“You have done great good for many people,” he said.
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Your godson’s sister owes a great debt to you.”
“I’m not sure what I did. I thought she hated me.”
“You allowed her to make mistakes, to understand her consequences. It is what any good parent would have done.”
A good parent. Great. I’d always thought I’d make a lousy parent. I didn’t want to ponder it, so I changed the subject. “Were you able to help the other dragons?” I asked him.
My stepfather’s face grew grim. “I never made it to the outer islands.”
“Why not?”
“I was stopped by the Regaymor. The goblins were not the only species interested in Theht’s return. The Regaymor were attempting to infiltrate our planet. I stopped them before they were able to obtain the island’s magic, though I fear it will not be long before they find a way to return.”
“Who are they, exactly?”
“They are beings from another reality. I was not able to learn any more than that.”
“Did you kill them?”
“I sent them away. They are not capable of death as we are familiar with it.” The image of the Dreamthief’s mirror popped into my mind. I’d seen a place with twisted trees and a dark moor. Could that be where they were from? If so, where was it? There were still many places in Faythander yet to be discovered. Still, I wondered why my stepfather didn’t know much more about them.
I glanced at Kull again. He seemed cryptically quiet. I decided it was time for a change in subject.
“You came roaring to my rescue on the back of an enchanted T-Rex, even after I asked you not to help me.”
“To the contrary, you asked me not to help where the pixies were concerned. And so I didn’t. However, I refused to stay away from you after that. I could think of no better way to rescue you than on the back of an enchanted ancient dragon. It had quite the dramatic effect, don’t you think?”
I stifled a laugh. Same old Kull. Despite his cockiness, his voice took me off guard. Listening to him was like watching flowers grow after a long, brutal winter. I decided not to mention it to him. Warrior voices aren’t supposed to remind people of flowers.
“How did you manage to steal the T-Rex?” I asked.
“Euralysia owed me a favor.”
I raised an eyebrow. “A favor?”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I may have learned something about her that she’d rather keep secret. I used it to my advantage.”
“You blackmailed the elven princess?”
A small smile lit his face. “Blackmail? I would do no such thing! I negotiated for a worthy cause. As it turns out, the skeleton was not as hard to remove as you thought.”
“You made Euralysia steal the skeleton for you?”
“Apparently. As you know, I have no memory of it.”
I wondered what bit of information he’d learned about her. For a time, I’d suspected her of being the Dreamthief.
“Olive, there is something I must tell you.”
And here we go. Was Kull ready to confess what Mr. Green had hinted at?
“You don’t have to tell me. I think I already know.”
“You do?”
“Were you helping Mr. Green?”
He knitted his eyebrows.
“Because I understand completely. I forgive you. I know how it must be sometimes, to support a cause you believe in but—”
“No,” he cut me off. “That is not at all what I meant to say. I never met Mr. Green until I found him in the tower with you. I had meant to tell you something else.”
“Oh,” I stopped. “What?”
“I—” He glanced up at Fan’twar. My stepfather cleared his throat, then mumbled something about checking on my godson and left the room, all six tons of scales and teeth.
What was going on? What did Kull have to say that he couldn’t say in front of the sky king?
“I have decided not to marry the princess,” he said.
I blinked. “What?”
“Marrying her will not stop the war. In fact, the war is already started. My marriage would have only delayed the inevitable.”
“What does Euralysia think about this?”
He hesitated. “She agreed. Under the circumstances.”
“Was this part of the blackmail?”
A small smile creased his mouth. “It may have been.” His face turned serious. “Euralysia agreed to help me free you, but she could do nothing to stop the war. The goblins have organized. My own sister has joined them.”
This actually made sense. It had been Heidel who’d sabotaged us, not Kull. “But why would she do it?”
“Because she fell in love with Geth.”
“What? How did that happen?”
“Do you remember the scars on her hands?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“They were put there by goblins—by Geth—when she met him in his true form almost three years ago. She was on a scouting expedition near the goblin lands when her troop was attacked. She was captured by creatures who she thought were elves. She managed to lure their leader, Geth, into a sense of security. Unfortunately, he fell in love with her, though I will never understand how she came to love him. She learned that Geth was actually a goblin and the leader of the Caxon. They have since vowed to stay in their elven forms, although they were forbidden by the elves to do so.”
I rubbed my forehead. “This seems so ridiculous sometimes. Where is Heidel now?”
His face grew grim. “She has left us to join the Caxon. Although I’ve rescued you, the Caxon are still very much a threat. Their quest to summon Theht has only begun. Mr. Green was the leader of one faction, but with him gone, Geth will have the ability to take control of all the Caxon—and of the entire goblin nation.”
Through the window, a thin trail of smoke snaked into the sky. From this far up, the smoke could have come from miles away. Drums beat in the distance, the drums of a battle.
For the first time in a thousand years, war had come to Faythander. My stomach sank as the drumbeat continued.
“Will you fight?” I asked Kull.
Dumb question.
