Just then, the dragon roared, the sound like the bellows of a furnace. Zofia forced her heartbeat to remain steady. Distantly, she registered that they were in trouble, but she knew she was no use to her friends if she could not think.

Her gaze flew to the creature’s taloned feet. They seemed to melt into the marble, allowing it slow but labored movement across the floor. It was not built for speed, but—Zofia glanced at the fused door and the skylight thirty meters above them—it did not need to work quickly.

Meltingly slow, it slid forward, its tail whipping out, its jaws snapping.

“I don’t know how to defeat a dragon!” said Hypnos.

“It isn’t a dragon,” said Zofia. “It’s glass.”

The glass dragon slid one step closer. Its tail spun out, but Zofia noticed that it never arced upwards; its Forging mechanism was careful not to disturb the skylight. The room’s cloying heat pressed against her robes. Séverin had called the heat intentional … a preference. An idea snapped through her thoughts.

“We need to stress the dragon,” she said.

Hypnos frowned. “I’m not sure now is the time to tell it about my existential woes—”

“Glass experiences thermal shock when the temperature rapidly changes between two surfaces,” said Zofia.

“Hot glass doesn’t like cold air,” said Séverin. “We need to introduce some cold into the room.”

“But the door is melted shut!” said Enrique.

Zofia glanced up. “The skylight isn’t.”

“We can’t reach that!” said Hypnos.

“Yes, we can,” said Laila. She ripped open her robes, reaching for the Forged steel Zofia had concealed in her bodice.

“The skylight will need significant mass to break,” she said, casting about the room for something to attach to the rope.

There was nothing around them but delicate perfume bottles.

The dragon moved closer, molten heat rippling from its body. The flowing glass surrounded four pedestals, two on each side.

“We need to move!” said Enrique, standing.

Séverin stayed where he was, pointing above them. “This is the best place to access the skylight—”

“Séverin,” said Laila, her voice full of warning.

“Buy me some time,” said Séverin.

“Take your robes off,” said Zofia, ripping off the heavy cloth.

“Normally I love that suggestion,” said Hypnos. “But—”

Zofia reached forward, grabbing at his sleeves and tearing. “The robes are Forged to inhibit heat. We can use it as a barrier against the hot glass.”

Hypnos shrugged out of his robes, tossing it to Zofia. The liquid glass pooled around the edges of the cloak. It wouldn’t last more than three minutes, but it was something.

“We need something to throw against the skylight!” said Séverin, casting about.

Zofia pointed at the metal spheres at the base of the pedestals. Séverin followed the line of her finger and grinned.

“Gaia Dots,” he said. “Phoenix, that’s brilliant! They should’ve absorbed plenty of shock by now—”

The glass dragon roared, its wings flapping, waves of heat fanning against Zofia’s cheeks.

“What are you waiting for?” shouted Enrique.