“Honestly, you folks are insane.”

William lifted his head. Beyond the balding driver, a thin fog hung in the air. The road they traveled felt dead and quiet. Since departing, he couldn’t recall a single sound that wasn’t their horses or the driver’s loud cursing.

We have not reached the Veiled Pass yet it feels as if we have. This does not bode well for us, William thought. Even before leaving the city, the journey had been rough. Just finding someone willing to ride them this far north had proven to be a chore. No amount of bribery or threats earned them any progress. The Veiled Pass had a reputation for being full of thieves, brigands, and dangerous beasts. Sitting on the border between the Human Territories and the Dragonlands, there were no cities or towns near it. The soil was hard to work which meant no farmlands either. Few dared test the validity of the rumors surrounding it. The lack of civilization also meant fewer guard postings and that made it a bandit’s haven. Worse, sitting on the border made any dealings with it a jurisdictional nightmare with everything so tangled in politics that nothing reported was ever followed up on. The occasional oddball adventurer or egotistical scholar who believed they would defy the odds and crack the mystery often returned downhearted or not at all.

Instead, anyone looking for safe passage into the Dragonlands bothered going south and crossing over through Peridan. It wasn’t the fastest route, but it was the most legal and safest.

“This is so fascinating!” Jefferey said. Of everyone there, he was the only one in a chipper mood. “I never thought I would be journeying into the famous Veiled Pass.”

“Keep your voice down!” Lady Masterson said, nettled. She cut an eye at the driver then added in a lowered voice, “This isn’t a leisure trip, and the last thing I want is you scaring our only escort.”

“Oh, I’m fully aware, my lady. But I’m no stranger to dangerous expeditions. I myself have journeyed into the Dragonlands on many occasions. But may I ask why we are journeying just the three of us?”

“Because we find ourselves short on trustworthy individuals,” William said. They had no idea what awaited them in the Veiled Pass. Between Cutter and now the Scale Guild, he wouldn’t be surprised if half of Geolga was looking for them. He would rather take his chances alone than risk having a spy with him in the middle of nowhere.

“How about instead of asking simple questions, you focus on getting those things translated,” Lady Masterson said. “We need to find out how Lyndria navigated the pass before we get there.”

Jefferey snorted and turned back to the ancient text in his lap. “Yes, yes, I’m fully aware, but you must understand—” he grunted when the wagon hit another bump in the road, nearly falling over but managing to keep a grip on the books. “We’re trying to read centuries-old text written in code while being tossed about like bruised fruit!”

“Ain’t my fault you folks wanted to ride this way,” the driver called over his shoulder. “No one comes this way so no one bothers to maintain the roads.”

“Not legally, you mean,” Lady Masterson said. “This is a pretty common escape route for anyone trying to get away from the law.”

“If you have a death wish maybe. No food, shelter, or civilization for miles. Even hunters know there’s no good game around here. Why anyone would think of living up here is beyond me.” He leaned over the side and spat before continuing. “Look, I’m not going to pry into your business and if anyone asks, I ain't seen you. I'm just saying. Any folk trying to take this pass are truly desperate.”

He has no idea how accurate that statement is, William thought. They were very desperate. If this turned out to be a dead end or a false lead, he had no other options. The only plan left would be to find Marie and run away to some remote corner of the world where no one would think to look for them. Perhaps somewhere beyond the Ardelle Mountains. From what he heard, no expedition team ever returned from beyond the mountains. They would either escape or meet their end but at least they would be free from the nightmare.

He returned to the book in his hands and the open translated notes beside him. That was the worst-case scenario. Hopefully the text contained the answers he looked for.

****

Lyndria looked up at the grey sky. It felt like years since she had seen the sun. Either clouds or smoke always seemed to block the view as if the sun hid to avoid shining light directly on the horrors around her. She turned her attention back to the ground. Even without the sun, she saw the devastation, the death clearly. Little remained besides dead trees and ash. The river she stood in, the waters murky and brown, felt oily on her scales. After standing there for at least an hour, not one fish swam by, no birds flew overhead, and no wildlife came for a drink.

