The sound of voices drew Seraiah’s attention to the back of the dragons’ cave, where she spotted Lonan talking animatedly. The dragons appeared to be listening raptly to whatever story he was telling. If Seraiah had to guess, she would say it was probably a story about mushrooms.

Lonan was finishing up his tale when she approached. To her surprise, he wasn’t talking about mushrooms, but rather he was telling the dragons how they’d escaped from the beetle. They seemed impressed, but maybe they were only being polite.

Seraiah snorted at the idea of a well-mannered dragon.

“Do you have any interesting stories to tell, human?” Riv asked her when Lonan was finished.

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not, and I think we should be going.” She looked meaningfully at Lonan. There was no use in staying here if they weren’t going to get a golden scale.

“There is no rush. Why don’t you tell us about how you came to be involved in a faery game? Last night you told us what you’re looking for, but not how you got tangled up with the fae in the first place.”

“Yes, that sounds like it will be a good one,” Isaour agreed.

All three of them watched her expectantly.

Did it matter if she took a few minutes to tell them the story? She supposed not since she was already going to be late returning to Nyrene, and it wasn’t like she’d come up with another plan for how to give the Summer King a golden dragon scale.

Seraiah settled herself into a cross-legged seat and began her story.

Lonan had already heard it, but he listened intently all the same as she told them about Sterling and everything that had happened so far on her journey to find her sister. They were sympathetic and angry at the right moments and didn’t interrupt to ask questions.

“It’s too bad there is no such thing as a golden dragon,” Riv said when she finished.

“I don’t know what I am going to do now,” Seraiah mumbled miserably, climbing to her feet. “There has to be something I can do to fulfill the Summer King’s request.”

She just needed to think. It sounded impossible to outsmart an immortal being who’d already lived who knows how many years, but there must be some kind of loophole. He couldn’t have given her a quest that couldn’t be fulfilled.

A glint of something caught Seraiah’s eye as she stared past the dragons into the back of the cave.

“What do you have back there?” she asked Isaour.

“Our hoard, of course,” the dragon answered. “A few bits and bobs. You know. Nothing special.”

Seraiah slipped past them and found what the dragon had described as a few bits and bobs were actually piles and piles of jewels—and gold. As she stared at the mountains of treasure a plan began to take shape in her head.

She whirled around and rejoined the group. “I think I have an idea,” she announced. “I think I know how I can beat the Summer King at his own game, but I will need your assistance.”

“It’s been awhile since we have had some fun with the Summer King,” Isaour said. “What do you have in mind?”

Seraiah quickly explained her idea. “So, what do you think? Will you help me?”

The dragons gave her toothy grins. “We would be delighted to.”

A renewed sense of hope filled Seraiah at the prospect of having a plan for getting Kestrel back and beating the faeries at their own game. She only hoped it wouldn’t anger the Summer King, and he refused to honor their deal.

The dragons agreed they would fly her as close as they could to the Seelie Court, and then the rest would be up to her.

“Are you going to go back to Metrius?” she asked Lonan. He had been quiet during the discussion.

“If it’s all the same to you, I would like to continue on your journey with you. This is the most excitement I’ve had in years, and I would like to help you in any way I can. Our world has been peaceful, thanks in part to the elves. I want to do my part to keep it that way.”

“I would be delighted to have you, but are you sure you want to go to the Summer Court? The faeries aren’t going to be happy with me after what I’m about to do.”

Lonan scoffed. “I’m not afraid of faeries. I survived dragons.”

The dragons in question chuckled at this.

Seraiah couldn’t say she agreed with him. Lonan had never met the Summer King.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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They each set out to work on their part of the plan, and then reconvened later in the afternoon.

Seraiah had the golden dragon scale tucked away in her bag, ready to hand over to the Summer King. It was technically a golden dragon scale—it just wasn’t from a golden dragon.

“We can take you back to the Seelie Court whenever you are ready,” Isaour told her.

She wasn’t ready to ever go back to that place, but Seraiah didn’t have a choice if she wanted to see her friends or her sister again.

“We should go now,” Seraiah said, “before it gets dark. If that’s all right with you.” She still wasn’t entirely sure how many days it had been since she’d left the Seelie Court.

“Gather your things,” Riv said, “and we’ll be off.”

It turned out flying on a dragon was much scarier than riding a horse. It was a considerably longer fall to the ground.

Perched on Riv’s back, Seraiah held on to the spiked scales of his neck for dear life as the trees passed by far below. It would have been quite a sight to see if she wasn’t scared of heights.

Isaour carried Lonan, and he didn’t seem nearly as frightened as she was. In fact, he looked to be enjoying himself immensely.

The dragon’s scales were warm beneath her legs—almost hot, and it was enough to keep the chill away as Riv’s large, muscular wings beat at the air to either side of her.

Just when Seraiah thought she might be getting used to the sensation of flying through the clouds, they dropped out of the sky.

