The iron spike was thick as my wrist where it had been driven into the sandstone. I brought the hammer down with all my strength. The impact jarred my entire body, but the spike barely shifted. Panic clawed at my throat as I struck again. And again. Each blow sent shockwaves up my arms, but the spike remained stubbornly embedded.
A shadow fell over me as someone else jumped or fell from above. I didn't look up, couldn't spare the attention. My world had narrowed to the spike and the hammer and the desperate need to break these chains before it was too late. The dragon's head snapped around at my efforts, those ancient eyes fixing on me with terrible intensity.
"Come on," I growled through gritted teeth, swinging again. Sweat ran into my eyes, and my shoulders screamed in protest. The spike shifted slightly, but not enough. Never enough. "Please!"
"Move!"
Septimus's voice cut through my frustration. I dove aside just as his war hammer came down in a perfect arc. The head was twice the size of mine, backed by arms thick with muscle from years of wielding siege weapons. The spike shot from the stone like a cork from a wine bottle, landing somewhere in the blood-stained sand.
One chain fell loose, and the dragon's entire body shifted in response. It tested its new freedom, pulling against the remaining restraints. The other columns groaned under the increased strain.
Septimus stared down at me, his face as familiar as my own, even under dirt and blood. There was a look in his eyes I didn't recognise, and it took my words away. He reached down and gently touched my face.
"You're insane," he told me softly, and then he was gone, running for the next column. More bodies fell around us, but the dragon's presence kept most people from straying too close. Those who did were quickly snatched up or batted aside by its tail.
Above us, the chaos grew worse. Someone had set fire to one of the wooden sections, perhaps thinking to clear a path to escape. The flames spread quickly through the ancient timber, addingfresh screams to the cacophony. Smoke began to fill the arena, making it harder to breathe, harder to see.
I reached the second column just as Septimus arrived at the third. The spike here was driven in at an awkward angle, making it harder to strike properly. My first blow glanced off, nearly taking my own foot as the hammer head slipped. The second connected but felt wrong - the shock of it numbed my hands.
"Livia, stop!"
Marcus's voice. I didn't look back, couldn't afford to be distracted. The third blow finally found purchase, loosening the spike enough that I could work it free with desperate hands. The second chain fell, and now the dragon had enough slack to raise its head to full height.
Steam poured from its nostrils as it tested its new range of motion. One massive wing unfurled partially, scattering sand and fallen bodies alike. Through our connection, I felt its growing realization of freedom, felt the ancient fury that had built up over years of captivity.
"The third one's loose!" Septimus called. The sound of his hammer against stone punctuated his words as he moved to the final column. "Almost there!"
More shouts from behind me now - voices I recognized. The other gladiators had finally realized what we were doing. I heard running feet approaching, but it was too late to stop us. The dragon's tail swept across the sand, forcing them to retreat or be crushed.
The final spike proved stubborn, even under Septimus's strength. Each blow echoed off the arena walls, mixing with the screams from above and the deeper, more terrible sounds from the city beyond. Through gaps in the smoke, I caught more glimpses of dark shapes moving against the burning sky. The Talfen were getting closer.
Then, with a sound like thunder, the last spike tore free. The chain fell, and the dragon was unbound.
Its wings unfurled fully, spanning nearly the width of the arena. The downdraft as they spread knocked people off their feet, sent loose sand stinging against exposed skin. Its head rose up, up, until it seemed to blot out the smoke-filled sky. Steam poured from its jaws as it tasted true freedom for the first time in so long.
"Livia!" Marcus screamed. "Get away from it!"
But I couldn't move. I stood transfixed as that massive head lowered, bringing one golden eye level with my body. This close, I could see my reflection in its pupil, could feel the heat rolling off its scales. Steam washed over me with each breath, and the spikes along its jaw were longer than my forearm.
We had formed a connection over months of secret visits, had built what I thought was trust. But now, seeing it in its full, terrible glory, feeling the rage and hunger that rolled off it in waves, I wasn't sure if any human friendship could overcome years of torture and captivity.
The dragon's jaws parted slightly, revealing rows of teeth that could shear through iron. A low rumble built in its chest, different from any sound I'd heard it make before. Time seemed to stop as we stared at each other, human and dragon, captive and liberator, while around us the world descended into chaos and flame.
32
Above us, the arena continued to collapse section by section. The air grew thicker with smoke from the burning stands, and the harsh calls of Talfen war horns seemed to be coming from every direction now. Through gaps in the smoke, I caught glimpses of the chaos in the stands and flames that were licking the sky, and then the colossal head of the beast that loomed over me.
It descended toward me, each hot breath stirring my hair and making my armor steam. In that moment, staring into an eye larger than my shield, I saw death in a thousand possible ways- crushed, burned, torn apart, swallowed whole. Years of chains and torture had taught this creature to hate, and I was so very, very small.
Then something shifted in that ancient gaze. The fury and hunger melted away like spring frost, replaced by a warmth I recognized from our quiet moments in the cage. With a grace that belied its enormous size, the dragon lowered its head to the blood-stained sand beside me. Steam curled around my boots as it exhaled, the sound almost like a sigh.
My hand trembled as I reached out, but muscle memory took over. Just like in the cage, I found that spot behind its eye ridge where the scales were smaller, smoother. The familiar rumble of contentment vibrated through its whole body as I rubbed small circles there, though now that rumble shook the very ground beneath my feet.
"You're free," I whispered. "Go, before they bring worse chains."
"Livia!"
I turned to see Tarshi running toward us, his arms full of the ends of the iron chains that were still linked to the great iron collar around its neck. Blood ran down one side of his face, and his armor was scorched from dragon fire, but his eyes were sharp and focused on the dragon behind me.
