Chapter 9 · The Dragon at Starfall

The dragon descended at noon, although the sun had not risen. It came through the clouds in pieces: first a wing made of snow, then a horn bright as a frozen river, then a body large enough to cast the mountain into darkness. Its scales were white at the edges and black near the heart, exactly like the vision Mira had seen beneath the lake.

The Court soldiers scattered. The wolves formed a ring around the watchtower. Queen Veyra stood in the open snow, her broken crown lifting in the dragon's wind.

“Asterax,” she called. “I return what your fire was promised.”

The dragon's answer split the cliffs. “You return a thief's crown and ask me to call it mercy.”

Mira felt the golden coal leap in her palm. It pointed toward the observatory above the ridge. Liora took her shoulders.

“The flame must be placed in the old brazier.”

“What happens then?”

“The oaths break. Every stolen name returns. The kingdoms become free.”

“And the queen?”

Liora looked at Veyra, who stood beneath the dragon with her hands open. “That depends on what she gave willingly.”

The climb to the observatory became a battle.