Kept and pampered? I fought to keep my expression neutral even as my brows started to rise. "From what I've heard, being separated from their riders will hurt the dragons almost as much as your burns hurt you."

  "Good," he said with a grim satisfaction that stirred my own anger. "When I'm well again, I'm going to seek out those blasted riders and slaughter every last one of them. I don't care what the autocrator thinks. They need to be exterminated, and from what I've heard, killing the riders will get rid of the dragons, too."

  "Mrs. Mayer," Mrs. Klein said as she passed, pointing to the nearly empty bowl in my hand. "Move on to the next patient. We don't have time to chitchat all day."

  Dammit. "Yes, ma'am," I said. I spooned the last bit of stew into the patient's mouth, then shoved the bowl on the lower shelf of the cart and moved on to the next. I wished I could have asked him if he knew where the dragons were being held, but I couldn't linger without creating suspicion.

  As I moved on to the next patient, Lessie let out a long string of curses, her anger searing the bond between us. "How dare he," she fumed. "How dare he blame us for this, when it was his people that attacked us! If the Zallabarians hadn't provoked this attack, if they weren't trying to take our country, he wouldn't be lying in an infirmary bed, and his comrades would still be alive."

  "I know," I said, trying to keep my voice gentle even though I agreed with her. "He's wrong, but keep in mind that he's also badly wounded, and possibly dying. He may not survive those burns."

  "I hope he doesn't," Lessie growled. "I hope he dies slowly, in agony."

  The vehemence in her voice both surprised and saddened me. I hated that Lessie was hurting like this—she was still a baby by dragon standards. She should be playing with her fellow dragons, not mourning them or trying to rescue them. I wished we could go back to the way we were, when she was carefree and happy and mischievous. This war had changed me, but I hadn’t fully realized just how much it might change her, too.

  Who would we be when all this was over?

  "I don't know," Lessie said, her voice soft now. "I wish I could say I'm sorry, Zara, but I can't help the way I feel. It's not right, what's happening here. But as long as we're together, we'll be all right."

  I held onto those words like a lifeline and pushed the sadness away. Luckily, I didn’t have much time to dwell on my thoughts. The nurses ran me ragged the rest of the day, until the sun had long set, and Mrs. Klein finally pulled me off duty. When she offered me a cot from the shared dormitory the other nurses used, I nearly accepted. My feet and back ached fiercely, and I wanted nothing more than to collapse where I stood and never move another muscle again.

  Instead, I thanked her, and took a horse-drawn cab, promising to return at the same time tomorrow morning. The gentle rumble of the carriage wheels lulled me to sleep almost immediately, and when we arrived, the driver had to come down from his perch and shake me awake.

  "Come now, Miss," he said. "Let's get you inside."

  He helped me from the carriage, and I sucked in a lungful of cold air. The brisk wind whipping down the street slapped some cold into my cheeks, clearing the fog from my head.

  "Thank you," I said, pressing a coin into his hand. "I can manage from here."

  I went inside, and the landlady took one look at me and gave a sympathetic cluck of her tongue. "You go on up to your room," she said kindly. "I'll have a bath drawn for you, and a meal sent up to your room."

  "Thank you." I trudged past her and up the three flights of stairs. By the time I reached the bedroom, my whole body ached, and I badly wanted to flop onto my mattress and pass out.

  Instead, I went into the bedroom, closed the door, and dug out the magical earpiece from my luggage.

  It took me three tries, but eventually Tavarian answered.

  "Zara," he said, sounding both tired and relieved. "Did you make it safely back to Lessie?"

  "No. I decided to stay in town." Sitting on a chair by the window, I gave him a quick rundown of what I'd been doing, and what I'd learned so far. "How are you?" I finally asked.

  "Likely as sore as you," he said. "They put all the recruits through basic training—something I'd hoped to never undergo again," he added wryly.

  I winced, remembering the fitness drills the academy ran us through on a regular basis. "That doesn't sound like fun."

  "It isn't, but I'm doing a sight better than most of the others," he admitted. "I've also been given some literacy tests, and I believe the recruiters are considering me for some kind of clerical job."

