“You know, brother, if you had done as you were asked, we might have allowed you to live.” Ryslind cradled the rod like an infant. “Naturally we both expected you to betray us. You never were the smart one, were you?”

“Keep the bloody rod,” Darnak said. His hair and beard had turned gray from the dust. “You’ve got your freedom. Let me take his highness home, and we’ll not be bothering you again.”

“Ah, Darnak. Do you really think it’s so simple? My brother would insist on hunting us down. You know it as well as I. He couldn’t live with this humiliation and defeat. We’d have to kill him sooner or later. Isn’t it more efficient to finish him now and be done with it?”

Straum hadn’t yet spoken. He seemed content to let Ryslind do the talking. Or maybe he was speaking through Ryslind, Jig wasn’t sure.

Jig pressed against the wall and pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt like water, and he didn’t know if he’d fall down as soon as he took a step, but this was a far cry better than he had been a few minutes ago. Even as he waited to see Straum’s legendary temper reduce Barius to ash, a part of Jig’s mind couldn’t let go of his awe at the magic he had used to heal himself.

“A pity the rod can’t be used to slay you outright,” Ryslind said. “One of its few weaknesses. Though I suppose I could transform you into one of Straum’s children. That might be a fitting end, to serve the one you tried to murder. Not forever, of course. Only for a few centuries. Or less, if you found the strength to rebel against him. You saw what happens to those who try.”

Jig looked past them, toward the exit. If they focused on Ryslind, he could probably sneak past without being noticed. Even Straum’s dragonchild appeared distracted by Ryslind’s last comment.

After escaping from Straum’s lair, it would be a simple march through the tunnels, across the forest, and back up to his own home. Assuming his legs lasted more than two steps, he’d still have to face ogres, hobgoblins, and who knew what manner of creatures, but what did that matter? He had survived all of these things before.

He managed one shaky step before someone spotted him. Riana wasn’t as enthralled by Ryslind’s cat-and-mouse game as the rest. Her eyes constantly scanned the cave, probably waiting for the best moment to flee, just as Jig was. She jumped when she saw Jig alive and moving.