Reading about the empire’s steady expansion over the years—its steady destruction of individual nations—wasn’t something that exactly thrilled me, but these histories would be the best place to look for information about the first dragon, her bones, and where I might find them.

Surely, in all these books, there must be mention of a dragon somewhere.

On the far side of the library, Aaru stood with a small book in his open palm. “The Book of Silence,” he said when he caught me looking.

“We have all of your holy books,” Nine said. “The others and I read them before our mission, along with copies of all your important documents and records. We have our own interpretations of your history, of course, but if I wanted to fit in, I needed to know what your people believe.”

“That’s . . .” I frowned and straightened.

“You don’t have to like it,” she said. “I do my job.”

“How long until we leave for the empire?” Zara asked.

“Half a decan.”

I exchanged glances with some of the others. The eclipse wasn’t so far away that we had time to just sit here in the middle of the ocean reading books. “Why must we wait? We’re in a hurry.”

Nine rolled her eyes. “You think we’re going to move a thousand people just to convenience you? Try to remember that you’re guests. If you want to find one of your own ships to sail to the Algotti Empire immediately, feel free. But the skimmer den is faster than any vessel from the Fallen Isles, so even with this half-decan delay, we’ll still be there before you. Try to be patient.”

I scowled. Our islands were rising out of the sea, and she had the nerve to lecture us about manners. “How long?” I asked. “Once we leave, how long will it take to get there?”

“Just a few days.”

“So fast.” Even so, that didn’t leave us much time to find the bones of the first dragon before we needed to return to the Fallen Isles.

Nine gave a pointed nod. “As I said, we’ll reach Sunder long before any Fallen Isles ship. For now, I suggest you enjoy the library and learn what you can before you meet our empress, and your new friends will help you find your quarters when you’re finished. If there’s anything you need, they will get it for you. And now, I’m going to change into proper attire.” Without another word, she pushed off the wall and left.

LATER, AFTER OUR “new friends” guided us back from the library to our quarters, Aaru returned to our earlier, aborted conversation.

“Are you all right with this?” He swept his hand around the room, indicating our situation, I thought, and not the small, confined space.

“Yes,” I said. “And no. And very much yes.” My whole body felt warm when I thought of the previous day in the rain, the way he’d kissed me and touched me, and the fire he’d sparked that made us both feel like we were flying.