Ilina was already nodding. “That’s where he is, then. The empire. I . . . I don’t know whether to be scared or relieved.”

I reached for her hand and squeezed. If he was in the empire, then he was in danger from the empress and everything there. But if he was in the empire, he wouldn’t be here when the islands rose up and cast us all into the sea.

“What are we going to do?” Chenda stood and began pacing the room, her steps clipped. “How can we use what you learned from the summit? All our remaining governments believe the Great Abandonment is inevitable. They all believe there is no putting the world back right. If they saw any other way, they wouldn’t have agreed to Paorah’s plan.”

“They didn’t have a choice but to agree,” I said. “Paorah had his guards kill the first person to protest.”

A frown pinched her mouth. “All right. So we don’t know what they truly believe, but they are going along with his plan anyway.”

On my shoulder, LaLa gave a small whine and stretched her head for a bite of shrimp. When Ilina wasn’t looking, I broke one in half and gave a bite to each dragon; they flew off in a flurry of muffled squawks and satisfied grunts.

“Surely there’s a way to set this right,” Chenda said. “Surely there’s a way to appease the gods and make them stay.”

Hristo gave a hollow, mirthless laugh. “They don’t care about us anymore. We broke the covenant with the dragons.”

Those were not words I’d ever thought I’d hear from Hristo. He was usually so positive, but now he was losing hope. . . .

While the others were distracted, Aaru touched my hand. ::Are you going to tell them about your dreams?::

::Do you think I should?::

He gave a small shrug. ::Do you think they’re real?::

Did I?

They felt real.

“I just don’t know what we’re trying to do,” Hristo said. “The most powerful people in the Fallen Isles are planning their escape. Maybe when the Chance Encounter comes back to Flamecrest, we should consider—”

“Consider what?” Ilina asked. “Boarding the ship and just sailing away? To go where? The empire? Should we focus on saving ourselves?”

“Our governments have.”

“We won’t leave behind the less fortunate.” I looked up. “That isn’t who we are.”

“But there’s no way to save everyone.” Zara rose from her seat. “I don’t want anyone else to die. I don’t. But we’re all here. Mother will get on one of Paorah’s ships. And Ilina’s father is already in the empire. Everyone we care about—everyone left alive—can reach safety. Maybe that has to be enough.”

Hristo nodded. “It’s not the best outcome, but maybe it’s the best realistic outcome.”

I wanted to be horrified by this discussion, but I understood the fears—the feeling that if there were something to do, they’d do it, but there was nothing. No way to stop this.