The journey back to the Water Kingdom was quiet.
Painfully quiet.
Wind tore through my hair as Willow's wings carried us over miles of dark forest, jagged cliffs, and eventually the endless stretch of frozen ocean separating us from the Water Kingdom.
Normally, flying calmed me.
There was something freeing about being this high.
The world became smaller.
Problems looked less impossible when kingdoms became patches of color beneath clouds.
Today...
It didn't help.
I sat between the ridges along Willow's back, one hand gripping tightly against an emerald scale while Revik sat several feet behind me.
He hadn't spoken in hours.
Smart man.
Revik had known me long enough to recognize when silence meant I needed space and when silence meant I needed someone to drag the words out of me.
Apparently this was the first.
Willow knew too.
Or at least respected Revik enough to follow his lead.
Every so often I felt one enormous green eye glance back toward us when she banked.
Mostly toward me.
Curious.
Concerned.
Probably dying to ask what in the gods had happened after she'd left us alone.
Especially considering Raiden had disappeared and I'd returned looking like I wanted to murder something.
She didn't ask.
I appreciated her for it.
Because I did want to talk.
That was the frustrating part.
The words had been building inside me since the mountain.
Since Mortimer.
Since Raiden's face had looked at me with an expression that didn't belong to him.
Since his fingers had slipped through my hair.
It's the same...
I squeezed my eyes shut.
There it was again.
Four words.
Quiet.
Almost accidental.
And somehow they frightened me more than anything else Mortimer had said.
It's the same.
What was?
My hair?
Its color?
The way it caught the light?
And why had his expression changed when he'd touched it?
For one heartbeat, the cruelty had disappeared.
Mortimer hadn't looked amused.
He hadn't looked powerful.
He hadn't looked like the ancient creature who seemed to enjoy dangling answers just far enough beyond my reach.
He'd looked...
sad.
No.
More than sad.
He'd looked like he'd remembered something.
Someone.
I loosened my grip on Willow's scale.
Wind whipped white strands across my face.
I caught one.
Held it between my fingers.
Iridescent white shimmered beneath the sunlight.
The same.
"Who?"
The wind stole the word.
Good.
I wasn't sure I wanted Revik hearing me talk to myself yet.
I'd tried asking the gods.
That had gone exceptionally well.
Meaning they had all decided to ignore me.
Every.
Single.
One.
Kagutsuchi?
Nothing.
Njord?
Nothing.
Earth?
Not even one of her infuriating little observations.
And the Moon Goddess...
The one presence I had expected might respond after Mortimer's strange reaction?
Silence.
Complete silence.
I closed my eyes.
Reached inward again.
Fire first.
The channel was there.
Warm.
Deep.
A door I knew how to open now.
Kagutsuchi.
Nothing.
I pushed harder.
I know you can hear me.
Silence.
My irritation sharpened.
If this is some divine lesson in patience, I should warn you that I am an exceptionally poor student.
Nothing.
Fine.
Water.
I reached for the cool current that had become so familiar since Njord first answered me.
Njord.
Not a ripple.
Really? You too?
Silence.
My teeth clenched.
Earth.
That presence was newer, but unmistakable.
Steady.
Heavy.
Ancient stone beneath everything.
You were extremely talkative inside the mountain.
Nothing.
You insulted Mortimer directly.
Nothing.
You clearly know him.
Still nothing.
My fingers tightened.
Coward.
That should have worked.
It didn't.
Interesting.
And deeply irritating.
Which left—
I hesitated.
Moonlight.
Different from the others.
There had never been a relic between us.
No moment where I had reached for an object and opened a doorway.
She had simply...
found me.
I still didn't understand how.
Or why.
I reached for that faint silver presence.
The quiet glow that sometimes sat beneath everything else.
Please.
Nothing.
My anger faltered.
I tried again.
He looked at my hair.
Silence.
He said it was the same.
For half a heartbeat—
Something shifted.
