Page 115 of A Kingdom of Monsters

Bael nodded. “He’ll be along shortly, I’m sure. The dragon flies faster.”

“But why were you stealing from a dragon?” I demanded. Everyone knew that was a death sentence. Even me, and I was hardly an expert on magical culture.

“I went to talk to him,” Bael replied easily. “I was waiting in his cage for him to show up to chat, when I spotted this.” He pulled a large blue gem from his pocket.

“Is that the jewel of Overcast?” Scion asked, reaching out to grab it.

“I expect so,” Bael said, waving us off. “So, I couldn’t leave it there. Not when I knew that’s what you were all out looking for.”

“Right…” I hedged. “But how did you get out?”

“The dragon–his name is Apophis by the way–showed up and saw me take the jewel. I offered to fight him for it.”

“You fucking idiot,” Scion said again, shaking his head.

“No.” Bael’s eyes widened. “That was what saved me actually. He thought it was very noble. Nevermind the fact that I just really wanted to fight a dragon.”

I twisted on his lap to look him in the eye. “So he let you go?”

“Yes.” Bael grinned. “And we ended up making a deal. I get to keep the jewel and the throne, but he’s going to be my new advisor and keep an eye on things when I can’t be there. It’s perfect really, given that I’m fairly sure my other advisor was trying to get me killed. He had this long list of monsters that I needed to “talk” to. I looked at the list more carefully after I saw the dragon. Most of those creatures can’t even talk.”

We all gaped at him for a long silent moment.

“So, that’s it then?” I asked finally. “That’s the final jewel.”

Looking very surprised himself, Ambrose nodded. “I suppose we should see if they fit into the crown.”

“But wait!” I said, suddenly realizing. “Did we leave the crown in Nevermore with everything else?”

I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized that. We’d brought so few things with us on this journey, the crown should have been by far the most important.

To my surprise, Ambrose smiled. “Don’t worry about the crown, love. As Bael just said, the raven will be along shortly.”

“You gave it to Quill? When?”

“I did,” Said Scion flatly. “In Inbetwixt. It seemed too important to lose.”

I felt my smile growing wider. “But he’s a bird? Where would he keep it?”

“I don’t think that’s a normal bird, little monster,” Bael said with an affected shutter, making his eyes as wide as possible. “Itknowsthings.”

I rolled my eyes. They were all absolutely insane–all three of them.

“Fine, so we’ll wait here for Quill,” I said. “But what about Idris? I don’t like that he traveled to Overcast and seems to know how to find us.”

“He has no idea how to find us,” Scion said.

“But in the forest he knew we were there immediately.”

“That’s because he saw the illusion,” Ambrose explained. “He had the same power. I think he must recognize it. I think it’s most interesting the way he spoke about you, love.”

“Why?” I grumbled. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”

“Because I don’t think he realizes who you are. Or rather, who your magic made you. He’s focused on us, but doesn’t seem to realize you’re the greater threat.”

I laughed. “No I’m not.”

“Once we get all the bonds sealed, you will be,” Scion said. “Removing Idris from the palace will be easy, but it only works if he’s surprised by you. If he finds out about your magic, or the crown, we’ll have entirely different problems to contend with.”

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