In this case, it made no difference. She planted her feet, inhaled, and held it. She recalled the feeling from before, the anger, the rage from that night. The power built up in her chest and flowed upwards into her throat.

She opened her maw and roared. The sound reverberated off the dead trees. The water churned around her. But it wasn’t enough. It was not the same. It was not the power she wanted. She pushed herself to scream louder. The pressure in her chest grew, like standing on the edge of a cliff but not quite going over. She tensed her muscles, opened her throat wider and continued to push her body.

The feeling when the awakening finally triggered was unmistakable and filled her with a sense of frustrated relief. Her body reacted on its own, trigging its natural defenses to protect from the backlash of the sonic shockwave. She only managed to hold the attack for a second before it felt as if a hook had caught in her throat. She quickly fell into a fit of coughing that irritated her already sore esophagus. The pain was agony.

When the ache diminished to a manageable level, she drank from the river. The water tasted as bad as it looked, leaving an oily coating on her tongue and tasting like dirt. But drinking afterward eased the soreness and using the awakening made her incredibly thirsty.

A gust of wind on her back signaled Silias’ arrival. “You’re getting better at using it,” he said behind her.

Not fast enough, Lyndria thought. She hadn’t recovered enough to speak so instead settled on sending a disapproving glare at the drake.

Silias was unfazed. “It’s true. A few days ago, you couldn’t trigger it all. Your progress is remarkable.”

She slapped the water with her tail and stomped out of the river. It still wasn’t fast enough. Once Tanor found out they killed her daughter, she would no doubt focus her attention on them. And if this was the best she could do, it would only be a repeat of their last meeting.

But she couldn’t voice her objections out loud. Silias thought the same; it was clear in his eyes and it infuriated her that he was so calm and understanding despite everything. He had been like that since they left the mountain. It was as if nothing bothered him and he was enjoying a leisurely stroll.

“That’s enough practice for today,” he said. “We should move on.”

They had already agreed it would be best not to linger after practicing the awakening. It was also decided that they would walk back instead of fly. The precarious situation hadn’t changed and it gave Lyndria time to practice her new abilities. The area seemed deserted but they didn’t dare risk attracting the wrong kind of attention. Especially now since anyone out there was likely desperate.

Not that their situation was much better. Food was scarce and any water sources were a gamble. At night, Lyndria was haunted by nightmares. Her memories often mixed with those of the past Matriarchs, creating dreamscapes she could barely make sense of. Silias said it was her mind’s way of assessing her recent changes and that it would pass, but she wasn’t so sure. There were many stories of Matriarchs who lost their minds because they couldn’t separate their memories from the Matriarchs of old. There was no coming back should she lose herself and it scared her.

The only pleasant thing about the journey was the weather. The nights were cool and moonless so they could sleep in the dark without worry. And thanks to the cloudy sky during the day, the long walks in silence were at least comfortable. At least it wasn’t summer, the humidity would be a pain to endure.

Lyndria knew it wouldn’t last. Sooner or later, they would encounter life again.

They didn’t get far before noticing they could see their exhales. The ground and branches were covered in frost.

Silias stopped and flicked his tongue in the air. “Something is not right. It shouldn’t be cold at this time of year.” Looking over his shoulder, he added, “And the area behind us isn’t affected."

“It has to be Tanor,” Lyndria said dryly. “Or one of her daughters.”

“We should find a new route then.”

Lyndria kept going. “No point. We don’t know what route is safe.”

There was no further discussion.

Not long after, they stood at the edge of a town. Everything was covered in a layer of ice and the ground was covered in a cool mist. The way it shone reminded Lyndria of a frozen lake in the winter.  It would have been beautiful if the destruction weren’t visible underneath it all.

