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Quye grinned. “I think you’ll make an excellent priestess,” she said. “You’ll keep these boys in line and show them who’s boss.”

We thanked Nysa and the priestess one more time, then left. The sack was filled to the brim with pork dumplings, and Quye and I chowed down a few as we walked back to the main square of the temple district, where Yaggir was waiting for us.

A shadow fell across our path, and I looked up just in time to see a dragon descending upon us in half-dragon form, his wings spread wide. He unleashed a blast of fire upon us, and I shoved Quye out of the way, then threw both my palms up to block the flames. Drawing on my magic, I caught the giant ball of fire, then absorbed the energy into my body so the nearby buildings wouldn’t go up in flames.

The dragon’s eyes widened as he landed in the street in front of us. “How did you do that?” he demanded.

“She’s half-dragon, you idiot!” Quye snapped. She flung out a hand and hit him with a gust of wind, sending him tumbling down the street. Turning, I raised my eyebrows when I saw her glaring at him in an unusual fit of pique. “He made me drop the dumplings,” she said by way of explanation, indicating the food strewn all across the ground.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the dragon, who was getting to his feet. Pissed, I stalked over to him and shoved my boot into his chest, pushing him back to the ground.

“Get off me!” he snarled. He tried to fight me, but I conjured an ice stake and drove it through his right wing, pinning him to the ground.

“How about we make a deal,” I said, leaning over him and pressing my boot even harder into his chest as he screamed in agony. “You agree to stop trying to kill us, and I’ll agree to stop trying to kill you. Is that agreeable?”

He spat in my face. “Fuck you! You’re the enemy!”

I sighed, then pulled back my fist and punched him square in the jaw. His eyes rolled back into his head, and his head lolled to the side as he passed out.

“You sure we shouldn’t kill him?” Quye asked dubiously as she walked up beside me. She clutched the sack of dumplings—which was about half its size now—to her chest as she stared at the unconscious dragon. “He didn’t agree to your terms.”

I shook my head. “Enough dragon blood has been spilled on my account already,” I said. “I won't add more if I can help it.”

We hurried out of the alleyway and onto the main street, sticking to the sides of the buildings and trying our best to stay out of trouble. I sighed in relief as I caught sight of Yaggir waiting for us next to the fountain in the square, and quickened my stride to reach him.

“Thank the Radiants you’re alive,” I said fervently.

“Of course I’m alive. This place is surrounded by guards.” Yaggir frowned, noticing our flushed faces. “Did something happen?”

“A dragon attacked us,” Quye said, glancing over her shoulder. “You were right that this place isn’t safe for us—we should have asked High Priestess Anuket for an escort here.”

“Can we leave right now?” I asked, feeling a little anxious. “Before something else happens?”

“Of course.” Yaggir glanced around. The square wasn’t particularly busy right now—there were a few people milling about, but there was plenty of space for him to shift. “I’ve always wanted to do this here,” he admitted with a grin.

We took a few paces back, and Yaggir transformed, his body lengthening as scales rippled across his tanned skin. The people in the courtyard shouted in alarm as he grew, his body taking up a good third of the square as his tail and spikes sprouted from his spine. Despite his red hair coloring, his scales were green, glittering like emeralds in the afternoon sun. Stretching his neck, he lifted his head to the sky, then let out an earth-shaking roar that sent everyone running for cover.

“Yaggir!” I scolded. “You’re scaring the humans!”

“I think that’s the point,” Quye said with a chuckle as he snorted. “You should be glad he didn’t breathe fire at them while he was at it.”

“That sounds like a good way to get banished,” I said darkly.

Yaggir lowered his belly to the ground, then extended his wings so I could mount. His neck was slimmer than Einar’s, so I was able to settle more comfortably astride him, using a notch between two of his dark blue spikes. Quye shifted into her owl form and perched on my lap, and then the three of us were off, winging our way toward the coastline.

We expected the dragons to pursue us, but to our relief, none followed. I hoped that meant the rest of them were being detained inside the temple as the God-King had commanded, and that the one who’d attacked us had been a one-off who’d snuck through the guards. If they attacked us in great enough numbers, they could overwhelm us.

You and Yaggir are both immune to fire magic,I reminded myself.And Quye can use her air magic to protect against fire attacks. You'll be fine.

We made it to the coast by nightfall, then found a sleepy seaside inn to spend the night before continuing our journey the next day. I marveled at the sparkling sea below us as Yaggir flew tirelessly through the day—it was a strange, deep green color, far different from the crystal blue of Ediria’s oceans.

I was dozing off on Yaggir’s back when a movement in the sky caught my attention. Sitting up, I looked to my left—and my breath hitched at the sight of three dragons flying in formation toward us. Their scales glinted purple, indigo, and blue in the setting sun, and I braced myself, expecting a confrontation. Were these enemy dragons, sent by the Crocodile Cult to kill us? Or were these the exiled dragons we’d been searching for?

Yaggir turned to face the approaching dragons, answering my unspoken question. He let out a low-pitched warble, and something primal fluttered inside me in response. The dragons pulled up short, about ten yards from us, and they hissed as they took in our presence atop Yaggir’s back. Quye hooted uneasily from her perch on my lap, and I held her close, drawing on my well of magic but holding back, at least for now.

The four dragons made no other noise, but their gazes shifted between one another, and I had a feeling they were communicating telepathically. Several long minutes passed before they reached an agreement, and then the strange dragons took up a formation around us, two of them flanking Yaggir while the other one brought up the rear.

Sweat slid down my back as our group descended through the cloud cover, revealing a group of islands below. There were five total, forming a sort of S-shape, and as we grew closer, I saw the largest one had a village, built along the island’s eastern shore. Other dragons were coasting along the air currents, and they called greetings to us as we passed.