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My face snapped her direction. “If you kill one, two more are born?” I asked breathlessly. I was obviously still traumatized from yesterday’s calamity.

“No, no, if you kill one, it’s dead and done, thank goodness, but killing a million of them is impossible, so, like the trees, you can’t get rid of them.” Lyric turned back to look at our rear flank. She was giggling as she faced forward. “He sure is protective over you.”

“Me? Seemed to me he didn’t trust any of us with the dragons.”

Lyric tilted her head and lifted a “seriously?” brow at me. “Yes, he’s tagging along because he’s worried that Madigan won’t be able to defend herself against a slovenly group of lazy dragons. If it had been just your trio,” she said pointedly, “then he would have shrugged and gone home. He’s here for only one reason.”

“I told you, he considers me an irritant. I know you three were hinting that there was something between us other than irritation, but you couldn’t be further off on your assessment.” A dry laugh followed. “Can you imagine little, insignificant, yearning-to-be-invisible old me matched with a man like him? I saw his fan base. I can only imagine the women he has lined up waiting for him.”

“That’s true. Revel has never been short on women.”

Confirmation of my theory felt like a stabbing pain in my chest. “End of topic. I’ve got so much to learn, and I think I have all the intel I need on that Valian warrior back there.”

“Intel?” Lyric asked.

“Never mind. What about you and your dating prospects? Have you heard from Osco since you’ve been back?”

Lyric wrinkled her nose. That and lip biting were her go-to moves. How hard it must have been for her face to be frozen in wood all that time. “I think that now that I’m a woman of the world, having lived in the human world for so long, I’ve outgrown him. I need someone more worldly. Osco helps his dad grow vegetables and raise goats. He’s sweet, but I’m past sweet now.”

“I noticed he had a lot of tattoos, but I don’t see many other tattoos in town.”

“That’s because Osco is half Regna. Don’t worry, he can’t shapeshift. The Regnas are still heavy into tattoos. They were popular in Norvale back when my papa was young. He’s got a few, but it’s no longer—hmm—a fad. I think that’s what you call it.” A smile broke free. “See, I learned so much living in the human world, and all from your bedroom shelf. That’s because you always spoke to us as if we were standing alive in your room.”

“It always felt like that, and deep down, I think I knew you were listening.”

The Avion Mountains loomed ahead of us. Gray mist circled each tall peak like a halo. Jagged, steep cliffs jutted out from every inch of the range. Very little vegetation grew amongst the dark purple mountainsides.

“I can see why they’re impossible to cross,” I said.

“It’s like having the world’s highest and most deadly fence on the northern border. When the dragons were fit and flying, the warriors would take them over the mountains, but there’s not much on the other side except vast forests and rivers.”

“Do the other regions have dragons as well?” I asked. “It seems unfair that they attacked the food source of the Z-drakes if they have some as well.”

“Both the Solamites and the Regnas use Star-shield Dragons for battle. They aren’t nearly as fast or agile or good in a fight as the Z-drakes, and they don’t eat lion’s bane. In ancient times, the Z-drakes, like the Valians, were outcasts. The larger, slower dragons refused to acknowledge them or allow them into their brood circles.”

“So, two outcasts found each other,” I said.

“Exactly, and it was lucky they did. Together, the Valians and their slick Z-drakes were unstoppable. Which is why the Regnas and Solamites plotted to destroy them.”

My hand flew to my nose when a stomach-turning stench filled the air. “What is that? Smells like a skunk decided to take a bath in vinegar and sprinkle a little rotten egg in for good measure.”

“That smell, my friend, is dragon burps.” Lyric took my arm and picked up her pace.

The towering mountain range created an entire swath of marsh-like meadow in its shadow. Trees were stumpy and the grass was a mossy gray. Every other step produced a seepage of viscous cloudy liquid billowing up from the sticky mud. The pungent smell grew stronger and made my eyes water. My stomach didn’t love it, either.

“Holy mother of Odin, I forgot about the stench.” Austri pulled the edge of his cloak up and around his nose and mouth. Lyric and I plastered our hands to our faces.

“You wanted to see dragons,” Revel said wryly. He pushed aside several branches of a stumpy tree. An odorous mist floated around a large clearing. A burping sound glubbed through the air, and a ball of gray mist floated out of the clearing and up to the sky. The rising ball of burp-y gas caused the air down below to clear.

“Well, what do you know?” The words came out on a stunned breath. “Dragons. They’re real.” Dragons about the size of gray whales lounged around the clearing. They had pointed ears, short snouts and tails spiked all the way to the tips. Their bodies were covered, head to toe, in iridescent cobalt-blue scales, though some actually had bald spots as if they were molting. Gold wings fluttered occasionally on their backs. Another burp echoed off the mountains. It clustered into a thick gray ball that looked almost like wool and floated up to the sky.

“Those clouds over Novale,” I looked at the others. “They’re dragon burps.”

“Sure are. For the most part. We used to have a lot more sunshine.” Lyric stepped farther into the clearing. Slovenly as they were, the creatures, with their long-fanged snouts, cavernous nostrils and shiny blue scales, were intimidating. Still, I’d made a big show of my bravery about wanting to see dragons. I wasn’t going to cower in the surrounding trees.

Austri clucked his tongue. “Probably close enough, Rafi and Lyric. They haven’t noticed you yet, and that’s probably for the best. Remember the tale of Brock Yursef?”

I looked at Lyric for an explanation.