Page 47

Around me trees swayed in the night. I walked through the shadows, sensing a wrongness to the woods. The farther I walked, the more decay I saw. The tree branches were bare, and their bark peeled away in long strips. The woods were dead, but they were not at rest. I walked into an open grove. The ground was covered with fragments of bone and dipped a little. There at the center crouched a dragon: Molindra.

Scales that once shone gold were now blackened and stained. Dark veins pulsed and crawled beneath her hide. She was feeding, the half-devoured carcass of a deer lay between her foreclaws. Her jaw moved slowly, mechanically, devoid of pleasure.

My breath caught as I spied the heavy iron chains that bound the Luminthar’s hind legs. And as I took another step closer, I saw the marks on her back. Long welts had been ripped through the dragon’s scales, as if made with some terrible whip.

Who would flog a dragon? Rage flared in my chest.

No matter what Molindra had done, she didn’t deserve this. She’d been brought back against her will. Turned into this creature of darkness.

Terrible, isn’t it? The voice was familiar. Orcades. We could break the chains, of course. I could practically hear her shrug. But what would be the point?

The point? Wouldn’t the point be to be free? My heart sped up. Do it. Break the chains, and fly away with Molindra. I don’t understand why you haven’t before.

We won’t leave the girl.

The girl? Understanding dawned. You mean Lunaya?

Yes, Lunaya. We are bound to the girl, and the girl—

Is bound to them, I finished for her. Fuck.

My mother didn’t tell me not to use foul language. She just sighed. Fuck, indeed.

Orcades, I said, a little shocked.

Enough about me, my mother said, changing the subject. How have you been? Still alive. But then, I knew that already.

Been checking up on me, have you?

I manage to peek in. But rarely to get your attention like this.

I felt a pang of guilt. I didn’t know you’d been trying to.

You don’t always dream the same way. Our minds aren’t always in tune with one another, let’s say.

But tonight they are. I’m glad. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, too, I told her.

How delightful. It’s nice to be wanted, and Molindra and I are nothing if not nice. Aren’t we, my dark, dead darling?

Yes, I said slowly. Is she really … dead?

Undead. We prefer the term necrotic. It’s more elegant.

But she’s eating, I pointed out.

She doesn’t need to, but I encourage her to eat. It gives her a little more energy. Then she requires less for a while from … other sources.

From Lunaya, I said, trying to hide my horror. I understood, though I really didn’t. I didn’t understand how any of this worked, and I didn’t really want to. How are Marcus and Catherine?

Extremely distracted, my mother said, sounding cheerful. There’s been a bit of a pause to our demolition efforts.

So they aren’t trying to tear down the Veil? There’s been a break in the plague, I told her. Far fewer new infections. It’s almost like it’s stopping.

Oh, no, they’re still trying, she admitted. But they’ve found a new way to go about it. It’s bound to be not very nice.

My heart sank. Right. I hesitated, then, Mother, when you brought me to this world, did you know there was another prophecy? Involving me?

I certainly did not, she said, sounding indignant. What utter rubbish. Why, we’ve already—