Maev slowly sat down again, loosening her fists. At her side, she saw Tanin ease too. He slipped his dagger back into his boot.

"The Prince of Eteer?" Maev said, letting her voice carry across the table. "Eteer's just a myth." She snorted. "A land of stone towers, of men bedecked all in bronze, of thousands of souls living in a town the size of a forest?" She spat. "Ain't no such place in the world."

The villagers looked at her, scratching chins and stroking beards.

"Eteer's real enough," said the old man with the muttonchops. "My cousin, in the next town over, he's been there himself. Trades there, he does. He ships in furs and brings back jewels and spices and metal tools. Aye, a land of stone towers it is, of walls taller than trees." He gestured around at the village; a few scraggly huts rose around the muddy square. "There's more to the world than the north. We here, we're a mole on the arse of the world. But Eteer now—that there's a golden crown."

Old Wag leaped onto the tabletop, spraying mud from his boots across plates and knocking over a mug of ale. "And there's a weredragon there! It's true, it is. Traders talking all about it. My old nan swears she heard it from one who saw the beast. A blue dragon flying over the sea. Locked in the tower now, he is, chained in his human form. Can't hurt no decent souls like that. His own father put him there." Wag nodded emphatically. "If my son were a weredragon, I'd lock him up too."

Men roared with laughter. "Your son can't even work a grinding stone, let alone become a dragon!" one woman called out. "Head of mush, that one has."

Maev looked at her brother. He stared back at her, eyes somber.

"Maev," Tanin whispered. "Tell me you're not thinking of . . ."

She grabbed his hand and tugged him up. She pulled him away from the table. Ignoring calls from the villagers, she walked around the well, between two huts, and into open fields.

The stars shone above, crickets chirped, and an owl hooted. Fireflies danced above the tall grass. After the heat and noise and smells of the village, it felt good to walk here in darkness. They moved through the grasslands, heading deeper into shadows, for they were Vir Requis, creatures of the night.

"There is another," Maev whispered, eyes watering.

In the darkness, she heard Tanin groan.

"The drunken talk of fools," he said. He shoved aside the tall, wild grass, moving through the darkness. "People also say dragons eat babies, drink the blood of virgins, and piss molten gold. So they say a prince in a far-off land is a dragon." He barked a laugh. "What are you going to do, fly all the way across the sea, find this mythical land of Eteer, and look for a tower?"

Maev sighed and looked up at the stars. The Draco constellation shone there, comforting her, easing the pain of her wounds.