Song had to be careful. She still needed Kana and the Oathbound.
For now.
“Of course,” Song said, the tension dropping from her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Kana. Forgive my impatience. You must think I’ve lost my mind. It’s just that victory is so close. To think the Dragon’s Eye was under our noses this whole time.”
She placed a hand on the Oathbound captain’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend. You’ve always been there for me, and I’ll do the same for you. But to make all our dreams come true, we’ll need the Dragon’s Eye.”
Kana’s eyes narrowed. “What can it do, exactly?”
“It’ll help us destroy our enemies once and for all. Starting with the wretched Greencloaks.”
Kana shook her head. “I don’t understand. The Greencloaks are already defeated. How will this destroy them?”
“The Dragon’s Eye gives you power over the sea, Kana. Can you imagine? The stories tell us that—”
“They’re just stories, Song. Probably exaggerated a hundredfold over the years. The bond tokens are powerful, but not that powerful.”
“Yours might not be. But the Dragon’s Eye is the most powerful of them all. And it was forged from a bond with a water dragon, just like mine. The ugly lizard might end up being useful for something at last.”
Kana looked at her worriedly. “You’ve won, Song. Once we have all the bond tokens, we need to consolidate your position, not seek out more enemies.”
“I have only ‘won’ when I’ve destroyed all my enemies,” Song replied. Was Kana going soft? Perhaps Cordelia should lead the Oathbound.
Sid coughed loudly. “The candle’s gone out.”
So it had.
“Get the cage, Sid,” Song ordered.
Sid looked over at Kana. Again.
Song gritted her teeth. “Didn’t you hear me?”
Kana gave a slight nod and Sid picked up the cage. Essix flapped her wings against the bars; she knew she was in danger.
A Great Beast? Well, they’d find out how “great” she was when they threw her into the sea.
Perhaps it was for the best that Meilin had failed. Ever since the defeat of the Devourer, Song had followed the successes of the young Heroes of Erdas, marveling at how a group of children could achieve so much in so short a time.
If she was honest, Song had been a little afraid of the young Greencloaks. When she’d first learned of them—how they’d visited the Great Beasts and collected their talismans—she’d thought the stories merely that: stories. Then they’d defeated the Devourer and there was no denying their abilities.
Was that when Song had first thought about her own ambitions? She was the daughter of the Emperor of Zhong. She should be greater than Meilin, yet it was the younger girl whose fame covered Erdas from Amaya to Stetriol. Hers and the others’: Abeke, Rollan, and Conor.
How could a mere servant and shepherd be more renowned than Song?
But their story had ended today.
“Take the bird to the cliff top,” she ordered. “Then throw her into the sea.”
“You will hand her back to me, right now.”
Rollan stood in the cavern doorway, arms folded across his chest. Meilin, Abeke, Conor, and even the elder Greencloak Kofe were beside him, all alive!
Conor limped forward and his clothes were singed, but otherwise none of them looked badly injured. Song was almost disappointed. How could they all have survived?
It was obvious.
Song narrowed her eyes. “You’ve failed.”
Meilin held out her fist, then opened it.
Song gasped.
An emerald glowed in her palm. Light radiated from its many cut faces, bathing the cavern in green, shifting pools.
“The Dragon’s Eye?” Song whispered, her heart racing. Could it really be?
“Release Essix,” demanded Rollan. “Now.”
Song couldn’t take her eyes off the glowing gemstone. It was smaller than she’d imagined; the drawings had made it so grand-looking, but it was smaller than a pigeon egg.
How could such a small thing have so much power?
“Give it to me.”
“Essix first.”
Song flicked her hand to Sid. “Open the cage.”
The nod from Kana was almost imperceptible, but it was there.
Song’s guts twisted. Kana was getting ideas above her station.
Essix flew across the cavern to Rollan, landing on his outstretched arm. The boy stroked the bird’s crest. The love they had was unmistakable.
Song didn’t feel that way toward her own spirit animal, but Seaspray wasn’t a Great Beast.
