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“What must we decide?” Sea Serpent asked, curled around her pearl, the tears of the world contained inside it.

“Any gifts the animalia have given to the people of the world have long since faded from memory. You—we—are legends. The great northern bear has become more important than Sea Serpent or Owl.” I shook my head. “Now is your only chance. The continent will be rebuilt. And if you choose not to participate, then new gods will arise.” I thought of how Koque had called Tallu a god, the line of emperors were gods of flesh. “The Imperium turned their emperors into gods. If you hide in shadows, the people of all the free nations will remember that you chose to walk away from them. They will speak of new gods; they will make them up with their stories. And those stories will become the truth.”

“You dare to try and tell us what to do,” Owl said. “When it was your death, your absence, that caused this mess!”

I shook my head, and lightning sparked from the tips of my hair. I opened my mouth and a snowstorm engulfed the animalia. I stamped my foot, and a wave of hot lava surrounded me.

“I must. If you have forgotten your place, then I will happily remind you of it.” I could feel the ocean inside of me, churning. Eager for something more, something⁠—

“Enough.” Sea Serpent’s voice was quiet, tired. “Owl, enough. I miss my people. I am returning home to them.”

Owl frowned, but the murmur of voices rose. More and more of the animalia wishing to return, wishing to see what had become of the people who once worshiped them. Owl turned to me, but I raised my foot again, slamming it down. The lava spread, melting the stone floor.

My chest ached. “Choose.”

Owl glared at me. “I would also return to the realm of men.”

“Good.” I let the lava cool, and the marble smoothed again, the room appearing untouched by my battle against the animalia.

Taking a deep breath, I extended my power, returning their gifts to them. They had so easily offered their magic when they thought I was a human who would become their slave, and now they seemed grateful to have it back again, gasping in relief.

The guilt of my blood fell away from them as I forgave them for the transgression, knowing that only because they had attacked me did I realize who I was.

“Will you force us to bow to you again?” Fox asked, her clever tongue pushing at the boundaries as she always did. I felt a wave of affection for her. It came from the original One Dragon, not from me.

“I am not the One Dragon you knew. Do as you will and I will respond in kind,” I said.

There was a dizzying shake, the world shifting on its axis, tilting as two places existed at once before it settled again and we were back in the banquet room.

Our bodies had never left, but what use did animalia have for human forms?

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but Tallu and the goblins had come to an agreement about the men who would remain. It even seemed there was a tentative trade agreement on the table, and the goblins had decided which of their tribes would reach out to the elves in Tavornai.

They were on the third course already, and Owl, still wearing a goblin face, stood. Her horns curled nearly in a circle from her temple to behind her head. She straightened her back, and her mask fell away.

As an animalia, she stood seven feet, her feathers so white that they looked silver, only a single fleck of black at the center of each. Her beak was hooked sharply and her talons clicked on the floor.

The Dogs tensed, and General Saxu dropped his hand to his sword.

“It has been brought to our attention that we have been too long away from this world,” Owl said. “We are interested to see what has become of it in our absence.” Her eyes fixed on General Saxu. I remembered the small carved figurines in his tent. Owl had been in the front. “And who remains loyal to us.”

One by one, the animalia stood, shedding their disguises.

Then they were gone, leaving only empty chairs behind. Tallu opened his mouth, but even he seemed unsure how to continue.

“We are in a new world,” Tallu said finally. “With the animalia returned, perhaps peace is truly possible again. Let us pause for today and come back again tomorrow.”

The goblins agreed, although I could hear their whispers, and after they left, I put my hand on Tallu’s wrist. “I must speak to you.”

Thirty-Eight

Tallu looked at me, his eyes searching my face, and I was glad that everything I felt must be below the surface because all he did was nod and lead the way back to the rooms we had claimed as our own.

General Saxu broke off from his men, his expression turning to a frown when he caught up with the two of us.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” he said. “I would by no means attempt to question you.”

“And yet I sense a question coming,” Tallu said.