The bed was surprisingly comfortable, all considered. Enfri would have thought a thin futon over a stone slab would have destroyed her back, but it had proven to be one of the more restful nights she'd had in weeks. Winds knew, her spine had been through enough in its time.

    It was her second time waking up in Chaya Domun. The previous day had been spent getting situated, for the most part. Enfri had only ventured out to get the basic lay of the land around her hosts' home, see to the quartering of Kolbat's crew, and try to get some sense of what the Aleesh here were like. She'd kept herself occupied, because that made it easier to ignore the monsters that had returned to haunt her.

    Fortunately, Enfri had come to a decision on that matter.

    You cannot hide from us, girl, Shoen rumbled in her mind.

    Oh, you caught me off-guard when you came back, I admit, Enfri said. It was the first time she replied to the spooks since their return. But if you think I will ever hide from the likes of you again, you're mistaken.

    What nonsense. Know your place, child.

    You need to learn yours, dead man. Now shut up, and I swear if I even think you beasts are peeping in on me while I'm getting dressed, I'll eat a whole bucket of that shaved ice they make here, and we can all suffer together.

    The sense Enfri received from her more dastardly ancestors was a satisfying mixture of outrage and surprise. It was highly gratifying when Shoen and the others retreated and gave her some peace.

    She'd learned the hard way that forcing the spooks out of her thoughts only opened her up to them more in the long run. They'd never liked it when their perception of their authority was challenged, so Enfri had guessed they'd prefer to flee rather than take their lumps like decent folk. Yora and Inwé might have been forced back into the shadows, but Enfri meant to carry on with the confidence they'd given her.

    After all, Papa had promised. He was always with her.

    Enfri slid off the stone block that served as her bed to get ready for the day. She wore the silk nightdress she'd packed along in her bags rather than whatever those tiny, linen garments her hosts provided were supposed to be.

    The Aleesh of Chaya Domun had some funny ideas about what counted as being clothed or not— even when it came to night clothes— and they seemed to think that the higher one's social status, the less they were permitted to wear. Whenever they saw Enfri fully covered with bodice and skirts, they seemed unable to decide what to make of her.

    Odjualla had tried explaining it all, but Enfri wasn't getting it. She'd known going in that her people would seem a bit foreign at first, but this was perhaps the one point Enfri found the most difficult to get a handle on.

    On the other hand, Kolbat and the crew seemed to be enjoying this aspect of Aleesh culture, though it was mostly just for the scenery. Several aviators had caught the sharp side of Enfri's tongue for what she called "ogling the locals".

    Setting all that foolery aside, Enfri found the jungle scents coming in through her window to be marvelously invigorating. Her view was a lovely one, full of thick and green leaves, the people bustling up and down the lane far below, and the silvery sheen of the lake beyond. She gazed out on the Reach as she ran a brush through her hair.

    They called the lake the Denriim. It provided a grand view when coupled with how high up Enfri was. She'd started thinking of Chaya Domun as nature's counterpoint to the Spired City. Dwellings were built— and carved, in some cases— into and around the living wood of the enormous trees surrounding the Denriim. Wooden walkways, almost as broad and impressive as Althandi skybridges, ran between the trees and were often concealed within the canopy. That had been why Enfri had mistaken the city as deserted when she first arrived. She'd actually been a great deal beneath the population centers at the time.

    However, the Aleesh generally preferred to feel dirt under their feet as they worked their trades, only going up into the trees when night approached; vertical travel was facilitated by surprisingly sophisticated counterweight lifts. The Aleesh set up the day markets on the ground, held festivals, or just strolled about. They slept up high, but they lived down below. Enfri had just had the misfortune of arriving late in the day when most everyone was heading upwards towards bed.

    Curiously, the Aleesh center of government was also on the ground. Perhaps it was Enfri's Althandi upbringing that made her assume that leaders must stand above everyone else, rather than support them from beneath. Whether the reason was truly symbolic or if there were actual practical reasons was something she'd yet to learn.

