Page 74 of The Oracle of Dusk

“Such a blatant change of topic. And catered exactly to my interests.”

“Please?”

He chuckled.

“What would you like to know?”

“When we go there, what will I see?”

“Hmm, well, first—no, give me a moment. I have an idea,” he said, rising from his position and walking to the door, his hair only half combed. “Bring me a minds-eye stone,” he ordered the attendant.

“Your Majesty, that might be a little—”

“Are you saying that the Viridian capital is so impoverished, it can’t even afford one minds-eye stone?”

“Of course not, Your Majesty.” The attendant bristled. “It will take but a moment.”

He settled back into his spot and leaned his head back. Aurora continued brushing, working out the worst of the tangles with the help of a little oil.

“What’s the stone?”

“You’ll see.”

She worked in companionable quiet. When she was done, she combed the full, silky length of it. As it dried, his thick hair developed a beautiful, loose wave. Most women would kill for hair such as his. Theron sighed contentedly.

“What do you suppose it would cost me to have an attendant comb my hair like this every day?”

“Given the cost for a bar of soap? Probably your firstborn.”

“And what would you charge, madam fairy?”

She concentrated her hearing. No one had taken the absent attendant’s position at the door. Orithyia had threatened her not to divulge this information, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, Aurora hoped.

“Information and favours.”

“Oh? What kind of favours?” Theron asked, his voice deepening.

Aurora snorted. It seemed Theron was still angling for something she planned on guarding.

“Military aid, to start.”

Theron laughed.

“Planning to conquer Trisia while you’re here?”

“Hardly. Drakon is an enormous flying serpent who can summon molten boulders and rain them down from the skies. He breathes a fire so hot it turns people to ash in an instant. It will take considerable force to subdue him.”

If it could even be done. She could only hope that here, during the first cycle of calamity, his powers were not as devastating as they’d been in her time. After all, the great serpents of myth and legend grew in strength and potency as they aged, and the Drakon of her time had been thousands of years old.

“And aside from my military, what else would you demand for your hair-combing services?”

“Help with finding someone.”

“Oh? I had no notion you knew anyone in Trisia. Should I be jealous?”

“I don’t know them, precisely. But I will need their help to slay Drakon.”

“And my military won’t be enough?” he asked, slightly affronted.

---