Cass wasn’t prepared for what she saw inside.

  A dragon.

  It was huge. The dragonlings had been about the size of ponies, plenty big but tiny compared to the beast before her. This dragon filled the room, as wide at the shoulders as a car, long enough that even curled around himself, he made SUVs look small.

  He was mostly a dusty brown, the luster entirely absent from his scales. A rash of molting peeling scales crisscrossed his body in burnt amber and ash grey. His mane was matted and overgrown, hanging in twisting dreadlocks around his neck.

  Heavy chains held it to a single post in the center of a magic circle etched in the floor. Both were covered and glowing with magic runes. Sores wore through its scales where the manacles chaffed. Countless gashes ran across the creature’s body, some scarred into puckered ridges and others still oozing from blistered patches.

  The dragon lifted its head to stare at her as she entered. Its head was gaunt, its skull prominently poking against its slack skin. One of its horns was broken, the last quarter of the twisting bone simply missing, leaving a jagged stump in its place. Both were covered in chips and scratches.

  It growled at her.

  “H-hi?” Cass stuttered.

  Feral Dragon

  Lvl 38

  [There was a time when dragons were the most noble of all peoples, flying high and proud above the Fractured Skies. That time is no more. Now, dragons are a cursed people. When bound to a guardian knight and blessed by their god, they retain the reasoning of a person, but lacking such a bond, they fall to the instincts of a beast. This is one such beast.]

  What was a dragon doing in the basement of the Temple? A feral dragon at that.

  This city all but revered dragons. She couldn’t imagine that anyone would take kindly to finding one treated like this. And yet, there was evidence it had been here a long time. Sores had been worn into the dragon’s scales where the chains chaffed. Though still huge, its body hung gaunt, its ribs visible through its scales, its limbs atrophied.

  Its growling intensified. It was a deep, rolling sound. A warning Cass wanted nothing more than to heed.

  She stepped back, pressing against the heavy metal door behind her. What now? Would the paladins outside stop to check the unlatched door? Would they hear the dragon’s growling and come to investigate?

  She should leave as soon as she could.

  This dragon would not get her out of here. It could not answer any of her questions. It was feral and wild and looked like it wanted nothing more than to devour her whole.

  And yet, it was also clearly an abused animal.

  “Who did this to you?” Cass whispered. She stepped toward the creature slowly.

  The dragon snarled, his wings flaring out. They were tattered things, rends and holes running up and down the membrane. Blood oozed from some of the tears.

  Cass stopped, her hands out and open. She didn’t mean it any harm.

  Did it have breath attacks? Dragons in the stories had breath attacks. Fire or lightning or frost or something.

  But if it did, wouldn’t its captors have done something about it? She couldn’t imagine that it would have been left able to defend itself like that. Not give the rest of its state.

  Cass inspected the circle around it.

  Magic Circle

  [Purpose: Containment]

  That made her pause. They’d tossed her in a similar one and it hadn’t stopped her. Maybe this wasn’t safe.

  But there were the chains as well.

  Runic Concoction

  [Purpose: Containment.

  The effects added to this object include: Reinforcement.]

  Yes, Cass recognized the pattern running along the chains and post. They were similar to the ones Alyx had helped her add to her staff. But this clearly did more than reinforce the metal. There were a lot more symbols drawn in the material and it glowed all colors of the rainbow to Cass’s Mana Sense.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Would they do this to her if they caught her again?

  She glanced over her shoulder. The door was still closed. The air just outside it was still.

  Had she gotten lucky? Had the paladins passed her by without noticing? They must have. They would have been here by now if they’d noticed.

  The dragon lunged forward.

  Cass jumped back, again pressing against the door.

  The dragon’s chains strained. It pressed against the edge of the magic circle. Its jaws snapped open and shut, trying, failing to grab her.

  Cass relaxed. It couldn’t reach her. The cultists weren’t utterly inept at holding prisoners. Perhaps they had just underestimated her.

  She took another step forward.

  What was she going to do? She didn’t have any way to heal the creature. All she had was Beacon of Hearth and Home, but that was a passive healing. Would it do anything for the long abuse this dragon had suffered?

  And she needed to keep moving. There was nowhere to hide here, nowhere but behind the dragon’s big body. But, well…

  It snapped at her again as if to illustrate what a bad idea it was to hide within reach of that creature’s jaws.

