Chapter Fifty-Seven: Marathon

Howard is assassinated during a dragon flight to Lemuria while coordinating the dragon exodus operation, struck by a spear while airborne. He survives due to being a Bob, immediately alerts Bridget and Mario, and begins planning retaliation against Alexander, whom he suspects ordered the attack.

Howard oversees the construction and launch of rafts to transport dragons across the ocean to Lemuria. The operation is running smoothly—rafts made from lightweight tree wood are being assembled, stocked with supplies and signal fires, and dispatched regularly with military dragon escorts. Alexander's army coordinates the exodus, sending groups of dragons in staggered waves to manage fatigue. Howard flies ahead with soldiers to inspect the raft and secretly report to Bridget, though Alexander remains suspicious of their communication. During the flight back from the raft inspection, while discussing the advantages of the dranny form, Howard is suddenly struck from behind and a spear pierces his chest. The damage triggers sensory overload and cuts his dranny connection. Howard immediately messages Bridget with a warning of attack and contacts Mario. He waits in VR as a camouflaged drone retrieves the dranny corpse before ocean predators can consume it. Mario reports the damage—a fatal wound through the heart—and begins repairs using roamers. Howard asks Mario to leave a scar as a fresh war wound. Howard suspects Alexander orchestrated the assassination as competition removal, completely misreading the political situation. Bridget confirms nothing suspicious on her end but notes Alexander paying her unusual attention. Howard sends Bridget the injury photo with a joking caption and receives her promise to confront Alexander violently. Howard resolves that Alexander is "dead meat."