The Varkiss docks were less organized than the human sections of the harbor but seemed to operate with their own efficient system. Vessels of various sizes bobbed in the water, their crews a mix of Varkiss tending to nets, cargo, and repairs.

  Sathi approached a weathered-looking captain with deep green scales faded to a pale mint around his eyes and jaw—signs of age, I guessed. After a brief exchange in what sounded like a dialect of Calidonian filled with sibilant sounds, Sathi gestured for me to join them.

  “This is Captain Thriz,” Sathi explained. “He’s heading north along the coast already and has agreed to take us for a small fee.”

  The captain’s vertical pupils narrowed as he assessed me. His frill, more pronounced than Sathi’s, flared slightly in what I was learning might be curiosity.

  “Mammal wishes passage,” Thriz said, his Calidonian more accented than Sathi’s. “Why?”

  “My companion traveled north,” I explained. “I need to find her before she gets into trouble.”

  Thriz made a clicking sound with his tongue. “To promontory, one silver. No farther.”

  Sathi and I exchanged glances. The promontory was still miles short of the shipwreck where we had found shelter, and even farther from the dragon’s cave.

  “We need to go at least as far as the abandoned shipwreck,” I countered. “About twenty miles up the coast.”

  Thriz’s neck frill expanded, indicating what might have been amusement or incredulity. “Shipwreck? Dangerous waters.” His gaze drifted to my coin purse. “Five silvers. Not less.”

  “That’s too much,” Sathi said. “Far too much!”

  “That’s the price, kinsman.”

  I hesitated. Five silvers was steep, leaving me with only twenty-seven after paying Sathi. Given the amount I’d already spent in the city on supplies and enchantments, the prudent choice would be to negotiate for a shorter journey and walk the rest.

  But time was critical. Every hour could mean the difference between finding her alive or dead. After Marda had deposited Petya somewhere safe in the city, would Petya listen to the innkeeper’s good sense to stay away from the cave? Assuredly not.

  There was still a chance to catch her. Even to arrive well ahead.

  “Five silvers it is,” I agreed, “but we will leave immediately.”

  Thriz nodded once, sharply. “Prepare vessel!” he called to his crew, three younger Varkiss who moved with practiced efficiency to ready the boat.

  Their vessel was smaller than Tomas and Davi’s fishing boat but appeared swift. The single mast supported a triangular sail dyed a muted blue-green that almost matched the water. The hull was narrow and sleek, clearly built for speed rather than cargo capacity.

  Within minutes, we were pushing off from the dock. The Varkiss sailors worked with impressive coordination, unfurling the sail to catch the favorable wind. The boat sliced through the harbor waters with barely a sound, the motion smoother than I had expected.

  Once we cleared the harbor mouth and entered open water, Captain Thriz set our course northward, parallel to the coastline. The city of Karadesh receded behind us, its gleaming domes and towers shrinking until they were merely a golden smudge on the horizon.

  The journey passed mostly in silence. Sathi seemed lost in thought, occasionally exchanging brief remarks with the other Varkiss in their native tongue. I kept my eyes fixed on the shoreline, scanning for any sign of Petya, though I knew it was unlikely she would be visible from this distance.

  I reached into my pack, producing the cursed coin purse. I checked to see if anyone was watching before letting it fall into the water with a plunk.

  “May you search here and drown, Nizaar.”

  I continued to watch the coastline. Some time later, Sathi joined me.

  “See anything of interest?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet.”

  “Your friend,” Sathi began carefully. “It seems a dangerous journey to make alone. Why not enlist your help?”

  I considered my response. “She’s…desperate. We disagreed somewhat on how to proceed, if I’m to be honest. We both have people waiting for us back home. Family. Children. I fear she might not be in her right mind.”

  Sathi’s expression softened. “You have children?”

  “A daughter,” I said, allowing the familiar ache to return. “She’s five. But I hope to be reunited with her soon.”

  Sathi nodded. “I understand desperation when it comes to family.” His head frill rippled with what might have been sympathy. “Still, the coast is no place for a lone traveler, especially one unfamiliar with its dangers.”

  “That’s why we need to find her,” I replied, more sharply than I intended.

  “There…is the matter of my payment.”

  “Right,” I said.

  I handed him one silver. A promise was a promise, and it was best to keep promises whenever possible.