  I raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning on taking it, are you?"

  "Of course not," he said with a chuckle. "I'd much rather be with you than stuck behind a desk."

  His words warmed me, but I tried not to dwell on them. "Have you learned anything from the soldiers?" I asked.

  "Not much more than you," he said with a sigh. "I've heard that some of the new recruits will be sent south for a special detail. It could be to guard the dragons, but I don’t know for certain. I also heard they are looking for prison guard types—which, unfortunately, I am not, or I would try to get into that position if it meant being stationed wherever they're keeping the riders."

  "As helpful as that would be, I'm glad you're not,” I said pointedly, just in case he was thinking about trying to finagle his way into the job. “How much longer do you plan on staying?"

  "Hopefully no more than a few days," he said. "I don't want to leave empty-handed, but if they try to assign me to a post, I will have to make myself sca—" He stopped abruptly, then lowered his voice. "Footsteps coming. I have to go. Stay safe, Zara."

  Stay safe. The words echoed in my ears long after he disconnected. How often had he said them to me? I tucked the earpiece away just in time to hear a knock at the door. When I answered it, two maids came in, one with a tray of bath salts, pumice stone, and loofahs, and the other with a slice of meat pie and a glass of cider on a tray.

  "Sorry we couldn't find something more, ma'am," she said as she set the food down on the table. "But the kitchen's closed up now."

  "That's all right." I smiled, and the smell of meat and potatoes rekindled my appetite. I scarfed down the food as quickly as possible, and after a long soak in the tub, I crawled into bed and immediately passed out. But I was only asleep for a few hours when I was awoken by hunger pangs. Frowning, I sat up and placed a hand to my stomach. The meat pie had sated me at the time, but it wasn't nearly enough food after the day I'd had. I wrapped myself in a dressing gown and ventured downstairs to see if I could grab something from the larder. But it was locked up tight, as was the kitchen, and I didn’t want to trouble the landlady. At this hour, close to midnight, she was probably asleep.

  I retreated upstairs and rummaged through my luggage, hoping to find something to quiet my stomach long enough to fall back asleep. I only found a single biscuit, hard enough to break my teeth. Definitely not enough to sate me, even if I could chew it. Annoyed, I pulled on my clothes and ventured out to search for a nearby tavern. Some were still open at this hour, and it wasn’t long before I came upon a squat wooden building. Music and light spilled from the open doors and windows. When I stepped in, the yeasty scent of beer mixed with the salty scent of human sweat assaulted my senses.

  Thankfully, sweat and beer weren’t the only things this establishment offered, and after sitting down at the bar, I was served a mug of ale and a plate of cheese, sausage, and bread. I munched on the food, trying to ignore the men’s curious stares. I'd wrapped a dark cloak around me to hide my dress, and a scarf covered my hair, but I was still a woman alone at night. There was always a man around who tried to take advantage. As a treasure hunter dressed in pants and wearing my weapons openly, I usually managed to deter most of those. But in this guise, I was bound to attract trouble.

  Sure enough, not halfway through my meal, a drunken soldier sat next to me at the bar, his nose ruddy and eyes droopy.

  "'Scuse me, Miss," he slurred, jostling his arm against mine as he tossed a coin onto the table. "Mind if I buy a few hours of your company?"

  I buried my indignation as I studied him. His uniform marked him as a lieutenant, which meant he could be a source of information. "You can buy me a drink," I said sweetly, pushing my empty mug toward him. "And perhaps we'll see where things go from there."

  The man bought me another ale, and a dram of liquor for himself. I giggled and flirted with him, slipping in innocent questions as I touched his arm and surreptitiously plied him with more alcohol. "You look so strong," I said, squeezing his bicep. "Where are you serving?"

  "I was stationed here at the garrison," he said around a hiccup, "but tomorrow I'm being sent off to a new post. A black hole with no women and only dour guards and prisoners for company." He reached over and squeezed my hand. "That's why I've sought you out, Miss. You're my last chance to get some before I leave."

