The vestalis had told me the end to my troubles would come through crossing through fire. This was part of what she meant. I would have to cross through the fires of this dragon. I wouldn't think about the other part of what she meant, of the other kind of fire I would have to face. I couldn't think about that right now.
So I lowered the shield, letting the flames lick my face and hands. I felt the hunger of the fire to consume the air around me. I even felt the heat, yet it did not bother me. I could bear this.
With greater confidence, I walked forward. The fire grew hotter and stronger, as did the Mistress's anger.
"Your powers are growing," Atroxia whispered inside my head. "But if you kill her, you will kill me. You must break the curse and set me free that way."
"I have to set Aurelia free too," I said. "I won't risk her life."
There was more to it, things I didn't say. If the empire's forgiveness had not released the binds between her and the Mistress, then maybe they could not be separated. Atroxia was forever sealed to her fate.
Unless I accepted mine.
But not at Aurelia's expense. I continued walking forward, letting the flames move harmlessly around me.
"It's the Malice!" the Mistress screamed. "My Malice protects you! Once it is mine again, you will feel the worst of my powers!"
Her anger didn't affect me, no more than her flames did. "You have no powers, only a bad temper and a tail that ensures you will die alone and friendless. Tell me where Aurelia is, or I will use the full strength of the Malice against you."
"Please don't do it!" Those were Atroxia's words, ones spoken only in my head.
The flames brightened again. The Mistress heard me and was resisting my requests, but deep within the dragon, the human was fighting for control.
Once I was close enough, the flames stopped, and the Mistress snapped at me. She caught my arm between her teeth, one of which clamped down on the Malice, no doubt saving that piece of my arm. When she lifted her head again with her mouth still closed, I came into the air with her.
She must've raised me almost to the roof of this massive cave, because in the reflection from her eyes, it seemed to be very close. She reared back her head, intending to throw me against the cave wall. Instead, I hit the remnants of one of the long gold bars and there got my idea. I took hold of the bar, then leapt from it onto the dragon's back, high on her neck. She arched her head and flayed her wings apart, but nothing she did forced me to let go.
I pressed my hand down on the scales of her back, just as Brutus always did on my shoulder, but though he drew magic out of me, I was pouring it directly into the dragon. I had suspected there might be a reaction, but never could've anticipated this.
The Mistress arched her long neck, almost spinning with rage as she fought against the magic. I could destroy the curse this way, by splitting the dragon apart from within.
"Please stop!" That was Atroxia's voice screaming at me. "Perhaps the dragon can survive so much. I cannot!"
But the Mistress had become stronger within this cave, as if Diana herself fed her powers. It would take the full powers of the Malice to stop the Mistress, and wasn't this the reason I had it -- so that I could claim victory even in moments like this?
I was willing to use the Malice to destroy the dragon. Indeed, it was a victory that could save the empire. But was I equally willing to let Atroxia be the price for that victory?
"Please!" Atroxia cried again, echoes of my own screams from when Brutus had flogged my back. If I was causing her anywhere near that amount of pain, I couldn't pretend that this was the right thing to do.
I released my hand, and after the briefest moment of silence, the dragon reared up, slamming me backward against the wall of the cave. Even with the Malice, I nearly fell. Hopefully, the Divine Star would cure the headache that was sure to follow.
On the other hand, the Mistress could cause pain beyond what an entire empire could bear. I couldn't ignore that fact either.
I raised my hand again, preparing to press it back down on the dragon's scales. I could still stop the dragon. I could win this.
And Atroxia would lose.
"To win, you will have to lose." That's what the vestalis had told me.
This wasn't about the Mistress, or Atroxia. It was about me. I had to lose here, in this cave.
How I hated every single word the vestalis had ever spoken to me. They were cruel and merciless ... and honest. I hated the words because I believed them.
I had to lose.
"Find me in this room!" I yelled to the Mistress. I rolled off her back, landing somewhere on the cave floor. I came down on solid ground, leaving a soft echo in the room that would make it easy for the Mistress to find me. She immediately knocked me over with one leg, then clamped a clawed foot on my chest, pressing down until I could barely breathe, much less speak. Another breath of fire rushed at me, so hot this time that though I could bear the flames, it burned enough of my tunic to render it unfit for a second use. Crispus had been right earlier: It was too much to hope even for a full day's use from it.
The Mistress's flame began focusing on my right forearm, where the Malice was. As she had done with the gold coins, she was attempting to melt the silver enough to pull it off my arm. And as hot as it was becoming, I feared she might succeed.