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“To your stepmother. Yes, I heard.” Elang frowned. “I take it she didn’t tell you why his pearl is the way it is, dark and broken and…extraordinary?”
“Because he’s a half dragon, like you?”
“Like me?” Elang laughed. It was a bitter sound, and I didn’t think he found my question funny at all. “The Wraith and I are the only ones of our kind—both monsters, both cursed. But we are very different. I’m the embarrassment for being half human, whereas the Wraith is, well, the Wraith”—he leaned in close—“for being half demon.”
It was a good thing my tea was mostly gone, for my knees knocked together in surprise, and it would have splattered all over me. “Demon?”
Even Seryu looked stunned. “Are you certain about this, Elang?”
“Haven’t you wondered why the Wraith’s pearl looks as it does? Dark as an eclipsed night, when a dragon’s pearl should be radiant like the moon? It is corrupted because of what he is. It is breaking because of what he is. Dragons and demons are born enemies, and the Wraith’s existence is an abomination. That is why Grandfather fears him, and why he will never tell you his true name.”
“His true name?” I repeated.
“Certain names have power. Not as much as a starstroke net, but enough to unsettle a dragon—at the hands of an experienced sorcerer, anyway.” Elang frowned. “It’s also useful in breaking curses, such as the one Solzaya placed on Gen.”
“The lords and ladies of the Four Supreme Seas know each other’s true names,” explained Seryu. “Elang knows my mother’s, and my mother knows his.”
“And an unfortunate consequence is that I can’t steal the mirror myself,” Elang muttered.
I was quiet because I understood. To break Raikama’s curse over my brothers, I’d needed to learn her true name. Not Vanna, as the rest of the world believed. But Channari.
“You know the Wraith’s true name?” I asked.
“I do, and I know where to find him. Both I will tell you—if you return with the mirror.”
I didn’t appreciate how he emphasized if. “It’s a deal, then.”
“An arrangement,” Seryu corrected. “On the Oath of Ai’long, Elang, your word is given and cannot be undone. Same as the oath.”
“My word is given and cannot be undone,” Elang repeated. “Same as the oath.”
As the water rippled with the power of the promise, Elang shook his head at Seryu. “You must really be fond of this mortal. I hope she’s worth your mother’s wrath.”
“It’s not so much fondness as a desire to get her to go home,” said Seryu, still avoiding my eyes. “She brings trouble wherever she goes.”
“I’m beginning to believe that.” Elang summoned his turtles with a clap. “They’ll see you to your rooms for the night.”
“Wait,” I called. This was not the time to ask for a favor, but I didn’t care.
I waved up and down at the ceremonial dress I was still wearing, but Elang and Seryu both gave me blank stares. Dolts. So I made a show of kicking up my skirt, embellished with so many pearls it looked like I’d robbed a school of oysters. The entire garment tinkled.
“I need new attire,” I said. “I can’t go in this to steal from Lady Solzaya. I can’t even sleep in this without waking myself up.”
“I’ve no magic to waste on conjuring clothing.” Elang clearly regretted not locking me up. “You’ll make do. A concealment potion will arrive for you at first light, along with your net.”
My breath caught. “You have the starstroke net?”
Elang confirmed this by ignoring the question. “You and Seryu will leave in the morning, when the tides turn east. Should fortune be on your side, I will meet you both on the surface before the moon falls.”
“And if fortune isn’t on our side?”
“Then you’ll be dead, Shiori’anma. And there will be nothing I can do.”
A half demon.
Why hadn’t Raikama told me?
I tossed in my bed. I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind conjured the Wraith. A dragon borne of shadow and nightmares, his red demon eye haunted me even in the quiet stillness of the Westerly Seas.