    One of the first things Enfri demanded to know, naturally, was if Chaya Domun condoned the ownership of slaves. If that answer had been a yes rather than the emphatic no she'd received, Enfri might've been tempted to wander off and let Elise have these people. As it turned out, Chaya Domun had been founded by Aleesh outcasts fleeing from the empire in the final days before the death curse. Many of them had been slaves themselves. It wasn't a practice they were about to bring with them into their new lives in the Reach.

    Enfri felt immeasurably better knowing that many of her worries about the Reach Enclave had been baseless. In all honesty, the only way it could've been going better was if Elise threw herself at Enfri's feet and begged forgiveness for her crimes.

    It brought a little smile to Enfri's face when she imagined it.

    Her hair was soon free of tangles, which was a miracle in and of itself in this humidity, and Enfri set the brush down. Before going to the closet where her things were kept, she lingered at the window for another moment. She was about to lean her head out and get a better look at the people on the walkway below, but the strangest creature hopped onto the window sill to bar her path.

    Enfri recoiled back and gave a tiny shriek. She kept her hands up and ready to fend off an attack, but the creature wasn't making any aggressive moves. The two of them sat staring at each other with wide eyes.

    The animal was little bigger than Enfri's closed fists pressed together, and it looked, of all things, like a tiny, fuzzy man. It had bright orange fur and a black face with a muzzle somewhat like a hound. A long, prehensile tail curled behind it, and it stared at Enfri with big, inquisitive, brown eyes.

    And it was absolutely the most precious thing Enfri had ever seen.

    Enfri crouched down so her face was level with the animal and breathed out a soft sound of wonder. Unexpectedly, the fuzzy-man-thing hopped from the window sill to the top of Enfri's head and sat there. Enfri startled, but quickly found herself squealing with delight. It was grooming her! Could anything possibly be more adorable?

    The thick wicker door into Enfri's room opened, and Odjualla stepped in. She wore a gossamer skirt with tassels on the hem and a wrap around her upper body that let her magnificent baby bump peek out. She carried a basket of linens for the bed under one arm and balanced a bowl of fruit in the other. Odjualla took one look at Enfri and her visitor and got a broad smile. "I see you met Zette."

    "Zette?" Enfri asked, pointing at her new hat. "You know this miscreant?"

    Odjualla laughed. "He belongs to Tola. Better to say that Tola belongs to him. Monkeys like to choose their master, and it is often the fool they think will give them the largest portion of their meals."

    Enfri giggled as she stroked the end of Zette's tail. His fur was so soft and fine, like a kitten's. "So, this is what a monkey is. What's he doing in my hair?"

    "Looking for bugs," Odjualla said matter-of-factly.

    Enfri gasped. "The nerve. You'll find no vermin on my head, blustering villain."

    "Pray he does. If Zette leaves someone's head hungry, he is liable to leave a parting gift you would not appreciate, Your Majesty."

    "He wouldn't!" Enfri said, aghast.

    "He would."

    An appeasement is needed, Enfri thought. She plucked a dried fig from Odjualla's fruit bowl and offered it up to Zette. The extortionist monkey squeaked happily as he snatched Enfri's offering and hopped down to the floor.

    Odjualla set the fruit bowl down on Enfri's table and took the basket of linens to the bed. "I believe you have earned his eternal love, Majesty."

    "For the price of a fig, I'll take it." She crouched low to the floor next to Zette. "I'll be sure to keep a few treats on hand, so feel free to come see me anytime."

    Zette squeaked a reply between mouthfuls of fig.

    Odjualla pulled the used linens from Enfri's bed and began laying out fresh ones. "If the fruit does not satisfy you, Majesty, Uncle Therrak invites you to join him for breakfast. His cook is said to make the best fithias in the Reach."

    Enfri ducked into the closet and closed the door after her. "Fithias? That's not Aeldic, is it?"

    "I could not say for certain. It is poached serpent with a sweet and spicy sauce. Very light, which is preferred for a late breakfast."

    Enfri pulled her nightdress off over her head. "I'm sorry, did you say serpent? As in a snake?"

    "You will find most of the meat here comes from reptiles, Majesty. Arkathons rather than beef, alligators rather than pork, and serpents rather than chicken. Though, we do enjoy good poultry, also."

