The dragons were not only hated by the trolls, but feared and hated by people in the neighboring countries. If the news ever leaked that the dragons were men, there would be assassins who would try to kill them while they were in their more vulnerable human form.
She would have to be careful not to let anyone know that she knew the truth. Silas was trusting her to keep the secret, and she didn’t want to let him down. Besides, if any of the dragons found out that she knew, she wouldn’t be allowed to leave the country. She would never be able to return to her sisters.
Her heart clenched in her chest. Did she even want to leave now? How could she leave Silas? But how could she abandon her sisters? She’d lived with them for twenty-one years. How could she leave them for a man she’d known for five days?
But Luciana and Brigitta had fallen for men quickly, too, and they were very happy now. Silas had warned her that if they became lovers, he would insist on marriage. Good goddesses, she’d almost become his lover today!
She shook herself mentally. She had too many other things to worry about, like keeping the queen alive and curing the plague. For now, she needed to focus on work. And she had better act as if she were completely ignorant about the dragons.
She glanced at Dimitri, who was riding beside her with Silas’s horse in tow.
She cleared her throat. “How will Silas get around? Shouldn’t we have left him his horse?”
Dimitri looked taken aback for a moment, then waved a dismissive hand. “He’ll be fine. It’s a short walk to the castle. Besides, he wanted me to return the crown as soon as possible.”
“I see.” A shadow fell over them, and she peered up at the sky. “Oh, look!” She pointed as Silas flew over them in dragon form. “Is that Puff?”
Dimitri glanced up. “Could be.”
Gwennore waved at the dragon. “It’s good to see him. I haven’t seen him in a few days.” There, that should convince Dimitri she was still in the dark. She spotted another movement in the sky. An eagle, and it was flying straight for them. Brody?
“Why did you and Silas take the crown into the forest?” Dimitri asked. “He didn’t have time to explain, but he said you could.”
She nodded, grateful to have something to take her mind off her relationship with Silas. When she started describing how the giant redwoods had helped, Dimitri held up a hand to stop her.
“You’re really communicating with them?”
“Yes, they said only a few elves can do it.” As she continued with the story, the eagle swooped down and landed on the saddle of Silas’s horse.
“Hi, Brody.” Gwennore smiled at him, and he gave her a small squawk.
Dimitri snorted. “Isn’t he a little obvious with his spying?”
“I’m sure he’s just curious.” Gwennore finished her story about the crowns and tainted jewelry. “So all the madness and suffering that was attributed to the so-called curse was actually caused by a poisonous metal.”
“Do you think the Ancient Ones knew they were poisoning us?” Dimitri asked.
Gwennore nodded. “We believe so. But the good news is once we get rid of all the poisonous jewelry, the curse will be gone.”
“But what about the plague? Isn’t that part of the curse?”
Gwennore explained everything that had happened in the troll village. “People expect me to find a cure, but I’m not really sure how to go about it. Brody, could you go to Luciana and Brigitta and find out if their royal physicians have any advice for me? I need all the help I can get.”
Brody gave a squawk, then took off.
“Thank you!” Gwennore called after him.
“I guess he has his uses.” Dimitri watched the eagle flying south.
“Definitely,” Gwennore agreed. “I don’t know what we would do without Brody.”
For the rest of the trip, Dimitri was silent. Gwennore wondered if he was thinking about Annika. With the curse gone, there would no longer be a reason for him to avoid her.
Unfortunately her relationship with Silas was not that easy to resolve.
* * *
The sun was setting by the time Silas landed at a cabin close to the army camp. While getting dressed in the cabin, he sent a mental message to Aleksi that he had arrived.
Aleksi met him on the outskirts of the camp and led him toward the tent where the priest was being held.
“Has he said anything?” Silas asked as he returned salutes of soldiers they passed by.
“No, but I haven’t actually questioned him yet. We’ve left him alone since this morning, so he should be feeling anxious by now. Oh, he had a pouch of gold on him, and this.” Aleksi handed him a rolled-up piece of paper.
Silas unrolled it. The message was written in Elfish. “Damn.” There was no one here who could read it. Maybe Gwennore could. He glanced at the setting sun. It was too late to fly back tonight. He slipped the note into a pocket inside his breastplate.
So the priest hadn’t planned to report to Lord Morris after all, but to an elf? And since the Chameleon had killed Romak to keep him from talking, did that mean the Chameleon was also working with an elf? Maybe the Chameleon was an elf. No one knew what he really looked like.
“Here we are.” Aleksi stopped next to a tent surrounded by half a dozen armed soldiers.
Silas lifted the flap to look inside. A lit lantern, hung from a hook on the tent frame overhead, cast a golden glow on the priest. He was a thin, elderly man, slumped in a chair with his hands tied behind him.
“I’ll try the nice approach,” Silas whispered to Aleksi. “Lend me a knife and bring a tray of food.”
“All right.” Aleksi handed him a dagger, then strode toward the galley tent while Silas jabbed the dagger under his belt.
“Good evening, Father.” He stepped inside the tent, lowering
