I landed on the Treasure Trove’s rooftop soundlessly, thanks to my spelled boots, which Salcombe hadn’t taken from me. I clutched the bag of artifacts to my chest and watched as Lessie and the other two dragons soared upward and curved around, heading for Dragon’s Table. Rhia would get Lessie settled at her family manor, and then she and Jallis would return to the academy.

I just hoped they wouldn’t be punished for taking an unauthorized leave of absence. Especially since they didn’t have any actual proof that they’d saved me.

If they do get punished, I’ll make sure to go up there and set things right, I decided as I climbed down from the roof. If anyone deserved to be penalized for this mess, it was me, not them.

On the ground, I turned to the storefront and was pleased to see Kira, Tiana, and Nate in the shop with Carina, helping her close up for the night. The two guards standing by the front door jerked in surprise, and immediately moved to block it.

“Sorry, miss,” one of them said gruffly. “The shop is closed.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I own the shop. Now let me in.”

The guards hesitated as they studied me, their eyes lingering on my hair. “They said she had red hair, didn’t they?” one of them asked.

"She just dropped down from the roof," the other one said. "She's probably a thief, just trying to—"

“Zara!” Carina’s shocked voice drew their attention away. She stood behind the storefront window, clutching a giant silver platter in her hands. I grinned at the stunned look on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to visit my own shop,” I called through the glass. “You want to call your dogs off?”

The door burst open, and Carina pushed past the guards. "When did you get back?" she cried as she flung her arms around me. "I thought you were going to be away for months!"

“Zara!” the others called, their voices ringing with joy. Nate scrambled out the door to hug me as well, Kira and Tiana not far behind. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” I said. “Why don’t we go inside so I can tell you all about it?”

We went into the shop, and I immediately handed Carina my finds from the underground palace. “I made a stop on the way back to bring these for you. They should all fetch a good price.”

"Excellent." Carina immediately handed them off to Kira, who took them into the back to be cataloged and prepped for sale. "Dragon's fire, you look exhausted, Zara. Have you eaten anything today?"

I thought about it, and my stomach rumbled loudly. “Not since this morning,” I said. “I could use a bite.”

"Nate, Tiana, head out and see if you can scrounge up a late dinner for us." Carina flipped them a coin. "While they go get the food, you can wash up and change into something more comfortable." She eyed my dirty clothes.

I sniffed my armpit and wrinkled my nose. “I could definitely use a shower,” I decided.

Carina followed me upstairs. "Don't freak out on me," she said as I opened the door, "but I've been letting Tiana and Nate use your apartment, and they've brought a couple of things over."

“No kidding,” I said as I walked into the bedroom. It looked like someone had set off a pink explosion—my sheets had been stripped away and replaced with pink satin, and there were white and pink knickknacks everywhere in the room. “Not exactly what I was expecting to come home to.”

Carina winced. “If we’d known you were coming back, I would have had Tiana fix the room up and brought her and Nate to my place until she found a permanent place to stay,” she said. “The two of them have been saving up to move out—”

I held up a hand. “Please, don’t apologize,” I said. “I’m happy you’ve put the space to good use, and I’m not moving back in permanently anyway. I’m only here for a few days.”

“Why—” Carina started, and then shook her head. “No, get yourself cleaned up and changed. I’ll be in the living room.”

I was more than happy to follow Carina’s suggestion, stripping out of my clothes and heading into the shower. The hot water felt fantastic as it hit my face, and I stood under the spray for far longer than necessary as I allowed the water to soothe away the stress clinging to my body.

When I finished, I rummaged through the closet for something to wear. Most of my clothes were at Tavarian’s secret estate, but I was able to scrounge up a pair of loose pants and a black shirt.

When I came back out to the living room, the scent of roasted meat and grilled vegetables hit me.

“The butcher was in his shop, and he took pity on us,” Tiana said from the stove as she grilled meat and vegetables. Within no time, she was setting plates on the counter heaped with food. “Now, why don’t you grab a plate and fill us in?”.

I did exactly that, and we sat together on the couches and chairs while I told them what had transpired between eating bites of Tiana’s delicious cooking. The three of them asked questions here and there, but mostly they stayed silent as I told them about Salcombe’s kidnapping, and my decision to return home instead of going to Dragon’s Table.

“So, you’re here to try and find Salcombe’s piece of heart?” Carina asked when I’d finished. “You really think it’s here in the city?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but since I’m stuck here anyway, I might as well try to find it. Have you seen any sign of him?”

“No.” Carina shook her head. “The guards haven’t noticed anything suspicious. I don’t think he’s tried to approach the shop.”