  Sathi fell silent, and I turned my attention back to the shoreline. The coastline here was mostly deserted—rocky outcroppings, small sandy coves, and scrubby vegetation. There was no sign of habitation, and certainly no sign of Petya.

  By mid-afternoon, the familiar headland came into view, and beyond it, the cove where the shipwreck lay half-buried in the sand. Captain Thriz guided the vessel skillfully into the shallows, close enough for us to disembark without swimming.

  “We return tomorrow,” Thriz stated as Sathi and I gathered our packs. “Midday. Be here.” He pointed to a distinctive rock formation near the water’s edge. “Wait no longer than one hour.” His tongue flicked out. “Five more silvers.”

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  I nodded. “You will get them as soon as we are on board tomorrow. No sooner.”

  Captain Thriz hissed. “Fine. We’ll be back. But if you’re not here, we’ll find you. Don’t like to waste time.”

  “Nor I words,” I said drolly.

  With reptilian scowls, they cast off, and Sathi and I waded through the knee-deep water to shore. The beach felt eerily familiar—it had been less than two days since I’d first arrived here, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.

  I inspected the ship; it was a natural spot for her to choose to shelter for the night, but she hadn’t arrived yet. I couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Something I was missing.

  I was deciding how best to proceed when Sathi knelt in the sand.

  “Tracks,” he said, pointing to faint indentations in the sand. “Human. Small. Recent.”

  I crouched beside him, feeling a surge of both relief and concern. The footprints were small enough to be Petya’s, and they led northward along the shore—toward the dragon’s cave.

  “How would she have traveled so quickly?” Sathi asked, tail swishing thoughtfully. “Without a boat?”

  It was a good question. The journey from Karadesh had taken us several hours by sea; on foot, it would have taken at least a day. Perhaps she had been running? In those flats, after being pushed so hard already? Unlikely.

  “Someone gave her passage,” I suggested. Would Marda have been so generous as to gift a silvers to set her up? It wasn’t implausible. “Perhaps a boat took pity on a lone woman.”

  Sathi’s vertical pupils narrowed skeptically. “Perhaps. It can be nothing else.”

  If that were true, we could be hours behind. An uncomfortable thought. But I was eager to solve this mystery.

  We followed the tracks northward. They remained clear for a while, then disappeared as the sandy beach gave way to rockier terrain. By my estimation, we were now about a mile south of the cliff where I had encountered the dragon.

  “She likely tried to find shelter for the night,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Just over this next rise.”

  Sathi gave me a curious look. “Why would she come all this way back? How would you know that?”

  I’d prepared for this question. “I don’t, really. But what else do we have? If we don’t find anything over the next mile or two, we’ll return to the shipwreck. But you need to earn your keep, Sathi.”

  Sathi’s expression suggested he wasn’t entirely convinced, but he didn’t press further. A job was a job. We continued in silence, climbing the increasingly steep shoreline toward the cliffs.

  When we reached the base of the cliff face, the footprints disappeared entirely. I made a show of scanning the rocky surface.

  “There,” I said, pointing to a narrow path that wound upward. “That way.”

  Sathi followed my gaze doubtfully. “You seem certain.”

  “Just a guess,” I replied, perhaps too quickly. “It’s the only viable path. Half an hour more, I promise.”

  Sathi hesitated. “Very well.”

  We ascended carefully, the path steeper and more treacherous than I remembered—or perhaps I’d simply been too focused on fleeing the dragon to notice it before. Sathi moved with surprising agility, his clawed feet finding purchase while my new boots easily found traction. To my relief, Sathi found a few more tracks, the same ones from before.

  She had definitely been back. We were hours behind. Perhaps even minutes. I felt something of a rush, fueling my ascent.

  As we neared the top, the cave mouth came into view—a dark gash in the pale stone cliff face. I felt a prickle of apprehension. Last time, the dragon had been sleeping at the entrance. Now there was no sign of the massive creature. This was going far better than I could have ever hoped.

  “There,” I said, pointing. “She had to have gone in there.”

  Sathi stepped closer to the edge, peering at the cave. “That’s where your friend went? Really? Why?”

  He was getting too suspicious.

  I scrutinized the cave entrance. No sign of movement, no smoke or steam, no rumbling snores. Empty.

  “Let’s move,” I said, my voice urgent. “Before the light fails us.”

