Vespir wished she had seen more of Dragonspire before it was on fire. Karina tucked her wings and made a spectacular dive into the buildings’ canyons. They soared past marble balustrades, past glimmering shop windows, and down cobblestone avenues lined with trees. The air shook as Aufidius roared behind them. Vespir dared a peek over her shoulder. The larger dragon couldn’t follow Karina into the streets themselves, but his deadly breath more than made up for it.

“Pull up!” Vespir screamed when Aufidius spewed flame into the boulevard, roasting at least half a dozen people. Tears streaked her face as Karina rocketed into the sky. Hyperia was a murderer, yes, but Vespir hadn’t truly believed her capable of killing like this.

“She’s gone mad,” Karina murmured. “That dragon is a monster.”

“We need to draw them back to the palace. Can we make it?” Vespir wrapped her arms around Karina’s neck and laid her cheek against the dragon’s shoulder.

“In the open air, my speed may not be enough.”

“I know.” If they dodged through the city streets, they could avoid Aufidius, but it would involve more death. Vespir could not let that happen. “Please try.”

“For you, anything.”

They flew, Vespir struggling to stay calm as she heard Aufidius’s roar. She screamed as flame shot overhead, nearly roasting the back of her neck.

“Vespir!”

“He didn’t get me.”

“But if he does…”

Fire couldn’t hurt Karina, but Vespir was utterly human.

“Can you hook your heels under my legs?”

Vespir knew what Karina was suggesting and wished to the depths that she didn’t.

It was the only way—Aufidius would not miss next time—and they were closing in on the palace…

But if Vespir let go…

She hooked her heels and flattened herself against Karina’s back.

“Now!” Vespir screamed. Karina spun around, belly up to Aufidius, Vespir protected behind her back. All good, save for the fact that Vespir now dangled one hundred feet above the ground, the strength in her heels and arms all that prevented her from tumbling into oblivion.

“I will, I will, I will,” she chanted, gritting her teeth as her legs began to tremble. Her thighs burned—she couldn’t hold like this forever. As pain started shooting through her legs, the sky overhead lit with flame.

Vespir would burn to ash and join her brother Casca. They’d toss a little wooden box of her onto the family kitchen table.

One heel slipped, and Vespir screamed as it dangled in the air and began to pull the rest of her body after. Karina trilled in response, quickly soaring upward so that Vespir was seated once more. Wings flaring to fill with wind, the dragon rose above Aufidius. But Vespir felt her friend weakening—Karina was too small for a fight like this.

“Can we get around to the palace gardens?” Vespir called.

“We won’t make it,” Karina replied grimly. As the dragon spoke, Vespir realized that her left leg felt wet. Glancing down, she saw her pajama pant soaked in blood from ankle to calf. For one second she thought she’d been gored and hadn’t felt it yet with all the adrenaline, but she noticed the curved gouge running along the top of Karina’s leg, which bled freely. Vespir’s mind seemed to shut down. Her girl had been injured. Badly.

“When I bit at his tail, he snagged me with his talons,” Karina murmured. The dragon bobbed on the wind, sinking lower with every passing second, and Aufidius was nowhere near tired yet.

“The spire,” Vespir gasped. The fifty-foot protrusion gleamed directly before them. “Latch on to it. Rest. We can launch off if we need.”

Karina chirped and soared ahead. Aufidius rose behind them, his gold scales glowing like fire in the morning sun. Karina made it to the palace, and Vespir was tempted to have her swoop low and try to hobble inside, but Aufidius would be on them before they could make it to shelter. The spire was their last chance…

To do what?

Karina gripped the spire with her taloned feet. Her wings, each tipped with a claw at the top joint, took hold as well, leaving Vespir to dangle against her dragon’s back. They were safe.

But not for long.

“Here they come,” she murmured. Aufidius and his golden rider homed in on Vespir’s location and hovered over them. Karina shifted and groaned, and Vespir touched the soft place between her dragon’s shoulder blades for comfort. “If it gets too bad, I’ll jump off,” Vespir whispered.

“Where you go, I go.”

Stubborn dragon. Vespir loved her for it. She fought against the urge to lower her head as Aufidius rose before them, his wings at their full forty-foot span. The Hydra’s jaw unhinged, and fire gathered at his throat.

Shaking, Vespir stared at her death.