Heat uncurled in my chest. Not from grief this time, but anger. My father wanted to play games? Fine. I was his daughter, after all. If he’d made it, then I could unmake it, and that was exactly what I intended to do.
I stared down at the dragon’s corpse and reached inward for the same magic I’d used to build my army. I stayed out of my internal forest as a precaution and focused on the task in front of me. Magic curled through me easier than last time. Almost like it’d been waiting for me to make use of it again.
With a deep breath, I extended a hand toward the dragon and willed it to come apart.
The ground beneath the creature shuddered, and then slowly, the scales started to peel away—one by one—like obsidian petals falling from a decaying flower. They rose into the air, then drifted toward me, encircling me in a slow orbit. The claws came next, wrenching free with a series of bone-deep cracks. Next, I focused on the bones, separating a few from the sinew and flesh, loosening the spine like a string of snapped pearls.
Levi strode toward me, his golden hair stained with blood and dirt. “What are you doing?”
I didn’t answer. He’d see soon enough.
Without a word, I dismantled the beast into its rawest parts, the bits and pieces spiraling around me in lazy circles. Some I put aside for future gear. But some I drew closer because I had a plan.
Using this new magic should have weakened me. Instead, I felt empowered. Ever since touching the forest deep within me, my powers had grown—evidenced by the shadow tendrils and wings. I wanted to see what I could do with it.
My gaze flicked to one of the long, curved, rib bones now hovering in the air—smooth, pale, and streaked with shimmering black. It called to me in a way that felt…personal. As though it knew exactly what I was thinking and approved. Like it wanted me to fashion something useful out of it. Fulfill its destiny.
I cocked my head to the side. Then I reached for the nearest scale. It was broad and the blackest of blacks. The perfect guard. A claw caught my eye next. Sharp, sleek, wickedly curved. A pommel, maybe?
My idea took root. I closed my fist, ordering my magic to obey and shape the image forming in my mind.
Hellfire ignited in my fist, flames flickering over my fingers. Then it shot toward the bones and heated the scale and claw, fusing everything together in a hiss of magic and flame.
The rib bone bent midair, reshaping itself to the image in my mind. The scale melded around it, wrapping and reinforcing until a blade started to take shape.
Piece by piece, I called the strongest fragments to me and snapped them in place, fusing them together with hellfire. The blade gleamed as it came together—curved, deadly, beautiful. It shimmered faintly with the same unnatural sheen of the dragon, tempered now by my will and fury.
I reached out.
The sword slapped into my palm like it had been waiting for me all along. It was heavy but balanced. A perfect specimen.
I gave it a lazy swing and grinned when it sliced through the air.
Eliza let out a low whistle. “Damn, girl. You just built a sword out of a dragon.”
“That was horrifyingly hot,” Calyx muttered. But everyone ignored him.
I twirled the blade once, letting the light catch the curve of its edge. “My father can send all the monsters he wants. I’ll just send them back in pieces.”
The sword thrummed in my grip like it agreed. Like it’d happily found its new home.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Levi commented, his voice awestruck.
I shrugged. I hadn’t known either, but that hadn’t stopped me from trying. Nor would it stop me from making more. From the leftover parts, I fashioned three new blades—one for each warrior in my group—and a set of daggers for Eliza. They all walked toward me, their eyes practically gleaming with excitement as I handed each of them their new weapon.
Rathiel gave his a few practice swings, his brow smoothed into awe. That awe soon vanished when he turned to me with a frown. “First the shadow tendrils, then new wings, and now new weapons? Your magic is growing stronger.”
“So it would seem,” I said. “And I’ll take it, because right now we need all the help we can get.”
He gave a slow nod. “You aren’t wrong. Just…be careful.”
Calyx strode over before I could respond, and the two immediately began sparring, careful not to smash their new blades together.
I merely shook my head, then glanced at the dragon’s remains. “We need to replace our supplies. Harvest whatever meat you can.”
Even before the attack, we hadn’t had enough food to feed a thousand hellspawn. The dragon meat would help, but since I still intended to resurrect my army, it wouldn’t be enough.
Thankfully, I had a solution for that.
