Janel had no eyes for such disasters as she stood there, stunned and furious. Relos Var should have told them? Relos Var had known? Known combat would make the dragon more powerful, known Morios couldn’t be killed by violence?

But of course. Senera never would have betrayed Janel without her master’s approval, would she? This had been planned from the start.

Above Janel’s head, she saw Morios, now fighting two opponents. He was having a great time, despite the huge chunks of his scales that had been ripped away from where he’d freed himself of Tyentso’s magnetic caskets.

Wait. Why hasn’t he healed that damage?

“Don’t fight him,” she said aloud. The Name of All Things had said the only way to kill Morios was not to fight him.

Why in all the cold depths of hell had she assumed that the Cornerstone gave any answer but the literal truth? Senera could lie, but the Name of All Things never would. Morios couldn’t regenerate the injuries he’d inflicted on himself.

Janel turned around and began running toward what was left of the Temple of Khored.

61: UNDER THE WATERS

Atrine, Jorat Dominion, Quuros Empire. Three days since Kihrin made his way to the Culling Fields invisibly

As soon as Kihrin smashed the crystal, he knew he’d fucked up.

For one thing, the crystal hadn’t been solid. Rather than being a single piece of rock, the way every other Cornerstone he’d ever seen had been, this crystal formed a thin, hollow shell surrounding gems, talismans, and objects whose purpose he couldn’t fathom. Under Urthaenriel’s touch61, the crystal had shattered like glass.

For a second thing, as soon as he broke the crystal, the ground began to shake. Violently. Water began to splash onto the three of them, as their cube of air buckled and twisted.

And finally, he felt like he had been stabbed. Not physically stabbed. Kihrin felt like someone had just shoved a sword through his soul.

“Thurvishar—” Kihrin grabbed the throne for support. “Something’s wrong.”

He glanced at Thurvishar just as the wizard’s eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the ground.

“What just happened?” Brother Qown asked, running to Thurvishar’s side.

“I don’t know—” Kihrin didn’t finish the thought. He brandished Urthaenriel as she screamed a warning to him.

The water curtain parted.

And Relos Var walked into the throne room.

Morios had all but leveled the duke’s palace but had left Khored’s temple—nearly as tall—alone. As if destroying that would be rude.