“It looks to be deserted,” Silias said. “I doubt anything would want to live here.” He approached one of the frozen chunks of rubble and examined it closely. “This ice is undamaged. These buildings were frozen after they were destroyed.”

“Probably so no one else could use it. She strikes me as the petty type. C’mon, there’s nothing for us here.”

“Hold on, I wish to look around more. This destruction is strange and there are no bodies.”

She refrained from a retort realizing he had a point. The buildings and supplies were destroyed but there were no signs of any corpses, human or dragon.

She wasn’t sure what bothered her more, the unnerving silence or the echo of their steps crunching on the frozen ground. She watched the windows and doorways despite them being frozen over, an old habit from exploring human towns. Buildings made for good hiding places and ambush setups.

But nothing happened. The area was dead like the rest of the world.

Suddenly Silias crouched. “Did you hear that?” he whispered.

Lyndria flattened herself to the ground and listened. The sound of footsteps on the ice was faint. She nodded in affirmation to Silias.

He motioned towards a leveled building nearby. “We know you’re there!” he cried. “Show yourself!”

They waited several moments but no one responded or emerged. Lyndria listened intently for any sounds of escape. There were none.

“Either you show your face or we come to you!” she called out. “And we’ll be a lot less gentle about it!”

“Okay, okay! You win! Don’t attack! I’m coming out!”

A human emerged from the rubble with his hands in the air. He was dirty and skinny. Long, thin hair crowned his head. His clothes reflected his body and were obviously not meant for colder climates.

“As you can see, I’m unarmed?” the human said, slowly spinning. “So there is no need to see me as a threat, yes?”

“Nice try,” Lyndria said. “Where’d you ditch the gun?”

“You wound me, my fair wyrm.”

“Oh, if I wounded you, you’d know it.”

“How many are in your party?” Silias interjected.

“It’s just me.”

Lyndria growled and slapped the ice with her tail. “No gun and traveling alone? Do we look that stupid to you?”

The human blanched and rapidly shook his head. His eyes flicked upward.

Lyndria immediately jumped to the side. Moments later a mass of scales slammed into the ground where she once stood. Through the haze of ice and dirt, bright blue scales were visible. The frozen ground made it hard to recover before a ball of ice fired her way, but she managed to duck under the attack and swore.

Silias ambushed the Celestial from behind and dragged her to the ground by her neck. Lyndria spun around to look for the human who would no doubt be making use of the opening but he was already gone.

A single shot rang through the air. The human emerged again, this time with a rifle in his hands, aimed at Silias.

“Let her go or I give you a new air hole,” the human said.

Lyndria growled and replied, “Shoot him and I’ll roast your ass.”

The human glanced at her but otherwise seemed unfazed by the threat. Lyndria began to slowly circle behind him. They had the advantage. He couldn’t fire on both of them before the other closed the gap between them even with the other dragon.

To her surprise, Silias released the dragon in his jaws.

“What are you doing?!” Lyndria cried. “Do you know her?”

“Not at all,” Silias replied simply. “I merely deduced that she is no threat to us. Anyone who supports Tanor would not be seen in the company of a human and certainly would not defend them.”

The dragoness stretched and lifted her head. “You know my mother?”

“Ah, maybe we shouldn’t go telling everyone we meet about that, Gennoni,” the human said.

The blue dragoness, Gennoni, shrugged. “It’s not a secret and they’ll find out sooner or later.”

“Is every Celestial we run into going to be related to that bitch?” Lyndria asked.

“Ha! If you’re bold enough to call her a bitch, you can’t be one of her lackeys,” Gennoni said. “Anyway, yeah, Mother won’t let the other Celestials come this far south yet. But we shouldn’t talk about it here. There’s a quiet spot nearby. Darien, do you have the stuff?”

“Yes, yes, I have it,” Darien replied, emerging once again from behind the building and carrying a large bag. “It was exactly where I said it would be. Now may we please go before I develop frostbite?”

