He must have gotten his old speed back in spades, because when I turned around, there was my dad, already dressed in one of his ubiquitous dark suits and walking toward us with my mother bobbing happily in his wake.
“Did you think I chose her as First Mortal merely because she was beautiful?” he asked, looking down his nose scornfully at Nik before reaching out to take his consort’s hand. “Mi-yeon is the most accomplished mortal I have ever known. I will treasure her for the rest of her life, and when she departs this world, I will build a shrine to her memory so that all future generations will know of her devotion and skill.”
I’d never seen my mom be anything but perfect, but by the time he finished, she seemed ready to melt into a gooey puddle. The situation only got worse when my father brought her fingers to his lips, making her look so happy I worried for her health.
Smart move on his part. Mom might worship the ground he walked on, but that didn’t change the fact that Yong had vanished for two months without telling her. Some buttering up was definitely in order, because while she could never be angry with him, it was obvious this had been just as hard for her as it had been for us. I actually spotted the beginnings of a wrinkle on her brow.
But all was clearly forgiven now. My mother looked as if she were going to float away as my father led her over to address the soldiers who’d flown to his aid. He’d just launched into an eloquent speech about loyalty living on forever in the heart of a dragon when I felt the magic lurch around me.
“What?” Nik asked as I grabbed him in panic. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t know. I’d been tossed around by so many magical shenanigans in this place, I didn’t know which way was up anymore. This surge didn’t feel particularly alarming, but anything unexpected was not welcome at this point. I was struggling to grab a handful of my own power to defend us when I finally recognized the power surging under my feet. Even so, I’d barely managed to get my fight-or-flight under control when a huge door rose out of the middle of the blasted arena and the DFZ burst through.
“There’s my Opal!” she shouted, running at me with arms thrown wide. An alarming sight since she was dressed for combat in the biggest body I’d seen her put on yet and carrying a telephone pole like a club. She grabbed me a second later, sweeping me into a hug that lifted my feet a good foot and a half off the ground. “I’m so glad you’re all right!”
“I’m good, I’m good,” I gasped, patting her shoulder until she got the hint and put me down. “But I’m a lot better now that I’ve seen you. If you’re here, that means we really killed him!”
“There’s no killing a god,” she reminded me. Then her huge face split into a grin. “But I don’t see how he’ll rise again anytime soon after that humiliation. A spirit getting eaten by a dragon on live television!” She whistled. “It was definitely the spectacle of the century, just not the one he wanted.”
I didn’t see how getting eaten by a dragon was a mark of shame, but I was only human, so what did I know? The DFZ clearly thought it was an embarrassment that could never be lived down, and that was good enough for me.
“Sorry it took me so long to get here,” she went on, setting down her telephone pole. “Even after my rat priest and your troops scattered the crowd, the viewers watching at home kept his power riding high. It wasn’t until Yong started kicking his ass that people’s faith in him finally crumbled enough for me to get through. Man, though, when it fell, it fell. I’ve got everything back from Rentfree chasm all the way down to the mines.” She lowered her voice. “Coincidentally, your other dragon downstairs ate her guards and fled. She crossed over the border into Canada ten minutes ago. Not sure where she is now.”
I didn’t care where White Snake had run. She’d stood by us when it counted and she hadn’t come up to stab us in the back, which was all that really mattered. It was probably better for everyone that she hadn’t come up to help. It was enough of a miracle we’d pulled this thing off as it was. I didn’t know if we could have managed another complication, even one that was technically on our side.
I was far more concerned about the DFZ in any case. I could see her in front of me like always, but her voice was just regular sound. There was nothing in my head at all, and remembering how that had happened made me anxious all over again.
“Are you mad?” I whispered.
The city blinked at me. “About what?”
“You know…” I twisted my fingers. “The priest thing.”
She leaned on her telephone pole with a sigh. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I always kind of knew you’d never be my priest. I hoped that wasn’t the case, of course, but no one sits on a trial for two months if they intend to actually follow through.”
I nodded silently, grateful but still horribly guilty. Everything I’d done had technically been within the bounds of our agreement, and no one could say I hadn’t worked my ass off in her service, but I still felt like I’d used her. I was trying to think of how to explain this in a way that didn’t sound crazy when the god took my hand.
“It’s okay,” she said with a smile. “I told you from the start: I only want willing servants. If you don’t want to dedicate your life to me, that’s your choice. I still want you in my city, and you’re
