Good riddance,she thought, dropping it on the floor. Lifting up the new tapestry, she hesitated a moment before sucking in a breath and setting it into the empty doorframe. The moment she did, the blue and brown threads faded and hardened, transforming into wood. Eris slipped the pins back into the hinges.
A door the color of Safire’s eyes stood before her now. Waiting to be opened.
Pulling it open, Eris stepped through and into the silver-white mist.
Twenty-Five
Safire strode across the uncovered walkway leading to the empress’s receiving room. She could see the grid-like streets of Axis below her—so unlike the twisting roads and alleys of Firgaard. Another difference between Axis and Firgaard: the sun didn’t beat relentlessly down on her here. Instead, the afternoon was cool and damp; and even from this high up in the citadel, she could taste and smell the sea.
As soon as she and Spark returned, Safire requested an urgent meeting with Leandra. The empress, she’d been informed, would receive her midafternoon.
It was midafternoon now as Safire followed her armed Lumina escorts through the citadel and its many walkways. As they approached a set of massive teak doors, carved with seascapes—waves and sails and scaly-finned creatures—Safire’s skin prickled with a familiar sensation.
Someone was watching her.
It was the same sensation she’d felt back in Firgaard, whiletrying to catch the Death Dancer. Her footsteps slowed. But when she turned to look, there were only her escorts and a handful of guards standing at attention down this hall, each of them ignoring her.
As the Lumina soldiers announced themselves, Safire shook off the feeling.
The doors opened and an attendant looked out—a young woman with auburn hair pulled tight in a bun. She took the folded summons from Safire’s escorts and, after scanning its contents, wordlessly let Safire in.
The room beyond was perfectly round and brightly lit by shafts of sunlight coming through the windows that climbed to the ceiling. At the center of the room, bathed in light, sat the empress at her desk, her hand moving furiously as she inked something on the parchment before her.
For such a sterile room, it smelled strangely like brine.
Safire’s gaze lingered on the large sword hanging on the wall behind the empress’s desk. The steel was thick, the edge thin and razor-sharp. The plaque beneath it read:The Severer.
The severer of what?she wondered.
“Good day, Safire,” said Leandra without looking up. “Please take a seat.” She motioned to the chair on the other side of her desk. It seemed to be fashioned from the vertebrae of a very large mammal—a whale, Safire thought—and cushioned with velvet. Hesitantly, Safire sat.
She waited for the empress to finish, looking from window to window. In the west, the sea shone silver. To the north, looming above Axis, a white mist was collecting in the scarpshigh above the city. It made Safire think of something Eris said, back on Dax’s ship:She’ll take me up to the immortal scarps and dispose of me—like she does with everyone she hates most.
Were those the scarps Eris spoke of?
“I apologize for not being able to see you immediately.” The empress sprinkled sand across what she’d written, then gently blew on the ink. “As I’m sure you can imagine, I have a great many questions for you.”
Safire nodded. It was why she was here—to tell the empress what she knew and hopefully get some answers in return. Answers that might help her track down Eris.
But there was something she wanted to address first. “I wonder, Empress, if it’s necessary to keep our dragons muzzled and chained.”
Setting aside her letter, the empress leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she studied Safire. “You’re displeased with the arrangement?”
The empress’s cool tone made Safire’s skin prickle with warning. “It... surprised me. In Firgaard, we let our dragons roam freely. They fly where they want and come when we call. We don’t lock them up.”
The empress was silent a moment before responding. “I must apologize, then. The people of the Star Isles are not well acquainted with dragons. The stories we’ve heard have made me cautious. Tell me: is it true that a dragon burned down half of Firgaard not so very long ago?”
Safire sat up straighter. “Well, yes, that’s true. But—”
“Didn’t that same dragon nearly kill your cousin?”
Safire blinked. “Um. Yes, but Asha—”
“I have a responsibility to the Star Isles, Safire. Your people have a contentious history with dragons. That, combined with my own inexperience, leads me to err on the side of caution. Surely you can understand my position.”
Safire didn’t know what to say. Seeing it, the empress continued.
“While you and your dragons are guests in my home, I would ask that you accept the precautions I take. They are for the safety of the people of the Star Isles.” She tapped her lip with a single finger, then looked to the windows. “I can tell my soldiers to loosen the chains, however. Would that make you feel better?”
