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“Ah,” Paige exclaimed, dancing back across the floor.

“Yikes! The worms. You passed the parasites on to him,” Dewey said as he landed on her shoulder again. “It poisoned him.”

“OMG,” Paige said, pressing her hand against her forehead.

“Paige, come on. Get yourself together. We’ve got to go!”

“But I… I… Oh my gosh. I killed him. I killed that poor creature.” A tear streaked down her cheek.

Dewey stared at her incredulously. “Are you kidding? That poor creature beat you with a stick and chained you up.”

“Still, I didn’t mean to kill him!”

“We can’t let him die in vain,” Dewey said. “We have to get that water and cure the prince.”

Paige nodded before her brows knit, and she twisted to face the dragon on her shoulder. “Wait, what? That wouldn’t mean his death wasn’t in vain!”

“I know. I was just trying to be uplifting in your moment of pain.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Dewey flitted his paws toward the door. “Actually, I was trying to motivate you to leave. Before another troll comes down and we’re trapped again.”

“Right,” Paige said, sniffling and wiping her cheek.

She took a step toward the opening leading up when another wheezing noise escaped from the troll. Her eyes widened as she stared down at the creature.

“Look!” Dewey said, jabbing a finger at the tiny man. “He’s breathing! You poisoned him, but the poison wasn’t fatal! Just enough to knock him out.”

“Oh, yay!” Paige said with a fist pump. “I’m not a murderer!”

“Yet,” Dewey added. “If we don’t get out of here, you may have to be.”

“Okay, okay. I’m going, I’m going!” Paige skirted around the troll on the floor and approached the stairs leading up.

She peered up the steps carved into the dirt before she set her foot on the first.

“Looks clear,” Dewey whispered.

Paige bobbed her head up and down before she gulped and dashed up the rest of the stairs with Dewey clinging to her shoulder. They spilled into a dim hallway hewn from the ground, illuminated only by a few torches.

Paige swung her head from side to side, searching for an exit. “Which way?”

“How should I know?” Dewey answered.

A breeze blew past them, flickering the torches’ flames. “That way. It must lead to a way out.”

“Let’s hope so. I really am uncomfortable being stuck underground with these little monsters.”

“Relax,” Paige said as she tiptoed down the corridor. “I have poison blood, remember?”

“Sure, that’s all well and good. If you don’t mind getting bit again.”

Paige wrinkled her nose as she approached the corner. “Good point. Maybe we’ll just hope for the best.”

“Too bad your sword wasn’t in the dungeon. We could have used that.”

“Oh, shoot,” Paige said as she rounded the corner and continued down the next hall. “Yeah, we probably need that.”