Zara shook her head and frowned. “This seems too big for us.”

“I know.” I wished I had something reassuring to tell her, but I didn’t want to lie. “The Mira Treaty should have taken care of all of this, but it didn’t. Our parents’ generation, and their parents’ generation, should have done something, but they didn’t. So it falls to us.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, and when Mother gets here, I’m going to tell her.” A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.

I grinned at her.

As the others went back to discussing schedules and all the people they needed to impress, I leaned back on the bench Aaru and I shared and watched LaLa and Crystal. They were still gazing up, crooning softly at the sky.

::Are you all right?:: Aaru’s question came against the palm of my hand.

I wasn’t. Even with the walls and rooms and vast hallways between us, I could feel the first dragon in the back of my thoughts, waiting for me to take her home. Even with roads and city and sky between us, I could feel the captive dragons as they suffered silently in their sickness. And here, in this chamber, I could feel LaLa and Crystal—entranced by this new place with new things for them to destroy, but missing the Fallen Isles so fiercely it hurt.

It was impossible to explain. It was bigger than mere words, and yet, more personal, too.

The first dragon was a child of the gods, born in the fires of their Fall. She’d fought conquerors until her final moments.

And now, seeing her arranged behind Apolla, as a symbol of imperial power—Aaru would have to see it for himself to understand.

Hristo would already understand; all his life, he’d known this feeling I was just discovering.

::Mira?:: Aaru looked down at me. “Mira?”

Abruptly, the sense of wrongness I’d felt earlier intensified. On the water spouts, both dragons stiffened and began low, anguished keening.

Everyone lurched to their feet, staring. Slowly, slowly, the dragons started flapping their wings, and their cries grew more frantic.

Aaru went completely still. Ilina and Hristo rushed for the dragons. Chenda and Gerel hugged each other. And Zara looked at me. “What is it?” she asked. “Why are they making that noise?”

“Earthquake.” The word came out monotone. “At best, it’s an earthquake.”

My sister’s face drained of color. “And at worst?”

“A third god is rising.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THE NEXT MORNING, A PALL HUNG OVER OUR SUITE as we prepared for the day. Everyone kept asking which island it might have been, or if the people might have had a chance to get to safety. And then, suddenly, we’d all go quiet, like talking about it made it real.

But it was already real.

Soberly, Ilina and I dressed in our dragon clothes—her in a sanctuary uniform, and me in a hunting dress and leggings—and put LaLa and Crystal in their gear. The dragons resented the restraints, but after last night, they needed the supervision. The last thing any of us wanted was to cause some sort of incident because of a grieving Drakontos raptus.