“I can ask our friends to keep an eye out,” Tiana said. “Is there anything specific we should be looking for?”

"Black-robed men with a silver dragon on their chests," I said. "Those are Salcombe's…acolytes." I twisted my lips in a grimace at the very idea that Salcombe had zealous followers, like his own cult, but that's what it was. “Salcombe himself might be in disguise, as a dark-haired, handsome man in his forties. He used a magic fan to change his appearance while we were in Zallabar.”

“A magic fan?” Carina’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t mean…”

“Yep. The same fan Rajek tried to steal from me.” That fan had become the bane of my existence, and I had half a mind to burn it if I ever got my hands on it again.

Carina shook her head in disgust. “He can disguise himself to look like anyone, then,” she complained. “How are we supposed to guard against that?”

“He can change his appearance, but not his build or his height,” I told her. “And although he can be charming, his mannerisms are there if you know what to look for. Besides, I doubt you’ll be seeing Salcombe himself anytime soon.

Tiana promised she and the other orphans would keep an eye out for any man or woman matching that description, and Carina would let me know if anyone came into the shop mentioning either Zakyiar or the heart. I informed her that I’d help out with the shop in the afternoons, and everyone was overjoyed to hear it.

After we'd finished eating and catching up, we all retired early to get a good night's sleep. Since Nate usually slept on the couch, I slept with Tiana in my bed, which was a bit strange, especially with the foreign sensation of satin sheets beneath me. But I was exhausted from my recent trials, and after checking in with Lessie that she was settled in and saying a sleepy good night to her, I quickly fell asleep.

The next day was a busy one. Despite Carina’s initial complaints that the guards were driving business away, we had quite a few customers and treasure hunters in the shop, buying and selling goods. Not wanting to alert the citizens that I’d returned, I stayed in the back of the shop while Kira and Nate brought me new finds to authenticate and do valuations on. I found myself so busy with all the traffic that I barely had time to eat, and by the time night fell and the shop closed, I was downright grumpy.

“It would be nice if we could take on another authenticator,” I said as Carina and I ate dinner in the back while the others closed up shop. “Have you been teaching the orphans anything?”

Carina sighed. “They’re so busy with their other tasks that I haven’t had time,” she said. As the daughter of an explorer herself, Carina had enough experience to be able to tell whether or not an artifact or piece of art was genuine, though of course she didn’t have my treasure sense. “I suppose I really should hire some more employees to help out, but I guess I’m still nervous that this is just a fluke and business will dry up. I’d hate to hire a bunch of people and give them hope only to fire them again.”

“I get what you’re saying, but it’s obvious we need help, and there are so many orphans out there who need the money,” I told her. “I’m not going to let this shop fail, Carina. Even if I have to give up life as a dragon rider and go back to treasure hunting.”

Her eyes widened. “Can you even do that? Would they let you?”

I gave her a crooked smile. “Let’s hope we never have to find out.”

After we finished closing up for the day, I went back up to my room to nap for a few hours. I was having a pleasant dream when Lessie’s consciousness nudged against mine, rousing me from my slumber.

“Come on, sleepy. It’s time to go hunting.”

Instantly, I was wide awake, my blood humming with excitement at the thought of riding my dragon. I pulled on my boots, double-checked that I had my gear, then climbed out of the window and up to the rooftop where Lessie waited.

“Hey.” I wrapped my arms around her neck and pressed my face against her warm scales. “How was it, staying at Rhia’s place?”

“Her mother is a gracious host,” Lessie replied as she wound her neck around me, pressing her cheek against my back as she returned the hug. “And the stable is spacious and clean. However, since they were not expecting another dragon to be in residence, they do not have quite enough food to feed me. I will need to go hunting after we are finished here tonight.”

I bit my lip. “I’d rather not have you roaming the countryside without me,” I said as I mounted her.

Lessie let out a disgusted rumble. “I am not a pet to be coddled and sheltered. I am a dragon, and I smite my enemies with fire and fang.”

“I know.” I patted her neck. “But I’d feel a lot better if you stayed close. Let me see if I can figure out a solution, and if not, you’re free to go and hunt.”

Lessie made a noise of agreement in the back of her throat, and with a powerful flex of her wings, we were in the sky. I lifted my face to the wind as we soared upward, gliding over the vast sea of rooftops and flickering lights. Normally, I would have urged Lessie higher, so she could hide amongst the clouds, but I needed her to stay relatively close to the city so that I could use my treasure sense.

Closing my eyes, I opened up my senses. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by a cacophony, and I gritted my teeth against an instant headache. Sucking in a breath, I filtered out the lower value items, trying to narrow it down so I could hear the higher priced objects more clearly. But there were so many different items here in the crowded city that it was difficult, and it took quite a while before the smaller items finally faded away.

