The shaggy, bearded King of Requiem grumbled. "Let us leave, Laira. We'll return to Requiem and defend it as best we can. With our rocs. With our dragons." He shook his head. "This is not the way."

Laira narrowed her eyes, tilted her head, and stared at him, and she saw something in his eyes—something more than fear. What was it? Jealousy? Did Jeid object to her fighting a beast, or did he object to her marrying this chieftain?

She took a deep breath. She looked down. The opening was wider now, and a head emerged from below. It was shaped like a great, albino eagle, but a mane of white fur—like that of a lion—encircled its neck. It stared at her with white, baleful eyes and shrieked, the sound deafening. The creature's body still lurked below. Across the cavern, a hundred pteros clung to the walls, mouths clattering open and shut, screeching down at the beast in the pit.

I need these pteros, Laira thought. I need the hunters who ride upon them. She thought back to the demon she had slain, to the thousand others said to be flying north in search of dragons. I will not turn away this chance for victory.

She stepped closer to Jeid, placed a hand upon his shoulder, and kissed his cheek. "I will fight for Requiem," she said. "And I will marry this man. And we will fly with this tribe to victory."

She saw the pain those words gave him. He held her hand. "There are other ways."

She shook her head. "Not for me. Not for the kingdom we are building." She turned back toward Oritan. "I will fight. But not upon Neiva. I will risk my life, not that of my roc. I will fight as a dragon."

With that, she leaped into the air and shifted. Her wings burst out from her back. Flames roared from her mouth and crashed against the ceiling. Across the chamber, tribesmen stared and roared. Their voices echoed.

"Release the Beast of Bride's Blood!"

Finally the stone doors fully opened below, a craggy cervix birthing a beast. Laira flew above, hissing out smoke. She had never seen a hydragrif before, and the creature shot bolts of fear through her. It emerged shrieking into the cavern, lashing its claws, a massive beast twice her size. Its body was that of a dragon, covered in white scales. Tufts of white fur rose across it like patches of crabgrass, and its tail whipped, spiked and cruel. Its wings were not leathery but instead covered with white feathers, and they ended with claws longer than swords. Strangest of all, three necks grew from the creature's body, each supporting the head of a pale eagle. The three beaks opened wide, and cries emerged from them, and six eyes blazed as they stared at her.

The creature soared through the cavern, beaks clattering.

Laira roared down her flames.