Quinn heard the destruction before he even got into the room. Glass and wood splintering, savage growls, and roars of pain drowned out the screams of the bystanders flooding the halls to escape. The sea of desperate people rushing to flee the danger overwhelmed him easily even with his size. He dug his claws into the floor and pushed forward, struggling to hold his head above the crowd.

Once he reached the main dining hall, his jaw dropped. In the center of the room lay the chandelier, surrounded by the jagged remains of the tables and chairs almost like a disturbing preying ritual. Several holes had been made in the walls and floor.

Still fighting were two dragons, a ramscale and a silver horn-tail. The clashing of their bodies, the red-gold and silver resembled the smoke rising from a fire. Both of them were covered in scratches dripping with blood. It was hard to tell who was winning—not that it mattered. The restaurant was wrecked. He recognized the silver horn-tail. It was Tark, the chosen of the Matriarch. The ramscale’s name he couldn’t recall, but she was a recurring customer.

Quinn growled at the pair and scanned the room for anyone who didn't make it out of the room. He found Alyse huddled in one of the corners, holding a human child in her arms. "What happened?"

“They both wanted to try out your new cake that everyone’s been goin’ on about,” the older woman said shakily. "When I said there was only one piece left, they started fighting over it. I didn't even get a chance to say you were making more."

There came a growl and a crash, and she screamed and buried the child’s face in her chest. “What’s gotten into them?! It’s just a piece of cake!”

“I don’t know, but I think this is about more than just cake.” he nudged the woman to stand and ushered her to the door, using his body as a shield. “Just get out of here. I’m gonna see if I can calm them down.”

“Be careful, hon.”

Quinn stood guard over the door until he was certain Alyse and the child had moved far enough away then approached the two dragons still fighting. The battle seemed even until now, but Tark was losing ground fast. The female was larger and using it to her advantage. She threw her body against the horn-tail, sending him reeling into the wall. Before he could recover, she lowered her head and rammed into his side. Even Quinn winced at impact. Ramscales were so-named for their curved horns and thicker skulls, making them ideal battering rams.

This battle was over. If that blow hadn't broken Tark's ribs, he would still be too stunned to react to her next attack. Quinn rushed the Ramscale, seizing the back of her neck in his jaws and using both his momentum and weight to drag her to the floor. He pinned her head down and growled.

The female thrashed beneath him. He tightened his grip on her neck until she relaxed.

Tark lay on the floor, gasping for air but continued glare daggers at his rival. Quinn knew what was coming, and he knew he was powerless to prevent it—not with the space between them. With an effort, Tark exhaled a plume of fire from his maw. Quinn closed his eyes and turned away as the heat washed over them. Dragons had a natural resistance to fire but it could still do a lot of damage to an open wound.

There wasn't much flame, but the wooden debris quickly caught, and the flames spread through the room in seconds.

Something—likely the female’s tail--slapped Quinn hard across the face. He staggered as he watched the female escape through the window. He ignored her and went to Tark. The building would come down on them if they didn’t leave now.

The Horn-Tail was slow to get up and from his ragged breathing, Quinn knew some serious damage had been done. They moved slowly but were able to get out of the building without incident.

Humans shouted to grab buckets for the fire, but he knew better. The blaze had consumed most of the building already. He felt its heat, it's hunger. And dragon fire burned hotter than other flames. The only course of action was to contain it and let it burn itself out. Other dragons had already begun circling the building, digging a trench around it, and landing on the neighboring buildings to watch for stray embers.

Quinn continued forward to avoid looking at the building, his home, become a pile of ash.

“Okay, get off of me,” Tark spat. He shoved Quinn away and staggered but remained standing. “I didn’t ask for your pity.”

Quinn glared at the drake. If it wasn’t for not wanting to smack an injured dragon, he would have knocked Tark into the dirt. “I just lost my home because of you, and you think I’m going to show you any pity?”

Tark relaxed his aggressive posture but didn’t reply. There was a look of sadness in his eyes that Quinn couldn’t place. He didn’t want to place. it. The sound of the roaring flames devouring the restaurant he worked so hard for drowned out everything else.

“Quinn!” Alyse called. “Quinn, where are you?”

Quinn turned away from the drake and headed in the direction of the voice. It didn't take long to find the older woman amongst the crowd, despite her small size. He could recognize that messy brown hair anywhere.

The moment Alyse saw him, she threw herself onto him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

“Have you seen Harold?” he asked.

