The thick violet blood splattered all across the ground, the dragon’s corpse, and the girl, who stumbled to her knees, landing with a sick wet thud.

Dead.

It was dead.

She stayed crouched in place for what felt like ages, heartbeat exploding in her ears. Done, done, done. She was safe. The village was safe.

Her father was avenged.

Her heart rate slowed, eventually, to a point where she could hear other things around her. The feeling of blood on her skin kept her grounded well enough, but the sheer relief coursing through her blood — her red, red blood — was helping even more.

She hadn’t died.

And even as the world began to flicker into darkness, she smiled.