Haldor nodded, absentmindedly scratching the base of his red horns. The demon usually wore an expression of delight, but he just looked tired now. “Yes, that does seem to be the case, but there are, unfortunately, other things we must take into consideration. Such as where you’ve come from and how you arrived with a murk sigil on your Grundstoff Empire armor.”
I flinched. “I thought we’d gotten past that. I have no true loyalty to Isveig.”
“Well, see, that’s what you’ve told us, love,” Odel said with an apologetic smile. “But we only have your word for it and nothing more. And then all this happens…” She gestured vaguely at the swords. “Ever since you’ve arrived, someone has had it out for Rivelin.”
I tried to catch Rivelin’s eyes, to search for confirmation he felt the same, but he wouldn’t look at me. A sharp stab of pain went through my heart. “And so you believe I’m behind it all.”
“If you have a better explanation, I’m all ears,” said Haldor.
I motioned at Viggo, who stood on his steps watching the exchange. “The swords were inhishouse. Or perhaps it was Gregor. Have you suddenly forgotten about him?”
Odel sighed. “He maintains he had nothing to do with the destruction at the forge and that he was set up to take the fall for that.”
“And youbelievehim?” I asked, my heart pounding. “He’s sabotaged other Games in the past. Youwatchedhim goad Kari into attacking him.”
“He has always played within the confines of the rules, which is why it’s been so difficult to do anything about him.” Haldor sighed and started to elaborate, but he was interrupted by a thunderous boom from the sky above.
Inwardly, I groaned. This was just what I needed—a rainstorm. I had no salt or tent with me to protect my skin, which meant I needed to get inside. I needed to go…home. But I did not think my home here was mine any longer. It never had been.
My heart ached as I tried, once more, to catch Rivelin’s gaze. His hands were on his hips, and he stared at the ground, at the swords that surrounded him. Everything about his posture and crumpled expression screamed resignation.
He truly believed I was behind this.
Unshed tears burned my eyes. I had not cried in so very long—I never gave Isveig the satisfaction, even when I was alone and knew no one would see. There’d always been a chance he was listening at the door, waiting for me to break. So I had always held it in. I’d never cracked. And yet I could not stop the tears that now streaked down my face.
Blinking them away, I turned toward the road that would lead to the western side of the village, and eventually, out of this place.
And then a shadow passed overhead.
Wind gusted against me as thunder boomed once more. I looked up, and my heart nearly stopped. That hadn’t been thunder. Heavy wings beat the air as a dragon landed on the road just in front of me, his monstrous claws slamming into the ground, his leathery tail whipping back and forth. Dirt sprayed behind him like a cloud of mist. He flared his nostrils, sniffing, his luminous eyes bearing down on me like the weight of an anvil. Bright light flared beneath his emerald scales.
This was not Aska, the dragon I’d met in the forest.
As he settled on the ground, I lifted a trembling hand toward his snout. He stared at me, and I stared right back, my heart pounding my ribs.
And then he roared.
The force of his bellow knocked me off my feet, and my backside slammed into the dirt. Shouts erupted from behind me, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off the beast. His eyes were narrowed slits as he stalked toward me. But then he whipped his head around, like something else had caught his attention.
The dragon sniffed the air again.
His attention landed on a house only a few feet away.
“Reykur!” Rivelin’s shout cut through my terror. “Back away. Daella means you no harm.”
But Reykur was no longer focused on me. He stalked toward the house, his claws punching deep holes into the dirt. The dragon took one last scent of the air, opened his maw, and unleashed his brutal flames upon the building.
I cried out and flattened myself on the ground, wincing at the intoxicating heat that washed over me. I’d never felt anything like it before. It was a heat so all-encompassing that it consumed every inch of me with brutal, unrelenting pain.
Rivelin suddenly appeared, grabbed my arms, and hauled me away. Then he turned to the dragon, as if to call him back. But it was too late. A conflagration consumed the building. Tongues of deadly flames licked the skies. It would only take moments for the building to become nothing more than a pile of ash.
As the fire danced, Reykur swivelled his head our way. A low grumble spilled from his throat as the dragon took a step toward Viggo. He reared back on his hind legs and roared. My heart pounded. The dragon had burned down Godfrey’s house. Would he burn down Viggo’s, too? With Viggo still on the front steps?
“No, Reykur,” I whispered. “Stop.”
A long moment stretched by in silence.
The dragon blinked, closed its maw, then spread his wings to fly. He was gone in the blink of an eye, vanishing into the sky so quickly it almost felt like he’d never even been there, if not for the destruction he’d left behind.
