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Visha nodded. “We have weapons. We’ll get her equipped.”

“But I use a longbow,” I babbled. “I can’t use a longbow on Nyxaris’s back. I won’t be able to aim properly.” Horseback would have been one thing. I might have been able to draw from a horse. But Nyxaris’s back was simply too broad for me to get a good position. Not without standing up—and I knew there was no way I’d be able to manage that.

“You’ll need a crossbow,” Medra said. “They’re easier to handle. You’ll adapt.”

“I don’t even have anything to shoot. What can get through dragon hide?”

“Dragon fire,” Rodriguez said, looking at me. “When dragons fought in the past, crossbow bolts weren’t enough to take them down.”

I stared at him. “You mean when they were trying to kill one another. But I don’t want to kill Blake. I just want to stop him.”

That is not your friend’s mate. How many times must I remind you? Nyxaris growled.

There has to be something of Blake still in there. It’s not just Vorago. I refuse to believe that. We’re not killing him.

I thought of something and looked at Rodriguez. “When you attacked Nyxaris, your arrows were coated with something that let you penetrate his hide.”

“One step ahead of you.” Rodriguez slid the leather satchel he’d been carrying when we came in onto the table and snapped the buckles open. From a padded niche, he drew out a small vial. The liquid inside was opaque—thick, sluggish, and tarlike.

“I only made a small amount … the last time.” He glanced at Medra and me guiltily. “I had some left over. The Emberwatch called it Godsbane. According to our order’s history, it’s said that the dragons were once worshipped alongside the highbloods as gods.”

I’d never known that. But it certainly did help to explain Nyxaris’s attitude.

“You knew,” Medra breathed, her eyes on Rodriguez. “You knew about Blake.”

His face was stricken as he stared back at her. “I’m sorry. It will have to be … a conversation for another time.”

“Can that shit kill the beast?” Sankara asked bluntly.

“That beast is Blake,” Medra exclaimed.

“That beast,” Sankara replied without rancor, “is murdering a city, Miss Pendragon.”

“I want to stop him, not kill him,” I said firmly. “Not unless there’s no other choice.”

Nyxaris, do you hear me?

The dragon was quiet.

Rodriguez shook his head. “Godsbane won’t kill Blake—Vorago—whatever the hell that thing is. It can penetrate the hide. It can slow the dragon down.” He looked over at me. “Depending on how many of these you can hit him with.”

I gulped. “Probably not many.” I realized everyone was looking at me.

Visha’s eyes homed in on mine. “We need a way to reach Blake, not just slow him down. And in the meantime, what the fuck are we supposed to be doing while she’s up there flying around?”

She was right. We didn’t have the weapons to fight a dragon from the ground. Veilmar certainly must have at one point, ages ago, but not any longer. The highbloods had been so certain they’d be able to control Nyxaris that they hadn’t even stopped to consider what might happen if a dragon rebelled and turned against them. Now Veilmar was completely exposed and unprotected.

“We’ll safeguard the school,” Lysander Orphos announced. “Our place is here.” He looked at Medra and Visha. “Silvio Santos did not fall in the refectory. You saw?”

Visha nodded slowly. “You’re right. There are still Bloodguards out there, from every house.” Her lips twisted. “When highbloods are afraid, they attack the most obvious target.”

“Blightborn.” Medra looked at me, closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. “I trust you, Florence. You’ll bring Blake back to me. I’ll stay at the school. I’ll help Lysander and the others protect the students here.”

The ones who’d managed to survive this long. I forced myself to nod. Lysander’s words had triggered something. I looked at the House Orphos leader, a memory breaking through: Lunaya Orphos sitting at our bench in Professor Allenvale’s alchemy class, her ghost-pale hair spilling around her shoulders as she reached out a hand to brush a leaf of emberfern.

“House Drakharrow would use it on their dragon riders. When prepared correctly, it was said to be able to amplify courage and strength.”

“Emberfern,” I murmured. At my feet, Neville let out a yap. I reached down, patting him absent-mindedly, impressed that he’d stuck around this long with all of the horrible things that were happening.