Page 285 of The Priory of the Orange Tree

Nayimathun puffed more cloud. “Neporo,” she echoed. “Yes . . . that was her name. She wielded this jewel the first time.”

“But, Nayimathun, I cannot be descended from a queen,” Tané said. “My family were very poor.”

“You have her jewel, Tané. It may be the only explanation,” Nayimathun said. “The Grand Empress Dowager was a temperate ruler, but her grandson is young and impulsive. It would be best for us to keep the true nature of the jewel between us, lest it be taken from you.” Her gaze flicked to Loth. “This one knows where it is, but he is afraid of me. Perhaps he will confide in another human.”

Tané followed her line of sight. When he saw them both watching him, Loth stopped talking to Thim.

“You must support his appeal tomorrow. He means to propose an alliance between the Unceasing Emperor and Queen Sabran of Inys,” Nayimathun said.

“The honored Unceasing Emperor will never agree.” Tané was stunned. “It would be madness even to propose it to him.”

“He may be tempted. Now the Nameless One is coming, it is of paramount importance that we stand together.”

“He is coming, then?”

“We have felt it. The diminishing of our power, and the rise of his. His fire burns ever hotter.” Nayimathun nudged her. “Go, now. Ask her envoy about the waning jewel. We must have it.”

Tané put the rising jewel away. Whatever Loth knew about the twin, it was unlikely that he would agree to yield it to dragonkind, or to her, without a fight.

She walked across the bridge and joined the two men in the pavilion.

“Tell me where the waning jewel is,” she said to the Westerner. “It must be returned to dragonkind.”

Loth blinked before his face set. “That is quite out of the question,” he said. “My dear friend in Inys is the possessor of the jewel.”

“Which friend is this?”

“Her name is Eadaz uq-Nara. Lady Nurtha. She is a mage.”

Tané had never heard the word. “I think he meanssorceress,” Thim said to Tané in Seiikinese.

“The jewel does not belong to this Lady Nurtha,” Tané said, irked. “It belongs to dragonkind.”

“They choose their own wielders. And only death can sever the link between Ead and the waning jewel.”

“Is she able to come here?”

“She is gravely ill.”

“Will she recover?”

Something flickered in his eyes. He rested his arms on the balustrade and gazed out at the pine trees.

“There may be one way to heal her,” he murmured. “In the South there is an orange tree, guarded by wyrm-slayers. Its fruit can offset the effects of poison.”

“Wyrm-slayers.” Tané misliked this revelation. “And is this Eadaz uq-Nara a wyrm-slayer, too?”

“Yes.”

Tané tensed. “I am aware,” she said, “that over the Abyss, you consider our dragons to be evil. That you consider them as cruel and frightening as the Nameless One.”

“It is true that there have been . . . misunderstandings, but I am quite sure Ead has never harmed one of your Eastern dragons.” He turned to look at her. “I need your help, Lady Tané. To carry out my task.”

“And what is that?”

“Several weeks ago, Ead found a letter from an Eastern woman named Neporo, who once wielded your jewel.”

Neporo again. Her name was all over the world, haunting Tané like a faceless ghost.

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