“Hope—can you understand a thing either of them are saying?”

Hope was silent for a long beat. Stop her. If you value the Dragon, if you value her as she is, stop her.

Kaylin looked once at Sanabalis, silver light emanating from his open eyes, his moving jaws. She then turned fully toward the old woman whose hand she held.

“Imelda! Imelda Erickson!”

For the first time since the light had enveloped Sanabalis, Mrs. Erickson, tears still dampening her cheeks, turned toward Kaylin, her brows raised in surprise, not sorrow. She blinked.

“Imelda,” Kaylin said, voice softer. “I need to know what you see when you look at my friend.”

“Your friend, dear?” Her voice was weaker, probably because she’d been shouting, or as close to shouting as Mrs. Erickson ever got.

“The Dragon. Lord Sanabalis. The Arkon. The man who was supposed to be testing you for magical aptitude. Remember?”

Kaylin heard sound at her back; lighter steps. Teela, in all probability.

“How strong are these symbols?” a familiar voice asked. Not Teela. Terrano. Of course it was.

“I don’t know. I think they’ll protect us from...whatever it is that version of Dragon exhales; I doubt it’ll help much against his jaws.” She couldn’t turn to face Terrano; she was too afraid to lose what she’d only barely managed to get: Mrs. Erickson’s attention.

“How much of a risk are you willing to take?”

“Do not do anything stupid.”

“You should seriously join us in the asylum,” he snapped. “You’d fit right in.” He muttered the only Barrani curse words she knew, and then added, “You can’t see what your friend can see.”

“You can?”

Hope squawked. Loudly.

“I can see what you can’t.” Terrano’s reply was terse.

“What exactly—”

“Not the right time for this,” he replied. “If I make it out alive, we can argue about it then.”

The steps Kaylin had heard were Teela’s; the Barrani Hawk reached out and grabbed Terrano as if he were an errant pickpocket clever and fast enough to rob her, but not fast enough to get away with it. She was silent; whatever she had to say wasn’t meant for Kaylin’s ears. Her expression made clear that Kaylin should probably be grateful for it.

Mrs. Erickson turned to Terrano, of all people, her eyes widening again, her mouth open but silent. She found her words. “Don’t hurt them,” she said, her voice a whisper. “They have been hurt enough. Don’t hurt them.”

Terrano’s brows rose, briefly, into his hair. “Me hurt them? You might not have noticed, but they’re sitting inside a Dragon.”

“They don’t mean harm. They don’t. They’re upset, they don’t mean harm!”