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Fel took a slow, calming breath, even if he wasn’t sure how slow any breathing would be in these powerful lungs he didn’t quite understand. Were they even lungs, if they produced fire? “If Ircantari’s spirit protected me… Is he still…”
“The dead don’t often communicate with the living, unless they have to, and don’t usually do it after so much time has passed. He made sure you’d be protected, and perhaps you have to trust what he set up for you.”
Fel was trying to digest these words, trying to grasp the enormity of this revelation, trying to understand how such a powerful dragon had given up his own life for him.
They were silent for a moment, until Leah said, “We’re glad you came, as we need help. We’re pretty sure the vessel is here. In Aluria.”
“What makes you think so?” Tzaria asked. She didn’t sound concerned, probably still deeming it impossible for Cynon to be on this continent.
Leah proceeded to tell her what River had told them, about the ceremony that had reawakened Cassius. Neither Tzaria nor Ekateni were surprised that a fae had been in the Iron Citadel, probably unaware of the effect of ironbringing. Still, Leah told them that River had previously met Ircantari and that he was interested in defeating Cynon as well, and managed to avoid mentioning Naia. Fel wasn’t sure if keeping her existence a secret was a good idea, but it didn’t hurt to be extra careful. Leah also told them what she had seen in the hollow, with the white fae talking about a being breaking barriers between realms and conquering them, and how it all fit.
Tzaria bit her lip. “There are many ways Cynon can affect people. The easiest way is when he influences them and they don’t know it, but there needs to be an opening for that, an affinity, let’s say. Now, what you’re talking about…”
“When was the ceremony?” Ekateni asked, his tone urgent.
“Yesterday or the day before,” Leah said. “We want to plan a way to kill Cassius—for good this time, but—”
“This time?” Tzaria narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean this time?”
“I killed him. Or thought so.” She raised both her hands. “Look, he deserved it.”
Tzaria and Ekateni exchanged grim looks. The woman said, “Thevessel, it’s different. It means Cynon himself is among us, using someone like a puppet. Now, a few conditions must be met. The vessel needs royal blood, which is obviously the case, and needs to have been in the realm between life and death, which, again, seems to be the case. It will allow Cynon not only to influence people here, but to use his magic, and to come to this world.”
“We understand that,” Leah said. “And that’s why we want to kill Cassius soon. We just need a proper plan.”
Fel added, “Now that you’re here, we’re hoping you can help us.”
Tzaria shook her head. “Soon might not be good enough. What the vessel can do is open a door to another realm. If he opens our world to the eleventh realm, I can’t even imagine what he could do. That is the job of the vessel: to allow him to come.”
Leah sighed. “I can take you to the Iron Citadel and you can kill him.”
“It won’t be that easy. He’ll have access to Cynon’s magic. We need to think…” She sighed.
Ekateni was scratching his chin, and said, “We could find the place where he’s building the frame for the fissure. I don’t think it would go unnoticed.”
Fel asked, “What should it look like?”
“A circle,” Tzaria said. “Dragons travel in circles, sometimes called faerie circles. But… to open to another world, it would need to be massive. I don’t think it would use stones, but iron.” She sighed. “If he’s been influencing people in this land, they might have been building something like that.”
Leah was pale and covered her mouth with her hand. “Would a dome around a city work? A dome made of iron and glass?”
* * *
Naia still couldn’t quite understandwhy she was surrounded by a wall of ice and what was happening. “River?”
He stared at her. “You still don’t know what’s happening?”
“I’m not sure.”
“No.” He scoffed. “Of course not. There’s a difference between knowing and accepting something, isn’t there?”
Naia stared at the dagger. It felt faint and distant now, and the metal in the room wasn’t overwhelming her as much. This wasn’t just ice, but something that blocked part of her magic—but only part of it. She could still kill River. The question was whether she wanted to.
Unless this was not what she was thinking.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she said, with a faint trace of hope that he would give her an answer that would contradict her fears.
“I’ll do even better. What about some company? Someone who likes to babble and babble and babble? I’m sure you’ll love it. Meanwhile, I have things to do.” He frowned. “Places to go.”