    Enfri shuddered. She had a sudden and very vivid recollection of the one time she'd eaten arkathon. It has to be better cooked, she told herself. It just has to be.

    It posed a challenge to sort through her clothes when most of the light was shut out by the closet doors. She was vaguely aware of Zette scratching and making his little monkey noises against the wicker frame. "I can't help but notice you've lost your Melcian accent," Enfri said.

    Odjualla hummed. "I noticed this myself. It is like... I needed only be reminded of who I really am before the rest of me fell into line."

    "But you won't go by Ohnri. Wouldn't you want to be known by your original name again?"

    "I have been Odjualla far longer than I was ever Ohnri. Besides, this is the name my Lautha calls me by. Would you change your own if you had another, when Her Highness whispers 'Enfri' in your ear with such passion?"

    "Winds," Enfri murmured. "I guess I didn't think of it like that. And... hold on, how'd you know how Jin..."

    Odjualla started giggling. "Some things you just know, Majesty."

    Huh. Fair enough. Enfri selected a local skirt, a pale cream-colored one that fastened low across her hips. It would've been just barely acceptable in Althandor. Here, it was downright conservative. "And there's been no trouble over you being here? I couldn't take it if you got in trouble after all you did to help me get here."

    "I believe I would have been, Majesty. Fortunately, the Founder spoke for me and gave thanks that I played a role in bringing you here." She affected a haughty sniff. "You may find that I have become a local celebrity. Were I not so obviously in no need of a spouse, I would be presently drowning in suitors."

    "I'll do Lautha and little Vinri a kindness and keep you honest." Enfri squinted at the blouse in her hands. Where in the king's name would she have picked up a cropped blouse this bright shade of green? Hadn't she seen Starra wearing this right before leaving Sandharbor? Enfri deliberated over it and decided she'd rather sacrifice a little modesty than melt in the heat and humidity again. The blouse went on over her head. "What's Landon been up to? I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon."

    "Making up for lost time. He meets with the elders, learns what he can of our people. I believe he feels much as you do. Excited and overwhelmed at once."

    "I'm still not sure how to take everything," Enfri said, her voice muffled by her struggles with the garment. "Everyone I've met is being so accommodating and polite, but I can't shake the thought that most of them would rather I wasn't here."

    "Wish you were not here, maybe," Odjualla said, "but do not mistake how we wish the world to be for what we would rather it be. These are not the same. To the last, the Aleesh would rather face the truth of how the first summit makes war against one another. Better this than burying our heads in the mud like a frightened hydraling. We hide from Althandor, not from ourselves, so we would rather face the reality that a choice lies ahead of us as to which empress Chaya Domun will recognize."

    "It can't be easy," Enfri said softly. "When all's said and done, you don't know if you can trust either of us."

    Odjualla chuckled. "Easy? Whatever gave you the idea that doing what is right is ever easy?" She sighed, halfway between wistful and content. "This is what has been passed down since the Founders first came here. Taking the moral and right path is often so hard it makes you wish to weep."

    These children only believe that because they lack power, Shoen said, barging into Enfri's thoughts like an unwelcome stink coming off a midden heap. It falls to you to give it to them. With enough power at their command, they will conquer this land from the daan, rather than hide in it like stowaways. Like refugees!"

    Your Majesty, Enfri thought in a tone so sweet she knew even Shoen couldn't miss the mockery in it. This sounds to me like a lesson they've learned from your mistakes. The dead don't often get chances like that, I think. Be more appreciative.

    How dare...

    I'm getting dressed, right now. Shaved ice, remember?

    Shoen tore himself from her mind with an angry Bah.

    When Enfri did the wrenching, it left her with a headache. When the spooks did it themselves, she felt euphoric. Yes, having the spooks back was far more manageable than she feared. And what made it all so much sweeter was that the Aleesh of Chaya Domun had so far shown themselves to be absolutely nothing like the last Dragon Emperor of Shan Alee.

    Winds, they even cursed at things using his name. That had the unfortunate effect of sending Enfri into a giggle fit whenever someone started cussing. She got a wild kick out of it every time she heard the phrase "by Shoen's stained breeches".

