Page 44 of The Dragon Queen

HighPriestessFangsmilesthinly. "Thatwouldbemostappreciated."Shecastshergazetothesky. "Butbearinmind--Ibelievethatwewillsoonbejoinedbymany,manymore."

SHEISN'TWRONG.We'venosoonerfiguredoutaccommodationsforourStoneKingdomgueststhanthewardsareblaringyetagain.ThreedozenFireDragonsjoinourmidst,includingtwoofRafe'sbrothersandanoldwomanwithacrookedspineandstreaksofflameinherotherwisesilverhair.ItrynottogawkattheFireKingdomEnchantress,hereinourmidst,butit'sdifficult.BetweenherandFang,wehavehalfofthedragonworld'spopulationofsuprememagicusers.

Andfromthereitonlygrows.It'slikeadamhasbroken.AirDragonsandWaterDragonsjoinourgroupbythescore,eachtellingthesametale.

TheirkingdomwastakenoverbyShadowKingdomforces.Onemoment,everythingwasnormal,andthenext,ShadowDragonswerecomingoutofthewoodwork,revealingthemselvesinthehighestlevelsofthemilitaryandmagicalcouncils.

TherulersofallfourgreatDragonKingdomshadbeencompromised.Notashotneededtobefired.

Andthen,justwhenallhopehadbeenlost,alldissentsquashed,anexiledprincehadreturned,tellingthestoryofanewDragonQueen,whowouldascendtothegrandthroneandunitethekingdoms.Butsheneededhelp.

EverytimeIhearthestory,mystomachtwistsmoretightlywithanxiety.AsmuchasImighttrytoblendintoit,ournewarrivalsspotmeinthecrowd.TheireyesshinewiththekindofhopeIfeltwhenHighPriestessFangarrived--theideathatIcouldbesparkingitfeelsimpossible.

Butit'salsoimpossibletoescape.

Especiallylaterthatnight,whenImeetHighPriestessFanginthecastle'slibrary.

Sheandtheothernewarrivalsmanagedtosmuggleanewtreasuretroveofoldtextsandmapsoutoftheirkingdoms.Whenwehaven'tbeendealingwiththelogisticsofhousingahostofnewrecruits,we'vebeencataloguingtheircontributions.

Yetagain,IwhisperasilentprayerofthankstotheGodsandtomymates.Idon'tknowifwe'llfindthesecrettorecoveringtheCrownofCindersinthesedocuments.Butthemoreresourceswehaveatourdisposal,thebetterourchances.

It'slate,andonlyafewoftheStoneTempleSistersremaininthelibrarywiththehighpriestess.Whenshespotsmeapproaching,HighPriestessFanggivesherassistantsanodanddismissesthem,makingplanstoreconveneandgetbacktoworkinthemorning.

Finally,we'realone.

Itipmyheadtowardacomfortableleathersofanearthewindow.

Foldingherselfelegantlytosit,sheraisesabrow. "Youbroughtit?"

Takingmyownseatontheotherendofthecouch,Iexhaledeeplyandreachintomybag.

ThemostdisconcertingthingabouthandlingtheshatteredremnantsoftheShadowBracerishowutterlynormalitis.Thedarkmetalhasnohum,nospark.

Nomagic.

Iwithdrawthefabricbundleofshardsandlaytheclothoutontheemptycushionbetweenus.Asmyfingersgrazethesharpedgesofbrokenmetal,Ishiver.It'scold--someofthedeepebonycolorisevenfading,leavingitatarnished,lifelessgray.

HighPriestessFanghasalreadyheardmostofthestoryfromJianyu,butIrecountthefinalmomentswhenthebracerrejectedmeagain.AsIspeak,sheinspectsthebrokenpieces,pickingthemuponebyone.

WhenIwasherstudent,Isawfirst-handthepowerthiswomanwields.StoneDragonscanmanipulaterockandmetal.DoorsintheGrandStoneTemplewereoftencarvedfromsolidmarble,onlyabletobeopenedbyaskilledpractitioneroftheirarts.Ifanyonecanfixthis,it'sher.

Bythesametoken:ifshecan't,noonecan.

Asmytalecomestoitsend,Ibitetheinsideofmycheek,curlingmyhandsintotightfists.HighPriestessFangissilent,andIresisttheurgetospeak,justtofillthevoid.

Slowly,sherearrangesthepieces,liningthemallupsothattheyformtheshapeofthebracer.Myheartbeatpoundsinmychest.Ashiverracesalongmyarm,andforasecond,IswearIhearthatweirdstaticthathummedthroughmyearsfromthemomentIfirstencounteredthebracer.It'slikeit'scomingfrominsideme--butbetweenonebreathandthenext,it'sgone.

HighPriestessFangwavesherhandoverthepieces,andtheyriseintotheair.Sherotatestheminaslowarc,butaftertakingitthroughasingleturn,shedropsherhandandshakesherhead.Whiletheshardsremainintheair,myheartfallstothefloor.

"Icanrepairtheitemitself,"shesays. "Butthecoreofmagicwithinithasbeenlost."

Myvoicecracks. "Soit'sjust...gone.There'snohope?"

Shelooksatme,andnotforthefirsttime,itfeelsasifshe'speeringstraightintomysoul.

"Forrestoringthebracertoitsformerpower?I'mafraidnot."Hergazesoftens,andsheliftsherhandoncemore. "ButEmber,thereisalwayshope."

Shespinstheshatteredbracerfasternow--fasterandfasteruntilit'sablur.Somethinginmybonesshimmers,andthemetalgleams,andthenablindingburstoflightexplodesoutward,fillingthedarkroom.

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