Thief of the moonlight.

Silas arrives in the royal dungeon as a jailer drags a captive baby dragon across the stones. Its bronze scales flash beneath chains, and its wings thrash helplessly.

Ahead, a binding circle glows with cold blue fire. Runes crawl around its rim while a black iron crown waits at the center.

The jailer, a broad middle-aged man in a red-trimmed surcoat, jerks the chain toward the circle. His iron keys clatter as he reaches for his horn.

The dragon digs its claws into the floor, scattering sparks. Beyond the sealed arch, armored footsteps answer the jailer's alarm, quickening toward the vault.

Silas surges across the stones, twin moon crescent daggers flashing beneath the blue fire. The jailer barely turns before the shadowspawn reaches him.

One blade cuts across the jailer's surcoat and knocks his horn spinning away. The second hooks his weapon arm, forcing him backward from the binding circle.

The jailer crashes against the vault wall, disarmed and staggered. In the same rush, Silas's shoulder slams the iron-bound stone, leaving a sharp bruise beneath his dark skin.

The baby dragon's chains drag across the circle's edge as armored footsteps thunder beyond the arch. Cold runelight catches on Silas's daggers, while the fallen horn rolls into the darkness.

Silas slips beneath the jailer’s flailing arm. One crescent dagger opens a shallow line across the jailer’s leg, while the other vanishes into its sheath.

As the jailer buckles, Silas’s free hand plucks the ring of iron keys from his belt. The movement is precise, but the keys strike the stones with a sharp clatter.

The jailer drops to one knee, clutching his leg and staring toward the arch. Beyond it, armored footsteps slow as the guards hear the unmistakable ring of stolen metal.

Blue fire ripples around the circle as Silas holds the key ring. Several teeth match the baby dragon’s chain lock, and the guards’ shadows stretch across the sealed entrance.

Silas drops beside the chain, selecting the smallest iron key by touch. His bruised shoulder protests as he twists beneath the blue fire’s wavering glow.

The key turns cleanly. The lock springs open, and the heavy chain falls from the baby dragon’s foreleg with a ringing crash against the stones.

The baby dragon pulls loose from the remaining chain and scrambles beyond the circle’s rim. Its wings flare, scattering blue sparks across the vault floor.

Armored figures crowd the sealed arch as the baby dragon crouches beside Silas, freed but wary. Behind them, the black iron crown waits in the cold fire.