“Yeah, he’s over there.” She broke the embrace and pointed at a cluster of humans. “A couple folks got hurt in the panic. He’s making sure they’re okay.”

“He’s only been with us a few months and already, I’m rubbing off on him.”

“That’s a good thing, hon. I don’t have the strength to deal with a wild-child.”

“Speaking of wild-children,” he shot a glare in Tark’s direction but saw the drake had vanished. “I need to see Ragenta.”

“Hon, are you--”

“I don’t care if he is her chosen. He’s gone too far this time. Harold and I are homeless and jobless because he couldn’t wait his turn.”

Alyse didn’t respond though it was clear she wanted to. Instead, she patted Quinn’s side.

He went to see Harold before leaving to speak with Ragenta. Even after several months together, Quinn had a hard time recognizing him. When they first met, Harold was a stick of a human covered in more filth than should be possible. His skin was still pale and he had the same greasy black hair that he insisted on keeping long.

“Glad yer okay,” Harold said, his voice breaking. He gave Quinn a quick hug. “It got crazy once people started screamin.”

“Yeah, I'm glad you got out, too." He almost looked at the restaurant but turned away. "I don't think I could handle losing two things I care about tonight. Stay here with Alyse, okay? I need to see Ragenta and us someplace to stay."

"I'm comin wit ya."

"Harold--"

"I'm goin."

Quinn knew better than anyone how stubborn the boy could be so he only sighed and nodded. "All right. Let's go."

****

“The Matriarch doesn’t want to see anyone,” said the Sentinel, a gruff-looking Nightstalker. The black-scaled drake noticed Quinn and Harold hadn’t budged and snorted, his long tail slapping the floor. “Come back later.”

“I can’t come back later. I have nowhere to go back to,” Quinn said. “Not to mention the panic. Does she even know what’s going on? Someone could’ve died. As the Matriarch, it’s her job to--”

“She’s busy. Get lost.”

“Who do ya think--” Harold began.

Quinn stepped in front of the human. “I understand Ragenta is busy, but this can’t wait.”

A female Nightstalker, moving slowly as dragging something heavy, appeared in the doorway. Ragenta didn’t have her usual aura of confidence Quinn found fascinating and intimidating. “What is all this noise?” she asked in a low, dry voice.

The Sentinel bowed and stepped aside. “This drake and his human wanted to speak to you.”

“Ragenta, Tark is out of control. Today, he--”

She turned away with an annoyed huff. “Come back tomorrow. I’m busy.”

“But—”

“We’re done talking. Stret, get rid of them.”

“Wait!”

The Sentinel strolled forward, forcing Quinn and Harold back. Ragenta disappeared inside and slammed the door behind her.

Stret looked over his shoulder. “Don’t bother coming back tomorrow. She won’t want to talk to you then, either.”

“My house and my business have been burned down. I can’t just pretend it never happened.”

The drake looked around again then said in a low voice. “Meet me in an hour by the old bridge. I’ll explain then.”

Quinn said nothing as he walked away, more confused than anything.

“Can’t believe that damn derg!” Harold shouted. He kicked a small pebble that bounced then disappeared into the weeds.

There was more going on than what was said, but Quinn decided it was better to let the boy vent. Harold just lost his first true home and the Matriarch in charge didn’t seem to care. “We’ll find out when we get to the bridge.”

“It better be good.”

The old bridge was the original entrance to the town before a larger, better one was built. Despite its lack of use, the bridge was maintained as a reminder of how far the town had come.

They were told to come by in an hour, but Quinn didn’t want to go back to Alyse with bad news. He also couldn’t stand to look at the ruined remains of the home he had worked so hard to build. That restaurant had been built in memory of his pa who died before he could build it himself. Now it was gone.

That thought haunted him as they waited on the bridge. He had savings. Maybe enough to rebuild or at least get some new supplies to start over. The first order of business had to be finding a new place to stay. No way was he letting Harold live on the street again.

Harold grumbled under his breath for the entire wait. Quinn couldn't hear what the young man was saying though he could guess it was some very choice words aimed at the town's Matriarch.

 Ragenta's behavior troubled him. She had never acted that coldly before—especially towards him. It was no secret she liked him and once asked him to be her chosen mate. Even after turning her down, many claimed she gave him preferential treatment to gain his favor. Until tonight it seemed.

“When the hell’s that derg gettin here?” Harold asked.

“He said to meet him in an hour. Just be patient.”

