"And you stop playing games!" She turned to fly eastward, seeking Raem; where had the king gone? "Find their leader. King Raem, a man in bronze armor upon a pale bat. Chop off the true snake's head."

She thought she glimpsed him again, a blaze of dragonfire against metal. She bared her teeth. She had lost sight of the tyrant, but she flew toward that glint, barreling through demons. Dorvin fought at her left, laughing as he bathed the world with fire. Laira joined her and fought to her right, a golden dragon, bleeding, two spears thrusting out of her but fighting still, roaring as she killed. Smoke and flame and rot covered the world; Maev could no longer see the stars.

Perhaps Requiem fell today. Perhaps this dream of dragons, this new kingdom for her kind, would perish so soon after its birth.

If that is so, I will die with it.

A demon landed upon a dragon at her side and tore off his wing. The dragon lost his magic, returning to human form—a young boy, his shoulder blade bloodied. Demons tore the child apart, tearing off limbs and ripping out organs. Ahead of Maev, another dragon wailed as naked, demonic cats landed upon her, biting deep. The dragon became human again and fell as a woman, screaming, silenced when she hit the ground.

Maev roared, refusing to let the horror overwhelm her. There—she saw it again ahead! A glint on bronze. King Raem.

She pointed ahead. "Laira! Dorvin! I see him there."

The golden dragon and the silver one flew up to her, blood on their fangs. They saw it too. Dorvin grinned savagely, and Laira stared with cold hatred. Between them and the tyrant flew a hundred demons of all shapes, each as large as them.

"For Requiem!" Maev shouted.

"For starlight!" cried Laira.

"I bet I reach the king before you, Mammoth Arse!" shouted Dorvin.

The three dragons flew together, wreathing their flames into a great, spinning torrent of heat and light and sound. The blaze crashed into the demons ahead, carving a path, splitting the sea of them. Beating their wings, roaring their fire in a shrieking inferno, the three dragons flew toward the king.

ISSARI

 
ISSARI

She walked through Goshar, the City of Bones, the ancient rival of her homeland.

Before falling to darkness, Eteer had been an oasis of water and greenery. The canal drove into the city, bristling with sails. Fountains sprouted in courtyards. Gardens nestled outside houses and upon balconies and roofs. Birds had sung and cypress, fig, and palm trees had lined the streets. That city had fallen, but the memories would forever fill Issari, visions of lush beauty and growing things.

Goshar, meanwhile, was a place of stone, sand, and silence.