Lyndria had expected Silias to protest, but he seemed just as curious as she was. No one spoke until they reached a hollowed-out building on the far edge of the ice field. The hideout contained little besides the remains of a small fire and a pile of random junk.

The human, Darien, immediately dropped his pack and went to the remains of the fire.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Gennoni said, flopping on the ground. Using her tail, she pulled the pack dropped by Darien closer. “I’m pretty sure you have a lot of questions.”

“Actually we have someplace to be so we can’t take too long,” Silias said.

Gennoni lifted her head and regarded him with a curious expression. “How about this then? We come with you and explain on the way?”

“You’re a little quick to trust aren’t you?” Lyndria asked.

“Well, if we were enemies, we’d be ripping each other apart right now, wouldn’t we? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but with the state of the world, we have better things to do than waste time on pointless back-and-forth conversation. Darien, leave the fire. We’re leaving.”

“But I almost have it lit,” Darien whined.

Gennoni paid him no mind and continued, “Look, I’m part of a group trying to oppose Tanor. We could use some help.”

“You sound like Cutter,” Lyndria said.

Gennoni’s tail twitched. “You know Cutter?”

“Is that a problem?” Silias asked.

She regarded him with an annoyed glare. “Not really. It’s just my sister isn’t the most reliable. She plays too much.”

Lyndria said nothing. She suspected Cutter was hiding something else from them. But being one of Tanor’s brood hadn’t crossed her mind.

Gennoni stood and approached them. On the way past Darien’s fire that he was carefully building up, she kicked a cloud of dust over it, snuffing out the growing embers. Darien gave her a sour look and pouted.

“So how much did she tell you?” Gennoni asked.

“Apparently, not a damn thing,” Lyndria said, nettled. “We didn’t even know she was one of Tanor’s brood.”

“For that, I don’t blame her. There’s a reason we don’t tell everyone who we’re related to.”

“You did,” Darien mumbled.

“Because I hate games. Now pack up. Leave what we can do without and let’s go.”

Darien grumbled the entire time, but stood up and did as he was told. Gennoni motioned for Lyndria and Silias to follow her to the entrance.

“So, I’m Gennoni. What do I call you?”

“Lyndria. That’s Silias.”

“And I’m Darien Delcatt at your service since no one saw fit to ask!” he called from the far side of the hideout.

****

William snatched his head up, fearing someone was looking over his shoulder and reading the translated notes. Jeffery sat next to him but was too busy translating his own texts. Lady Masterson sat further away and seemed more absorbed in the map than what they were doing.

She glanced out the back of the wagon but noticed William staring. “What’s wrong?”

William quickly cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “It’s nothing. My eyes are merely getting tired is all.”

“Do you need a break?”

“I can take a break when we pull over to rest.” He needed to know. There was no mention of his family having dealings with dragons in the past. Thinking on it, there were no records of his family’s involvement in any dragon-human conflicts. He always assumed they were a neutral party in the matter.

But it explained a lot. Lyndria had dealings with his ancestors. How long had she been keeping tabs on his family? How much did she know about them? Why wasn’t he told?

He chose to keep this discovery to himself for now. With everything happening, the last thing they needed was to become divided fearing one among them was a dragon spy. Not to mention with the Scale Guild now declaring him incompetent, this would only throw more fuel on the fire.

No, he would keep his family name out of this. The Delcatt’s involvement would remain forever removed from the annals of history.

He purposely made sure to omit the surname when translating the sentence and continued.

****

Gathering their “things” didn’t take long. All of their so-called supplies fit in a single bag. Much to Darien’s protests, he had to carry the bag.

Lyndria was more focused on what to make of their new companions. More allies in their fight against Tanor would be welcome but how much could they trust someone who admitted to being related to her? And with Gennoni, they had two of Tanor’s brood in their company. It would be impossible to stop any deception.

