“Pendragon is coming with me,” Blake said, his voice gentler than usual as he looked at my friend. “I’ll bring her back to you soon.”

Florence pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose, then nodded slowly.

I touched her arm briefly, before I followed Blake out of the tower and back into the hall.

There was no doubt in my mind that he knew exactly where he was going.

He led us to the Dragon Court again, his pace much quicker than before. As we slipped down into the passageway, he strode ahead with purpose.

When we reached the vast chamber with the massive dragon skull at its center, the imposing stone doorways marked with the four house names loomed ahead.

Blake paused, nostrils flaring, as if he were tracking something elusive in the air. He tilted his head slightly, sniffing like an animal.

Then with a low grunt of recognition, he strode into the passage marked Avari.

My heart raced. Did this have something to do with Kage?

Blake’s speed left no room for my questions. He moved through the Avari dragon catacombs without a word and I followed as quickly as I could, trying not to lose sight of him. I knew he was already holding himself back so I could keep up.

This time, when we reached the end of the dragon tombs, the passageway led straight down. We descended steep staircase after staircase, delving down into the earth itself.

At first, the stairways were plain stone. Then their style began to change, shifting into a different kind of architecture, nothing like anything I’d seen at Bloodwing. These stairways seemed even older than the academy itself.

The stairs ended and we entered a new passage. Some of it had collapsed almost entirely, stone crumbling into dust and rubble.

Blake climbed over large fallen stones, then reached back for my hand without a word, guiding me through the narrow gaps.

Each time his hand grazed my skin, I trembled. Whether from fear or revulsion or something else, who could say?

The tunnels opened onto a vast space. The remnants of once-grand architecture surrounded us, cracked and crumbling but still awe-inspiring in their craftsmanship. Panels of gold and glittering green stones shone from buildings stretching upwards twenty or thirty feet or more.

My breath hitched. Dwarven ruins. Magnificent and lost to time.

I felt like an intruder in a forgotten world. Did anyone else even know these were here?

As we walked through the ruins, a sound broke the stillness.

A girl’s high-pitched giggle, eerie and out of place.

A sharp, terrified scream followed. It sounded as if it had come from a much younger-sounding child.

My blood ran cold.

Blake’s reaction was swift. He ran forward toward the sounds.

I chased after him and we ran through crumbling streets until we reached another open area, surrounded by half-collapsed buildings.

A small girl, no more than four or five, lay crumpled on the ground. Over her crouched Blake’s sister, Aenia. Her mouth was slick with blood as she leaned over the younger child, sucking greedily.

My stomach twisted, Aenia’s cruel laughter still echoing in my ears.

But Blake didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward. In a heartbeat, he had grabbed Aenia and yanked her off the little girl.

The small highblood screamed and snarled in response, her eyes wild as she bared her fangs at her brother. She thrashed about in his arms, scratching at his face with viciousness like a savage animal.

“Aenia!” Blake barked. His voice was sharp with authority but it didn’t seem to even reach her. She writhed in his grasp, trying to sink her teeth into him as if she’d lost all sense of who and where she was.

“Grab the child,” Blake snarled in my direction, his voice full of urgency. “Quickly.”

Aenia’s nails left trails of blood on his skin as she hissed and scratched but Blake didn’t falter. He held her firm as I darted forward.

For a moment, I stood, frozen, looking down at the little girl’s body. Poppy. That was her name. She looked like a lifeless doll. Blood was flowing freely from the wounds at her throat.

Then I saw it. She was breathing. Only just.

“Give me something,” I cried, desperately, turning back to Blake. “Anything. To stop the blood.”

Shifting Aenia under one arm, he somehow managed to peel off the jacket he was wearing and tossed it to me. Quickly, I ripped one of the sleeves off and tied it around Poppy’s neck as tightly as I dared, then wrapped the rest around the little girl and lifted her up into my arms.

She was so light, so fragile. I could feel the warmth of her blood soaking through Blake’s jacket, sticking to my skin.

Before I could move towards the way out, Aenia let out a feral scream of rage and broke free from Blake's grasp.

She fell to the ground in a heap then leaped to her feet and dashed  towards me.

But Blake was faster.

In a blur of motion, he came between us.

“Aenia, stop!” Power flowed through the words. His voice carried the unmistakable command of thrallweave.

Aenia froze mid-lunge, her body trembling violently as she tried to shake off his hold. Her tiny fists shook at her side, her face twisted with fury. But she couldn't move.

I’d had no idea he could do anything like that. That he could use thrallguard on another highblood. Then I wondered if anyone really knew what Blake Drakharrow was truly capable of, least of all me.

Blake scooped up Aenia again, holding her more tightly, her arms pinned at her sides.

“Can you get the girl back to the tower alone?” His voice was strained but controlled.

I nodded tightly. “I think so. What are you going to do with her?”

Blake didn’t answer.

“You can’t keep letting her hurt people.” The image of the little fluffin I'd found injured on the beach flashed through my mind. “First it was the fluffin. And now look at her! I know she's your sister, but she nearly killed this child. How many others has she already killed that you don’t know about?”

“It’s none of your concern. You think I don’t already know all of this?” Blake snarled.

“I have no idea what you know and don't know,” I said slowly. “Or if you really care.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” he spat.

“Then what are you going to do about it?” I demanded. “Because if you don’t stop her, she’ll keep hurting people. She would have killed this girl and you know it. What happens next time?”

Blake's gaze darkened. “This isn’t the time or the place for this conversation. I’ll handle Aenia. You just take care of the girl.”

“How?” I started to say.

He turned towards me, his face dark with fury. “Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time, Pendragon. Take the girl and get out of here. Now.”

He didn’t use thrallguard, I’d give him that much. But there was power in his voice nonetheless.

I took a step back. “Fine. So you’ll just keep covering for her, protecting her, while she tears apart blightborn children as if they’re nothing.” I shook my head. “I guess I’m an idiot for thinking any highblood would actually care about something like that.”

Blake’s face hardened, but he didn’t reply.

I turned and began to walk back through the dark tunnels, cradling Poppy in my arms.

The little girl’s breaths were weak and shallow, but reassuring in their steadiness.

As I passed the room with the large dragon skull the ground beneath my feet suddenly shifted. A low rumble began, growing louder and louder, causing the very stones underfoot to vibrate.

I picked up my pace, half-running, half-walking through the dim passageways.

Chunks of stone began raining down from the ceiling. I stumbled, my knees hitting the cold, hard ground. As debris fell around us, I curled my body over the little girl’s, shielding her as best I could.