The young man shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to grumble under his breath. He suddenly looked up and frowned. Quinn spun around and saw the Nightstalker, Stret, walking towards them. Behind the drake was the Ramscale that had fought Tark at the restaurant. She walked with confidence and didn’t show any rejection to Quinn’s presence.

Quinn stepped in front of Harold. “What is this? Why is she here?”

“I can explain,” Stret said.

“Don't bother. I'll handle this," the Ramscale said. She stepped forward but remained out of striking range. "But first, I gotta ask: You're alone, right?"

“You expectin company?” Harold asked.

The female ignored him and turned to Stret. “Look around and make sure there’s no one listening in.” Once the drake flew off, she turned back to Quinn. “While he’s handling that, let’s get through the introductions, shall we? Call me Salise.”

“Quinn. This is Harold.”

“Whaddya want from us?”

“Patience, boy. First, I have to get the all-clear from Stret, then you can ask all the questions you want. But I’m gonna say sorry for burning down your place. That wasn’t on my to-do list.”

Harold frowned but said nothing. It didn’t take long before Stret returned and confirmed no one was around to listen in on them.

“Well, not that's out of the way, we can speak freely," Salise said. "I'll go first and get straight to the point to avoid wasting any more time. I plan to challenge Ragenta as Matriarch, and I want you to support me."

“What? You’re gonna kill Ragenta?”

“I don’t plan to nor do I want to, but I will if it comes to it. That’s where you come in. I already have enough dragons on my side to challenge her. I just need the humans to fall in line. But if you back me as Matriarch, they will too, and Ragenta will have no choice but to accept my claim and step down.”

“After what you did?” Harold asked.

Salise’s expression turned sour. “That was an intended complication. And I said I was sorry. Look, I don't need your support, but I'm trying not to kill anyone here. Mostly everyone wants to see her gone anyway but are too scared to say it.”

“I accept your apology,” Quinn said. “But I’m not getting involved in this. Whatever is going on between you and Ragenta--”

“You’re already a part of it. Why do you think Ragenta has such a hard time controlling Tark? Why do you think most of the dragons whisper things behind her back?” She moved to Quinn’s side and wrapped her tail around his. “Look, I get you’re hesitating, but I’m doing you a favor here. The other dragons aren’t too happy with you and everyone knows it’s your fault Tark is such a pain in the ass. Save yourself. Like the humans say, get off the sinking ship.”

“N—No, that doesn’t make any sense. How is it my fault Tark is harassing everyone?”

She tilted her head and blinked. “Quinn, she only chose him because you turned her down. He’s runner-up to a domesticate. Everyone knows it and no one lets him forget it.”

“Like you?” Harold asked.

She shot the human a scathing glare. “Careful, boy. Talking too much could be dangerous.”

Quinn stepped between her and the human. “If you hurt him, you get nothing out of me.”

“Whoa, now. I was just giving a friendly warning. But he really should be more careful with his words. Don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.” She waved her tail as if chasing away a bothersome fly. “But that’s enough about that. Think about what I said. I’ll come back here after three days. If you don’t show, I’ll have your answer.”

“Just out of curiosity, what will happen if I say no?”

She stopped and gave a sly smile over her shoulder. “Ask yourself what the other dragons do to domesticates when the Matriarch no longer holds them back.”

****

“Well, that’s certainly a pickle to find yourself in, hon,” Alyse said. “I hate to say it, but she’s right. You were raised by a human outside a clan. That’s a domesticate in their eyes.”

Quinn sighed and sank into his cushion. With nowhere to go, they "decided" to spend the night with Alyse. In truth, she decided despite Quinn's objections about her not having space for a grown dragon. Half of her living room had to be rearranged just so he could curl in the corner and even then he feared breathing without knocking something over. 

“So how bad is it?” Quinn asked.

Alyse played with her hands and refused to look his way. That was all the response he needed.

“Don’t do it,” Harold said. “Don’t trust that derg.”

“We don’t have much of a choice. If Ragenta is the only reason the dragons leave me alone—”

“The dragons leave you alone because they know there ain’t another place for miles that’ll serve them good food,” Alyse interjected in a strong-parental tone. “They’d never hurt you.”

He didn't have the heart to tell her he noticed a reduction in the number of dragon customers lately. It was the reason why he started practicing baking sweets. At first, he hadn't paid much attention to it, but now it made sense. Even if it didn't apply to all the dragons in town, it had to apply to a large enough number of them.

“Maybe I should talk to Ragenta first,” Quinn said.

