Chapter 13

Plunging from the Beast Tree, Aris expects death until a silver dragon rises beneath her and carries her through the night, saving her life. On landing, a star-shaped mark appears on the dragon’s brow when Aris touches her, signaling a bond. Aris names no name for the dragon but senses she is female and begins to trust her.

At dawn, Aris studies and drills with her ancient Starside steel sword. The dragon unexpectedly spars with Aris using her tail, forcing Aris to adapt to the weapon’s weight and improve. The dragon reveals her diet by cracking open a rockface and eating gemstones, then guides Aris to a forest of sweet red berries for food.

While flying at sunset, an arrow of Starside steel pierces the silver dragon’s side. Cadoc arrives atop a much larger, fire-breathing dragon and declares he will take Aris’s sword and dragon. The silver dragon shields Aris from flame with her tattered wing, but the maneuver costs her, and the pair dive into the forest to escape.

On the ground, Aris removes the arrow and recognizes they can’t win against Cadoc’s dragon. To save her wounded companion, Aris orders the silver dragon to fly without her, promising to reunite. As Cadoc’s group arrives and sets the woods ablaze to flush her out, Aris sprints through smoke and fire and scrambles into a cliffside cave to survive nightfall.

From the cave mouth, Aris watches the forest burn under Cadoc’s command. Sensing danger behind her, she draws her sword and turns to face a looming figure. The intruder is Harlan Raker, revealing she is not alone in the dark.