This picture was taken in Glen Coe! It was so beautiful!

Queen Katrina is not happy at all.

"Why didn't you tell us about this plan you hatched?" she shouts as we all assembled in Lady Indira's office. Every royal is here, just like after the attack. Oliver is the one who answers.

"It was obvious that there would be more NightShade's in Shadow, we wouldn't be able to find them all."

"What better way to draw them out?" Andrea shrugs. "Giving them the perfect opportunity to kill you." The queen glares at us all.

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Oliver's father asks.

"We know there is a traitor," I start. "For all we know, it could easily be one of you. The only people we can trust are each other." I look around at all us younger royals and Iona who was also in on our plan.

"You think one of us could be a traitor?" It is Andrea and Yvette's mother who spits in disgust.

"We don't know who it is but we were all children when the traitor told the NightShades how to enter our palace. It can't have been any of us," Toryn speaks.

"Plus, why should we tell you anything? Our mother told you plenty of times that there was a traitor and you didn't believe her," Tanya snaps. Serenity presses her hand on Tanya's shoulder and smiles softly. I watch as regret passes across the faces of the adults before us.

"It was a good plan," Blue steps forward and I wonder why he's even here. He looks at the High Queen.

"With Toryn shifted, it not only ensured that though you were the bait, you were also safe. It also installed hope into the watching shifters." The High Queen looks at me with anger in her eyes.

"Was this your plan?" she asks. "Making your brother go through such a painful shift just for your little performance?"

"Hey!" Toryn shouts, stepping forward toward her.

"Isla didn't demand anything from me. She asked me if I would do it and I willingly said yes. There was no forcing or making me do anything. It was my choice and one I made to protect our people. Something we seem to be doing better than you at the moment!" There is silence as I clutch at my brother's arm. He looks at me and I smile.

"Now that Toryn has shifted, I would like to train him in his dragon form..." Blue begins to say.

"No," Toryn interrupts. "No shifting unless there is no other option. It has always been our rule." I smile up at him.

"I am so grateful for you doing that," I tell him through this new mind link we have discovered. We still don't know what it really is, but we have been practising at it a lot and can do it even in human form.

"Well next time you are going to be the one shifting,"  he chuckles back in my mind. The High Queen takes a deep breath.

"How do you know they are all of our lands?" she asks.

"They aren't. One of the prisoners said that there are hundreds more," I reply with a sigh.

"But we certainly got rid of many more. Plus any remaining would have heard about the show we put on and that will hopefully buy us time," Daniel tells her.

"Who came up with this plan?"

"All of us. We sat somewhere private and came up with it together," I tell her. She nods her head, then smiles softly and sitting with a sigh. Even with the stress clear all over her face, the High Queen is still beautiful. Her pale blonde hair still hangs without a strand out of place and she still holds herself with complete elegance.

"Though I may not agree with you," she begins. "There is no doubt that you all are quite the team. You are the rulers Shadow needs at this moment in time." There is silence for a few minutes as the current rulers all agree with her. She looks around the room at all the other rulers too, watching defeat in their eyes. They all know they are not suited to rule at this time. I think about when they would have been our age. Here at this academy, learning as we are. Learning to rule. But they weren't learning during a time of war. They were being taught the ways of peace. We have grown up in a different time and that has made us different leaders to them and our ancestors before them.

"You aren't the only ones to come up with a plan," she tells us. "I have learned from some of my mistakes and am choosing to listen now. If that means my plans and strategies must change then so be it. I have an idea about what can save us, but I will not utter it here. I will not speak of it at all. This traitor could have eyes or ears anywhere and we have no idea who it could be. From now on, any sensitive information is to be spoken in a place where there can be no one to hear and spoken to no one but us in this room." We all nod our heads in agreement. "We close ranks," she orders. No words are spoken for a few seconds as we all agree, nodding our heads.

"Now," she stands. "Dragoheirs," she says to the four of us. "I would like to invite you back to my palace for one week."

"Why?" I ask.

"All of the others have had a week of royal training from myself and others at my palace. They did it last year, but you were not here for that period of time. So, next week, Blue will escort you to my palace and you will learn and fine tune your ruling skills." We all nod and agree.

"The Choosing is less than four months away so we have to get you all ready. That is why next month, you will be doing your Tour. You will be going to every city in Shadow to meet and speak to our people. It is a tradition we do before any choosing." I look around the room at all of us younger royals and see them smiling. Excited. I let out a small smile too.

"Dragoheirs, a word in private please," the high Queen demands. With that, the rest of the room leave.

"Your palace back in Zola is almost done," she tells us. My eyes widen.

"That was fast," Tanya shouts. I chuckle.

"With shifter magic and strength, it means we can build well and fast. Our Architecture is one of our proudest parts of Shadow." I nod my head. Every city or palace I've seen has been spectacular and beautiful.

"Now as the four of you are the current rulers, you need to be part of the process of employing staff to look after your palace whilst you aren't there and when you are. I suggest for one weekend soon, we all go to that palace and get everything sorted." I nod my head.

"You'll help us?" Serenity asks. The High Queen smiles.

"Of course, you four have so much still to learn. I'll arrange a time with Lady Aspen in a few weeks time. Now, go and get your rest. The next few months will be very busy." We leave quickly and head straight back to our room, not in the mood to talk to anyone.

We all sit in Toryn's room.

"Toryn and I discovered something today," I tell the girls.

"We can speak to each other through our minds. I think," Toryn frowns. Serenity and Tanya's eyes widen.

"We found that out too!" she shouts. 

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, when Serenity and I were fighting together in our dragon forms, we found that we could communicate with each other and we can even do it now," Tanya says. I think back to the arena and about how Tanya and Serenity fought almost as if they were one dragon.

"Perhaps it is only a thing that can be done through twins," Serenity smiles, leaning against Tanya who strokes Serenity' hair.

"Yeah, maybe." I frown.

"What's the matter?" Toryn asks.

"Do you think we should tell anyone about this?" I ask. There is silence from my siblings before Tanya sighs.

"No, we shouldn't. This link we have with each other is a strength that should stay hidden. If no one knows, then no one can take it away. If one of us were to get caught, then they can't block our links to each other because they won't know it is there. No one, not even our friends, can know." I nod my head agreeing.

"Why do you think it showed up today?" I ask.

"Perhaps we have always had it," Toryn suggests. "I mean, I've always known when you are happy or angry or sad," he says and I think back to when he found me crying the other day. "I've always known where to find you also." I nod my head.

"We've always had a connection," I agree, realising that I too can sense when Toryn is feeling extreme emotions"

"We've had that too," the girls say at the same time.

"Today, three of us were shifted meaning that none of us could communicate with each other at all. We can't talk in dragon form, we would only be able to understand what you are saying Isla, but not be able to answer back," Serenity says. "We were also in a dangerous situation where we had to fight and work together."

"We've also been learning how to use our magic more," Tanya says. "I mean, we are so much more powerful now than we were back in the forest. We've also been away from each other more. Back in the forest, we were always with each other. Now, we still train together, but we also spend a lot of time away from each other. Perhaps this bond has formed because of our growing power and separation. It is something that could save our lives."

I smile and nod my head.

"We are always going to have each other," I tell them as I begin to cry.

"Oh Isla," Serenity chuckles as she wraps me up in a warm hug. "I don't want to lose you. We are at war, it is so dangerous now," I sob as I feel their arms wrap around them.

"You won't lose any of us," Toryn says, not only to me but to all of us.

"This bond means that we will always be there for each other. Even more so now," Tanya speaks and I cry a little more.