  We made our way carefully to the cave entrance. I hesitated at the threshold, listening intently for any sound that might indicate the dragon’s presence. Nothing.

  “Let’s be quick,” I whispered to Sathi. “In and out. She must be inside.”

  The Varkiss nodded, though his neck frill was flattened against his neck—a sign of tension or fear, I guessed. By now, he knew something was off.

  I needed him with me. Not to take down a dragon.

  As insurance.

  We entered the cave, my eyes adjusting slowly to the dimness. The entrance chamber was larger than I remembered, the ceiling arching high overhead. Scattered around the floor were the familiar bones of various sizes, some clearly animal, others disturbingly human-like, along with a heavy musk that hung in the air.

  And no sign of the portal, or Petya.

  Sathi froze, his scales seeming to pale slightly. “Dragon lair.” His head snapped toward me, eyes wide. “You knew?”

  I tried to look surprised. “What? No, I—”

  “You’ve been here before!” It wasn’t a question. “You know the way too well. You lied about the danger.”

  I sighed, abandoning the pretense. “Yes, I’ve been here. But I didn’t lie about Petya. She really came here, and she’s in terrible danger if we don’t find her.”

  Sathi’s frill rippled with what might have been anger or fear. “Why? Why would she do that, a woman like her? The dragon could return any moment. We might only have seconds.”

  “All the more reason to hurry,” I replied, pushing deeper into the cave.

  “I’m leaving,” Sathi said, already turning toward the entrance.

  I had counted on this happening and was prepared. “You want to know the truth, Sathi?”

  He whipped around. “Yes! Tell me.”

  “There’s...treasure.” I lowered my voice conspiratorially. “That’s what Petya and I were after. She just decided to come back and get it so she didn’t have to share.” I watched him closely as his vertical pupils dilated with interest. “Sathi, stick with me and you’ll have far more than five silvers.”

  Sathi thought this over, his tongue flickering in consideration. “Very well. But if you’re playing me falsely...”

  “If there’s really nothing, I’ll pay you a full gold piece for your troubles.”

  That did the trick. Sathi rushed past me deeper into the cave.

  I smiled. Perfect.

  I remembered the portal being close to the entrance, but if Petya hadn’t found it here, she would have been tempted to explore deeper, looking for answers.

  The blue light was what I was after—that strange, otherworldly glow that had brought me here. But the deeper passages were dark. Would Petya have really gone that deep, or would she have turned back immediately as soon as she saw the portal wasn’t there?

  Had she been hiding somewhere in the cliffs? Was it possible she had watched us walk inside?

  “What exactly are we looking for?” Sathi asked, breaking me from my thoughts. “I haven’t seen a single Netherfucking copper.”

  “Dragons keep their hoards deep,” I said, remembering the fishermen’s words. “We’re nearly there. Look for a blue light.”

  “A blue light? Dragomir…”

  “You’ll be thanking me soon enough.”

  As I scoured the cave floor, I came across several discarded scales, still vibrantly red. I gathered all I could, begrudgingly splitting them with Sathi. It was best to keep him on my good side.

  “These sell for ten silvers each, possibly more,” the Varkiss said. “Good find.”

  “Keep looking for that blue light,” I said absently, focusing on examining every nook and cranny. “Or Petya. Whichever we find first.”

  We searched for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. Had it appeared briefly, allowed Petya through, then vanished again?

  The scattered footprints on the path up the cliff suggested she had been here, but beyond that, the cave offered no answers.

  I was almost ready to give up when we made it back close to the entrance. We were beyond pressing our luck at this point.

  That was when Sathi found something, pointing to a dark recess in the rock wall.

  We approached cautiously. Through the shadows, I could make out a huddled form on the ground—blackened and distorted. The surrounding rock had partially melted, forming small pools of obsidian glass.

  I knelt beside the charred remains, my heart pounding. The body was too badly burned to identify by sight alone. It could have been anyone.

  Anyone, except…

  A glint of metal caught my eye near what would have been a wrist. I reached out, carefully lifting a an object from the ash.

  A watch. Cracked and blackened.

  I remembered Petya’s protective gesture when Marda had eyed it at the inn: “It was a gift from my father.”

  I turned the watch over in my palm, watching the light play across its damaged surface.

  Mystery solved.