na

e final chime of the

his long strides carrying him through the double doors wit

That was... intense. I'm pretty sure he was planning five different ways to turn you into a lizard, G

ly hea

ixed on the em

candy, the raw, wounded panic that had flashed through those si

books into my satchel and securing the brass clasp

na,

lready

d up the heavy folds of my crimson robes with both h

g Keep was choked with stud

the upper vaulted arches, while Beastkin first-

ks for that tall, lean silhouette and the washed-

er

spiral staircase-the damp, drafty descent that led d

ce cutting through the chatter

ead j

eard

oots struck the stone with violent, fran

y," I hissed under my br

eps three at a time, my hand sliding along

f the upper castle giving way to the smell of moss

shouted, rounding the bottom curve int

lway wa

nto the gloom, flanked by stone gargoyles w

e founding Dragon-lords rippled slightl

as g

; in this labyrinth, I had no hope of tracking a

hands on my knees, drawing ragge

w defeat settl

the stone floor. You pushed too hard, a

arning that every outstretched

irl who had ignored him yesterd

a stray strand of golden hair from my damp forehea

ite for the Great Hall, I turned and beg

longing tugged a

someone else I had fai

eavy oak gates of the castle, and stepped out into th

s was the only sound against the rus

I f

ing Keep, gleaming in the pale sunlight, was a

gasi, their feathers shifting through shades

ver serpent wrapped around a crystal vial-t

age door

ravel, her sharp leather boots

cut with the sharp, severe lines of a master merchant, a

hot through with strands of silver that I had com

Ster

mot

r, unyielding will, only for her daughter to squander it o

, spotting me standing ther

s drew togethe

ss the lawn. "What are you doing outside the ward

r hit me like a

ing away family vaults to pay off my debts, her hands shaking, her voice trembling as sh

ed with instant

," I ch

d adopt her usual defensive, razor-sharp merchant pe

d them open, and launched m