“What if they did?” Count Janel asked. “We don’t have enough information. And none of this explains the Yorans disguised as Joratese. Neither Senera nor Relos Var are Yoran, although I thought Senera was at first.” She picked three blades of tall field grass as they walked, braiding the strands. “Doltari, you say?”

“They’re more common in the west,” Brother Qown admitted. “They have a reputation for being a somewhat primitive folk.”

“Or at least not very good at eluding slavers.”

He coughed. “Yes. That as well.”

She squared her shoulders. “Fine. So all these are questions to which I must discover answers.”

“You must?” Brother Qown raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you done your part? Shouldn’t the rest be the army’s job?”

“Perhaps.” She snorted. “Probably. But I won’t spill all this onto someone else’s lap and let it be their problem. Whoever these people are, they used Tamin. They killed … I don’t even know how many people. I won’t ignore that.” She added, “Did you notice the prophecy too?”

Brother Qown paused, hoping she hadn’t grown better at reading him. “Prophecy?”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t spot it. Relos Var told Tamin the demon-claimed child would be his undoing. Which it was.” Janel stopped walking. She stood there, looking puzzled.

“Did you just think of something?”

“No, there’s something wrong—”

An elephant’s trumpet shook the ground, followed by a chorus of her herd mates. Her call sounded panicked. Then the whole herd started running, paying no heed to their human partners. Screams echoed across the grass plains.

Brother Qown recognized one of those cries: Ninavis.

“What’s going on?” Qown scanned the plain to see what might have upset the elephants.

The sky darkened.

An enormous shadow blanketed the forest, sailed out over the fields, slid back toward Mereina. The refugees ran.

Brother Qown looked up.

A gigantic form undulated across the sky, wings spread out like an enormous bird. The setting sun lit fire across the monster’s edge but couldn’t hide its shimmering white color. That opal shine reflected blue-and-purple depths as though it were formed from ice. Its head resembled a serpent, but no snake ever grew so large or soared on massive wings.

The dragon banked.

People screamed and dropped to the ground as the beast extended its wings, dropping down to swoop over the grassland.

The elephants, Brother Qown realized. The dragon was hunting elephants.

“Ninavis!” Janel screamed. She sprinted back toward the main group.

“Count! Wait!” he called out after her, but Brother Qown had as much chance of catching her as a dhole does of chasing down a falcon.

The dragon dove and snatched up an elephant in each front claw before pulling up, mighty wings driving it back into the heavens.