“Nothing here,” I said to Lessie.

Lessie and I spent the next couple of hours slowly flying over the city while I tried to use my senses to locate the heart. It was much more difficult than either of us had anticipated—the level of control needed to keep up a slow, steady pace was not something Lessie had much experience with, and as I moved into the more affluent parts of the city, it became harder to filter out items. I'd thought this would be easy, since the dragon heart was so much more powerful and valuable than anything else, but there were so many other items of varying values in the city that its signature, if it was even here, was easily muffled.

But even though the hunt was frustrating, Lessie and I enjoyed the ride. I'd always enjoyed looking down at the city from the rooftops, but getting a bird's eye view from the back of a dragon was another experience entirely. Yes, I could see the bad up here—muggers skulking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on unexpected victims, a prostitute servicing a john in an alley, two men getting into a fistfight outside a bar—but there were also the more charming aspects, like the couple cuddling on their terrace beneath the moonlight, the trio of cats caterwauling in concert on the back of a fence, the light and music spilling out of the open door of a pub.

Eventually, Lessie began to tire, and I looked for a safe place where she could set down without collapsing a roof or terrorizing sleepy, unsuspecting citizens. “Land here,” I told her, pointing to a secluded area of the city park. Lessie did as I asked, setting down on a wide patch of lawn fifty yards away from a children’s playing area. I stared at the various climbing apparatuses and toys, wondering how the children who played here would react if a dragon landed in the field in broad daylight. They would probably be delighted and want to play with her, but I had no doubt mothers would have an apoplexy.

Leaving Lessie to rest, I made the short trek to the docks, only a few blocks from here. I knew the merchants would be coming in about now, carrying fish and livestock to sell to the local butchers, and if I bought from them directly, I could get a good deal on meat for Lessie.

Sure enough, a barge carrying sheep sailed into the dock just as I arrived, and I bought a medium-sized one off a farmer. I felt a bit bad as I tied a rope around his neck and led him back to Lessie, but there was nothing for it. If Lessie wasn’t going to eat him, someone else would, and besides, I was no vegetarian myself.

“Oooh, fresh meat,” Lessie said as I led the sheep into the garden. It let out a bleat of terror at the sight of my dragon, and I seized the rope with both hands as it immediately tried to bolt.

“I’ve got it,” Lessie said, and I nearly jumped back as she lunged for the sheep. Within seconds, she had the animal in her jaws, and I winced as the bleating stopped instantly, replaced by the sound of crunching bones instead.

“Right.” I took a step back and turned away to give her some privacy. Forget the mothers. The children would run screaming if they saw Lessie chomping on a whole sheep like this.

“I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Lessie said with a huff. “What does it matter if the sheep is whole or already skinned and cut into pieces? It’s still a living creature.”

I smiled wryly. “I know. And I don’t really have any issue with you hunting or eating animals. But I think any human would get a little nervous watching you go to town on something with those sharp teeth of yours.”

She flashed her bloody maw at me, exposing sharp, shiny teeth that seemed to be growing larger every day. “That’s the idea, isn’t it?”

Yep. It sure was. Having large, fire-breathing dragons who could devour a man whole had kept our country safe for centuries. But a dragon’s fire was no match for cannon balls, and as Lessie ate, I felt a pang of sadness. She’d waited hundreds of years to be born only to arrive during a period when the time of dragons might very well come to an end.

“Not while I’m alive,” Lessie said, curling her tail around my legs in a hug. “Or the rest of us, for that matter. Muza is proof that dragons don’t need to be enlisted in the Elantian army to live healthy, meaningful lives.”

I frowned at the note in her voice. “Did Muza tell you what he does when he’s not with Tavarian?”

Lessie ducked her head, and if she’d been human, I was certain I’d see her blush. “He told me a bit but said not to share with you. He said that it wasn’t a secret for humans to know.”

I gritted my teeth at that, my blood simmering with annoyance. “Tavarian knows,” I said, but I knew that was different. Muza was his dragon, after all. And just because Lessie was mine didn’t mean she had to share a secret she’d been entrusted with, unless it was a life-or-death thing. After all, she was her own person, so to speak.

Lessie finished the rest of her meal, then dropped me off on the rooftop of the Treasure Trove. My heart grew heavy with sadness as I watched her fly back to Dragon’s Table, her form backlit by the moon hanging round and full in the air. I hoped Tavarian’s negotiations with Quoronis were going well, and that he’d come back soon. Judging by what we’d seen across the border, I had a feeling we would be thrown into war much sooner than I’d anticipated.