“She’s got excellent aim. I’m not worried—wait’ll you see her. You’ll get what I mean. Besides, she can’t be hurt, remember?”

“All right. If you say so.” Dev didn’t seem convinced, but he’d never met Florence before and had met only a few living statues in his life. “Why not have Simber come?”

“Simber is susceptible to very hot fires. I’m guessing that’s why.”

The most recent message from Florence came rushing up the stairwell. Fifer read it and looked up. “She’ll be here in the morning. We should probably turn in. I could use some sleep. My nap ended too quickly.”

“I guess that means I’m going to have to hide soon,” said Dev. “I’ll sleep here tonight, but then I’ll go to the alcove when Florence comes in case she gets a look inside the windows. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Okay,” said Fifer, feeling a bit melancholy at the thought. “And I’m glad you’re feeling better… but please don’t try talking to the dragons again.”

Dev put down the long spear he was carving. He wasn’t making any promises. As he made the rounds, checking the windows for unusual sights, he stopped at the east window. “Hmm,” he said. “The fourth red dragon is back.”

Bombs Away

Once Astrid the ghost dragon cleared the mountain range and the sky began to lighten, Florence strained to see the glorious palace Astrid had spoken about. She tried to imagine Fifer living alone in such a place. It seemed strange.

“It won’t be long now,” said Astrid. She sniffed the air. “I didn’t know that Ashguard kept dragons.”

“The dragons are under the command of the Revinir,” Florence said for probably the eleventh time. “I’m pretty sure Ashguard isn’t there anymore.” Out of everyone, Florence knew the least about the history of this land, but she’d heard stories. “And from what Maiven Taveer told me, I don’t think the palace has been kept up.”

“Oh, that’s right,” said Astrid. “You mentioned that once before.”

Florence blinked. “Right.” A sliver of sun appeared to their left and Florence leaned forward, eager to see what they would be going up against. Astrid pointed out the forest and crater lake in the same direction as the sun and the deserted village with the palace straight ahead. It was surrounded by overgrowth and not easy to spot at first, but then Florence spied four red dots making a square on the ground. “Those red things are the dragons,” Florence told Astrid. “Can you get a sense of how big they are? Or… how combative?”

Astrid was quiet for a long moment as she sampled the air. “They aren’t large like ghost dragons,” she said. “Maybe half the size—average for adults. A bit larger than that dark purple friend of yours, I’d say.”