  But she couldn’t just leave it here either. She probably had a little time. She could leave it a parting gift.

  She scooted around the edge of the room, leaving the dragon and the circle it was trapped in wide berth. It tried to turn with her, its lips snarling the whole time, but the chains held it in place. There wasn’t room for it to stand or turn around.

  She would leave it a campfire and the benefits of Beacon of Hearth and Home. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be something. Maybe, if it went undiscovered long enough, it would be enough for its wings to heal and its sores to close. She could hope.

  The longer the campfire went without being spotted by the cultists, the better.

  She wished she could hide the fire somewhere in the room, but again, the best she could do was hide it behind the dragon.

  They’d probably immediately smell the smoke, but if nothing else, placing it on the far side of the room would buy the fire another couple of seconds as the cultists had to walk around the dragon to put it out.

  It wasn’t a good plan, but it was all she could do for the creature.

  She rummaged in her Bag for the last of her Flintshooms and some of her logs, setting them up in a simple platform structure as close to the dragon as she dared. If she reached out, she could probably touch it over the magic circle’s barrier. Hopefully, the warmth of the fire would be a comfort.

  She lit it with a small spark of Element Manipulation summoned flame. The Flintshrooms didn’t smoke too much, maybe it would last a while before the cultists noticed.

  Already, she felt better, the warmth of Beacon mixing with the comfort of Hearth in her chest. Maybe she could hide here for a little while. Just until her resources were recovered?

  The dragon’s growling subsided as the warmth expanded. Perhaps even in its feral state, it could feel the calm of her skill.

  She sighed. Demons and dragons? What was this cult doing? Even as an outsider, Cass could see there would be blood if the Grand Duchess found out about their activities.

  She shook her head. When she got out of this, she’d tell Alyx before leaving.

  Her heart twisted at the thought. Was she leaving?

  Of course, she was leaving. She couldn’t count on Alyx to let her into the family Vault anymore. When Salos returned, they’d look for other leads toward the Custodia. She’d look into the gods that didn’t yet have champions. It would point her to her sibling.

  Even if Alyx had been willing to travel with a demon, they’d be parting ways here, wouldn’t they? Alyx would be heir to her family’s title. She had a future here. She had no reason to go traipsing across this violent world for Cass’s sake.

  Family had to come first. Cass understood that.

  The door swung open with a gust of air, interrupting Cass’s train of thought.

  She jumped to her feet and snuffed out the fire with Elemental Manipulation and her boot.

  Had she stayed too long? Had they noticed the latch? Did they know she was here?

  A group stepped into the room.

  She needed to hide, but no furniture had manifested in the room since the last time she looked.

  Cursing under her breath and pushing Stealth to the max, she stepped into the magic circle. It felt like pushing through a curtain again as she stepped over the boundary. She could only hope that, after they didn’t find her, going the other direction would be just as easy.

  The dragon’s tail thrashed as she approached. It snarled as the intruders grew closer.

  Cass Dodged the tail and slipped into its shadow by its back leg. The way it was lying on it, it shouldn’t be able to claw her without significant shifting.

  She hoped.

  “Yeah, it’s in here still,” a man’s voice called over his shoulder back into the hall.

  “Damn, Johnten. He probably forgot to latch the door again,” another voice cursed.

  “What’s it matter?” a third voice asked. “It’s not like old Kelstor can cross the containment circle. It’d need a proper soul for that.” His words were met with cruel chuckles.

  “Because it’s procedure,” the second voice grunted. “Redundancy is the best defense.”

  “Well, clearly, it’s fine. Kelstor is here and the demon isn’t,” the third voice grumbled. “How would it even get all the way over here? We’re on the opposite side of the complex.”

  “You don’t know what it’s capable of,” the second voice said. “It shouldn’t have been able to get out at all.”

  “Come on, we need to find it,” the first voice said.

  The door shut again, and the latch closed with a shunk.

  She breathed a sigh of relief.

  They hadn’t expected to find her here. That was the only reason they hadn’t looked harder.

  Easily leaning across the circle’s boundary, she relit the fire.

  Her fire crackled and the warmth of Hearth washed over her, soothing her nerves, and hopefully the dragon’s too.

  She patted its flank softly.

  A window popped up in front of her face.

  Blessing of Alacrity detected.

  Beginning Binding Process.

  “What?” was all Cass could say before the world went black around her.