This is Ardvreck Castle in Scotland.

"Isla!" my friends call. I turn to face them as they run toward me.

"Well done," Daniel says.

"On what?" I ask.

"On killing all those warriors of course," Yvette says. I frown.

"What?" I say again, confused.

"Yeah, you made it look so easy," Oliver tells me. "You just slaughtered them as though it were nothing." 

"That isn't something to be proud of," I say.

"Then why is there blood still on your hands?" Maryanne asks. I look down and scream. My hands are covered in blood, sticky and dripping to the floor. I scream as blood begins to pool at my feet, rising around me and I find myself standing on an island of NightShade warriors bodies. The blood continues to rise and I climb up the mountain of bodies to try and keep out of its path. Blood is smeared all over me as I reach the top. My mother waits for me there. She is perfectly clean and glowing silver and angelic.

"Oh look at you Isla," she scolds. "Look at all this horror and pain you have caused," she spits in anger.

"I had to do it!" I explain to her as tears run down my face.

"That's what you keep telling yourself," she scoffs. "Stop pretending that you are a hero. You are just a monster. You slaughtered so many. You caused this." She points down to the pile of bodies that we stand on. The blood has stopped rising now and tears stream down my face.

"Daddy!" a child shouts as they find a body on the pile and clutches at it.

"My wife!" a man shouts as he drags his wives body from the pile. All around me, the loved ones of the people I killed are screaming in pain over the loss of their family. I look back up at my mother who shakes her head in disgust.

"I am glad I am dead," she tells me. "Because I didn't raise a monster, but it seems like I have failed." I cry as I slump to the floor.

"I had to protect them!" I shout at her. "Why can't you understand?" She shakes her head and disappears, her voice lingering.

"You have failed me. You have failed our people."

"Isla! Wake up!" Serenity shakes me as I sit up gasping for air. She wraps her arms around me as I cry and my body shakes.

"Come on, we should go for a little fly," she says as she pulls me to the archways that lead to the outside world. We come out onto a ledge and she shifts into her dragon form. I then get onto her back and she takes off. It is dark, the middle of the night, but that doesn't stop us. We don't need light where we are going anyway. As Serenity dives for the ground, I cover my body in scales so as not to get hurt. It is just like how we practised. She burrows through the earth and it seals shut behind us. There is nothing but darkness as Serenity makes the tunnel through the earth which we fly through. Ahead is a large cavern which we fly into and come to a stop. A large fire lights it up and shows the incredible vast space. Serenity shifts and we walk over to the flames. For a while, we say nothing, just lay in each other's arms. Then she sighs.

"Isla," she begins. I look at her and smile softly. "I know how you are feeling. I have nightmares too."

"I keep on telling myself we did the right thing," I say to her.

"We did, but that doesn't make it any less pleasant. The fact that we feel guilty for doing it proves that we aren't monsters. You know I hate killing," she sighs. "But I have done it to protect and I will do it again and you would too." I sigh again and hug my sister.

"Tanya and Toryn don't feel it the way we do," I say.

"They have warriors hearts," she sighs. "They feel bad about what they had to do, but they don't let it plague them like we do. They don't see the point in letting the guilt win."

"Are you saying I should stop feeling guilty?" I ask.

"No. You can't just stop feeling guilty," she smiles at me. "I can't stop feeling guilty. You just have to accept that it is part of who you are. Who we are."

"Who are we?" I ask, looking into her shining green eyes.

"We are peaceful, caring, empathetic and protective," she lists. "Thay are good qualities for rulers. We know what needs to be done and we do it, but we don't let our minds fall prey to bloodlust. That is what makes us good people," she smiles. I lie down and she lies down next to me.

"I just want to stop feeling like I am a monster." Serenity chuckles.

"Isla, we are dragons. We are literal monsters in the eyes of non-shifters," she laughs. I look at her and laugh. "But your actions don't make you any more a monster than a mother killing to protect her child. I know you've already heard this, but it is our responsibility to keep our people safe and that is what we will do.  Plus, for every warrior we killed, we probably saved more shifters." I smile softly. "It wasn't just you Isla. It was all of us. We all killed those people." Her eyes are sad and she takes a deep breath. We lie in silence for a little bit.

"Toryn and Tanya are strong," I say.

"So are we. In fact, I'd say we are stronger. Being able to feel and express guilt shows we aren't afraid of our emotions or who we are. It isn't a weakness either. It shows to our people that we are not like our enemy who kills for fun and it shows to them that we will rule with kindness."

"Thank you, Serenity," I say to her as we lie in silence again.

"Where did you find this place anyway?" I ask.

"Ohh, I would often sneak out during the night and explore underground. I found this place and lit the fire myself. I haven't even shown Tanya this place."

"Thank you, for sharing it with me," I tell her.

"It can be our place," she says.

"Okay," I agree.

"Now, we should get back before the others realise we have gone." I agree and she shifts then fly back.

The rest of the week passes quickly and nightmare free. I think Serenity helped me a lot. Today, the four of us are off to the high queen's palace for a week of royal training. Daniel has decided to come to as well as Iona. They said something about having to talk to their parents but didn't elaborate. We are picked up my General Xavier, Iona's father. I fill the saddle bag with things I'm going to need before jumping into the saddle, patting Rivers head. My siblings are already on their horses when I'm done and soon all of us are leaving the academy.

"I'm so excited to spend the week back at the palace!" Iona says excitedly from the back of her horse.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too," I smile.

"During the day we'll be training warriors and by night we'll be wearing the finest dresses and eating the most delicious food," Iona grins. I laugh.

"It will be wonderful," I smile.

"What will?" Toryn asks, riding up next us.

"Wearing the finest dresses, I'm sure you'll like that," Iona replies without missing a beat.

"I'm sure you'll like it when I beat you whilst we're training," Toryn grins back. I chuckle and leave them to bicker. Serenity is chatting with Daniel so I head over to Tanya.

"Hi," she says as I appear next to her.

"Are you okay?" I ask, seeing her frown. Tanya sighs.

"I just have a bad feeling," she tells me. "So much bad things have happened recently. So much death on both sides. I mean, I don't mind killing those who intend to harm us. But I see what it does to you and Serenity and it scares me because we all know that there is more of it coming." I smile.

"Don't worry," I tell her. "Serenity and I will cope." She smiles as if she isn't quite believing me.

The palace is just how I remember and it still takes my breath away. The High Queen is there to greet us as we ride up the bridge.

"It is good to have you all back," she says as we walk into the courtyard and our horses are taken to the stables. "Do you remember where your rooms are?" she asks. We nod our heads.

"Well, why don't you get freshened up after your long ride. We will meet again for dinner in one hour."