I breathe deeply with each step-down. There's a lot of people down here, all wanting to help me. Phe, Pearl, Niko, Fraze. And my sister. Vivvy. A clammy feeling creeps over my skin. My brow furrows, steps slowing. If anything happened to them because of what I'm doing, I could never forgive myself. But on the other hand, if they didn't help, this would take forever. Potentially a lifetime.

Sighing, I stop right in front of the door. I can hear them walking about. In my head I picture the twins sitting on their desks, swinging their legs against the old wood as they usually do, laughing with the others. How am I supposed to face them?

For crying out loud, I think. They're just trying to help. So let them.

With a deep breath, I open the door.

"Hi?"

"Finally!" says Fraze. "What was taking you so long? Is your mentor just one of those talkers or something?"

"Not exactly."

I step out of the door frame. I'm almost knocked backed, immediately greeted by both Phe and Vivvy's dragons. They hiss and prance around my hair before taking off, retreating back to their shadowy balconies up above. I roll my eyes.

"Hey," says Vivvy.

"Hi....Um, thanks for being here."

She flicks her hair back, smiling smugly at me.

"You know," she starts. "Crawling through bushes is so not a good idea. We have a curfew in place, not a bloodthirsty dictatorship."

The twins giggle. I take a second to take everyone in. They're all surrounding my workplace, gawking over plans and the half-built dragon heart and skeleton I have. Niko and Fraze look like they've been fighting over one of my blueprints. There's still a fine mix of dirt and leaves on their heads. Dirt smudges Niko's nose. All the while Fraze has been scratched so many times it looks like an army of mini bears went to war with him. I laugh, knowing I can't look much better.

"So, guys, listen..."

They fall mostly silent, looking towards me. There's a heavyweight at the front of my chest. I gulp. The sweat is back at it again, falling faster and faster. Because that's just what I need! To look like a sweaty mess! Great!

"Yeah?" says Fraze.

"You know how dangerous this is, right? We're technically breaking the law here. The. Law. And the worst case scenario is pretty bone-chilling."

"C'mon!", says Phe. "That's never been enforced, and definitely not to this level. Worst-case scenario, they dismantle the dragon and we're back to square one. Basically, where we are now."

"I get that," I say. "But nothing like this has ever been done before-"

"-Not to mention the fact that I doubt people will care about what a bunch of kids do," adds Niko.

I glare at him. He shrugs his shoulders as if he didn't have a care in the world. I take another deep breath. This convincing thing might be harder than I thought.

"Well, fine, if you're all okay with potentially ending your lives, we have nothing more to talk about."

"Great!"

Pearl walks over to me, snatching the blueprint from Fraze's hand. He scoffs at her. She drops it right into my hand, delivering a sharp slap on my back. I blush at her behavior, causing her to wink.

"So, let's get to work," she continues. "Tell us what to do."

I look back at the rest of them, a smile creeping across my lips. A spark of confidence floods through my body. The others seem to sense it too, returning the gesture with mischievous grins. I feel a mix of electricity and worry. The kind of feeling you get when you know you're doing something wrong, but have thrown your heart completely into.

I'm going to follow this through.

We're going to follow this through.

"The first thing we're going to need to build is the skeleton and engine. I've got the later almost completely ready to go, but the bones still need work. We can't really do much else until that's done. Niko and Fraze, you'll be helping me with that."

They both nod.

"On the other hand," I say, looking at the twins. "We're going to need the brain up and running as soon as possible. And you two are literally the best programmers in the Kingdom, so you'll start out on that."

"Aw, shucks!" says Phe. Pearl giggles, both of them nodding.

"And Vivvy," I say. "I'm going to need you to get us some dragon anatomy books."

She looks at me, blinking confusion.

"For the last time, I'm studying human medicine, not dragon anatomy. Big difference. Most importantly speaking, one can breathe fire and the other can't."

"As a general rule, that is," mutters Niko.

"You get my point," says Vivvy.

"Yes," I say. "But you have friends who are studying anatomy, right? It wouldn't hurt to borrow their books for a while, right?"

"Micha, you're sneaky!"

"Why thank you."

The engine whistles just as I hear someone step away from the door. I smile, moving towards the skeleton. Footsteps echo as he climbs back up the stairs. Gee. I wonder who that could've been.

"C'mon guys, let's get to work."