Fathom stared at the dripping red knife in Albatross’s claws. Drops of blood spattered the floor, his grandfather’s talons, his tail.

Fathom couldn’t move. Part of his brain was still thinking, Did he slip? Did someone throw that knife by accident? Why isn’t the queen getting up? Albatross can fix it; he fixes everything.

And the other part of his brain was sending panicked alerts to every part of his body at once. Swim! Fly! Run! Fight!

Albatross looked at the knife curiously, as if he’d just found a charming new pet. Over by the bar, the dragon who’d been slicing coconuts was still looking around in confusion, wondering where it had gone.

The SkyWings reacted first, taking to the air with shrieks of fear. Albatross glanced up at them, turned the knife over for a moment, and then let it go. The knife flew through the air and stabbed Sunset in the spot where her jaw met her neck. A moment later, it yanked itself free and spun to catch Eagle in the heart.

He’s killing them, Fathom thought, his mind trapped in quicksand. He could kill all of us.

The red dragons thudded down to the terrace, knocking over one of the jellyfish aquariums as they landed. Glass shattered and water cascaded out over the dance floor, where the jellyfish flopped and squelched under the talons of screaming, fleeing dragons.

“Can you stop him?” Indigo asked, grabbing Fathom’s arm.

“Me?” he yelped. “No! I’m not strong enough! And he’s my grandfather — I can’t —”

“He just killed your queen and two SkyWings!” Indigo said.

“But he was angry at them.” Fathom felt as though words were just cascading out of his mouth without checking through any higher brain functions first. “He won’t hurt anyone else, will he? If I try anything, it could just make everything worse.”

“I’m not taking any chances,” Indigo said. “We have to hide you.” She dragged him out of the circle of lanterns to the path between the gardenia bushes.

“What about my parents?” he said frantically. He tried to pull back and his wings caught on a trailing vine. “What about Pearl?” He couldn’t see his sister, but through the melee he spotted Manta struggling to get closer to Albatross. What are you doing, Mother? he thought in a panic. Run away! The opposite way! She was going to try to calm Albatross down, he was sure. That was her way of handling everything.

“We can’t get to them,” Indigo said, “and if Albatross kills anyone else, it’ll be you, sure as sunshine.”

“Me?” Fathom said. “But —”

Fathom looked over his shoulder and saw his grandfather scanning the terrace with his strange, fierce eyes. He did look like he was looking for something — someone … could it be Fathom?

Behind Albatross, Splash suddenly lunged around the fountain, pointing a spear at his heart.

Albatross didn’t even look at her. The spear twisted in her talons, yanked itself free, and plunged into her chest, pinning her to the ground.

He’s not finished, Fathom thought with horror.

“Come on,” Indigo cried, pulling Fathom free of the vegetation. They ran full-tilt along the winding paths, leaving clouds of scattered petals in their wake. Away from the lanterns, the island was full of long shadows, waiting for their moment to pounce. One of the moons was rising, enormous and low on the horizon, a strange orange-red color, as though it had been stained by the pool around Lagoon’s body.

“Should we fly?” he said to Indigo, panting.

She tilted her head up just as a scream of agony came from the sky. “Easy targets,” she panted back.

Everyone’s an easy target to him, Fathom thought with another stab of fear. He can send a knife after me no matter where I run to.

I may already be dead.

The gravel under their talons suddenly changed to wood and they found themselves pounding along one of the walkways that led to an overwater pavilion. The sea rushed madly below them, chasing itself up the sand and down without getting anywhere. The sun was almost gone, barely flicking its tail over the far edge of the ocean. Stars glittered in the deepening purple sky and the dark water below them.

The pavilion was deserted, lit only by moonlight through the windows overhead and bioluminescent plankton shimmering under the glass floor. A dead orca and a pair of fishing spears were mounted on the sky-high ceiling. A balcony looked out on the dying sunset and a pair of strange shapes hulked against the side wall.

It took Fathom a moment to remember what they were. Queen Lagoon had called them “boats” — Humpback had found mentions of them in some old scrolls. They were for riding on the water instead of swimming in it, which was a weird concept. But Lagoon had ordered them built so she could take the SkyWings out on the ocean tomorrow.

That’s never going to happen, Fathom realized as the shock washed over him again, because they’re all dead.

“Let’s swim,” Indigo said, hurrying to the balcony. “He’ll have to search the whole ocean for us.”

“No,” Fathom said. “I can’t leave — my family — I need to stay close so I know when — when it’s safe.”

“Then we hide.” Indigo circled the boats for a moment. She finally seized one in her talons and tilted it back far enough from the wall that Fathom could crawl under it. He held it up so she could join him, and then let it fall quietly back against the wood.

They huddled in the darkness.

Fathom could feel Indigo’s breath on his face, his neck. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but it seemed as though he could feel her heart racing as fast as his was. He knew he wasn’t imagining the trembling in her wings.

Now that they’d stopped moving, they could hear the faraway screams.

Indigo wrapped her front talons around Fathom’s and bowed her head.

“Do you really think he would hurt me?” Fathom whispered. “We’re partners. He’s my grandfather.”

“He had no problem killing his sister,” Indigo pointed out. “And you’re the only one he has any reason to be afraid of.”

Because I’m special. Because of my magic, which I thought was so wonderful.

“If we die —” he whispered.

“Shhh. You’re not allowed to die,” she whispered back without looking up.

“Do you think it’s true that animus dragons lose their souls?” Fathom said softly. “Is that why he’s doing this?”

