Laira banked, dodging it, but a second arm slammed into her and wrapped around her neck.

She floundered in the sky, choking. She tried to breathe fire but could not; the tentacle was constricting her throat, blocking both air and flame.

"Stars damn it!" Jeid howled, tossed around by the tail. The burly copper dragon was clawing at the beast, unable to harm it. "Tanin, Maev—you told me these demons are small as horses."

"They were!" Maev shouted back, her green scales chipped. "Most of them."

Laira sputtered, only sparks leaving her maw. She lashed her claws, tearing at the tentacle, but whenever she pierced the boneless digit, it reformed. The grip tightened around her neck, and the small mouths upon it—each as large as a human mouth—tore at her scales, tugging them off her neck. Blackness spread across her.

Do I die here too? she thought. Do we end up as food for demons and crows?

Tears stung her eyes; she could barely see. They had founded Requiem, a kingdom for dragons, only this winter; did this dream of a nation now end?

She managed to hiss.

No.

She beat her wings madly.

I did not pass through fire and blood to die above my home.

She gritted her teeth . . . and released her magic.

A human again, slim and small, she squirted out of the octopus's grip and tumbled through the sky.

The beast shrieked, a sound so loud Laira thought her eardrums might shatter. It reached out more tentacles and grabbed her again, but she slipped from its grasp like a minnow from a man's fingers. She flew through the sky, spinning, and reclaimed her magic.

A golden dragon again, she soared with a howl, dodged the tentacles, and crashed into the demon's belly.

Her horns tore through translucent, sticky membranes. The demon's stomach tore open above her, and Laira managed to grin, sure she had killed it.

An instant later, a thousand baby octopi spilled from the slashed belly, raining onto her.

Laira screamed. Each of the spawned creatures was large as a wolf, their tentacles bloody and lined with clattering mouths. They fell upon her, clinging like parasites. Their mouths tugged at her scales, tearing them loose, and her blood showered. Several landed upon her wings, tugging her down toward the forest. She screamed, fell, and slammed against the treetops. She yowled as a branch drove into her thigh. As she crashed through the branches, the demon spawn tore free from her wings, allowing Laira to flap and soar again. The creatures were feeding at her flanks, sucking her blood like leeches. She whipped her tail, knocking them off. When finally she removed the last creature, she saw the spawn—there were hundreds of them—racing through the forest, tearing down trees, and dragging themselves toward King's Column. Their slime covered the holy ground of Requiem.