warriors quickly left the training room. I glanced back just before the door closed. The look on Jordan’s face reflected pure terror. Ren hung his head in shame. Ashley’s reaction was to sway and then collapse onto the mat. Then the door shut.
* * *
I headed back to my room. Most of the warriors stayed out in the halls, gathering in groups and whispering.
“Always knew something was wrong with that girl,” hissed an older woman to a group of other mothers. “Here’s the proof.”
“And that dragon boy? Knew he was no good, too,” whispered her friend.
I paused, about to say something to stick up for Ren and Ashley—and then stopped. The women stared at me, as though I, too, showed signs of transforming into something nonhuman. I left without a word.
It was late evening now. My body ached from the exertion of my duel, but when I tried to sleep, my thoughts wouldn’t let me rest. Instead, I got up and paced around my room.
Sure, I’d joked about Ashley being kind of a demoness—toward me, at least—but I hadn’t expected her to actually turn out to be … whatever she was. Did that mean the siblings were demons? Was that why the warriors were wary of them? Why wouldn’t they just ban them from the society?
Then there was the matter of Ren’s transformation—
“Faryn?” A knock on my door and the sound of Ren’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts.
I opened the door. “Speak of the devil,” I said.
“Devil? Wh-where?” Ren peered around the hallway nervously. He shifted his large blue backpack over his shoulder. It was so bulky, it didn’t zip all the way closed, as though he’d stuffed it full of everything he owned.
“It’s just an expression.” I nodded at Ren’s backpack. “What’s with the bag? Are you moving or something?”
I was joking, but Ren gave me a solemn nod. “Kind of. I’m … I’ve decided I’m going. To the Dragon Kings’ palace, I mean.”
“What?” My heart dropped to my stomach. “Why? They’re—they’re on the Jade Emperor’s side, aren’t they?”
“I’m not going to the Dragon Kings to help the Jade Emperor,” Ren said firmly. “I’m going to get the training they promised. You saw what happened earlier at the Duels.” Shame reddened Ren’s face, and he dropped his gaze down to his toes. “It’s not safe for me to be around other people.”
“Of c-course it’s safe,” I spluttered. The idea of Ren leaving me—just like everyone else has—was too much. I had to convince him to stay. “You’ve been here six months, and that was your first time transforming. And so what? It’s not like you ate an Elder or something—you didn’t even eat Mr. Wan, even though he probably deserved it—”
“Faryn!” Ren jolted his gaze upward and stared at me in horror.
“What? Just telling it like it is.” The man had made his dislike of us, and pretty much everything, quite clear. “You didn’t eat anyone, right?”
“No! Of course I didn’t eat anyone!”
“Then I don’t see why you have to leave.”
“I’m sorry.” Ren’s eyes shone with sorrow, which only made my heart twist harder. “I have to go, Faryn. You know I do.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew Ren was right, even though the thought of him leaving made my insides squeeze with panic. “So you’re really … leaving? Just like that?”
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised with a tentative smile. “Dragons are fast. I’ll be back before you know it. Before Xiong ends his next speech, probably.”
“Xiong really likes to listen to himself talk,” I agreed.
Ren gave me a half wave, half salute with one hand. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“You aren’t gonna say goodbye to the others? Not even Ah Qiao?”
Ren shrugged, though the look on his face was pained. “It’s for the best,” was all he said.
There were so many things I wanted to say to Ren, but I couldn’t figure out how to voice a single one. “Take care of yourself,” I told him, forcing a smile. Don’t leave me behind, just like everyone else has.
Ren reached out a hand, as if to offer a handshake—and then awkwardly placed it behind his head. “Yeah. You take care of yourself, too.” He smirked. “Try not to destroy any more immortals’ islands while I’m gone.”
“One time! That was one time,” I protested at Ren’s already retreating back. “And I—we—hardly ‘destroyed’ it!”