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I gave a ragged laugh. Fireheart? Why do you keep calling me that? Worryheart, more like. I worry every moment of my life. You know me. You know that. I hiccupped. Now, you’re bleeding like a fountain. Tell me how deep the bite is. Tell me what I can do.

A tiny scratch. Pay it no mind. Calm your racing heart.

He lifted his head, trying to nudge my cheek with his nose—an awkward, affectionate bump. My heart went very still. It was the first time he’d ever done such a thing.

Stop changing the subject, I insisted. The fact that he kept doing so frightened me more than if he’d given me a straight answer.

You must have wondered why I never ended Viktor before now. The truth is I tried.

I have never wondered. I have never doubted you. You don’t need to explain yourself to me.

He ignored me. I knew him once. Long ago. He is a remnant of a former world. One I thought we had wiped clean.

I stared. Before you were turned to stone, you mean?

Yes. In the tower, that day, I finally recognized his stench. When he threatened you, I knew he could not live. I sensed what he was. But he has always valued that particular secret greatly. He paused, his breathing heavy. We all have secrets, fireheart.

You mean you knew he could shift into a dragon? That he was like Blake?

In dragon form, he is nearly indestructible, Nyxaris continued. I got the feeling he wasn’t ignoring me so much as he needed to get the words out. So I stalked the highblood man instead. I waited. Hunting. But he was canny, traveling only underground, through tunnels that lie beneath the sea.

Medra told me about those tunnels. She said they lead to the Sanctum and Veilmar, too.

Yes. Around his chambers in the Black Keep, wards had been drawn up. Sigils of blood magic. Powerful and potent. Nyxaris drew a heaving breath, and my heart froze. He exhaled, and I let out my breath. I knew you would not wish for me to attack him in the school. The loss of life would have been … significant.

Thank you for that, I whispered. You’re right.

Yet now I wondered just how right I was. If Nyxaris had attacked Viktor in highblood form when he’d had the chance, would he be here now, bleeding in my arms?

He was nearly in my grasp that day in the tower. But he fled like the coward he has always been. Another sigh, more ragged than the last. I forced you to accept the engagement. Forced you to lower yourself by accepting the hand of a man you … did not care for. I let another do what I should have done.

That’s over now. You’ve always tried to protect me. I ran my hand along his jaw. You always do your best. I trust you. I will always trust you.

I would matter little to you if I could not keep you safe.

A shard of ice pierced my heart. Not true. I shook my head. You matter to me because you’re you. Not because you’re some kind of a shield. I leaned my head against his scales. You saved Veilmar.You saved me.You’ve tried to protect me, even when I never knew it, even when I didn’t deserve it.

You deserve a very great deal, fireheart. Far more than I can give. Nyxaris drew a gasping breath. Tonight, I went to the refectory. I was so close. I nearly had him. As soon as I appeared, he melted away. Vanished before I could sink my teeth into him.

Don’t worry about Viktor now, I whispered. We’ll finish him off. Together. His time is over. Tell me how you feel. Tell me how I can help you.

His breath warmed my face. You are … absurdly stubborn.

I laughed shakily. We’re quite a pair, then, aren’t we?

Neville was at my feet, winding between my ankles. He’d stopped whimpering. I picked him up, holding him against me and the dragon. His owllike eyes opened wider—and they began to glow.

Fireheart, you cannot save me now, my dragon murmured.

My heart hammered. What do you mean? Nyxaris, what are you saying?

The fluffin made a little growling sound that sounded stubborn, even to me.

The audacity. Nyxaris sighed.

Three stubborn creatures, I whispered. The fluffin wriggled in my grip. “Easy,” I murmured. “What is it, Neville?”

To my shock, he answered with a wheezing snort, then hacked up an enormous wad of orange straight into my palm. I yelped. Then I sniffed. The lump smelled familiar. “Emberfern!” I stared at the chewy lump of pulp, my palm already tingling. Slowly, I looked at the field around us.