“Your guess is as good as mine. I suspect half. My magic isn’t particularly strong. But I do have one remarkable gift that is unique among my kind.”
“The ability to see through illusion?”
He scoffs. “The ability tosee. The truth. The future. I have dreams, Eloise. Ones that come true.”
My palms are starting to sweat, and I set my mug down before it slips out of my hands. “What have you seen about the future of Tenebris?”
He licks his lips. “I saw myself, standing on the veranda of Stygarde Castle with a dragon by my side. As I told you, we hear many things along our travels. I heard tell of a prophecy out of Dimhollow, one that confirms my vision. They say the one who tames the dragon will rule this world.”
“And you think that’s going to be you?” I ask incredulously.
He nods. “Centuries ago, before the prophecy was ever dreamed or shared, a war was fought over a dragon, and both sides thought if they were the one to capture her, they would rule Tenebris. Neither did, and the dragon died. Do you know what I’ve come to understand since then?”
“What?”
“The dragon is a metaphor. If you observed our caravan from the sky, our chain of wagons would appear as a dragon winding its way across the land.” He points to himself. “We are the dragon, Eloise. The Rivertoads. My people. And the one who brings us all together, the one who unites us, will be the one who tames the dragon. I have united the Rivertoads. I am their elected king. That is why I will never help you or Damien Hymir back to the throne. The only solution is to destroy it. The people—the dragon itself—should rule.”
I find myself staring at Jaqual as he speaks, unable to blink, mesmerized by what he’s saying. And when he’s finished, I try to process it all. He’s a prophet, just like Aurora was, with the gift of sight. Both channeled similar visions concerning the future of Tenebris, visions that could be construed differently based on one’s perspective. Catarina had assumed her mother’s vision was aboutBrahm and Nevina. She was wrong. So is Jaqual. He has no idea that he will never tame the dragon because she’s standing right in front of him. Not a metaphor, not a caravan, but a woman. I am the dragon. And I have already bound myself to Damien.
Still, I come from a world and a place where democracy is the rule of law. I agree with his ideals. But ideals won’t solve this problem. Ideals won’t protect the children who are even now being drugged and worked to death as slaves for the pleasure of the crown. I need to show Jaqual the truth. It’s the only way to win him to our side.
“There’s something I have to show you,” I say. “Something you need to know.” I back up a few steps. Ariadne made me this outfit. Pants and a corset that shows my tattoo, all covered in a dazzling jacket that makes the entire thing look like a dress when it’s fastened. I unfasten the clasp.
“What are you doing?” he asks, shaking his head. “You cannot seduce me into helping him, Eloise. I am not so desperate or so lacking in morals.”
I turn my back to him, and at the same time, I summon Phantom. Sweeping my red curls over one shoulder, I nudge the jacket off and down to my waist, revealing my tattoo. I look at him over one shoulder as Phantom forms in all their white-scaled glory in front of me and spreads her wings.
Jaqual drops his mug. It shatters on the ground, the tea soaking into the earth. It looks as if he’s stopped breathing. His eyes widen as Phantom lowers their head and sniffs him, their teeth as long as he is tall and each as sharp as the weapon at his hip.
“I am the dragon, Jaqual,” I say. “It’s not the caravan.Your vision showed you the future, but not one where you rule. It’s one where you help us. You’re in the castle because you are our friend.”
“No,” he mumbles, shaking his head. All the color has drained from his cheeks.
“You may be right that someday the best outcome for Stygarde…for Tenebris…is to be ruled by the people. But the only way we’ll successfully reach that end in the future is by taking the power back from Brahm and Nevina now. And the only way we’ll be successful at doing that is if we work together.”
His mouth hangs open, his eyes fixated, not on my bare back but on the dragon who watches him over my shoulder. I slide my jacket back into place and fasten the belt.
“This changes everything,” he murmurs.
I offer him a shallow smile, confident that he’ll help us now that he understands. We can move forward. “Then, you’ll fight with us?”
“Let’s go talk to your prince,” he says with a swing of his chin that tells me he’s in. “I assume the one who brought his sword to my throat and threatened to run me through is actually Damien Hymir.”
Phantom fades away, and I turn on my heel to stride toward Damien’s wagon, not bothering to disguise myself again. There’s a spring in my step. If we have the allegiance of the Rivertoads, we can win this war. We reach the wagon where Damien and Warbill are staying just as a tall man in a strange uniform exits. I see Damien behind him and drop his and Warbill’s disguises as we approach.
“Eloise—”
“Jaqual knows who we are,” I explain. “And he’s here to discuss his alliance.”
Damien swings the door wide, but Jaqual stops me before I can enter the wagon. “Out here, please.”
Damn, when Maggie told us that men and women who are unmarried can’t stay in the same wagon, I had no idea they were sticklers for that rule in all cases. But it’s a small enough ask, considering the stakes. Damien and Warbill join us in the treelined clearing outside their door.
“Damien Hymir, let me introduce myself formally. I am the Rivertoad king, and I have authority over four thousand trained mercenaries. I think it’s time we talk about taking back Stygarde.”
Damien’s eyes narrow. “Then you’ll join the rebellion?”
“On one condition.” A cunning smile cracks Jaqual’s face, giving him the appearance of a fox rather than a dog. My stomach clenches as my intuition kicks in. “I’ll lend you every man under my command to fight New Stygarde at your side, but I require one thing in exchange.”