Suddenly Essix’s wings rippled. The gyrfalcon disappeared with a flash, leaving her mark on Rollan’s chest.
Jealousy dripped into her heart like black bile. Sometimes it seemed so thick she almost choked. Song often felt as if she had nothing—nothing of value or importance. She was the only child of the emperor, yet it was others who had what she wanted. Her “legendary” spirit animal had always disappointed her father, while these four nobodies had summoned the Great Beasts. Song had a palace, an empire, but the Greencloaks’ fame was boundless.
And they had the loyalty of each other. Song had the Oathbound, loyal only to gold. All across Erdas, minstrels sang of the feats of the Heroes of Erdas, of their bravery. No one sang about what she’d achieved.
Did they not understand the courage it had taken to murder her own father?
That would all change. Soon all Erdas would admire Song. Minstrels would write epics of her greatness. Song the Great. She liked the sound of that.
And she needed only one small thing to realize all her ambitions. Song thrust out her hand. “Give me the gem.”
Reluctantly, Meilin passed it over.
“At last,” said Song. “At last.”
She held the stone up and turned it in the light.
Something swirled within the gem, as though there was life within the Eye. It moved in endless, weaving patterns. If she squinted, it could almost be a water dragon, one made of pure light.
“It will do you no good.”
She turned to face the big Greencloak, Kofe.
His leg was bandaged, and blood soaked through the cloth. He looked pale, but the anger in his eyes filled him with strength.
“Oh?” Song asked mockingly. “Tell me why.”
“The bond tokens aren’t the treasures you think they are or hope them to be.”
“They will make me powerful beyond all others,” said Song.
“They will corrupt you,” Kofe snarled. “Just as all power corrupts. You are the very proof of it.”
Song tightened her grip on the Eye. “I won’t be lectured on the corrupting influence of power by a Greencloak. Your people have kept Erdas under your thumbs for centuries. My father kept me meek and powerless my entire life. No more!”
“I knew your father, Song,” Kofe said. “He was a fool. He belittled those he feared and envied. That includes the Greencloaks and it includes you, his own child.” Kofe’s face softened slightly, the hard lines easing. “You summoned a wondrous partner, but rather than foster your love for each other, your father drove you and your spirit animal apart. You don’t need to covet the greatness of others, Song. Cherish your own bond. See the great things you already have for what they are.”
Song paused, considering the Greencloak’s words. Then she grinned and held up the Dragon’s Eye. “What I have is the most powerful weapon in Erdas. And I intend to use it.”
Kofe’s eyes darkened. “Then you are as much a fool as your father. You must be stopped.”
“Oh? And by who? You?” Song laughed. The man could barely stand. “Do you want to try?”
“There’s no need. You’ll bring ruin upon yourself; it’s only a matter of time. What concerns me is the damage you’ll inflict on innocents before your own doom descends.”
“Careful, old fool. You dare threaten an empress?”
“
Your father—”
“Shut up about my father!”
Kofe limped forward. “You must listen. He has poisoned y—”
Song screamed with blind fury.
It happened almost instantly.
Kofe took another stride toward her, and Cordelia flicked out the Wildcat’s Claw. She jumped forward, raising the sword as she moved.
Kofe turned, staring as the flames erupted along the steel, illuminating the wild, terrifying delight in Cordelia’s eyes.
He raised his arms to protect himself, but how could he, against the Claw?
“No!” yelled Rollan.
Song covered her face. She expected a cry. A shout. Instead, it was deathly silent.
She looked.
Kofe stood, transfixed. He was clutching Cordelia, as if about to embrace her or crush her. He trembled. Blood trickled down his lips.
Cordelia faced him, both hands on the hilt.
The blade tip stuck out Kofe’s back.
Slowly Cordelia drew the whole length of the sword out of his chest. Only then did Kofe drop to his knees.
Rollan rushed to the man’s side. “No …”
“He—he brought it upon himself,” Song stuttered as she stepped back from the pool of blood that was now spreading across the floor. “It was his own fault.”