  I hid my grimace of disgust at the feel of his clammy fingers against my skin. "That sounds terrible," I said, my voice dripping with false sympathy. "Where is this terrible place? Kraug Prison?" Kraug was notoriously known as the place where Zallabar sent its worst criminals. It was a fortress located north of here, on a rocky, isolated cliff, nearly impossible to break in or out of, or so I’d heard.

  "No, not Kraug," he said with a shudder. "Thank small mercies for that. I've been stationed at Mienar. It's an old, abandoned tin mine in the south that's been recently converted to a prison. Hidden deep in the mountains, dark, underground... hell on earth, in other words."

  I questioned him more and managed to get a few details about the place before he trailed off, mumbling incoherently. I gently laid his head on the bar. He was already snoring by the time I slipped away, my mind churning as I quickly left the tavern and headed back to the hotel. The soldier had described Mienar as a warren of narrow passages barely wide enough for two men to walk abreast, and a frigid hell for both the prisoners and the guards. He also told me that the nearest village was Ostkarren, ten miles away—hardly an easy walk for a soldier who wanted a pint after a hard shift, he complained. It sounded like a good candidate for a dragon rider prison, and it was in the right direction.

  Back at the inn, I fell into bed, my exhaustion pulling me under. But I woke with the sunrise, excitement thrumming in my blood at my discovery, and immediately tried to contact Tavarian. He answered on the second try.

  "Give me some time," he said before I could say anything. "I need to feign an injury so I can get away and speak with you."

  He disconnected before I could get a word in. Slightly put out, though of course I understood the need for secrecy, I reached out to Lessie instead. She awakened at my nudging, and her sleepiness quickly turned to excitement as I told her what I learned.

  "That sounds very promising," she said, sounding in much better spirits than yesterday. "When can we leave? We should go immediately."

  "I want to, but we need Tavarian first," I said. "He's still at the garrison, posing as a recruit.”

  Lessie snorted. "We should just fly overhead and burn the whole place to the ground. What do we need to wait around for?"

  I shook my head, but my heart lightened—this was more like the Lessie I knew. "I'd rather not accidentally barbecue Tavarian in the process, and besides, that would attract too much attention." The magical earpiece buzzed, and I snatched it up. "That's him trying to contact me now."

  I fitted the earpiece to my ear and answered. "You're free now?"

  "Yes. I'm on my way to the healer's and taking my time." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I have good news for you."

  "Oh?" I sat up, clutching the sheets beneath me. "Have you discovered where the dragons are being held?"

  "As a matter of fact, I have." I wanted to cheer at the triumphant note in his voice, but I managed to get hold of myself before I woke the entire inn. "The dragons are in Treylin Valley, a green, hilly region to the south. I broke into the offices last night and found the information in several documents on the captain's desk. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to figure out where the riders are being kept. I had to slip away before I was caught by a patrol. There is little point in rescuing the dragons first—if the military is holding the riders, they can still murder the dragons, too."

  I grinned. "You're right. I guess it's a good thing I found out where the riders are being held, isn't it?"

  A stunned pause. "When? I thought you were going to bed after I spoke to you yesterday."

  "I went out to a tavern to grab a late dinner," I explained, "and ran across a soldier who's being stationed at a prison in the mountains near a place called Ostkarren." I told Tavarian the scant description that the drunken soldier had given me. "He didn't confirm the riders were there, but it seems like a likely place."

  "Then we must go there at once," he said. "I will slip away tomorrow night and meet you in the forest where Lessie is hiding." He sighed. "I'm nearly at the healer now. I must go."

  He disconnected, and my heart pounded as I quickly dressed for the day. I was still sore from all the hard labor, but I hardly noticed the aches and pains now. We were finally getting somewhere! Part of me wanted to stay here at the inn, to plan and conserve my strength, but I didn’t want to be missed, so I ate a hefty breakfast, then took a cab to the estate.

