“It must feel good to be up so high, looking down at the world below.” Rahim combed at his beard with thick fingers. “Good to think about how little one’s problems can be when everything is small in the grand scheme of things, no? Was that not how you felt when you rode the azi, dear Likh?”

“I was mostly thinking about not throwing up,” my new asha-brother admitted, the latest recruit to House Valerian. The asha association had initially opposed his candidacy, but after his part in fighting the Faceless in Daanoris had been revealed, support for him among the other asha had been too overwhelming for the association not to concede.

“We’d best be going, Tea,” Khalad reminded me with a small smile. “Let’s not keep Mistress Parmina waiting.”

I laughed at that, then cast my mind out, searching—and finding—my target as its familiar presence seeped into my thoughts like molasses over scones. The asha association had wanted me to kill the azi. With both Mykaela and Empress Alyx’s blessing, I had refused. Controlling the azi made the association wary to plot directly against me. And a docile azi, much to my surprise, had brought even more tourists to Ankyo. Where my attempts at invoking empathy in the asha leaders had failed, greed had prevailed. “It’s here,” I confirmed.

The words were barely out of my mouth when the azi landed, not ungracefully, several meters away. The sight of the three-headed dragon was familiar to many of us in our gathering, but Councilor Ludvig and Rahim swore in unison, staring at the large daeva. Likh gripped Khalad’s arm.

“Good luck,” Zoya said, as the Heartforger began clambering up the beast’s back, assisting a nervous Likh once he found steadier footing. “Just so it’s official, Tea, I will be crashing in your room while you’re away.”

I rolled my eyes. “Everyone knows you’ll be in Shadi’s room, Zoya, no matter what Mistress Parmina promised you.”

The asha grinned as the others dragged personal trunks up the azi, the creature sitting quietly with minimal fuss.

“Be careful,” Mykkie told me. “None of those reports we’ve received from Istera match what we know of daeva. Keep an eye out, and you and Althy watch over Likh. This is only his second trip outside of Ankyo.”

“I will.” I hugged her. “Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I will try. I shall let Fox know of new developments here, so he can relay them to you.” She stepped back and looked up at the azi. It crooned and bowed its head respectfully at her.

“You better not get into trouble in Istera without me around,” Fox said.

“You better not get into trouble in Kion without me around,” I shot back, and nearly knocked him over with the force of my embrace.

“Quit dillydallying,” Althy said from atop the dragon. “Or we’ll be all day trading good-byes.”