Rollan groaned as he put his head against Kofe’s. The big man’s eyes fluttered as the last of his life drained away.
Rollan stared up at her, his own eyes wide with sorrow and rage. “He was a good man.”
“He was nothing,” snapped Song. “And now he is even less.”
She watched as the other Greencloaks gathered to Rollan. Meilin put her arm around him and joined him in tears. Conor knelt down on the opposite side of Kofe and softly closed his eyes. Abeke held the man’s hands.
Watching the Greencloaks gather to mourn one of their own, Song felt suddenly and strangely alone.
Was there anyone who cared about her in this way?
She saw her reflection in the bloody pool. How twisted she looked, how grotesque: soaked through by crimes she’d committed. The image swam. It distorted into …
Into the face of the emperor.
“No!”
Kana gripped her arm, suddenly bleeding into existence beside her. “Song. Are you all right?” she whispered. “Pull yourself together.”
Song blinked, shaking off the strange vision. What was she doing? Why should she be upset? She had the Dragon’s Eye. She’d won.
Won!
She smiled at Kana. “I’m fine. But thank you.”
“What should we do with them?” Kana asked. “Back to the cells?”
What indeed? It would take a mere nod of her head to have the Oathbound finish off the four children. No effort at all.
Perhaps she should kill them. They knew too much to ever be set free. And they were powerful, though perhaps they didn’t realize how powerful. If they joined her—joined the Oathbound—then maybe the Heroes of Erdas could still be spared.
But Song knew that was impossible. The look of pure hatred in Meilin’s eyes made it clear.
More than anything, Song needed to prove she was right. Right to go after the bond tokens, right to use the Oathbound, right to arrange the murder of the emperor. Once she’d proven that—once Meilin saw her precious Greencloaks shattered, saw the true power of the Dragon’s Eye—then Song would let Cordelia do what she did best.
Kana still stood beside her. “Let me take them back to the cells,” Kana said. “They’re no threat to you anymore.”
“The cells can wait.” Song couldn’t take her eyes off the Eye. She finally had the one thing she’d been seeking this whole time. Now she would test it. She wanted the others to see what she was capable of.
“Bring them down to the beach.”
ABEKE STOOD ON THE SHINGLE SHORE AND WATCHED Song summon her water dragon. The lizard appeared with a flash, then lay down to snooze on a sunny rock.
“Wake up!” Song kicked the animal. “Wake up!”
Abeke winced at the way Song treated her spirit animal. How could she be so cruel?
But Abeke could still picture the Oathbound guards dragging Kofe’s body away. More and more she was learning that cruelty was a part of Song’s true nature. The empress had hid it well, but now it was revealed and without restraint.
Song kicked poor Seaspray again, and it was too much for Abeke. She pushed past the guard who blocked her. “Stop it, Song!”
The guard thrust a halberd at her, stopping the blade just an inch from her chest.
Song waved him aside. “Let her approach.”
Abeke knocked the halberd away and marched up to the empress and her Oathbound allies.
Kana the Honest stood within arm’s length of Song. She kept her gaze on Abeke, ready for any sudden move. The Heart of the Land hung from her neck. Next to her stood Sid the Generous, wearing the Stormspeaker crown, along with countless other stolen jewels. He looked absurd with so much ornamentation, yet still his eyes gleamed hungrily at the jewel in Song’s hand. Finally there was Cordelia the Kind, grasping the deadly Wildcat’s Claw.
Song held up the Dragon’s Eye. The jewel radiated a bright green light. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”
“Stop beating your water dragon, Song. Can’t you appreciate how lucky you are to have a spirit animal?”
“Lucky? To have this?” Song scoffed and the dragon cringed. Clearly he was used to Song’s anger.
Abeke squatted down and brushed her hand over Seaspray’s scales. He trembled, expecting another blow, but eventually he realized she wasn’t going to hurt he and nuzzled up against her.
“You really are quite lovely.” His scales shimmered like oil on water, one moment green, then gold, then orange and purple. The water dragon gurgled with pleasure.
