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‘C ome on,’ Erica urged.

They were back on the mountain, and Jai was kissing Winter goodbye, stroking her snout the way she liked. It had taken them all day to restore enough mana to heal their injured dragons, both of whom were a mess of fractured limbs, gashes and burns. It was lucky that injuries from duelling were so common there, or the Caelite might have caught wind of their night’s activities. It was easy enough to sneak off to where Winter and Regin were resting and heal them of their wounds.

All he wanted to do was sleep.

‘Jai,’ Erica repeated.

‘All right,’ he said, giving Winter one final kiss. ‘Off you go.’

His dragon turned and flew off in a gust of wind, Regin hot on her heels. The two dragons seemed to have reached a new understanding after their battle. A kinship that Regin could no longer deny. As a result, they’d found the pair curled against each other when they’d returned, though they’d done nothing more than nuzzle and rest.

In truth, Jai could tell Winter was keen for him to leave, so the two could frolic in the air, revelling in their survival.

‘Jai!’

‘Coming.’

He followed her down the mountain’s path, clutching the soulgem in the cloth sack he had hidden it in. For that was what this visit was about. They were headed to the Caelite’s gallipot.

The soulgem was too large for Jai to swallow whole, as he had done with that of Erica’s dragon.

The woman who ran it lived close to the Caelite, but it still took a good half hour to get there, clambering down narrow mountain paths, descending deep into a ravine.

So it was with some surprise when Jai found a windowed stone-built cottage backing into the very rock itself, one replete with statues, mosses and trickling waterfalls of water.

‘She lives well,’ Jai said.

‘Just be polite,’ Erica said. ‘Chen only works for the Caelite. Acolytes and devotees are at her discretion.’

Chen emerged from the cottage, at first cracking the door and peering with a beady eye, scuttling outside, her back hunched, hair pale and lank.

She was a crone if Jai had ever seen one, though not as old as Meera, for she seemed spry in her movements. He bowed low and extended a hand. She slapped it away with a cackle, instead gripping him by the ear and pulling him close.

‘Rohan’s boy,’ she muttered, peering at him. ‘Took you long enough.’

Jai tried to resist the urge to pull away, for her breath stank of pickled onions. Finally, she released him with a tut.

‘Got something for me?’ she asked, snatching the bag from his hand. ‘A gift?’

Jai stammered, and she snapped her fingers, shutting him up as she withdrew the bloodstained glassy nugget from the bag.

She sniffed it, then dipped the tip of her leathery tongue.

‘Gryphon,’ she said, spitting aside. ‘Mature too. You two’ve been up to no good.’

Again, she held up a hand before Jai could speak, then pressed it to Jai’s chest.

‘Thick walls,’ she muttered, shaking her head. ‘But well formed, good size. Ready for the seventh level, I’ll wager?’

‘Yes,’ Jai blurted, before she could cut him off again.

‘Wait here,’ Chen snapped.

She disappeared back into her cottage, the door slamming behind her.

‘That’s the most I’ve heard her speak the whole time I’ve been here,’ Erica said. ‘Mostly she’d order me about. Fetch this, deliver that. But I got something for my troubles.’

She fished into her own cloth bag, and proferred Jai a small, glowing vial of green liquid.

‘When I’m ready for the seventh level... this’ll make it easier. Need to practise pressuring my core a bit more first.’

‘What did you do to get that?’ Jai asked, jealous.

‘She took a liking to me,’ she said. ‘Eventually.’

JAI AND ERICA SAT in wait, the sun slowly turning more orange as it approached the horizon. Their conversation had taken a natural lull as they dozed in the rare light, both exhausted from the last day’s happenings, and appreciating the rare warmth of the late spring sun.

But as Jai rested, Winter and Regin were alive with emotion and excitement. Chasing each other through the mountains, lost in the attention of the other. This was a dragon’s courtship, and Regin had finally allowed Winter into his domain, showing her the places he knew, the lairs he had found in the great expanse of the mountains.

And it was strange, but in the joy of their romance, so too did Erica calm in Jai’s presence. The formality had gone, replaced by a head upon his shoulder. And Jai could only sit and smile, unwilling to disturb her sleep.

It was almost disappointing when Chen’s door creaked back open and Erica jerked awake, giving Jai an apologetic smile and rubbing her cheek.

‘Come here, Rohan’s boy,’ Chen called out.

Jai approached, wary of the hand she kept behind her back. He bowed again, and she gave a slight nod of appreciation, and extended the hidden item.

‘Take this philtre,’ she said. ‘When you make your final attempt, it’ll help smooth the way.’

It was a vial filled with contents not dissimilar from Erica’s, though the quantity was considerably greater for this vessel was the same size as his soulgem.

She spun on her heel, and Jai called out.

‘How will I know if I’m ready?’

She stopped, and looked over her shoulder, a glint in her eye.

‘You’re ready now,’ she muttered. ‘If you can bear the pain, risk its shattering. Just need to know where to do it.’

‘What does that mean?’ Jai called out.

A slammed door was his only answer.

His soulgem had likely been an ingredient, but it was a happy sacrifice. A soulgem would only provide him with an enormous burst of incoming mana, but there was plenty of that at the top of the mountain. But this potion, customised to his exact needs, was likely better.

‘Perfect,’ Erica said when he walked back to her, shaking his head. ‘Back to it, then. It’s either sleep, or soulbreathing so I don’t have to. Might go for the former today.’

She began the journey back up the mountain, and Jai longed for a few moments longer, here in this quiet, trickling haven amid a barren landscape. Here. Alone. With her.

The sun was nearly set, though, and soon they’d be in darkness once more. And Jai realised how much he longed for sleep, too. To put it all off for another day.

Instead, he looked to the mountaintop, far above them. Chen had given him an idea. And he’d not sleep until he’d tested it.