“Looks like we’re about to find out.”

Hope squawked, his grating angry bird voice much louder than usual. It had to be. The sound that appeared to have shattered the doors became louder as the thing that emitted it finally came fully into view.

“Serralyn says that Azoria isn’t giving us a warning—it’s entirely a Wevaran instinct. The desire to be the best or the strongest, the desire to survive, is what produces the adult that eventually emerges. The clutchlings challenge each other. They do it automatically. They don’t and can’t sneak up on each other; it’s one-on-one combat all the way down to the end.”

Kaylin half nodded; she was staring at Azoria Berranin. An’Berranin. If she’d expected Azoria to look like a mishmash of Barrani and spider, she’d been wrong. Azoria looked like a slightly deranged Barrani woman; she had the same black hair, the same fair skin, the same pronounced cheekbones, jawline, and long, elegant limbs. She wore Barrani clothing—a robe that was both simple and yet reeked wealth.

The only difference Kaylin could see was the eyes: Azoria had a third eye in the center of her forehead, and it was definitely not standard Barrani issue. It was red, and as Azoria stepped foot across the ruined threshold, it rose on a slender stalk.

Ah, no. She had other eyes that Kaylin hadn’t seen at first glance: they rose from the shadows of her hair.

“How dare you intrude upon my domicile?” she said, as the lids of the extra eyes opened, exposing a shining red.

“We’re Imperial Hawks,” Kaylin replied. “And we’re investigating a series of kidnappings and murders. The Eternal Emperor’s Law encompasses all of Elantra—and this house is part of Elantra.”

“Eternal Emperor?” she practically spat. “The Dragon?”

Kaylin nodded. Azoria’s eye stalks were swiveling, but she now faced Kaylin.

“I am no citizen of his accursed Empire,” Azoria hissed, eyes darkening in color. Kaylin looked at her mouth; it remained Barrani in shape and size. If devour was the correct word, it, like the darkness of the birthing place, was clearly metaphorical.

“There are special rules that govern the Barrani,” Kaylin continued, speaking in her official Hawk voice. “If your crimes involve only other Barrani, the High Court in the High Halls has the right of adjudication. If you wish to claim that exemption, you will have to prove that your crimes are uni-racial.