Interlude: Lily

Lily hated the city. Impossible to get a proper sleep, and with that lizard on the hill, she rarely had a clear view of the moon. Why did humans choose to live like this?

There hadn’t been much to do once the child had entered the city. He’d taken his time before finally cooking something—but that fish… the smell had been divine, and the taste even better.

Maybe she’d been drawn to the child because of his food after all? That didn’t feel right—but it had worked out, for now.

For whatever reason, he had chosen to visit the storm man’s temple today. In the past, she’d never seen eye to eye with that god—always preferring calm night air and moonlight over turbulent storms and blinding flashes. And his chosen one in the mountain…

Well, everyone makes poor choices.

At first, it had been calm. But as the human approached the Temple, the stupid lizard attacked him! Or her. Or them.

That stupid lizard attacked.

Enough was enough. Did it think she didn’t know it was trapped in its lair after growing too fat to leave? Did it think its pathetic lightning could do anything to her?

No, today she would teach this lizard a lesson.

When another bolt came crashing down toward the Temple, she swatted it aside like an annoying insect from the swamps. First things first, she would show her displeasure at being rudely attacked. The storm man’s statue was slashed in half under her wrath.

Maybe he’d get a better chosen after today.

She raced through the city with the lizard’s lightning snapping down behind her, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. But she knew how to hurt him.

Dashing in and out of shadows, she left the city and began the climb. The lizard’s roars echoed in fury, but she had her purpose.

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As she cut through the mountain path, she tore down every dragon-kin she found. She knew the lizard loved his kin more than anything.

Maybe a trail of corpses would teach the creature a lesson.

Closer to the peak, she knew exactly where to go. The lizard must have been frothing with rage by now—he’d stopped targeting her directly and instead was hammering the mountaintop with lightning, again and again.

He was never very smart. Every flash across the rocky surface gave her a new shadow to slip through. Then she sensed it. Her prey.

Killing the lizard himself would be troublesome, even in his lair. But killing his mates? That would torment him for centuries.

She raced into a cavern she knew well—one of his mate’s dens. And sure enough, a fat drake cowered inside. She thought dragon-kin were supposed to be proud, yet here was this bloated thing, hiding in the dark while its stupid mate raged above.