Taking the spear had been an afterthought, despite all that planning. From the moment I held Khoreval, I felt its extraordinary magic, indeed strong enough to kill a dragon. Still, Khoreval seemed like a toothpick against Aeyan’arric’s size and majesty. I felt like an idiot for ever thinking I could fight a dragon without a goddess at my side.

The goddess in question must have been thinking along the same lines, at least about Aeyan’arric’s beauty, because she sighed next to me. “This breaks my heart. I knew her when she was a little girl.”

“You—” I looked over at her. “Wait, Aeyan’arric used to be human?”

“All the dragons used to be … well … yes, let’s go with human. Aeyan was the daughter of a good friend. As a child, her smiles were like the sun peeking out behind the clouds.”

“What changed her into a dragon?”

“A monster. Her uncle.”

“Her uncle—?”

“Relos Var. Her uncle is Relos Var. And he murdered his own brother, Aeyan’s father, because … honestly, I don’t know. Even after all these years, I still don’t know.” Tya’s expression set into something unfriendly, and she didn’t seem inclined to answer any further questions. “Hide up behind that ledge. I’ll lead her beneath you. Jump down and don’t miss.”

“That’s the plan? Jump on her and hope for the best?”

Tya laughed. “What were you going to do?”

I frowned and looked down at my bag. I’d planned to give Aeyan’arric a new scale decoration that would sap her strength, but that was before I realized Senera had personalized the sigil she’d marked on my back. So it probably wouldn’t work on Aeyan’arric, especially if it meant “steal energy from voras daughters of goddesses of magic.”

“You don’t happen to know what this means, do you?” I asked Tya, showing her the sigil.

She shook her head, looking rueful. “Strange as this may sound coming from the Goddess of Magic, I don’t.”

“I’d planned to throw this at the dragon to weaken her, but now I don’t think it will work.”

“So not too far removed from drop down from above and hope for the best, is it?”

I cleared my throat. “No.”

“Move quickly. If it doesn’t work, run. You can’t fight her with endurance or strength. Aim the spear at the space between her eyes.”

I nodded and moved up to the ledge.

Tya vanished.

She reappeared a moment later down in the valley, where Aeyan’arric sported. The dragon reacted immediately, spreading her wings and rearing back, serpent-like. She dispensed with polite conversation and quick banter.

Aeyan’arric attacked, breathing winter incarnate down at the spot where Tya stood. But Tya had already gone, so fast her veils left a blurred rainbow behind her.