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“You’re halfway dead yourself.”
He shrugs. “Nowhere close to halfway.”
“You don’t even have your sword!”
“I have daggers.”
“You want to kill a dragon with a dagger?”
“Daggers. Two of them.”
Scaldric’s tail slithers over the marble as he stalks closer to us. He hasn’t taken the sword from his neck yet. Smoke drifts from his nostrils.
“You can’t fight fire with steel,” Scaldric says.
Rook nods. “Thanks for the warning.”
When Scaldric opens his mouth, Rook lunges behind a column. Flames billow against the marble. The intense heat forces me to narrow my eyes. Firelight glimmers, reflected, on the pommel of the sword still buried in his neck.
The sword.
The muscles in my legs tighten with restrained power. Scaldric may be a bigger and stronger dragon than me, but I’m faster. Smarter. When he exhales fire, I launch myself at him. My hand closes over the hilt.
I wrench out the sword.
Blood pours from his neck. It flows like a river across the ruined temple. The golden dragon shudders back into the shape of a man. He clutches his neck to slow the bleeding. Red seeps between his knuckles and stains his pale skin.
“The demon was right,” I say. “Without the sword, you will bleed out.”
Scaldric swallows hard, his throat bobbing. “Pyrah.”
“I shouldn’t care if you live or die, but there aren’t enough dragons in the world.”
He stares at me, his blood still seeping between his fingers.
I turn my back on him.
Rook stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure?”
“He might not bleed out if a healer gets to him fast enough.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
I gouge the marble with my claws. “I’m not a dragonslayer. I won’t kill my own kind unless I have no choice.”
Rook dips his head. “I respect your choice.” He retrieves his bloodied sword.
The sky above me beckons. “Let’s not linger in the rubble of this temple.”
“Please.”
“Fly with me?”
“Anywhere but here.”
I lie down so Rook can climb onto my back. He holds the spikes on my neck. Pounding my wings, I launch myself from the ground.
City guards shout and swarm beneath us. Crossbow bolts whistle through the air. One of them pierces my wing and leaves a ragged hole. I grit my teeth against the pain, but I won’t let it stop me. I can’t afford not to escape.
