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The goblins continued eating, but the quiet became weighted. At the door, I saw General Saxu shift his position, moving closer to Tallu, nearly at the same distance as Tallu’s Dogs.

“You said that no imperial soldier would ever enter the desert again,” Zoigei said. He gestured to the table. “Do you now plan to betray that promise? Claim that when you trade with us at a disadvantage, it is not conquering? When you poison our land as you did Forsaith, it is not conquering? When you fly in on more of those ships that float above the desert sands, you are not setting foot in the Ariphadeus?”

Zoigei ended on a roar, standing from his seat and slamming his hands down on the table. He pointed a finger at Tallu. “We know all of your tricks, emperor of the Southern Imperium. And we will not fall for them.”

Beside him, I watched to see what Owl would do. Her expression was closed, eyes narrowed, and I could feel her whispers in the back of my head, although I wasn’t sure now if it was a ghost of her, an imagining of how she would behave, or if I was actually hearing her plans.

“I did not bring you here to change any part of our deal. If I wanted to do that, I would not need your permission. If I wanted to do that, we would simply build more ships and drop flaming oil and charged electro stone on you from above.” Tallu reached out, plucking a sweet date from the tray in front of him. It was covered in crushed nuts. He rolled it between his fingers before taking a bite. When he looked around the table, I was aware of how much larger the goblins from the hidden waters were.

The other goblins were ones that I knew I could beat. It wouldn’t even be trouble, not with my new strengthened powers. But the ones who had trained with the animalia and received their gifts? Those I would struggle against.

“Then why are we here?” Zoigei demanded.

“To reinforce the promise I made you and to come to an agreement of terms. The Southern Imperium wishes to have diplomatic relations with the tribes of the Ariphadeus. General Bemishu has done you a great wrong. Before that, we enslaved your people and killed them when they would not yield.” Tallu put the rest of the date in his mouth, licking his fingertips. He chewed, swallowed, and then raised an eyebrow at Zoigei. “You have no demands of the Southern Imperium for such an offense?”

I knew that Tallu was being honest, that he was merely asking what he could do so that peace could bind the two nations to begin to build a continent united. But Zoigei must have seen it as a trap. Would his demands send them back into war?

“Before we deal with that, we must know what your plans are for the imperial soldiers who want to stay.” Owl stood from her seat, looking around the table. “Dozens of imperial soldiers have requested to stay at the hidden waters and defend the animalia within.”

Her words brought an explosion of noise, the conversation so fast that Lord Mutali, who was translating, couldn’t keep up. From what I could hear, most of the tribes were asking why the imperials were gifted such an honor, when their own people needed it more. Others were suspicious. Imperials who remained were most likely planning to capture or kill the animalia as they had the One Dragon.

Owl turned to me, her eyes unblinking, and I felt drawn into her gaze. Around me, the world faded, everything disappearing under the pull of her eyes. I knew where I was going, and still couldn’t resist.

The animalia temple came into focus, the spiral of statues surrounding me. I no longer had to walk through them, but woke in the center. The hole continued to bother me, the smooth feel of it, the way I wanted to lie down in it and sleep for a thousand years.

Ox shook himself free, pulling away from his position in the circle, following the spiral toward me. He set himself in the center of the circle, his glare all-encompassing as he looked at the other statues that had come alive but were hanging back from the circle.

“Cowards!” Turning to me, Ox said, “You are meant to serve us. You do not have our leave to obey the whims of an imperial master. We gave you our powers because you were to be our guard, the last defense against humans who would steal our gifts and enslave us.”

A laugh sounded through the temple, bouncing off the high marble walls. Then Spider spoke, although she did not move from her place. “Ox, you fool. That is not your order to give. That is not your throne to sit on. Wake from your own foolishness to think you can order the one who knows all magic to do your will.”

Spider’s words cut with brutal efficiency. Ox pulled back his shoulders, the image of his true form massive and unyielding.

“I will not take orders from one who betrayed her own people and lies down with mortals.” Ox turned toward her, and his footsteps rattled the temple as he looked about to charge.

“Stop,” I said, but my voice was weak, my throat closed over the pain of something I couldn’t name. “Stop this.”

Spider and Ox were still arguing, but then Owl brought her voice into it and Fox whispered in her neighbor’s ear, bringing even more chaos to the situation.

“Stop,” I repeated, but my voice was still too quiet.

There was an ocean of power inside me and all I had to do was give in to it, let it take over, and it would wash over all the animalia here. I could kill them all, I could do it, I knew. It would be a hard fight, but their power was one each, and I had all the magic.

I had watched Tallu catch lightning and I knew I could do that too, it was within my abilities. I could do any of the magic the animalia sent at me. They had given me the keys of their world and now thought to control me?

“Stop!” I roared, my voice shaking the entire temple. Dust floated down from the roof and with a wave of my hand, I dispersed it.

I was made of ice and forest and fire. I was all of the elements and all of the magic. I had an ocean inside of me, and I could end everyone here if I chose.

The animalia went quiet, and Ox turned to face me, his eyes brilliant red. He bowed his head, the horns I could see under his human facade pointed and sharp, twisting in toward each other. His shoulders bunched, his neck straining as he prepared to charge at me.

“Ox, my mother told me stories of you. How you carved the river that feeds Heron Lake. How your work in Forsaith turned the land fertile for generations.” I stepped forward because I had his strength in me. If he charged at me, it would be two mountains crashing together. Perhaps one of us would win, but the cost would be too great.

Holding out my hand, I could feel all the magic gathering on it. “Once you were the savior of mankind. You protected them from famine and starvation. And yet you abandon them?”

“You speak as though we had no reason to walk away from mortals who killed the One Dragon,” Owl said.

In front of me, Ox straightened, his anger coming back and his eyes flashing in fury. Smoke curled from his nostrils, and his teeth shone nearly metallic. Fox yelped, the sound turning into a scream, distracting me. I turned toward her and in that moment, Ox moved.