    Enfri hoped Inwé and her father were enjoying Chaya Domun as much as she was. She couldn't wait to show Ban this place, and Moon was certain to fall in love with the tree dwellings. An idle fancy that either House Karst or House Yora could hold a wedding here was difficult to set aside.

    She emerged from the closet. Zette was immediately underfoot, his fig long since devoured, and he started up squeaking excitedly at Enfri's return into his field of vision. Odjualla finished up with making the bed and gave Enfri's outfit her appraisal.

    "Oh my," Odjualla murmured. "Far bolder than yesterday."

    Enfri tried covering herself by crossing her arms. Between the low rise of her skirt and the high rise of her blouse, she was leaving little to the imagination.

    "Oh, um... one thing, Your Majesty." Odjualla came up to her and adjusted Enfri's skirt ninety degrees. "You would be showing Chaya Domun your fabled backside. The slit is meant to bare the thigh."

    Enfri pulled an anxious face and wondered if it was too late to reconsider the choices that had led to this point. She touched at the line of dragon tattoos running down her right leg, remembering the spooks' protests when she first got them. "They don't mind body art here, do they?"

    "No, not at all. It is common enough. Why? Did someone say something?"

    Enfri let out a relieved exhale. "No one of consequence."

    She then gasped as Odjualla tugged hard on Enfri's blouse to pull the collar down over her shoulders.

    "There," Odjualla said in satisfaction. "If you are displaying your tattoos, it is only right you show the Storyteller."

    Enfri did a turn to look herself over. Bold, indeed, but she thought at least she'd managed an outfit within the bounds of good taste in Althandor— if barely. She left her room, and Zette jumped to her shoulder to come along for the ride. Enfri let out a pleased giggle at having him there.

    Her room was at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, all carved from a single piece of polished wood. It was steep enough that Enfri got a small bit of vertigo as she made her way down to the bottom. In the manor hall, she found Therrak Velahrai Second Summit already sitting at table with his son, Tola.

    For a manor, Enfri thought this one was rather small compared to even her own estate in Ecclesia. Space came at a premium in the interior of a tree trunk, after all. There was only the one hall and no wings. Not even corridors towards other rooms. The rooms were arranged more vertically, with spiral staircases that might have actually been grown rather than carved. Everything was golden, solid wood, polished until it gleamed. Every surface, every floor, and every wall. Accents came from brightly colored textiles, intricately woven into mesmerizing patterns, that hung like tapestries. There were also flowering plants in silver urns, stone sculptures with little bubbling fountains, and a few taxidermic hunting trophies.

    It was astonishing how despite its size, the manor felt incredibly open. It was difficult to tell precisely where the balcony ended and the interior began, as the furnishings just sort of spilled outside like it didn't truly matter.

    Tola and Therrak rose from their seats at Enfri's arrival. Both men touched fingertips to their chests in their manner of greeting. Therrak appeared much like his son, strikingly fair for an Aleesh though more grizzled than the younger man. He also wore his long, golden hair free but for a few small braids woven through the length, and there was a short trimmed beard on his chin. Tola was in the same huntsmen's attire as when Enfri met him, and Therrak wore an open-fronted robe that bared his chest.

    Therrak's eyes dropped to Enfri's midriff, which nearly earned him a sharp word. "Well met this morning, Majesty. I... did not take you for a warrior."

    Enfri blinked, wondering where he'd gotten that idea. It must've been something about her tattoos. Maybe it was usually their fighters who inked themselves.

    "I took her for one," Tola said, his tone dark. He gave Enfri a flat look.

    "Oh, the spear thing," Enfri said. "Sorry about that, but the man who trained me taught me it was better to show you don't mean to be bullied."

    "A great warrior, your Master of Arms?" Tola asked.

    "My First Knight," Enfri corrected. "And yes, he is."

    Therrak gestured towards an empty chair at the table. "Will you join us for breakfast, Majesty?"

    "I would like to, but I should see to my crew down below. I really didn't mean to sleep in so late."

    Therrak nodded graciously as he and Tola sat down again. "In that case, I would suggest you sample the local fare among the day markets, Majesty. I believe there is no better way to learn of a people than eating their food."

