Dectus carried her to his desk and set her down carefully. “I’m aware of the altercation. What did you learn?”
“He is Ronodin, the dark unicorn,” Kendra said. “He was behind the fall of Wyrmroost and other dragon sanctuaries.”
Dectus nodded. “That is useful information. Unfortunately, the Giant Queen has placed me on probation as a member of her Council.”
“Wait, why?” Kendra asked. “For protecting Titan Valley?”
“That isn’t how the queen views it,” Dectus said. “She thinks I encouraged you to create a scene that would make Prince Doranio look bad.”
“But you had no part in it!” Kendra exclaimed.
“Word of what the servant saw got back to the queen immediately,” Dectus said. “Everything her servants observe gets reported. She was angry with the giant killer, but he insisted she put a silver collar on him and then testified that you started the fight. The giant killer claimed he was only resisting your attack.”
Kendra opened her mouth to defend herself and then paused to reconsider her words. “I guess I did throw fruit at him. And I tried to whack him with a bowl.”
“Were you lying when you claimed he attacked you?” Dectus asked.
Kendra avoided his gaze. “Well, Ronodin has attacked me and my family in so many ways, but technically I fell and hurt myself while trying to hit him.”
“The Giant Queen knows the truth because Ronodin wasn’t strangled,” Dectus said.
“He kidnapped my brother,” Kendra said. “He destroyed Wyrmroost and got Agad killed.”
“I don’t like him either,” Dectus said. “But you must not make false accusations. To the queen, you have been established as disreputable. Your testimony against Ronodin will mean little.”
Kendra winced. She hadn’t anticipated the consequences of starting a fight with Ronodin, nor had she foreseen the implications of her false accusation. She had responded to problems of the moment instinctively and let her anger take over, and it had weakened her ability to help protect Titan Valley. Dectus had paid a price as well.
“I’m sorry,” Kendra said.
“Consider it a lesson in politics,” Dectus said. “If you claim the moral high ground, the chinks in your armor become targets. You mustn’t give your enemies wrong behavior to exploit.”
“Someone like Ronodin will always take advantage,” Kendra said.
“Precisely,” Dectus said. “And a ruler like the queen has her biases, meaning even perfect arguments get ignored at times, leaving little chance for flawed ones.”
“Whether she knows it or not, with Ronodin here, Titan Valley is in danger,” Kendra said. “How long has he been courting the queen?”
“Off and on for several months now,” Dectus said.
“Does she trust him?” Kendra asked. “Does she share secrets with him?”
“The queen would not reveal matters of highest sensitivity to him,” Dectus said. “But he is in a position to learn much.”
“And Ronodin can figure out a lot from a little,” Kendra said. “Underestimating him could be a fatal mistake.”
“This sanctuary is mighty,” Dectus said. “Our dragons are in no position to make trouble. Scattered renegades in the back country remain free, but their liberty relies on hiding. Nevertheless, when a war is brewing, a responsible leader prepares for every contingency, eliminating weaknesses and shoring up defenses.”
“The Giant Queen does not act interested in protecting Titan Valley,” Kendra said. “Or in helping with the war. She would rather flirt with a spy.”
“The Giant Queen has little interest in any war outside of her boundaries,” Dectus said. “She knows her sanctuary is secure, and she intends to give any dragons who venture here the same treatment as the ones already in her care.”
“That might not be as simple as she imagines,” Kendra said.
“I agree,” Dectus said. “I want to help defend Titan Valley and to support the war effort against the dragons.”
“What can you do?”
“Much, if you help me first.”
“How?”
“You are new to Titan Valley. Do you know what this fortress protects?”
“The sky giants? The Giant Queen?”
“The entrance to Stratos,” Dectus said. “Terastios guards the only gap in the mountainous barrier that separates Stratos from the rest of the sanctuary.”
“Stratos is a land?”
“The realm of the sky giants,” Dectus said. “Long ago it floated high above the world, a vast island in the sky. That power was lost, and now our realm is grounded here in Titan Valley.”
“The sky giants still live there?” Kendra asked.
“Only we sky giants and our livestock. Animals on our same scale. Vegetables large enough to really feed us. It is where we properly fit. The one place where we really belong. Stratos is our true home.”
“Do you live in Stratos?” Kendra asked.
“As a member of the Council, I live here in Terastios,” Dectus said. “But I do have a modest home in Stratos. Immense by your reckoning.”
“It must be a big land,” Kendra said.
“Large enough to house the biggest citizens around,” Dectus said. “Kendra, I need something from Stratos. A treasure called the Waystar. I cannot obtain it myself. If you fetch the jewel for me, I can help with your war.”
“How will the jewel help?” Kendra asked.
“I have a great work for you and your friends,” Dectus said. “I believe in your integrity. You were the caretaker of a sanctuary. At least two of your comrades are members of the Knights of the Dawn. If you can accomplish this task, I will entrust you with a quest that could alter the war.”
“Is this a test?” Kendra asked.
“View it that way if the idea makes sense to you,” Dectus said. “Or else consider this the first phase of a greater mission.”
“Is the Waystar hidden?” Kendra asked.
“The jewel is in the possession of Madam Ladonna,” Dectus said. “The chief spellbinder of the sky giants.”
“We have to steal the Waystar from a giant sorceress?” Kendra asked.
“Borrow it,” Dectus corrected. “We won’t keep it or sell it. We just need it for a time.”
“How will I find it?” Kendra asked.
“Make a fist,” Dectus said.
Kendra held up a fist. Dectus leaned in for a close look.
“The Waystar is a beautiful gemstone slightly larger than your fist,” Dectus said. “It will be your favorite color.”
“How do you know
