Page 107 of Exquisite Monster
Zovai held out a hand. “Dragons do not blame you for choosing the only path available to you. I will not pretend that the attitude among most dragons is friendly toward your kind. But if the western lands flourished, most of us would have no quarrel.”
I glanced at him. He felt the question in our bond and glanced atme.Telling them the Elders mean to destroy humans gains us nothing. And if the stones are healed, the barrier is not at risk.
My nod was so small only he could see it.
“Thank you,” Dalas said. It sounded genuine.
“Why have you come?” Sirrus asked again.
Isaelle swallowed. “You spoke of stones in Caelora. Stones that had been broken.”
“They are called thesheyten. Humans know them as the Fallen, though I doubt anyone remembers what they truly are. There are seven in this world. Two have been shattered.”
“Andaros would not stop speaking about them after you left. Once the chaos subsided. He went out of his way to make sure people understood that you were wrong. That the stones were tools of the dragons used to harm us and the closer they were to humans, the more damage they could cause.” Arris rolled his eyes. “I was present while he drank with both my father and yours,” he nodded to me. “Kept going on about how two stones was not enough and they should have shattered them all.”
I grit my teeth. Without thesheyten,it was not only the humans who were in trouble. And even dragons who held no ill will toward humans wouldn’t allow more to be broken. Especially if they came with an army to do so. “That cannot happen.”
“We know,” Dalas said.
“These stones are not like common rocks, yes?” Isaelle pressed. “Dark and nearly unbreakable, yet have a sheen like metal?”
All three of my mates went still like the predators they were. Paying attention. Ready to strike if they were here to destroy something else.
“Yes,” I said.
The princess blew out a breath in relief. “We know where the shattered pieces are. That’s why we have come.”
Dizziness spun inside me so quickly I nearly fell. The overwhelming chaos of my mates’ reactions and the reality of this. Joy and disbelief and suspicion. If it were true, it could mean everything.Everything.
“Where?” Sirrus’s voice was nearly a growl. “Where are they?”
“What you said in Caelora made me remember something,” Arris said. “When I was a child exploring the royal vaults. There were large shards of rock out of place. When I asked the king what they were, he told me they were a gift from Craisos, and that we had sent some to them in return. That we would never need to worry about it as long they were safe where they were kept. I had no reason to think of it again until you spoke of the stones.”
Idroal finally spoke. They vibrated with an energy I’d never seen. “With how distrustful humans were, they would have doneeverything in their power to keep thesheytenfrom returning. Moving the pieces to where they could not be easily found or accessed makes sense.”
Arris reached down and took Isaelle’s hand, weaving their fingers together. It was hidden by the fabric of her skirt, but I still saw it. She seemed steadier when he touched her, and I smiled. That, I understood.
“Do Denao or Zastea hold any pieces?” Zovai asked.
“Yes.” Isaelle nodded. “I have seen them. Not many, and not large. But yes.”
Dalas shook his head no.
“So those pieces belong to thesheytenbeyond Craisos and Gleira,” Idroal said, looking at me. “And that Craisos holds the pieces for the southern stone. Does Gleira hold any pieces?”
“Not to my knowledge,” I shrugged. “But I wasn’t given access to our royal vaults and treasuries. It is possible.”
They gave me a look for a heartbeat longer, and my stomach twisted. Like Idroal knew something I did not and would not yet say it. But they turned back to the visiting royals before I could ask. “How easily can they be retrieved?”
“With help and some stealth?” Arris asked. “I don’t foresee a problem. But if you are to do this, if you want a chance at preventing a war, it has to be now. We must leave as soon as you are able. It is why we chose to come so quickly.”
Fear struck me straight in the gut. “Why?”
“Draygs arrived with messengers. Andaros and his army have ridden out from Caelora. They march on dragon lands as we speak.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
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