Carla stepped up to the dragon-guarded entrance, the air still trembling from the distant battle she had engineered. As expected, the second dragon remained behind, coiled like a living mountain of bone and scale. Its golden eyes were half-closed in wary vigilance, but the moment her foot touched the boundary stone, they snapped open.
She didn't bother trying the gate. With a dragon present, she wouldn't even make it halfway up the steps before becoming ash. But instead of frustration… she smiled.
The dragon lifted its massive head, snorting a gust of scorching heat that rattled the stones beneath her feet. Then, in a voice so deep it scraped her soul raw, it spoke:
