Myra sat watching Kestra run across the training ground, tossing her daggers up in the air over and over. Sunday—or Sarai's Day—mornings were set aside for Kestra and Myra time. No Jasper or war or politics. Those few hours a day every week were reserved solely for the two of them. Sometimes she'd had to call it off when times got busy, but they'd make it up and when they did, there was to be nothing and no one interrupting that time.

For the past few weeks, she and Kestra had spent that Sunday morning on the training field. Kestra had graduated fitness a couple of weeks ago, but she still made her run every day for half an hour. No pauses, no breaks, no sympathy. It was partly to keep her in shape and it was partly because Myra was a sadist who had earned her taste for other people's suffering training warriors.

As Kestra completed her last lap, she staggered to a halt next to Myra.

"You're doing this with me next time, Mum."

"Sure I am. As soon as you can keep up with me."

"It's not fair. You have a stronger war-gift."

"You asked for training," Myra replied. "You should have known this was coming." They lasped into silence.

"I know that after your kidnapping, you've started to think you're helpless." Myra began, starting the conversation she knew they needed to have. 'You're afraid and you're angry at yourself for having to be rescued. You've become the victim, Kestra. You've frozen. And you shouldn't be."

"I'm not—"

"Yes, you are. Because I was captured—before Dorgon—and I know what it does to you."

"You were captured?" Kestra asked. "When?"

"In the God-Born War," Myra said. "I was lucky; their MindWeavers

were either dead or busy at the time. Most valkyries who get captured only ever leave their chains when their minds are shackled. I only spent a day there, but it was a day that I couldn't escape. They had every exit covered. There was no way out. Or at least, no way that I could see then. "My mother saved me. She and Viktoria rode in, freed me and made the people who held me captive pay."

"Were you...were you..."

"If you're trying to say tortured, then yes. For a few hours before I was rescued. Still got the scars." The elves had a natural advantage at...persuasion when they use their magic.

"But that isn't what I'm trying to tell you." She persisted. "I froze. I was one of the best warriors in the army. I was deadly. I was a predator and I had killed dozens—hundreds—of elves like them, including my fair share of Elfin Lords. But I froze and I forgot all of that. I let myself become a victim the moment they clapped me in chains. I looked for a way out, but I didn't look hard enough. You're not a victim, Kestra. You're a survivor, and so was I. I didn't break when they tortured me. You came back to us with invaluable information that might very well save lives. So if they find you again, if anyone ever tries to hurt you, you have to remember. You are not the victim. You are not the prey. You are the survivor."

   Kestra nodded.

"I won't forget." She opened her mouth, then hesitated.

"What is it?" Myra asked.

"That wasn't the only thing that happened to you during the God-Born War, was it?" She asked. "I've seen your scars. You've hinted at things—your mother, what happened when you nearly lost your eye, the Lords you killed and what you did to do so. And I don't think that was the only time you got captured, or tortured."

"A lot of things happened to me in that war, Kestra." Myra said, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. "A lot of things that would make the ones with Medea look like a tea-party. And there are a lot more scars on my body—and many not visible at all—that you haven't seen. I still can't talk about all of them. But when you want to ask, I'll try my best to tell you."

"I don't need to know," Kestra said. "Whenever you're ready, or whenever it helps you to tell me what happened." Myra nodded and there was another long silence.

"Now, I want you back on that field." Myra said at last. "I'm going to come right at you. The only rule is that you fight as dirty as possible. Diaz won't care about

fair play, neither do I and neither should you." Kestra gave her a smile and walked

onto the field.

———

"Get up!" Myra shouted, after yet another round. "Now! I want you to start using your teeth and nails this time. They're not just for eating and

looking pretty, Kestra."

"I hate you." Kestra panted, staggering to her feet.

"I warned you that you would hate me before this was over." Myra said. "What are you waiting for, me to offer you a hand? Get on your feet and fight! I'm one hundred and twelve years old and you can't knock me down?"

"Human years. That's human years." Kestra croaked, but at least she struck halfway though the sentence, though punching a wall would have been more effective. Myra grabbed her hand and twisted her wrist. Her daughter let out a howl of pain, but remembered what she'd been taught and stood on Myra's foot. Hard. She maintained her grip and Kestra began to try to liberate her captured hand with her free one, only for Myra to strike too quickly and flip her. She landed on the cold, hard earth.

"Better," Myra smiled. "You're playing dirty. But you need to remember you only have one chance. When you get it, you strike hard and strike fast or you've lost that chance forever. Maybe your life too." Kestra was too busy massaging her hand to care.

"Pay attention," she snapped. "People often forget the first thing valkyrie warriors learn is the martial arts, and you need to be ready to fight with your fists. Come on. Let's have another round—"

"Myra!" Scarlet's call filled the air and she whirled around to see her hurried and frazzled heir rushed towards her. "Myra, we need you now. It's urgent."

"How urgent?" She asked, not wanting to disappoint Kestra.

"Urgent urgent. Code Eight urgent." Scarlet said grimly.

"Burn it all," Myra grumbled, drawing on Jasper's vocabulary. "Fine. I'm coming. Sorry, Kestrel. We'll have an extra long session next week."

"Oh, don't worry about me. Take as much time as you need." Kestra replied eagerly, still massaging her wrist. But Myra knew it wasn't that simple. This was meant to be their time. Their inviolable, uninterrupted mother-and-daughter-time.

"I'm sorry," she said empatheticly. "But I have to go."

"I understand." Kestra replied. "Should I come along too, Scarlet?" The War Heir shook her head, then added:

"Find the viziers, though. They're looking for you."

"I'm on it." Kestra said immeadietly, then left.

"What happened, Scarlet?" Myra asked.

"It's best if we explain it with the whole War Council there," Scarlet said, shaking her head. "Suffice to say, we've uncovered a new problem."

———

Myra stood at the head of Triad's makeshift war-room. Everyone seemed to have perfected the art of exchanging glances. Radek and Thorn conversed silently,

Scarlet and Mireia seemed to have developed hand signals and Zara was trying to

catch Myra's eye in vain.

"Scarlet?" Myra prompted. "You've gathered us all here for a reason. Tell us what happened. Unless we're waiting for Lilith, Tessa and Alysha to arrive?" Lilith, Tessa and Alysha were the Unit Generals of Miras. Given they covered foot soldiers, calvary and aerial legions respectively, they technically answered to Radek, Zara and Scarlet.

In reality, they were all absolutely loyal to Myra.

"This should be kept as secret as possible," Scarlet began carefully.

"We can trust the Unit Generals," Myra said sharply.

"Yes, but when we bring them in, we have to bring the rest of the Outer Circle of Generals as well..."

"And this needs to be kept amongst the six of us." Myra finished. "Very well then. Explain, if you will."

"Last night in Miras—all across the cities—there were a series of...attacks." Myra drew in a breath.

"Diaz?"

"Not as far as we can tell." Scarlet said, shaking her head. "Not her style. She's calculated, precise. You remember the way she poisoned you. The way she attacked Triad. These were random. The Calore, Lysandria and Miras embassies were burned. Statues of the Five Founders were desecrated. Small things like egged windows—mostly of the few elves and humans who live in Miras and then...eleven people were mobbed and killed. Seven humans, one elf and two valkyries who went down defending them."

"And the eleventh?" Myra asked.

"Another valkyrie—but they came looking for this one. She was one of Kestra's viziers."

"What?" Myra asked. "They killed a vizier? Which one?"

"The Vizier of Topaz, Donatella Río." Scarlet answered. "Stabbed and left to die on a forgotten alleyway. It's pretty gruesome."

"Goddesses above," Myra swore. "Who was this? And why yesterday?"

"Dozens of different groups, in every city. Thousands of people in total. Not Diaz, but my guess is people inspired by her. People who want the Alliance to end—and you and Kestra to be executed as false queens. As for why it all imploded last night...I have no idea."

Thousands, she thought numbly. Diaz has thousands of people willing to

fight and kill for her twisted cause. An army.

"Have we caught anyone?" Myra asked.

"A few. A gang of valkyries who killed three humans, but we can't find any of the ones who killed the others."

"Burning suns," Radek swore. "We're like Medea was in the Crimson War. We can't trust a single valkyrie, a huge chunk of our army are fighting against us and we have no clear battlefield to fight on. Only attacks in the shadows." He sounded almost admiring of Diaz's tactics; Myra filed a mental note to pound some sense

into him at some point. When the world wasn't falling apart.

"We need to find the people who did this—" Myra began.

"There's no point," Thorn interrupted. "So what? We catch two or three, more step up to take their place. Unless you want to make merciless examples like Medea did to the rebels, there's no stopping them. The only thing we can do is hunt Diaz down."

"And just wait for the next riots?" Myra demanded. "There's no way to prevent more people from dying once they began. No way to protect everyone."

"We have to end Diaz. She's the root of this." Scarlet said firmly. "We can't halt the riots or the murders. But once she's gone, these people lose their leader. Their rallying point. In the meanwhile..."

"Guard the viziers." Myra answered. "Protect Kestra and every other leader of the Alliance. And hunt Diaz down."

No one questioned her. They simply bowed low and left the room to fulfill her commands.

Despite the grim news, Myra smiled to herself. She was done with weakness, done with waiting, done with honeyed words and diplomacy. She was going to find Diaz and make her pay for every life she had taken, everything that she had done.

The Dragon was here, and it was time to roar.