“He’s weak and useless,” snapped Song. She undid the chain around her waist and latched it to the dragon’s collar.
“What are you going to do?”
Song gave the chain a sharp tug. “Make him better.”
“Don’t hurt him!” Abeke wanted to protect poor Seaspray, but Kana stepped in her way.
“You stay right there,” she warned.
The poor water dragon knew something was wrong. He struggled as Song dragged him to the water’s edge.
The waves splashed around the empress and her spirit animal. Song didn’t seem to care that her elegant silk robes were getting covered in salt water. Instead she hunched down in the waves and held the Dragon’s Eye in front of her own spirit animal.
The light from the orb brightened, bathing both girl and dragon in an eerie green radiance. The water dragon stopped struggling and instead stared at the orb, hypnotized. The light from the Eye pulsed. Cold fear crept over Abeke’s skin.
The waves seemed to hush and she held her breath.
Even the seagulls stopped their endless squawking. They fled the beach, sensing something disturbing.
“Come on …” Song snarled. “Come on!”
The sky darkened as Seaspray began at first to twist, then thrash, at the end of the chain.
Song laughed as she held the Eye aloft. “That’s it!”
“You’re hurting him!” yelled Abeke.
Song didn’t hear her. She stared, wide-eyed, at the dragon as he hissed in pain. Then he began to tremble all over, his scales undulating as the muscles and bones beneath began to strain. Seaspray threw back his head and cried out.
How could she do that to any creature, especially her own spirit animal?
Others came to the water’s edge to watch Song and her water dragon. The creature thrashed violently in the waves.
Seaspray’s cry throbbed as he swelled. His limbs twisted and buckled and grew. His tail splashed among the waves, thickening and lengthening.
Song laughed. “It’s working! Can’t you see?”
The water dragon rolled down the beach, as if trying to escape the pain racking his body. Song ran after him, still holding
the Dragon’s Eye ahead of her, its light concentrated on the lizard.
Abeke glanced to her sides.
Conor, Meilin, and Rollan all stood nearby, but the Oathbound were all totally focused on the spectacle.
She nudged Rollan. “Here’s our chance.”
Rollan peered sideways. “What’s your idea?”
She tilted her head to a pocket of caves within the cliffs. “Hide out until dark. Then take one of those boats and try to get help.”
“Go,” he stated.
“I don’t mean just me!” argued Abeke.
“You’re the best runner. Go. Now.”
“Rollan …”
The water dragon sank under the water’s surface. Song waded in. “Where is he?”
This was the best chance they’d have.
The soldiers entered the sea to help look for the dragon.
“Where is he?” Song screamed again, more forcefully.
A long, scaled spine rippled across the water. Some of the soldiers gasped; others hurried out to dry land.
Waves rose as something big swam toward the beach’s edge.
The water dragon roared as he broke the surface and rose … and rose.
Abeke gasped.
Song let out a triumphant shout. “I did it! I did it!”
The water dragon towered over her. Seaspray shook himself, covering the whole party in seawater.
Rollan glared at Abeke.
She nodded. Abeke slammed an Oathbound soldier aside and ran.
Uraza flashed onto the beach, then sprang forth with a terrifying roar. She swiped her claws along a soldier’s leg, tearing off the armor plate as if it were paper. Her claws dug an inch into the flesh, enough to draw blood, a scream, and a tumble.
“Go, Uraza!” Abeke yelled, but the Great Beast was already far ahead of her, sprinting over the pebbles with all the speed and grace she had held in her supple body.
Despite herself, Abeke laughed. If only she could draw on more than a fraction of Uraza’s power! Still, seeing her animal surge ahead encouraged Abeke to add more energy to her legs. She drew on their bond and felt her own steps growing long and sure.
There were a series of cave openings along the southern curve of the cliffs. That part of the beach was covered in huge chunks of rock, debris that had been eroded off the cliffs. Abeke could jump them easily and have plenty of places to hide.
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