She decided to cross that bridge if they came to it. Right now, deception or not, no one stood a chance against Tanor in combat anyway.

To distract from the nagging thoughts, she listened in on Silias and Gennoni’s conversation.

“So what happened to the city?” Silias asked.

“Oh, this? I needed to practice my awakening,” Gennoni said. “The place was abandoned so I figured why not?”

“Wait, you did all this with just your awakening?” Lyndria asked incredulously.

Gennoni chuckled. “Not exactly. I could freeze the ground but had to use my breath on the buildings.” She looked at her handiwork with a note of displeasure. “Still nowhere near mother’s level.”

“You know, it’s very worrying to hear you say that,” Darien said. “How much more powerful could your mother be?”

“You have no idea,” Lyndria, Silias, and Gennoni said together.

“That’s even more worrying. Remind me why I decided to throw my lot in with you again?”

“Because you were a dead man before I showed up, and you know what’ll happen if one of mother’s enforcers catches you out here.”

“Or her ‘vessels’,” Lyndria added.

Gennoni whirled on her with a shocked expression. “How do you know about the vessels?”

“Oh, so Lisma wasn’t just full of herself, then. What are these vessels and what do they have to do with anything?”

“How do you--? Is she dead?” When Lyndria nodded, Gennoni swore. “Mother’s going to be pissed when she finds out. You might have just doomed yourself.”

“She already promised to kill me when she saw me again. I doubt I can do worse than that.”

She expected her to be shocked that they survived an encounter with Tanor, but instead a smile crossed the celestial’s face.

“I bet she’s kicking herself for that one,” Gennoni said. “She thought you weren’t a threat and now she’ll find out how wrong she was.” Her smile faded. “Too bad, the rest of us will have to pay for it, too.”

“What do you mean?” Silias asked.

They left the frozen city and entered the frost-ridden forest. Darien vocalized his relief to finally be seeing the start of warmer climates.

“I should start from the beginning,” Gennoni said. “You know how Oracles work, right?” They both nodded and she continued. “That’s what mother is doing. She trains us to become vessels for her memories but her personality overpowers ours and we basically become her.”

Lyndria stopped walking. She had been warned of that kind of thing during her training with Nayome, but she never heard of someone doing it on purpose. But why would anyone want to do that? And why would her daughters go along with it? She always expected Tanor was a bit off, but this went beyond anything she expected.

“You shouldn’t fall behind, you know,” Darien said, patting her side. “We may be out of the frozen city, but we’re by no means safe here. Don’t want to give our enemies an easy target, do we?”

Lyndria snapped out of her stupor and quickly caught up to the others. “You can’t be serious. You’re saying she’s doing this on purpose? Why would she do that? And why are you going along with it?”

“I’m not,” Gennoni replied, nettled. “And the others just don’t know any better. She raised us from birth to be submissive to her will and as her brood, we’re weaker to her Call.”

She turned to Silias who remained stone-faced. He didn’t need to say it. His expression already revealed that Gennoni was telling the truth.

“As for why, I don’t know,” Gennoni continued. “I can only guess, she’s trying to get stronger.”

“I don’t follow,” Silias said. “How does taking over her hatchlings make her stronger?”

“Selective breeding,” Darien said.

Gennoni nodded. “Pretty much. She picks the strongest drakes as her chosen, chooses only the best of us to raise herself, and when we’re old enough, she takes our minds and our bodies. With each generation, she gets stronger.”

Lyndria thought back to her encounter with Tanor. Was that the reason for her large size? It also explained her excessive power. But she still didn’t understand why. Tanor was already the most powerful Matriarch Lyndria had ever encountered. How much more powerful did she need to be?

“You said she trains you to bend to her will,” Silias said. If that is true, how did you break free of her influence?”

“My father took me away when he found out what she planned to do with me. It took him a few years to open my eyes to the truth, but I’m glad he did.”

