Page 31

The dragon hesitated, baring its teeth viciously before screeching, He is the Imperium, we saw it in your mind. We are here to kill the Imperium.

The chorus of voices was crueler than the forest dragon; they dripped with venom. The creature was as single-minded as the Guardian, and I hoped that I could get through to it in the same way.

“Yes, he is imperial, but I offer you an opportunity to kill more than him. I will take the knowledge from the elder tree and use it. Come with me, help me, and we can rid Tavornai of imperials forever.” I gestured at the tree. “The elder tree already agrees with me.”

The dragon narrowed its eyes, spinning in the air around itself like a slithering snake. You have healed the tree. But he is still not welcome here.

“Then allow us the opportunity to get out of your domain.” I opened my hands, holding them up in the air. “I know you protected the children that settled here. We want to protect them as well.”

The only thing imperials bring is death and war. He will bring that to the children. The dragon’s accusation hit me hard, because I knew that I could not weave the magic needed to grow another dark forest, not even with the ocean of magic inside me.

“We won’t use the children,” I said. “I promise we will not. But in exchange, I need the seeds the elves used to grow the dark forest. I need the seeds so that I can grow more to kill the invading imperial army here in Tavornai.”

The dragon looked at Riini where Tallu held her protectively. His eyes were fixed on the dragon, but he shifted his weight onto his back foot. I could hear the whisper of electricity gathered in his heart. He was making plans, in case mine didn’t work.

And what if they are used to kill the Imperium’s enemies instead? the dragon asked. What if the last children of the great elves of Tavornai fall because of what I give you?

“I promise—” I started.

Oh, yes, you vow. What worth does the promise of one who beds down with an imperial have? The dragon swirled in front of me. I will give you a chance, but only because of the girl. She does not want him dead.

The smaller leaves that made up the dragon split apart, diving in all directions, swirling throughout the forest, returning one by one and dropping seeds in my palm. When I had a handful of seeds, the dragon reformed.

With a roar, the thousand voices of the dragon shouted, Leave!

Joxii, Tallu, and I turned, rushing down the bridge, passing Prince Hallu, the Bemishu twins, and Empress Koque. The twins did not need anything explained, running with us back toward the safety of the children’s village.

Joxii pointed at one of the outermost houses and said, “Here!”

We stopped, and my heart pounded in my chest, the handful of seeds poking into my palm. She collected her sister in her arms at the door, thanking us again, and Tallu and I retreated to Empress Koque’s house.

Koque and Hallu finally caught up to us and pushed open the door. We entered and Koque looked between us. “Well?”

“I can grow what we need. But I cannot do it alone.” I felt exhausted even saying the words. But I couldn’t make my words to the forest dragon a lie. Now that I had healed the poisoned elder tree enough to awaken it, I didn’t dare take the children from its sharp claws.

“You need the children,” Koque said, her voice falling thoughtfully. She turned to the open window. “There are some here who would be happy to help you. We can⁠—”

I held up my hand, shaking my head. “I can’t.”

I felt the truth inside me, as I had felt the tree earlier. The elves had grown it to shape children like Riini into assassins, to warp their magic so that the power of the forest became synonymous with death. But I wouldn’t play by its game. There were other options, now that I knew how to do what we needed to.

“You can’t?” Tallu asked. His brows twitched, and I knew that he wouldn’t ask in front of Koque but he needed to know why my plan had changed. So many of his own relied on mine working. Tallu was looking at the war against Kacha as though it was a game of strategy. I was changing the rules in the middle of his turn.

“The tree showed me what I need, and I think that with elves like Joxii and Sagam and as many of Namati’s that are willing, we can make it work. We don’t need to grow the trees like we did with the elder trees. We just need to plant the seeds.”

The memory of how to do it rose in me, and I saw seeds floating on the breeze, rising in the air higher, higher.

“Will it put you in more danger?” Tallu asked.

“No,” I said, unsure if it was a lie.

“To find the pirates, we will need to return to Saxu and Spider.” Tallu frowned. “Are you well enough to travel?”

“By dragon, yes. But we need rest, and I want to check on Riini before we leave, especially if we are taking her sister.” I raised a hand, cupping Tallu’s cheek. The corners of his eyes softened. “We will leave tomorrow.”

And hopefully I would not have any nightmares about what I had done. Hopefully while I slept, the ocean of magic wouldn’t drown me.

I had called on it again without thinking, and I felt like the pull of it grew stronger every time I did. This time, it had been almost impossible to break free, even with Tallu only a few feet away. What would I do when he was an entire battlefield or an entire country apart?