So faintly I nearly missed it.
A ripple of grief.
Then the connection slammed shut.
My eyes snapped open.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
Behind me, Revik cleared his throat.
I turned.
He had one eyebrow raised.
"What?"
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking loudly."
"That's not possible."
"With you, I'm reconsidering."
I glared.
He wisely looked toward the horizon.
Willow made a low rumbling sound beneath us.
I frowned.
"Don't you start."
Another rumble.
Revik's mouth twitched.
"Pretty sure she's laughing."
"I know."
Willow rumbled again.
Traitors.
I turned forward.
The brief humor disappeared almost immediately.
Because that reaction had confirmed something.
The Moon Goddess knew.
Maybe they all knew.
Something about Mortimer.
Something about me.
Something about whoever he saw when he looked at my hair.
And they had collectively decided not to tell me.
Wonderful.
Apparently divine beings were just politicians with immortality.
There was a piece missing.
I could feel it.
A piece everyone else seemed to have.
Mortimer.
Earth.
The Moon Goddess.
Perhaps Kagutsuchi and Njord too.
And I was finished being the only person in the room who didn't know what game we were playing.
I needed Tadewi.
The thought had been circling me for hours.
Not Willow.
Not Revik.
Not even Muir.
Tadewi.
She knew the old stories.
Not the polished ones.
Not the versions carved into temple walls after generations of kings had decided which truths were convenient.
The old ones.
The stories passed through the Air tribes.
The ones people laughed at until one of them turned out to be standing directly in front of us.
She'd known things about the Primal Dragon before anyone else.
She'd recognized gods' markings.
She understood ancient magic.
And more importantly—
Tadewi never treated me like something fragile.
If there was a truth I wasn't going to like, she'd tell me anyway.
At least...
I hoped she would.
Willow banked suddenly.
The Water Kingdom appeared beyond the clouds.
Whit spread across the horizon.
White stone towers rose from cliffs surrounded by frozen waterfalls.
Bridges connected buildings carved partly from stone and ice.
Even from above I could see movement below.
Soldiers.
Ships.
Market streets.
People.
Life continuing as though the world hadn't shifted beneath my feet.
Willow descended.
The wind changed.
Salt filled the air.
My stomach tightened.
Home.
Not mine.
But closer to one than most places had felt lately.
Willow's wings spread wide as she approached the landing grounds.
People scattered.
A few guards shouted instructions.
She landed with enough force to shake the stone beneath us.
I was moving before she'd completely settled.
"Lyra—"
Revik didn't get the rest out.
I pushed away from Willow's back.
Air rushed around me.
My wings snapped open.
White and iridescent.
Only halfway.
Just enough.
One powerful beat slowed my fall.
My boots struck stone.
I folded them immediately and kept walking.
Behind me, Willow shifted.
Bones cracked.
Magic rippled.
Someone swore.
Probably Revik.
Didn't care.
I spotted the nearest guard.
He wore Water Kingdom blue and silver.
Young.
Maybe twenty.
His eyes widened when he saw me marching toward him.
"Where's Tadewi?"
The poor man straightened so quickly I almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
"Chief Tadewi?"
"Unless you have another woman walking around carrying an Air staff and terrifying grown men, yes."
His mouth opened.
Closed.
"Council chambers."
"Which one?"
"East hall. Second level. She's meeting with Prince Muir and the Water Council."
Of course she was.
"Room?"
"Third chamber past the—"
I was already moving.
"Thank you."
Behind me came hurried footsteps.
Then Revik.
"Could you perhaps walk like someone who isn't planning a murder?"
"No."
"Excellent."
Willow caught up on my other side.
Back in human form now.
Her braids were slightly windswept from the transformation.
She gave me a sideways look.
I ignored it.
"You know," she said carefully, "if this is about what happened with Raiden—"
"It is."
She stopped talking.
Smart woman.
We entered the palace.
People stared.
I didn't care.
Servants stepped aside.