    "I'll have to do that. I saw a lot, yesterday, but there was too much to try in just one day."

    Zette suddenly jumped down from Enfri. He scampered to Tola and climbed to sit on his shoulder. Enfri was a little disappointed to see him go. She'd been growing quite fond of the little monkey.

    Odjualla finished up in Enfri's room and came downstairs. Once again, the men rose to their feet and made the same gestures and polite greetings. They invited her to join them, but Odjualla declined, citing a coming rainstorm which needed to be prepared for.

    "A First Knight," Therrak said, returning to the previous discussion once Odjualla was gone. "If you would forgive such audacity, Your Majesty, I would speak of my hopes that yours is less of an uncouth rogue as the other we have met."

    Enfri wanted to snarl a bit when she thought about Cardin. "I won't lie. Ban's a little rough around the edges. He's... not the most proper knight I've met, but he's a good and honorable man. Among the best I've ever known."

    Tola sniffed. "And he is not Aleesh."

    "He is now," Enfri replied. "He and everyone else that chose to join me defied the Highest King to do it."

    Therrak patted his son on the shoulder. "Your words are ill chosen, my son. Remember of our imperial guest's coming from the outside. She is accustomed to the cosmopolitan ways of the Five Kingdoms." He nodded to Enfri. "Forgive our distrust of any who do not bear the green and gold, Majesty. Such has been our way since Shoen's Sin. Better to avoid the outsider than invite doom upon our people."

    Enfri glanced in the direction Odjualla had left. "I've learned some of the measures you take to keep it that way. I hope no one will have to be ndopu uche ever again now."

    There was a scratching sound against the table, and Enfri noted it was Tola's nails making tracks in the varnish. Enfri blinked when she saw the dark look in his eye.

    "What would you know of it?" Tola asked so quietly it was barely audible.

    "Still your tongue," Therrak told him, not harshly but firmly.

    Tola ignored him and took Enfri's non-plussed expression as leave to continue. "You ride with Altieri." He said the name with a twist in his lip. "With Irdish and Dellish. With Althandi. You speak as they do, and you lie with a daughter of House Algara."

    "Tola, your words go too far," Therrak snapped.

    Enfri raised a palm. "No, it's alright. He hasn't said anything inaccurate." She raised her forefinger, keeping her eyes on Tola. "Except one thing. He implied I don't know what it's like being hunted for being Aleesh. I daresay I know what it's like a fair bit more than he does."

    Tola slapped his palms against the tabletop and rose to his feet as he glowered at her.

    "How many black hounds have you seen?" Enfri asked calmly. "How many times have you huddled in brush while a coterie of them tracked you? Have you ever felt one of their blades pierce your skin? Have you ever felt their elder magic seize on your bones?" She frowned and let some of her simmering outrage finally leak into her voice. "Until you do, until you experience what it's like to have the royal assassins hounding your every step as you flee alone and dying of thirst into a desert, don't presume to tell me what I do and do not know about being hunted."

    "Tola," Therrak said quietly, unable to look at his son. "You shame me before the first summit."

    Scowling, Tola left the table. Zette jumped down from his shoulder to remain behind, earning a sharp look from his master. After giving Enfri one last heated glare, Tola stormed out of the manor.

    Enfri sighed. "I apologize. I shouldn't have been so rude about it."

    "The fault lies with him," Therrak said. "I am afraid he and many of the other huntsmen are swayed by the words of your aunt. He desires a return to the days when our people were dominant, and Elise Alinwé First Summit is quick to make such promises."

    "Then I guess it's my job to convince everyone my way's better," Enfri said. "I feel terrible, leaving after causing a fuss, but I really should get to my knight before she and the Corsair start to worry."

    Therrak rose to his feet and touched his chest. "Do as needs to be done, Your Majesty. You shall be welcome within my home for as long as you remain in Chaya Domun."

    Enfri thanked him before leaving the manor. Zette must've decided that Enfri would need an escort, because he jumped onto her shoulder before she left. Together, she and her new monkey friend took a lift platform all the way down to the jungle floor.

oOo

    Walking through the day markets of Chaya Domun, Enfri experienced something she hadn't ever known before. Anonymity.

