After a strained moment, Dev shook his head. He turned and looked at Fifer, who was as close to him as she’d ever been, barring their hug on the stairs when Dev had found them in his library. Something in his stomach flipped, and he caught his breath. “It’s your birds,” he said. “They’re on the way. I nearly forgot.”

“Oh, of course,” Fifer said. “That’s a relief.”

They watched them coming in and realized they were carrying the hammock, like usual. As they approached, the front dragon turned his head sharply. He stood up and faced them, as if he found their approach threatening in some way. And then, as Shimmer and the rest of the birds came swooping down over the dragon toward the palace, the fire-breathing creature let out a mighty roar, throwing flames from his mouth a hundred feet into the air.

“What? No!” Fifer screamed. She gripped Dev’s forearm. “Stop! Oh no!”

But the billowing flame caught the flock and the canvas hammock as if they were made of tinder. Everything went up in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of them.

Things Get Real

Fifer stared in horror. Then she turned and ran across the library to the stairs and started down. “No!” she yelled again. “My birds!”

Dev started after her. “Where are you going? Wait!”

Fifer kept moving.

“Fifer!” Dev shouted. He tried to catch her, but she was too fast. “Fifer, stop! There’s nothing you can do! The dragons—”

Fifer couldn’t think straight. How could this have happened? The property was filled with birds, and the dragons had never done anything to them. She’d never seen the dragons even pay attention to them. And now all of her precious birds were dead. Shimmer… She stopped at the bottom of the spiral staircase, sending the foxes running. Shimmer was dead too.

The dragons had done nothing to the foxes. They’d never gone after a bird. Was it the hammock that had spooked the dragon? Did they suspect these birds were more than just casual neighbors on this property?

Dev caught up and stopped behind Fifer, breathing hard from the chase. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “Are you okay?”

Fifer was so angry she couldn’t begin to cry. She wanted to murder the dragon for what he’d done. She covered her face, shocked by her own violent reaction. But it was true that Fifer was a killer now, after taking down Frieda Stubbs. She looked up. “I’m so furious!” she screamed, more at the dragons than in response to Dev’s question. “Augh!”