Soldiers bowed.
A council clerk nearly dropped an entire stack of papers when I passed.
Normally I would've apologized.
Today, the papers could survive without me.
Up the stairs.
East hall.
Second level.
Third chamber.
I found it.
Two Water guards stood outside the doors.
Both immediately straightened.
"Lady Lyra."
"Open the door."
The guard on the left blinked.
"I'm sorry?"
"I need to speak with Tadewi."
He exchanged a glance with the other.
"I'm afraid the council is currently in session."
"I know."
"They cannot be interrupted."
Behind me, Revik sighed.
Very quietly.
The kind of sigh a man made when he knew exactly what was coming and had already accepted he couldn't stop it.
I smiled at the guard.
Polite.
Patient.
Almost.
"I understand. Please open the door."
"I'm sorry, Lady Lyra. Prince Muir gave strict orders that—"
"Go tell him I'm here."
"We aren't permitted to interrupt."
My smile disappeared.
Willow stepped forward.
"She's the Primal Dragon."
The guard swallowed.
"Princess Willow, I understand, but—"
"No, I'm not certain you do."
Revik joined her.
"Considering she just returned from obtaining another relic, I strongly recommend opening the door."
The second guard frowned.
"The council has been meeting for six hours. We were explicitly told no interruptions unless the kingdom was under attack."
Revik gestured toward me.
"I'd classify this as an emergency."
"Revik."
"What?"
"You're not helping."
"I thought I was doing wonderfully."
The first guard squared his shoulders.
"My apologies, but no one enters until the meeting is concluded."
Something inside me snapped.
Not dramatically.
No burst of rage.
No screaming.
I simply...
stopped caring.
I had been patient.
With the mountain.
With Mortimer.
With gods.
With secrets.
With everyone deciding that I apparently did not need answers about my own damned life.
I was finished being patient.
"I don't have time for this."
I stepped forward.
The guards moved to block me.
Bad choice.
I caught one by the shoulder and pushed him aside.
The second reached toward me.
Water answered before I even consciously called it.
Cold exploded through the corridor.
Ice raced across the stone.
Up boots.
Around ankles.
Both guards froze in place.
Not their bodies.
Just enough ice around their legs to hold them exactly where they stood.
Their expressions were priceless.
Willow stared.
Revik stared.
One guard looked down.
Then at me.
"Lady Lyra—"
"They'll melt."
I grabbed the door handles.
Revik coughed behind me.
"Eventually."
I glanced over my shoulder.
"Do you want to join them?"
"No."
"Good."
I threw the doors open.
They slammed against the walls.
Every voice inside stopped.
The council chamber was enormous.
A long polished table dominated the center.
Maps covered nearly every available surface.
Water Kingdom officials filled the seats.
Generals.
Advisers.
Elders.
Muir sat at the head.
Tadewi was several seats to his right.
Every single person turned toward me.
A few gasped.
Someone muttered something about the Primal.
Another man immediately began protesting.
"What is the meaning—"
I didn't even look at him.
My eyes found Muir.
His ocean-blue gaze met mine.
And unlike everyone else—
he didn't look offended.
He looked relieved.
So relieved that whatever anger I'd expected from him disappeared before it ever formed.
He knew something was wrong.
Maybe he'd known from the moment we returned.
Maybe he'd seen my face.
Maybe he simply knew me well enough now.
Didn't matter.
I stepped inside.
Willow and Revik entered behind me.
Someone pushed back their chair.
"Lady Lyra, this is a closed council—"
"Meeting over."
Silence.
Several mouths fell open.
I looked directly at Muir.
"Everyone out."
One councilman actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because apparently he couldn't believe what he'd heard.
"Young lady—"
Muir lifted one hand.
The room went silent.
His eyes never left mine.
"Out."
That caused significantly more outrage.
"My King—"
"We haven't finished discussing the southern patrols—"
"The fleet allocation—"
"This meeting was called under emergency authority—"
"And I'm ending it under mine."
