Nazra smiled. 'Take the job and you'll find out.'
The gray-gowned woman came in again, followed by two of the Watch holding tightly to the red-haired half- elf who Tennora had knocked to the ground. She looked tired and despondent, but hale.
'Ah,' Nazra said, looking up. Her gray eyes were suddenly hard. 'I see my next appointment has arrived. Agnea, you can take Antoum to my bedroom now. Do excuse me, Tennora. I have many questions to be answered.'
Nestrix woke in a strange room and a strange bed, her thoughts muzzy and disjointed. The sun had come out, and it poured through a window onto a heavily patterned rug that made her eyes swim. Her throat was raw and achy, her skin bruised and abraded. The blue cloak had been folded neatly at the foot of the bed, despite the fact that it was now tattered as a rag. The pouch containing her eggshell lay on top of it.
'Are you well?' Veron said. Opposite her cot, he was in a similar state, sitting with his splinted and bandaged leg stretched out beside him. His ribs had been wrapped as well, and the side of his face was noticeably puffy.
'Well enough,' Nestrix said, though her voice wheezed. 'And you? He put a great deal of poison in you. Enough to kill a lesser dokaal.'
Veron stared at her and didn't answer. Tired and sore, Nestrix ignored his silence and lay back against the pillows once more. After several breaths, he spoke.
'I've spent more than a year,' he said, 'trying to get as close as I am now. If I don't take you in, everything I've built for myself is worthless. A bounty hunter is only as good as his reputation-and mine's nowhere near good enough to fail like this.' He looked down at his leg. 'Why did you save me?'
'Tennora would have been angry,' she lied, shutting her eyes.
'You could have let the dragon have me,' he said, 'and been done with all our business.'
'If you'd rather be eaten by a dragon, I can point you to some who might like the taste of overthinking hunter.'
'Nestrix,' he said, so sternly that she opened her eyes again. 'Truly.'
She met his gaze for a long moment. 'I am not like him.'
He didn't look away. 'But you are a dragon.'
'Not anymore.' Nestrix looked away, down at her hands. The truth of it burned. 'And I suppose that means I have to follow your laws.'
He looked sullen.
'Cheer up, hunter,' she said. 'It means you don't have to worry about your reputation.'
'It means you have to worry about your neck,' he said. 'You didn't have to stop him.' 'Veron,' she said wearily, 'you will bait me until I say it, won't you? I didn't want you to die, all right?'
His cheeks flushed. 'Tennora said… she said you had a reason. Why did you kill the wizard?'
She shrugged. 'Why kill anyone? He threatened me. Does it matter?'
'Yes,' he said. 'I think it does. You're not a monster, whatever anyone else thinks. We're more kin than I expected.'
She laughed. 'That is where you are mistaken. They may look at you and see a monster, but you're more of a dokaal and a better man than most. They look at me and see a human, a woman. But inside, I'm still the Terror of the Calim.'
'And the savior of Waterdeep,' he added.
There was a knock on the door, and Tennora poked her head inside. 'You're awake!' she said, entering the room.
'You're alive,' Nestrix said, though she felt flooded with relief.
Tennora smirked and sat at the foot of the bed. 'I outlasted the both of you.' She told the story of the battle in the garden. 'The Watch are roused and they and the guard are on lookout, but he seems to have fled altogether.'
'Jumped on his back?' Nestrix shook her head.
'You might have died,' Veron said, worry in his voice.
'No,' Nestrix said. 'This one is luckier than that.'
She looked at Tennora and felt a stirring within her, the memories of Lyra-not yet gone, but more settled than they'd ever been. Tennora was not Lyra. She was not Wenda. She was no ulharkosj, no wyrmling born of the summer storms-and no clutchmate, no sister-rival. But both the dragon and the thief were proud of Tennora's assured stance, of the way she bore her bruises.
'We are friends, aren't we?' Nestrix said, smiling. Tennora gave her a puzzled look. 'Perhaps. There is still the matter of the ritual.'
'What ritual?'
'The one you promised,' she said. 'I know it doesn't exist.'
'Of course it exists,' Nestrix said. 'But I didn't get my form back, so our deal's not done.'
'Nestrix,' Tennora said, 'Aundra told me. There's no such ritual.'
'Blacklock? How in the Hells would she know?' Nestrix said, getting annoyed.
Tennora folded her arms. 'She's an accomplished sorceress.'
'And? Did she stand there while I performed it for Tantlevgithus? Was she around a hundred years ago? No. Give me some parchment. I'll write it down if it matters so much to you.'
Tennora started to speak. Then her expression softened, and she said, 'Never mind. I don't want it. I have no need to chase after what I haven't earned. 'If I hurl spells but think not of consequences, I am nothing.''
'Laeral Silverhand,' Nestrix said, though whether she knew it or Lyra did she no longer could tell. 'What will you do then?'
Tennora shrugged. 'I have options. What of you? The both of you,' she added, looking to Veron.
Nestrix looked up, her mouth grim. 'I'm leaving.'
'What?' Tennora said. 'Where?'
'Cormyr,' she said. 'I am not a dragon, not any longer. They want to try me, I have to tell them what happened.'
Tennora turned on Veron. 'You're really going to do this? After everything? After she saved you?'
'I'm not taking her to Cormyr,' Veron said. 'I'm not taking anyone to Cormyr.'
Nestrix sighed. 'Dokaal-'
'The truth is,' he said, raising his voice, 'I don't make a very good bounty hunter. The search, the capture- that's all fine. But I can't see things in black and white the way they ask. You might have killed the wizard,' he added, looking up at Nestrix, 'but I won't let you hang for protecting yourself.'
Nestrix held that golden gaze. 'I might be lying.'
'I don't think you are,' he said.
'Veron,' Tennora said thoughtfully, 'have you ever thought of seeking your fortune adventuring? I have a friend who'd give you a few tips.' A look of concern flitted over her features. 'After he finished yelling at you for letting me into danger.'
There came another knock at the door, and this time Nazra Mrays entered, followed by Agnea and a much battered-looking Jorik.
Nazra was holding a staff with a bluish crystal at its tip. The wooden shaft had been carved with dragons. The magic there teased at Nestrix.
'Clytemorrenestrix of the Calim,' Nazra said. She laid the head of the staff in Nestrix's lap. 'Take hold of it.'
As Nestrix did so, a spark jumped between her palm and the crystal. 'Ouch!' She glowered at Nazra. 'Is this a trick?'
'Hush, and put your hand back there,' Nazra said, and her mouth curved into a smile. 'For your acts in defense of the city of Waterdeep, your assistance of her Watch and her lords, and your protection of one of her young citizens, you are hereby welcome in the City of Splendors, regardless of form. So long as you continue to uphold these virtues.'
The air around Nestrix twitched and shimmered for a breath as the blessing of the staff took hold. Something inside her seemed to bloom and spread outward. Whether it was the remnants of the dragonward sliding from her or some other effect of the ancient staff, none knew and none speculated. A sigh escaped her lips, unbidden.