    True, she'd been under a memory ward until she was eighteen, but that wasn't quite the same thing. All her life, she'd been out of the ordinary. So now, surrounded by people who looked more or less exactly like her, she blended into the crowd for the first time in her life— one more head of golden hair among hundreds. Even when she explored the area around Therrak's manor, she'd been in her foreign clothing, and anyone who looked at her was able to easily guess who she was. Here, dressed in this immodest getup, Enfri was practically invisible.

    It was marvelous.

    Kolbat, Darva, and the crew hadn't been far. They tended to draw attention wherever they went, so Enfri asked them to keep some distance as she explored. She wanted to experience Chaya Domun, so the crew would watch over her from a good ways off.

    "Where should we go first?" Enfri asked the monkey on her shoulder.

    Zette squeaked.

    "We should just go as the wind takes us, you say? Alright, then."

    Enfri soon realized that she wasn't quite as unnoticeable as she first thought. She often felt an itch between her shoulder blades as eyes followed her. Now and then, she'd notice the merchants running stalls scratch their chins or run their hands over their hair as they stared at her passing by. It was almost enough to make Enfri self-conscious before she understood the reason.

    They were staring at her tattoos. Odjualla said that body art wasn't uncommon, and Enfri saw several men and women with inked patterns on their brown skin. Most of them were floral or insect designs, not dragons. Nor were they quite as extensive as Enfri's. Few had more than a single tattoo on a shoulder or forearm. Enfri had full sleeves down both arms and a leg, and a line down her abdomen.

    Thankfully, she seemed to pass without much comment. Still out of the ordinary, but not enough to elicit much of a response. Nobody appeared to connect a strange girl with a lot of ink with the talk of a second Dragon Empress waltzing into town.

    The day markets weren't much different from the ones she'd seen in other kingdoms. The stands loaded with produce and goods reminded her a lot of the dockside merchants in Ecclesia. Most of the stalls were built out of a tough and flexible sort of wood that was common here, called bamboo.

    Enfri thought it would be remiss of her to not indulge in a little shopping. Her purse of Five Kingdoms scubs, shiffs, and marks was something of an oddity, but the merchants seemed to think silver was silver whether it came in a coin or a little ingot the size of a forefinger. Though, most did pull out fine scales to weigh Enfri's coins before accepting them.   

    Enfri supposed the standardization of currency was another thing Althandor had done right in the last six hundred years.

    The scents coming off the food stalls were enough to make her ravenous. She sampled a skewer of meat covered in a rich sauce and learned that alligator was much tastier than she'd assumed. For Zette, Enfri bought a pouch of dried dates, which the monkey was pleased beyond measure to receive. He devoured the entire bag in short order. There were a few foods Enfri had to dredge up a lot of courage to try, like roasted ants. They tasted like nuts, of all things. Enfri had fried bread glazed with sugar, shaved ice flavored with fruit syrup— not so much as to give her a headache this time— and the highlight of her day, a patty of ground arkathon meat on a thick bun with cheese, onions, and pickled cucumbers.

    After about an hour of gorging herself at food stalls, Enfri lounged on a bench within the shade, feeling absolutely stuffed. Zette sat beside her and poked through the paper bag of roasted ants, munching on what Enfri hadn't been able to finish. She really hadn't cared for them all that much.

    She watched the people strolling past and just marveled at them. Aleesh, and so many of them. Golden hair, green eyes, and brown skin. It finally struck her, the full weight of the fact that she finally knew what her people were really like. They weren't the fiction from Deebee's stories when she was growing up. They weren't the monsters she'd imagined when she learned about the horrors of the old empire. They were just people.

    But that didn't mean there weren't still a few shocks in store for Enfri. Winds, no.

    Two Aleesh women walked past Enfri's bench, chatting with each other. Their hair was worn up in high ponytails, and their lips were painted a deep blue color. Very pretty, the both of them. But the most striking thing about them was how instead of arms, they had leathery wings like those of a bat.

    Enfri watched the harpies walk by from out of the corner of her eye. She'd never seen a harpy before, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself.