Muir stood.
His chair scraped against stone.
"Everyone out."
That did it.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
With enough muttering to fill an entire tavern.
The council began filing from the room.
Several glared at me.
I stared back.
One elderly man looked as though he wanted to say something.
I raised an eyebrow.
He reconsidered.
Wise.
The last councillor disappeared through the doors.
The two frozen guards were apparently still outside because I heard someone exclaim:
"What happened to them?"
Revik answered cheerfully.
"Long story."
I shut the doors.
Silence settled over the room.
Muir.
Tadewi.
Willow.
Revik.
Me.
Five people.
No council.
No audience.
No excuses.
Tadewi hadn't moved.
She sat with both hands resting across the top of her staff.
Orange eyes studied me.
Not my face.
Everything.
The tension in my shoulders.
The way my fingers curled.
The fury I had been carrying since the mountain.
She knew.
Not what happened.
But enough.
Muir stepped around the table.
"What happened?"
The question punched straight through me.
For half a second, I couldn't answer.
Revik looked away.
Willow's expression tightened.
Muir stopped.
His relief vanished.
"Lyra."
"Rai..."
That was the first thing that mattered.
"He's alive."
Muir exhaled.
"But?"
I swallowed.
The memory came back.
Raiden's lips.
The sudden change.
That wicked smile.
White hair between his fingers.
It's the same.
My stomach twisted.
"Mortimer took him."
Muir went completely still.
Tadewi's fingers tightened around her staff.
Willow moved closer.
Revik didn't.
He knew better.
Muir's voice dropped.
"We knew he could control him."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You don't understand."
I pressed one hand against the table.
"He didn't control him."
Silence.
"He became him."
Muir frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means there was no struggle."
My voice sounded too calm.
Too detached.
"He didn't force Raiden's hand. He didn't take control for a few seconds. He didn't fight him for his body."
I looked at Tadewi.
"He put him somewhere else."
Her expression changed.
Small.
But I saw it.
"He was completely in control."
No one spoke.
"The bond was still there," I continued. "Raiden was still alive. I could feel him. But it was like..."
My throat tightened.
"Like he was asleep behind a locked door."
Tadewi slowly stood.
That was when I knew.
She understood something.
Maybe not everything.
But something.
I stepped toward her.
My pulse thundered.
"I've tried Kagutsuchi."
Nothing.
"Njord."
Nothing.
"Earth."
Still nothing.
"And the Moon Goddess."
Muir's head snapped toward me.
Revik's too.
Willow blinked.
I ignored all three.
That secret could burn later.
Right now I wanted answers.
"Four gods."
My voice rose.
"Four gods who apparently have plenty to say when they want me to fight something, find something, absorb something, or save their damned world."
The windows began to rattle.
I didn't care.
"But the moment I ask them something."
Fire flickered along my fingertips.
"Nothing."
Water trembled inside the pitchers lining the council table.
"They're hiding something."
Stone groaned beneath my boots.
"And you know the old stories."
Tadewi watched me carefully.
I stepped closer.
"So either you tell me what I'm missing..."
My fire disappeared.
My voice dropped.
"...or you help me figure out how to make four gods start talking."
For several seconds, Tadewi said nothing.
Then the old Air leader exhaled slowly.
And for the first time since I'd met her...
she looked afraid.
Not of me.
For me.
"Sit down, Lyra."
My stomach dropped.
"No."
Her eyes hardened.
"Sit."
"I am done being ordered—"
"Because what you're asking about began long before the kingdoms existed."
That stopped me.
The room went utterly silent.
Tadewi looked toward the closed council doors.
Then back at me.
"When the world was still young."
A chill crawled across my skin.
Mortimer.
Earth.
The Moon Goddess.
My hair.
It's the same.
Tadewi pulled out the chair beside her.
"This story is older than the Primal Dragon."
I stared at her.
And slowly...
I sat.