Leaving it unbuttoned, Dev went toward the east window but paused in front of a book that was lying on the floor. He pushed it with his toe into the light and saw it was a book about dragons written in the ancient language. The cover illustration depicted humans slaying a dragon. Unable to bend too far without opening his wounds, Dev flipped the cover open with his foot and used his toes to turn the pages. He studied the drawings, noting the different weapons that the people carried. With the right kind of wood and a bit of metal, Dev could carve most of them. He already had a good start on a few.

Inexplicably the image of the gray-haired man returned to his mind, and that made him think of the drawings he’d found, especially the one of the girl in the orchard. He went over to the desk and found the book that he’d slipped that picture into so many weeks ago, and he pulled it out.

The sight of it struck him hard in the chest, and he knew suddenly why the girl looked so familiar. She resembled one of the other black-eyed slaves, whose name Dev had never learned because they’d been under the Revinir’s mind control almost the whole time he’d worked in the catacombs. But he’d seen her in the hallways when he’d first gotten sent down there. He was sure of it.

He looked back down at the drawing. When had this been done? The edges were battered, and the image was yellowed with age. It couldn’t have been just a handful of years ago—it had to be much longer than that. So did that make this someone’s mother? Maybe Fifer would see the resemblance too, and know the name of the girl from the catacombs.

Dev felt a surge of hope, like he’d found a way to reunite the girl with someone, even though it was only a portrait. It was better than nothing. But his heart crashed just as quickly when he realized that if the drawing was of the girl’s mother, it couldn’t be his mother. And maybe that meant that this palace belonged to the girl… and not to him.

News from a Friend