“And the same happened with Cutter, I assume?”

“We’re from the same clutch.”

“Hold on, by that logic, wouldn’t that mean when she takes over one of your minds, that your sister is also your mother and her children are your nieces and your sisters?” Darien asked. “That sounds like a very twisted family tree.”

All three of them regarded the human with the same you-can’t-be-serious expression.

“I think we have bigger things to worry about than how the relations work,” Silias said. “So what happens to the previous vessel once she has chosen a replacement?”

“She kills her.”

Lyndria blanched at the response.

“She has to test her power after all and make sure she’s truly the stronger version. Whichever side wins, she starts over.”

Lyndria struggled to wrap her head around it all. Tanor was truly out of her mind. Every new iteration of herself took on the memories of killing her past selves. She continued to move forward with her plan, knowing it would end with slaying or being slain by herself.

“What the fuck is wrong with her?” she asked.

“Now you see why she has to be stopped,” Gennoni said. “We can’t let her keep doing this. What she’s doing is crazy.”

“But you and Cutter are her offspring and you were freed from her control,” Silias said. “Surely the two of you could overpower her.”

“Tell that to my father,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “He refuses to let us try. So all we’ve been doing is looking for more of our sisters and trying to free their minds.” She lifted her wing and showed a long jagged scar running down her side and across her belly. “It hasn’t been going well.”

“So what is our plan then?” Lyndria wanted to say but she was still trying to comprehend it all. They agreed on one thing, it was insane. Just doing the Oracle training with Nayome was brutal and difficult, and Tanor put herself through that strain willingly over and over again.

She shuddered at the implications. It took an immense will to withstand such a process which meant Tanor was already powerful before she even started.

“Lyndria,” Silias said.

“Huh? What is it?”

“I was going to inform you that we’re picking up the pace. We must return to Sareen and Cutter as quickly as possible.”

It was then she noticed that Darien sat on Gennoni’s back. Lyndria snorted softly. Not that she wanted to carry the human, but she suddenly felt insignificant. She hated being the smallest one there.

****

“Well, you two certainly took your damn sweet time, didn’t you?” Cutter asked. “You better have had the fuck of your life for making us wait like this.”

Lyndria ignored the obvious bait and jest. She noticed Sareen and Silias were too busy celebrating their reunion to care. The way they rubbed and nuzzled each other, it was as if they had been separated for years. Even stranger was seeing a smile on Sareen’s face. Lyndria couldn’t recall a single moment the dragoness ever did.

But her annoyance and fury at Cutter’s game kept her from appreciating the touching moment. “I was just trying to figure out why you didn’t mention being Tanor’s daughter?”

That broke Sareen and Silias away from each other.

“Who told you--?” Cutter began. She flicked her tongue and glared. “Oh, son of a bitch.”

Gennoni landed behind her. It was Gennoni’s idea to appear after the fact as her way of getting back at her sister. Seeing the look on Cutter’s face made it all worthwhile.

“Or should I say daughter of a bitch?” Cutter asked. “Doesn’t roll off the tongue as nice but it fits better.”

“Hello, sister,” Gennoni said.

Darien hopped off Gennoni’s back and hurried to the far side of the clearing. Suddenly Lyndria was reminded they were short a member.

“Where’s Garreth?”

“I sent him to hunt and scout the area,” Sareen said. “Now back to the matter at hand. What do you mean you’re Tanor’s daughter? And who is this who calls you sister?”

Silias was the one who responded as it seemed neither of Tanor’s offspring intended to do so. They glared at each other and ignored Sareen completely. “This is Gennoni. She claims to also oppose Tanor’s reign. We decided it would be best to gather as many allies as possible. We also learned the reason for Tanor’s immense power.”

“You told them?!” Cutter asked, horrified.

“You intended to keep it from us?” Sareen asked.

