Chapter 12
Ekiken dismembered himself to escape the terrarium—all but his head and upper chest dissolved into a flock of flying mauve petals, trailed by the other wooden and leafy parts of his body. Outside, he reformed, drawing the attention of several curious onlookers traversing the palace courtyard.
Aihi recognized their wide-eyed stares and gaping mouths; that was how she’d felt when she first laid eyes on the constructed dragon that saved her life. They’d been the Suidoto province in the east, and the dragon sprung up from snow and ice to protect her and Taniya from a wyvern threatening to burn them alive.
Ekiken was about the same size as that first dragon—perhaps larger—but he was superior for the simple fact that he could think and act separately of her where none had been able
