𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒

29. 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝕿he boat rocked back and forth, creating havoc on the dock; everyone screamed in terror while also trying to keep themselves upright, but their shoes slipped from the water sitting on the floor.

Rilynn's hand slipped from the railing with a squeal, but she gripped Jay's hand and held on. Her body swayed with the boat, falling on one knee to keep herself balanced. Jay helped her up and brought her back to the railing.

"Hold on," Jay told her.

The princess gripped the railing again.

Uma laughed manically. "True love won't defeat this," her eyes turned cold and dangerous. Uma narrowed her eyes at Mal, at everyone. "The world will know my name!"

The sea witch swayed before one of her tentacles shot out of the ocean, whipping it above the boat to scare them into submission. She scowled from the weight, but Uma wasn't going down without a fight.

Rilynn yelped as she pulled herself and Jay down, looking up as Uma's tentacle flew over her head. She squinted at the sky when droplets fell from the strike, but Rilynn couldn't believe her eyes. Was this really happening right now?

"We should probably get away from the edge!" Rilynn yells over the noise.

Uma hit the side of the boat, forcing it to turn slightly; nobody could hold themselves up. Rilynn fell on the floor hard, dodging whoever fell near her, and quickly crawled to Jay.

"Are you okay?" Jay grabs her worriedly, checking for injuries.

Rilynn nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"

"Yeah," Jay looked over Rilynn's shoulder, and his eyes widened. "That's new."

"What?" Rilynn turned around and wasn't sure what she saw.

Everyone stepped back when a cloud of purple smoke swirled around Mal, a sight no one had seen before. Even Mal seemed confused when the smoke completely consumed her; she couldn't stop whatever was happening.

No one knew what was happening. No one dared to find Mal in the tornado around her.

But then suddenly, large wings cut through the smoke, and it disappeared, leaving behind a dragon instead of Mal. It was like Maleficent was here, just like she was during Ben's Coronation day. Rilynn remembered that like it was yesterday; she didn't remember what happened after the fact, but Rilynn couldn't help but stare at the dragon in terror.

"Mal can turn into a dragon?!" Rilynn gasped, speaking for everyone.

The princess doesn't see the impressed look on Jay's face.

"I guess that's a thing now," he says softly.

Mal thrust her wings with inexperience, seemingly not used to turning into a dragon before. She nearly fell on a group of students because Mal didn't calculate just how wide her wings spread or how heavy her new weight was. Mal screeched before she managed to pull her dragon weight off the boat, and her wings flapped heavily. The wind knocked the Auradonians off their feet.

Rilynn had never been around a dragon before; she wasn't prepared for the strong wind Mal pushed against them while trying to lift herself into the air. Rilynn ducked from Mal's wing, flapping a little too close over their heads.

Eventually, Dragon Mal circled the sea witch, roaring so loud Rilynn had to cover her ears. She was practically shrieking.

"What is she doing?" Evie watched worriedly, feeling hopelessly useless.

"She's moving Uma away from the boat," Carlos realized.

And it worked. Mal flew circles around Uma to get her attention away from her friends, forcing the sea witch to focus only on her. It was fire versus water; fire is scolding, hot, and unforgiving, but water can heal and take from you. They each have their own good and bad; they could be a perfect match if not for the fact that they destroy one another.