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Her lashes fluttered. Rodriguez checked her pulse again. “Good. Her body’s gaining strength.”

Rage soared through me as I thought of what Zaira had almost done. I turned to look back at the Stone Keeper, to chastise her, to threaten her. But it was too late. Kazmyn was laying Zaira down on the stone gently. He’d already closed her eyes. She was gone.

Visha stood near him silently, her jaw tight. No one spoke.

Pendragon was breathing easier.

“I think that’s enough,” Rodriguez advised. “We don’t want her to choke.”

I drew my wrist back and slowly got to my feet with Pendragon in my arms.

“I have an idea,” Rodriguez said abruptly. I looked at him. His hair was wild, and he smelled of herbs. “Do you trust me?” he demanded.

I stared at him. He’d tricked me once. I’d nearly lost anything that mattered. But now, my girl was alive in my arms because of him. I sighed. “It might make me a fool, but yes, I think I do.”

His mouth twitched. “Good. Maybe we’re both fools. But I swear to you, I don’t want to hurt you or her.” He inclined his head. “Pass her to Sankara.”

“Fuck no,” I snapped, my body going rigid.

“You think she’s ready to fly in this state?” Rodriguez asked.

That got my attention. “What?”

“I need you to turn into your dragon. And I don’t think you want to be holding her when that happens.”

Sankara stepped up. “I’ll protect her with my life.”

I believed him. But did it matter? “She just nearly died,” I whispered.

“Listen to me carefully, Blake,” Rodriguez said. “I think Zaira was wrong.”

I blinked. “She just nearly killed Pendragon because of how right she believed she was.”

“I know. But I think she only knew some of the truth, not all of it. The dwarves built this with the dragons. Dragons are not stupid. They would never build a vault that could not be opened if a rider was not available. They also would never want to kill a rider. It makes no sense.”

I stared at him. “You think the dwarves … added something?”

“I have no idea,” he said truthfully. “I think we’d need to ask more dwarves. But look at the gates. Silvrayne frost wards. We have something that should easily counter those wards, which any dragon would have had at their disposal.”

I looked around the wide open cavern. “Dragon fire.”

Rodriguez nodded.

I looked down at Pendragon. Her eyes were half-open. She was shivering weakly. “Go and be useful, Drakharrow,” she whispered. A sound like a laugh came out of me.

Sankara stepped forward again, and this time I let him take my girl, carefully lowering her into his broad arms.

“All right, everyone,” Rodriguez announced. “We need to get back down these stairs. Quickly, now.”

Visha scooped up Neville, and I saw her bury her face in his fur for a moment, her eyes closed. When she opened them, I touched her shoulder. “You did what you had to do.” She nodded. “I’ll see you in a moment,” I promised. “When this is through.”

Visha walked past me, and I stood alone on the platform before the frozen gates. I rolled my shoulders, looking at the curving dragons carved in the gold. “All right,” I muttered. “I’m one of you. You’d better recognize that and open up.”

And then I let go, the shift ripping through me fast. My claws bit into the stone. My tail lashed out. I felt the fire in my chest; it would rise when I called it. I thought of the last time I’d summoned my flames. Every time before this, someone had gotten hurt.

That wouldn’t happen this time. I was ready. I lowered my head toward the gate and let the flames pour forth.

Chapter 66