“Is he dead?” one of the ghost dragons asked.

“Maybe he’s a ghost human,” said the other, taking a claw and poking Dev in the side. Dev recoiled.

“He’s alive,” said the dark purple. He pursed his lips and blew a narrow stream of hot air, as if painting Dev’s body in long, sweeping motions, paying extra attention to the bloody parts.

Dev lifted his head, squinted, and worked up the effort to speak. This dragon was familiar. “Drock? Is that you?”

“It is,” said Drock when he stopped to take in a breath. “Do you suppose you can roll over? I can turn you if you aren’t able to do it yourself.”

“I—I can do it,” said Dev. He preferred the dragon never touch him again if possible. Of the five dragons he’d tended to in the castle dungeon, Drock had been the most unpredictable and troublesome, and they’d shared a mutual wariness of each other. He struggled and rolled to his side, feeling a bit stronger already, though he wasn’t sure why.

“That’s far enough.” Drock started to blow on Dev’s back and legs as he’d done before.

The air felt scorching to Dev, but somehow comforting, too. And healing, if that were possible. “Are you…?” He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep for a moment, enveloped in the warm, magical dragon breath.

“There,” said Drock after a few moments, startling Dev awake. “You’ll be feeling better soon.”

“How are you making me feel better?”

“I can heal the wounds I caused easily enough,” said Drock. He pulled back to take a good look at the boy and seemed satisfied. “When you’re ready to walk, there’s a cave nearby where you can find shelter. The river is there.” Drock pointed with his tail to some large, smooth rocks and a line of trees not far away.

Dev blinked. His mind, still fuzzy, was having a hard time putting together what was happening. Wasn’t Drock under the Revinir’s spell? “Aren’t you supposed to destroy me? Or eat me? The Revinir… the Revinir roared…”

“No, I won’t eat you,” said Drock. “And neither will the ghost dragons. They are the only ones you can trust.” He stepped away as if to signal his imminent departure.

“Wait,” said Dev, feeling desperate for answers. “What happened? I blacked out.”

The dark purple dragon glanced worriedly over his shoulder toward the edge of the forest, then looked back at Dev. “I’d heard you were summoned to the castle, so I was keeping an eye on you when I saw you approach on the back of one of the mind-controlled dragons. I was concerned when you didn’t leave, so I searched the castle exterior and discovered you in the tower. When the Revinir roared her command and threw you out of the window, I was circling below. I swooped in and caught you. And I carried you here to the cavelands.”

Dev shook his head slightly. It was hard to imagine how he’d been lucky enough to survive. Luck didn’t usually come his way.