She screamed as the dragon tucked his wings in, and they plummeted toward the ground. The wind whipped her cloak out behind her, and she almost lost her hold on her bag. Right before they slammed into the ground, Riv straightened out and skimmed the top of the grass before landing softly.

The dragon pulled his wings in again and crouched as close to the ground as possible to help her get off. When Seraiah slid from his back, her legs barely held her weight—they felt like jelly. She had to lean against Riv’s side for a few moments while her heart returned to its normal speed, and she could breathe again. When she stepped away from him, she was still a little shaky.

Isaour and Lonan landed next to them, and Lonan slid off Isaour’s back, coming to join her.

“Wasn’t that great?” he asked Seraiah, a grin spreading across his face. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen him smile that wide even when talking about mushrooms.

“Sure,” she said weakly. She was certain Riv had pulled the diving stunt on purpose, judging by his expression. If dragons had facial expressions, his would be described as mischievous.

“We will leave you here,” Isaour said. “It’s a short distance that way to the faery court.” She nodded her head in the direction they were to go.

“Thank you for all of your help. I appreciate it,” Seraiah said, looking at each dragon in turn.

“Be sure to visit us again and bring that elf queen sister of yours,” Riv said.

“I will,” Seraiah promised. “She would love that.”

She thanked them each again, and then they were back in the sky. She and Lonan watched them go and waited until the dragons were distant specks before turning toward the Seelie Court.

They were silent on the walk. The forest was as sinister as Seraiah remembered it, but the tree sprites were nowhere to be found.

Maescia waited for them at the edge of the houses. How she had known they were coming, Seraiah didn’t know. Perhaps she’d been waiting there since Seraiah had left.

Maescia didn’t comment on Seraiah’s new companion, and there was no humming this time. She merely turned and led them into the Court.

Lonan took in as much of the scenery as he could while Seraiah kept her head down. She had seen more than enough of this place the first time. She wanted to get the elves, and then they were going back to Nyrene.

Maescia took them back to where Seraiah had met the Summer King the first time, and like that night, there was another party. They picked their way through the revelers until they reached the foot of the dais.

That was when the Summer King spotted them, but it was not to him that Seraiah’s eyes went first. He was not alone on the dais.

Kestrel was there with him.

Seraiah looked around for the others, but she didn’t see them. Her gaze returned to Kestrel. The elf appeared pale and tired, a ghost of her usual buoyant self. There were rings beneath her eyes, as if she had not slept since the day Seraiah had left.

Kestrel glanced up when the Summer King stood, and Seraiah saw the life come back into her face. She sat, still as a statue for a moment, staring at Seraiah as though she didn’t believe Seraiah was truly there. Then Kestrel launched herself at her, almost knocking Seraiah over as she flew into her.

They held each other tight and didn’t let go.

Seraiah was so glad to see her. When she’d agreed to the fairies’ quest, she had been almost certain she would never return.

The Summer King cleared his throat, and Kestrel released her.

“Have you brought something for me, seer?” his voice rang out over the crowd as his molten eyes fixed on her.

The music had stopped playing, and everyone was watching the scene unfold on the dais.

“I have the scale you asked for,” she told him.

Seraiah set her bag on the ground and pulled out the scale in question, holding it up high enough so that their audience could see it, too.

Riv had given her one of his own scales. Originally, it had been a beautiful iridescent blue. Now, as Seraiah held it up, it glinted gold.

She could see the surprise on the Summer King’s face before it returned to a neutral expression. He should be surprised, considering he’d known a golden dragon didn’t exist when he sent her out on the quest.

The Summer King snatched the scale from her hand and inspected it.

Seraiah knew what he would find.

It was a real dragon scale—that had been dipped in gold.

He had said he wanted a golden dragon scale, and that was exactly what she’d given him. He had never specified that the golden dragon scale had to come from a golden dragon.

Seraiah could see from his face that he knew she had beaten him at his own game, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Seems the human has held up her end of the bargain,” he said, addressing the watching fae, “and now I will uphold mine.”

He extracted a vial, similar to the one he’d made Seraiah drink at the start of the game, and held it out to her. “Here is the information you seek.”

Seraiah accepted the vial.

“Drink it, and you will have a vision of your precious Queen.”

She tucked the vial into her bag. She wasn’t about to drink anything else while in this Court. It would have to wait until they were safely back in Nyrene.

“And the other part of our bargain?” she reminded him.

“Yes, yes, your friends are free to go.” He waved his hand at them, shooing them away. “Maescia, have their horses brought, so they will get out of my sight.”

The girl scurried off to do as she was told, and the King turned away, dismissing them.

The music started up again, and the revelers danced as if there hadn’t been an interruption.

Kestrel pulled Seraiah into another hug and whispered in her ear, “I knew you could do it. Now, let’s get out of here.”