Drock seemed uncomfortable yet pleased with the praise. “I want that too. Thank you. I’ll be going now—I can’t stay away from Grimere for too long. Back to the castle. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

“Maiven will be here awaiting news. Simber, too. I’ll be gone for a day or so, but don’t be surprised if you see a ghost dragon in fog formation moving near the castle with a rider or two.”

“I’ll be on the lookout for an unusually low-flying cloud of fog,” Drock promised. With a good-bye to Astrid, the dark purple dragon took off and sailed low toward the forest beyond the strip of desert.

Florence reintroduced herself to Astrid in case the ghost dragon had forgotten her and warned her that she was quite heavy. But Astrid didn’t seem troubled by it. “Do you know where Ashguard’s palace is?” Florence asked her, even though she knew Astrid had been there recently.

“The palace,” said Astrid. “Oh yes. It’s a beautiful place. Red and purple and gold. It’s not far beyond that line of mountains. Would you like to go there?”

“Indeed I would,” said Florence.

“Then climb aboard.” Astrid dipped her wing and used her tail to help Florence climb on. When Florence was settled, Astrid turned to look at her. “Where to, madam?”

Florence and Simber exchanged a smile and nodded their good-byes. “To Ashguard’s palace, if you please,” said Florence. “It’s just over those mountains.” To Simber she said, “I’ll see you in a day or so.” She glanced at Rohan, who seemed to have pulled himself together a bit after the pep talk and was chatting with Seth while they ate dinner. “If Maiven sends Rohan to the castle, suggest someone go with him.”

Simber nodded. “I will. Be carrreful.”

“Count on it.”

By the time they headed out, it was dark. Florence sent Fifer another message to let her know she was on the way and to expect her in the morning. And then she settled back for a long ride.

In the palace library, Dev began whittling a new long spear while Fifer paged through the book about killing dragons, looking at the drawings. They discussed what to tell Florence about preparing for an attack, since they hadn’t heard any news from Thisbe.

“Are you sure the dragons can’t hurt your warrior trainer?” Dev asked.

“She’s carved from stone. Fire won’t hurt her. And she says the ghost dragons can’t get hurt. I’m not going to argue. Plus, she’s going to try to drop some components for me. When she gets closer, I’ll tell her where to aim.”

“She’s going to have to throw them from quite a height,” said Dev skeptically.