Salazar

A bounty hunter who was hired to catch a rabbit and made the mistake of teaching her how to fight.

Who he is

Tall, dark-haired, human-looking until he is not. Scales along his knuckles and arms that take on a bronze sheen as he warms up, teeth slightly too sharp, a faint smell of sulfur, and something moving under the back of his jacket that wants to unfold (ch. 33).

SLZ: Where are my manners? Salazar, bounty hunter. Specialization: fast-moving targets with poor decision-making skills.

MTA: Dragon-born. Should have guessed from the ego. SLZ: Half-dragon, actually. The human side keeps me humble.

Who he works for

Not the king. He is dismissive about it, which is how the reader learns the seven camps were bait:

SLZ: Working with them? Oh, no. I'm working for someone much more interesting than these small-time rulers. [...] My employer has been very interested in meeting the rabbit who can't be caught. (ch. 32)

The employer is Akumu.

How he fights

Not with flames. With temperature.

SLZ: Dragon fire isn't just about flames, rabbit. It's about heat. About making the air itself your enemy. (ch. 33)

He raises the ambient temperature until Matta's speed is useless, her legs go heavy, and every breath of superheated air costs her. She calls it cheating. He calls it survival.

He also matches her speed outright, which nobody had ever done: "You're not the only one with enhanced reflexes, rabbit. Though I have to admit, that was impressive. Most people can't even see me move."

The fight is an assessment

He says so twice. He is not there to kill her.

SLZ: My employer wants to know exactly what you're capable of. Can't do that if I take you down too quickly.

He has studied her beforehand and tells her what he found, which is the thing that eventually beats him:

SLZ: All that speed, all that power, and you're still trying to minimize damage. Even now, you're pulling your punches.

The narration confirms he is right, and gives the reason: she restrains herself "afraid of what she might do if she truly let loose."

The whole camp was staged to draw her in. Ch. 32 has her clear an undefended perimeter, pick simple locks, free every prisoner, and only then find a boot placed exactly where she would step.

Why he loses

Because he tells her what she is doing wrong and she believes him. He spends the fight goading her into stopping holding back, and she does, and it kills him.

He dies of a wound that destroyed his vital organs, collapsing behind her while she walks away without looking (ch. 34).

Open questions

• Whether Akumu hired him to catch her or to change her. He achieved the second by trying the first.