Harold snorted. “Why? She’ll just tell ya to side wit ‘er.”

“But I wanna get the full story before I make a decision. Something about this doesn’t add up.”

“You just be careful. This Salise ain’t show up with her offer out the blue. She’s been planning this for a while.” She called over her shoulder as she left the room, “But that’s enough of that kind of talk. There’s something I wanna show you.”

She dragged a large crate into the already crowded room. “People’ve been coming by while you were out and donating coin to rebuild the restaurant. And everyone couldn’t afford to offer anything said they’ll be more than happy to help rebuild.”

Quinn stared at the crate in awe. There was more than enough to rebuild, tear it down, then rebuild it again. “That’s so much coin.”

“It is! We can rebuild the restaurant even better than it was!”

“Pretty nice folks,” Harold said. “But what about the dergs?”

“Now, now. That's enough of that talk. Harold, hon, can you drag the crate back into the other room? Tomorrow, we're gonna go out and start buying some supplies. Quinn, don't you worry about a thing. I'm gonna work out a budget and a schedule to start rebuilding the place.”

“Thank you, Alyse. What would I do without you?”

She smiled and patted him between the horns. “Just remember that when you gotta pay me, hon.”

Alyse was true to her word and didn’t let Quinn lift a finger the rest of the night. She claimed several times that it had nothing to do with the lack of space, but he suspected it played a small factor. She even made dinner and they ate and drank and laughed until it was time to go to sleep. 

Quinn stayed up a little while longer. Tonight's merriness didn't last long after everyone went upstairs and his thoughts drifted back to the current situation. He saw the light from upstairs indicating that either Alyse or Harold had not fallen asleep yet. Soon, the older woman came down the stairs with a notebook in her hand. She hesitated when she saw him looking at her.

“Oh, wasn't expecting to see you still awake. That's good actually, I wanna talk to you." She sat down in the chair closest to Quinn’s cushion and spoke in a low voice. “I ain’t wanna say it in front of Harold ‘cause the poor boy has been through enough, but I think you should support Ragenta.”

Quinn sat up. “What brought that on?”

“I don’t trust that Salise. She was talking to Tark before he went crazy and attacked her. It wouldn’t surprise me if she picked a fight with him on purpose.”

“To burn down the restaurant? But why?”

“Why else, hon? To make Tark look like a wild dragon and Ragenta weak for not controlling him. Everyone loved that restaurant even the dragons who didn’t care much for you. That Tark burned it down is the best thing Salise could’ve hoped for.”

“And then she comes to me not long after and asks me to support her,” Quinn said under his breath. “I can’t believe she set me up like that.”

She moved closer and patted his side. “I’m sorry, hon.”

“But even if I support Ragenta, there’s still Tark to deal with. I hate dealing with this. What did I do wrong?”

“You just let her handle him. I doubt she’ll be too happy to learn he burned down her favorite restaurant.”

“Yeah, she—oh no.”

He jumped up and ran for the front door. Several objects fell behind him. He winced at the noise but didn’t look back. The moment he was outside, he spread his wings and took off, heading for Ragenta’s place.

****

Quinn didn't bother knocking on the door or landing when he arrived at Ragenta's. He dove straight for the door at full speed. Because most dragons were used to living in the wild, many of their homes lacked windows and almost all of them never bothered with locks on their doors. They couldn't operate most locks anyway and not many were bold enough to rob a dragon's home. Quinn was grateful for this as it minimized the damage when he smashed through the wooden barrier.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of blood. He had never smelled it this strongly before and it made him retch.  The next thing he noticed was the mess. What little furniture there was had been smashed into pieces. It reminded him a lot of the restaurant before it had been set on fire.

Ragenta sat in the middle of the room, staring at the wall. In the far corner lay Tark in a pool of blood.

“What are you doing here?” Ragenta asked softly.

“I came to stop you from...I’m sorry.”

“Why? He had it coming.”

“You don’t mean that.”

She growled and slapped her tail on the floor but still stared at the wall. “You don’t know what I mean. You don’t know anything.” She looked at the corpse in the corner. “I just killed my chosen for a domesticate who rejected me. Because I was too proud to send him away and thought I could change him. I'll never live it down.”

It was true she didn't have a say in the matter. Tark had been a thorn in everyone's side ever since he became the chosen, and Ragenta was always forced to stand up for him because of it. 

“That's not—" Quinn began.