    "Gotta wonder, do they scare you?"

    Enfri nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped her head around and found Cardin leaning over the back of her bench. "You got a lot of nerve."

    She saw Kolbat and Darva coming towards her with dangerous expressions. Enfri waved them off, not wanting to start a scene. Kolbat didn't look pleased at allowing Cardin so close to Enfri, but she gave her a nod of acknowledgement. Darva leaned his back against a tree and glared daggers at Cardin. The rest of the crew spread out, making a perimeter against any other of Elise's knights who might show up.

    Cardin flicked the brim of his fedora. "Come on, lass. You can't expect me to believe you got no qualms over this place being filled with shifters, can you?"

    "For your information, I don't." Enfri crossed her legs and faced away from him. "They're every bit as much Aleesh as we are. Probably more."

    "Well, I can't argue with you there. Good on you. See, I was thinking you'd have some nasty opinions about shifters."

    "My first minister is a selkie," Enfri retorted. "One of my most trusted advisors is a vampire. If anything, I figured it'd be you lot who'd have ugly ideas about them."

    "Like you said, they're Aleesh." He hopped over the back of the bench and lounged beside her. Zette scurried to Enfri's shoulder and eyed the newcomer warily.

    "Do you need something?" Enfri demanded.

    "Just spied you sitting over here, thought I'd pay my respects. And... maybe there was something I wanted to ask you."

    "Make it quick, if you don't mind."

    Cardin still didn't look towards her. He chewed the inside of his cheek in an anxious manner. "Saveen's doing alright with your group? She's safe?"

    "Safer than she was with yours," Enfri snapped. "No perverted old dragons trying to force her to be his mate."

    Cardin scowled. "Look, the Watchman wasn't what I'd call a respectable fella. You won't catch me shedding any tears over him."

    "If we're asking after dragons in each other's company, can I ask about Adar?"

    Cardin rubbed at his jaw. "Aye, the Ascendent's fine."

    "Is he here?" Enfri asked quietly.

    "He is." Cardin looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You want to see him? I could make it happen."

    Enfri couldn't imagine he was offering without an ulterior motive. "What would that cost me?"

    "Elise has an offer for you."

    "Ah," Enfri breathed. "So, this wasn't just a chance encounter, then."

    "Nope. Here's the deal, and it's a one time offer. Take your crew and go, leave Chaya Domun to Elise, and she'll unlock her bond with Adar. He can head back home with you."

    Enfri let out a trembling breath. "After all Elise went through to take him from us? She'll just... let him go?"

    "She didn't expect these fools to actually consider choosing you over her," Cardin said, waving his hand dismissively. "Thing is, they are. If sending away her one gold dragon is what it takes to bring these folk to her side, Elise will do it in a fast minute. She'll do what she needs to, because Elise doesn't believe you can protect them like she can."

    "She's right," Enfri said, getting angry. "I can't protect them like she can, because she can't protect them at all. All she'll do is drag them into a fight with Althandor. I can't accept that offer, even if it breaks my heart that Adar is bound to Elise."

    Cardin frowned. "A fight with Althandor's gonna happen, one way or another. When the real war starts, better that the Aleesh have an empress with the will to win it."

    The real war, Enfri thought. "I have a counteroffer for my aunt."

    "This ought to be good. Lay it on me."

    Enfri shook her head and rose to her feet. "I don't think so. This isn't something for intermediaries. I think it's time Elise and I had a face to face talk."

    It bothered her that Cardin actually looked impressed. "Well, then. As you say. Shall I take you to the manor we're using?"

    "Into the lion's den where it'll be me alone with all twenty of her knights? I don't think so. Go ahead and bring your ivory dragon along if you're worried I'll try something, but we'll meet where everyone in Chaya Domun can see us. I'll wait here while you go and fetch Elise."

    Cardin winced. "Elise isn't the sort of lady you just up and fetch, lass."

    Enfri was losing patience. "Will you just ask her if she'll talk with me?"

    "Fine, fine. Can I tell her what this counteroffer of yours is gonna entail?"

    Enfri pursed her lips. "Something neither of us will like. A truce."