Page 123 of Balance

“It’s my house. And besides, maybeTituswants it too.” I turned to the man in question. He’d been strangely quiet this whole conversation. “Hey, Titus—”

Titus jumped past us, his teeth bared and his movements swift. He brandished his ax and rushed toward the beast. Before either of us could so much as move, the dragon had confronted the creature, twisting with his hair fanning around him, and had lopped off the Snallygaster’s head.

I frowned at the sloppy sight, and my heart sank in disappointment and pity. Poor thing, it’d been too weak to even fight back. Titus had all but murdered it.

Thick, slimy blood splattered across the dirt, staining the mud and grass a neon green. The head rolled across the ground, and the beak fell open, a snake-like tongue lolling out.

“That was uncalled for,” I told Titus. Disappointment had dimmed my mood; I’d already been planning where it might even live—right outside Bryce’s window.

Bryce hated dragons, and his response would have been hilarious. My plan was ruined before it could even come to fruition.

“Why did you have to kill the dragon?” I asked.

Titus turned, his dark gaze on me as he wiped his guck-covered ax against his pants. “Stop calling it a dragon.”

“You’re the one who said it first!” What else was I supposed to call it? I wasn’t about to start saying ‘Snallygaster.’ The word wasn’t one to roll off the tongue seriously.

“I was in shock,” Titus said calmly.

“Yes, we know.” Julian rolled his eyes. “It can’t be a dragon, because there’s only one.”

Titus opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say a word, the Snallygaster leaped back to his feet, a new head shooting out from where he’d been beheaded, and jumped to Titus, swallowing the man in one swift movement.

I screamed—any normal person would have—and Julian jumped into defense.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked.

Julian barely spared me a glance. “You scream like a girl.”

“Shut the fuck up, Julian.” I pointed my katana at the creature who’d eaten my friend. My pulse roared, the hot need for vengeance roaring through me. “He ate Titus.”

Julian pointed his blade at the creature. “He’ll be fine.”

In response, the beast leaned back, opening his beak in a roar. This time, its snake-like tongue—or tongues rather, because there were at least twelve—were plainly visible, slithering and twisting through the air.

This was the perfect opportunity to attack. I stepped back, ready to enact my revenge.

But Julian stopped me, grasping my elbow. “Just wait.”

My breathing labored, my heart beating in my throat. How could Julian be so calm about this? “What—”

The Snallygaster’s scream abruptly ended, and an instant later, this regrown head had fallen to the ground, joining the first.

His eye seemed to be trained on me, even in death.

Titus stepped out of the creature’s—once again—fallen form, grumbling to himself as he kicked off his ruined pants.

Oh, good. Titus was alive. I always believed in him; he was very resourceful.

“Need any help?” Julian asked him, making no move to assist.

“Just how long were you going to wait?” Titus grumbled, attempting to wipe the sticky-looking blood from his bare torso.

“You had it under control,” the necromancer answered, waving his hand, nonchalance heavy in his expression.

I glanced at Julian, considering. My hot anger began to fade even as my attention remained mostly on the fallen creature. In most instances, there were a limited amount of times that mythological beings regrow body parts, including heads.

But what if…