Her shoulders lifted and fell, and he could hear her unspoken thought: The question isn’t why … it’s how do we survive this?

But he thought why? was kind of important, too.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have run away,” he whispered.

“Shhh,” she said again, clutching his talons tighter.

He fell silent, listening.

The screams had stopped.

Somehow, that was worse.

They waited for an eternity, frozen in the gathering dark.

What is happening?

A small bar of moonlight tipped in the window and inched across the floor toward them.

Is everyone dead?

Or did they stop him? Maybe Mother managed to talk to him. Maybe she calmed him down. Maybe everything’s all right now.

Apart from the dead queen and murderous grandfather, that is.

Fathom took shallow, quiet breaths, trying unsuccessfully to slow down his heart. He couldn’t put them together — the grandfather who’d joked with him about the throne design this morning and the dragon who’d held the bloody knife over his sister’s body.

Creeeak.

The softest of noises. It could be the wind shifting the walkway. It could be a turtle bumping into one of the columns below them.

Or it could be talonsteps on the planks outside.

Maybe it’s Mother, to tell us it’s safe to come out, Fathom thought desperately.

But she wouldn’t approach so quietly, so carefully.

Like a dragon hunting for his prey.

Closer.

And closer.

One deliberate step at a time.

I’m about to die, Fathom thought. His heart was trying to swim out of his body, thumping in his ears far louder than the steps on the boards outside.

Please don’t kill Indigo, too.

Maybe there’s still time for her to escape if I distract him. He has no reason to go after her. She means nothing to him.

But he couldn’t get a message to his petrified muscles. He couldn’t move, could hardly even think as the talons stepped lightly into the pavilion.

“Grandson.” The hiss slithered around the room like smoke. “Hiding like a nervous hermit crab. Interesting choice. One I should have expected, though, from such a little dragonet with such a limited imagination.”

Albatross paced slowly closer. Indigo’s trembling stilled and she took a deep breath.

“You may be wondering why you’re still alive,” Albatross said. “Especially when your entire family is dead.”

No, Fathom thought, drums beating misery through his head. No. They can’t be. No.

“You know I could easily kill you from a distance. It would barely take a thought. But you’ve been such a thorn in my side the last few years. Every chance she got — ‘I don’t really need you anymore. Perhaps Fathom will be better at this than you are. You’re so expendable now that I have a replacement. What a pathetic creature you are, little brother, with your tiny teeth and oddly colored scales. Fathom is so much more presentable than you are.’ ” Albatross growled in the back of his throat.

“So, no, I couldn’t dispose of you from afar. That wouldn’t be satisfying at all. I want to see your face as you die.”

The boat flew away from them as Albatross ripped it off the wall and flung it across the room. It landed with a crash that shook the whole pavilion.

At the same moment, Indigo uncoiled and sprang at Albatross. Her front claws sank into his neck and her back claws dug at his chest, while her wings flared up to blind him.

“Fathom, get out of here!” she screamed.

She’s going to die for me.

Albatross roared, a sound of pure rage and hatred.

She’s going to die.

Fathom would never, never let that happen.

He was on his feet suddenly, stretching one talon toward the ceiling. He couldn’t touch them, but he felt power surging through his claws and he leaned into it.

“Spears!” he shouted. “Kill my grandfather!”

The fishing spears wrenched themselves off the wall and shot toward Albatross.

“No!” Albatross yelled. “Spears —”

Indigo seized his snout, smothering his words, and bit down hard on his ear.

A spear smashed into Albatross’s back. He grabbed the pearls around Indigo’s neck and twisted as she let go of him with a strangled yelp of pain. One of his claws sliced across her neck as the second spear slammed into his side.

Both dragons collapsed to the floor.

Blood seeped over gray scales, pale blue scales, indigo scales, all across their wings, all over everything.

Fathom’s talons were deep in blood.

“Indigo,” he cried. Sobs rose from his chest, threatening to tear out his ribs. “Indigo.” He slipped and slid through the blood over to her body and pulled her free from the weight of Albatross. His grandfather’s dark eyes glared sightlessly up at the moons. The spears had done their work well. He was gone.

But Indigo was not. There were bruises all along her throat and a gash that bubbled horribly below her jaw, but her eyes were open, and they saw him. He cradled her head gently, taking her talon when she reached for him.

“Such an idiot,” she whispered, wincing as the effort made the gash bleed harder.

“Yes, you are,” he said through his tears, and she managed a smile.

“Told you you weren’t allowed to die,” she said. Her eyes drifted shut.

“Yeah,” he said, “well, neither are you.”

He wrapped his claws around the pearls and whispered, “Heal this dragon and save her life. Please. Please. Please save her life.”

He could feel the struggling, slow flutter of her pulse under his claws; he felt it jump, pause, and then start to beat stronger and steadier.

The pearls glowed warmly for a moment, like little fire-breathing roses.

And then the bruises faded away. The gash in her neck closed up, scales knitting back together. So did the deep lacerations along her side, which he hadn’t even been paying attention to.

Time passed, and then Indigo took a long, shuddering breath and opened her eyes.

He helped her sit up and threw his wings around her.

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. They were both crying too hard to talk at this point anyway.

Fathom knew he would have paid any price to save her life.

But he also knew she must be wondering the same thing he was.

Was the price a piece of his soul?

Would his power slowly turn him evil?

Was every spell he cast bringing him a step closer … to becoming like Albatross?