“I’ll make sure you’re paid back for the restaurant. However much it costs to rebuild it. Now leave. I want to be alone.”

Quinn said nothing and didn’t move. He had never thought about what the title of Matriarch meant and why the dragons made such a big deal about it, but now he understood. The Matriarch was something the dragons to admired and feared. A symbol of power that few could challenge and to many a birthright they must spend their entire lives fighting for. But her choices were not hers and she was never allowed to show any signs of weakness as a Salise was always stalking from the shadows. He knew if he left her alone, she would remain that way.

He moved closer and sat beside her. She curled into a ball at his feet and let out a slow mournful whine.

"He was never second-best to me," she said

"I know."

****

Three days went by agonizingly slow. Quinn never told anyone about what happened between him and Ragenta. When Alyse asked he said it was nothing and he got a good lecture for waking her in the middle of the night. In truth, he watched over her all night. It hadn't escaped his notice that Stret, the sentinel sworn to protect the Matriarch, never showed indicating he had already made his choice.

Ragenta was true to her word and got to work immediately on repairing the damage Tark had caused. By the second day, he was informed that everything was being taken care of and it wouldn’t cost him a thing. Quinn wanted to return the donations, but Alyse told him it would be rude.

To pass the time, Quinn went over Alyse’s blueprints (she did an excellent job drawing them) and trying not to think about what would happen at the old bridge in three days. He didn’t like being used in some game he wanted no part of especially when neither outcome seemed in his favor. Like it or not, he was a central part of the town and therefore central to the Matriarch’s control. That wasn't the dream his pa wanted. It wasn't the dream he wanted. The restaurant was supposed to bring people together and share his love of making delicious meals, not be a centerpiece of division.

When the day came to meet Salise on the bridge, he went alone. Harold protested, but he convinced the young man it was better to let someone with a cooler head handle the negotiations.

Salise was already there when he arrived. Even from a distance, he saw her wide grin as he approached.

“Well, glad to see you made the right choice.”

“Actually, I’m here to tell you I won’t be supporting you.”

That wiped the smile off her face. “Oh. Well, I didn’t see that coming. You didn’t need to come here to reject me, but I respect your bravery and honesty at least. Even if you are stupid to pick Ragenta."

“You misunderstand me. I’m not supporting Ragenta either.”

She turned her head slightly. “You’re a bold one, aren’t you? You do realize without a Matriarch, there’s no one protecting your place?”

"That's where you're wrong. I know the community around here supports me. And to be clear, I never supported Ragenta. I built the restaurant from the ground up on my own without asking for any favors."

Salise frowned. “That was back when you were the nobody pet of a human caretaker. How long do you think you can stay out of politics?"

“As long as I want. I cook. Nothing more. And I won’t let you drag my restaurant into your games again. Say what you want about Ragenta but she at least knew better than to do that.”

“ ‘Again’?”

“I know you went there on purpose to provoke Tark into fighting you. You wanted him to tear the place down in a rage so you could use it to make Ragenta look bad and get me on your side."

She slapped the ground with her tail, her gaze hardening. “Anyone ever tell you you’re too smart for your own good? But I would be careful who I tell that too. Publicly accusing me without proof won’t end well for you.”

“I’m not scared of you.”

“Then you’re dumber than you look.” She stepped closer but Quinn stood his ground. “Just because you make a few meals doesn’t put you on equal footing with a matriarch.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. Everyone at my place gets the same treatment. I don’t care who you are, you wait in line like everyone else, you pay like everyone else, and you don’t waste food like every. One. Else.”

She smiled an all-knowing grin that made him uneasy. "I see why she wanted you as her chosen. I'm almost tempted to make you the same offer."

"I'm flattered but the answer's no."

“We’ll see. The problem with having fame is that you don’t get to make that call anymore." She backed away, not taking her eyes off him. Once she had enough space, she crouched low and spread her wings. "I look forward to working with you when I become Matriarch. I have so many plans for this place." She took off in a large gust of air.

Quinn walked back to Alyse's place. He meant what he said about staying out of politics. No matter what it took, he wasn’t getting involved. Despite what Salise did, if she showed up on the verge of starving, he would give her a bowl free of charge. No matter what, he would make a place where humans and dragons were welcome.

When he returned to the house, he found Alyse and Harold sitting in the living room, going over a bundle of papers on the table. They stopped talking and looked his way once he entered.

“Is everything okay, hon?”

Quinn sat down on the cushion in the corner. “Yep. Everything’s fine.”