“We’ve killed dragons before, Janel. They recover. They heal. Just like we do. You can’t kill any of the Eight. We just won’t stay dead. And you can’t kill a dragon. They just won’t stay dead either.” She touched the spear impaling the dragon’s head. “Rest here. I’ll confirm the results with Thaena. She’ll know if this worked.”

I nodded even as I sighed and leaned back. I almost told her I’d be happy to check with Thaena myself, but I wanted to stay awake. I felt and heard the tenyé swirl and shift. When I looked up, Tya had disappeared.

I watched the swirling clouds overhead. Storm clouds were dissipating, as if they had only ever gathered because their dragon queen demanded it. Now they could bring snow and rain and life to other fields.

I’m not sure how long I sat there. Not very long, I think.

Then Relos Var said, “When I ordered Qown to help you, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”

52: THE BREAKING OF CHAINS

Jorat Dominion, Quuros Empire. Three days since Talon’s team won

“I wonder if it’s all of them,” Kihrin mused.

“What was that?” Qown asked.

“If all the dragons are children of the Eight Immortals. I mean, I spent four years stranded on Thaena’s sacred island because her dragon son, Sharanakal, didn’t want me to leave. And then there’s Aeyan’arric and—myself—”

Qown frowned. “What about Aeyan’arric and you?”

“Uh, never mind. My point is, I wonder if that will prove true of all the dragons?”

“Wow. Uh, now that’s a conversation I never thought I’d be having,” Ninavis said.

Janel looked at Brother Qown. “I think it’s possible. Maybe Relos Var’s fondness for going after family goes right back to the beginning.”

“Man’s got some issues,” Dorna commented.

“It changes things,” Kihrin said. He remembered comments from both Relos Var and the dragon Sharanakal. They’d recognized him not from his physical appearance, but by the “color” of his soul. If all dragons shared such an ability, then Aeyan’arric might well recognize him.

But was that good? What if Aeyan’arric hated her father?

“Why does it change anything?” Janel asked. “She’s still an angry dragon Relos Var is using to trap us here.”

He paused and waved a hand. “Keep going with the story. I need to think about this.”

Qown’s Turn. The Ice Demesne, Yor, Quur.

Brother Qown learned he could even spy on a god, when he realized Tya didn’t sense him. He’d been following Janel since she left, using her distinctive higher core temperature as his heat source. It proved unnecessary after she entered the Spring Caves. The stone monolith ran so hot Qown couldn’t stare at it lest he blind himself; it burned with the heat of an open forge.