“To be fair, I didn’t expect you to believe me. If I told you that our mother was forcing her personality into her crotch spawn to increase her power, you’d call me crazy.”

“She what?”

“We can explain on the way,” Gennoni said. “I found out ‘this one’ ”—she jerked her head in Lyndria’s direction—“killed Lisma. We have to get back to father and tell him. This changes things.”

Cutter leaned around her sister and grinned at Lyndria. “If you killed Lisma, I guess that means you trigged your awakening.”

Lyndria shrugged and said nothing. Her awakening was nothing to write home about and she was still sore with Cutter for keeping so much from them. If they had known from the beginning they could have prepared for Tanor’s eventual arrival.

“We can talk on the road,” Gennoni repeated louder, annoyance creeping into her voice. “We have to get back to Opalana before mother finds out someone is killing her vessels.”

“Yeah, we’re definitely fucked if she catches us now,” Cutter said. “To Opalana it is then. We’ll pick up Garreth on the way.”

Sareen blocked their path, still wearing a scowl on her face. “And what is our purpose for this expedition to Opalana?”

“The rest of our allies,” Gennoni replied simply. “A safe place that mother doesn’t know about, and our father who knows mother better than any of us and help us figure out our next move. Now let’s get moving. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but there’s an unnaturally chilly today. That’s never a good sign.”

“So Tanor can control the weather now?” Lyndria asked.

“Not yet anyway. But I wouldn’t be surprised at this point.”

****

“Fascinating! I never imagined we would make such a startling discovery!” Jefferey cried.

William raised a brow and silently judged the man from the other side of the campfire. His lack of caution in the dead of night was one thing, but his excitement despite their perilous situation stood out even more.

“I don’t think ‘exciting’ is the word I’d use,” Lady Masterson said. She wore a grim expression and left her half-eaten strip of charred meat untouched in her lap. William didn’t blame her. After learning what Tanor was doing, he hadn’t regained his appetite either.

The only one besides Jefferey who seemed unbothered by it all was their driver who showed no interest in their conversation. He stood at the edge of their camp, inspecting the wagon for any damages. No doubt he still heard them. Even in hushed voices, it was too quiet to maintain anonymity.

Jefferey continued to remain unbothered either way. “But it’s all so fascinating! Think of the philosophical implications alone! The essence of the soul, the question of our identities, the separation of mind and body, immortality!”

“Yes, about that last one,” Lady Masterson said. “Don’t you think immortality is a bit of a waste for a dragon? How many have you heard of dying of old age?”

“It’s not about longevity, my dear woman, it’s about achieving new heights of power,” Jefferey said excitedly. “I’m sure she could train her entire life to acquire the immense strength she seeks but this idea of using selective breeding is fascinating. How much power has she amassed over the years?”

“We can discuss that at length once we discover the means to navigate the Veiled Pass,” William said. “Now that we know they intend to go to Opalana, I suspect it shouldn’t take long to find their methods.”

“I’m still trying to figure out why a map was left in that book,” Lady Masterson said before taking a large bite out of her rabbit leg. “Why would you draw such an obvious map to your secret base?”

“The answer is simple,” Jefferey said. “They want someone to find it. Most likely the natural defenses are enough to deter most armies. Even with a large force, fighting in the fog is not wise and that assumes they can even find it.”

William nodded but kept his theories to himself. Time was against them and the more he learned about Tanor, the more worried he became. Their newest discovery meant there was a good chance Tanor hadn’t been completely defeated by Lyndria in the past. After Cutter discovered that necklace, he couldn’t help but wonder if that was her intended plan the entire time. What if Tanor had reawakened inside the current Cutter and she was simply biding her time? What if involving him was revenge for his ancestor’s role in her defeat centuries ago?

He pushed the thoughts away and listened to Jefferey’s continued musings over what Tanor’s power meant for dragons and humanity as a whole. For now, he needed to focus on finding a way into Opalana. The rest could come later.