  The morning was less hectic than the first one, as the flow of new patients had ebbed, but it was still very busy, and I hardly had a moment to catch my breath. The atmosphere was much the same—soldiers bitter against the Elantians and angry about the dragons, nurses sympathetic to their own but giving absolutely no thought to the Elantian wounded and dead left on that battlefield. Not that I was surprised—we were the enemy, after all—but it seemed unfair that I felt empathy for these mangled men while they felt none for my own people. By the time lunch break came around, all I wanted to do was get away from them all.

  Mrs. Klein seemed to sense my dour mood. "Why don't you go take some fresh air outside," she suggested. "It'll help clear your head, get the stench of sickness out of your nose."

  I nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, thank you." I stripped off my apron and washed my hands, then headed to the mess to grab a plate of sandwiches and a cup of tea.

  I took my bounty outdoors, into the overgrown gardens behind the manor. Even though the bushes and trees were in bad need of pruning, and the flowerbeds were overrun with weeds, there was still something charming about the wildness of the place. I found a dusty stone bench to sit on, beneath an old apple tree whose leaves were beginning to turn. The garden was still green, but tinged with strokes of gold and burnt orange, a sign of the coming winter.

  As I ate my lunch behind the high, unruly hedges that offered plenty of privacy, I wondered if I should decamp now. Mrs. Klein would be disappointed but not surprised if I begged off, pleading a headache or some other malady. After all, by the nurses' own admission most of the gently bred ladies who came here did the exact same thing. Besides, did I really need to be breaking my back aiding the enemy?

  I finished my tea and two of the sandwiches, then took the third one with me. Instead of going back inside, I decided to stretch my legs and walk the estate grounds. My treasure sense pinged, telling me there were some valuables on the grounds, but nothing interesting enough for me to bother digging up. Still, I followed the loudest one, and it led me into a small, ancient-looking temple hidden away in a thicket of trees.

  I wonder what god or goddess you were built for, I thought as I drew closer. Once upon a time, I would have immediately headed for the treasure within, but my recent encounter with a deity left me wary of taking things from temples. Carefully, I placed my hand against one of the cracked pillars, tracing the carvings of strange creatures frolicking in an open meadow. My fingers fluttered over the hooves of a satyr, the wings of a fairy, the horns of an imp—

  "Enjoying yourself?"

  I jerked at the sound of a lazy male voice, and nearly dropped my sandwich when Caor stepped out from behind the pillar. How long had he been standing there, watching me? And why hadn't I sensed him in any way?

  "Checking in on me?" I asked, trying to hide my shock.

  He folded his arms. "I am. Have you made any progress searching for the other dragon heart pieces?"

  I scowled. "You know I haven't. Isn't that why you gave me this ring, so you could spy on me from afar?"

  "Yes." He didn't sound the least bit apologetic about it. "For all the good it's doing me. Don't you understand what's at stake here?"

  "I know I need to rescue the other dragons before I do anything else," I snapped. "If you were smart, you would help me, so I could get back to looking for the dragon heart sooner. Can't you tell me anything?"

  Caor considered. "What do you want to know?"

  "Where the Elantian wounded and prisoners are being kept, for starters."

  He shrugged. "That sort of thing does not concern the gods. You will have to discover that on your own. Except that you already have, haven't you?"

  "Yes, and no thanks to you," I grumbled. I wanted to tell him that with this kind of attitude, it was no wonder these useless gods were forgotten, but I refrained.

  Caor sighed. "I understand you want to rescue your friends, but the situation with Salcombe and the dragon god is much more important in the long run."

  "I get that, but I have no idea where to even begin looking. Salcombe has all his notes and journals on the subject, while I have absolutely nothing. I can't go on a wild goose chase across the continent when I could be helping the dragons, which is at least something I know I can do."

  "You don't have to go on a wild goose chase," Caor said. "I can tell you right now where the fourth piece is."

  "You...what?"

  "Salcombe is currently searching for it in Orbolia," he said, referring to a country at the very northernmost point of the continent. "He will soon discover that it is not, in fact, there, but was moved to Zallabar some five hundred years earlier. You absolutely must beat him to the next piece, and since you are already in Zallabar, you have a convenient head start."

 

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