Page 119 of Kingdom of Dance

“I wanted to tell you,” she assured them. “I tried, so many times. But the silencing magic was too sophisticated—I couldn’t find a way around it.”

“I know that, like me, you have the ability to recognize deception,” Obsidian cut in, his words directed toward Tanin. “So you know we’re telling the truth.”

“I know you believe it to be the truth,” Tanin corrected him.

Obsidian’s lips quirked up in a dry smile. “I thought you might see it that way,” he said. “Fortunately, I collected evidence during my time in the dragons’ realm.” He reached again into his satchel, but this time he didn’t bring out crystals. Slowly, carefully, he lifted out what looked like a small branch of dark wood. But its leaves were like no leaves Zinnia had ever seen. They looked like wrought silver, and they glowed faintly in the morning sunlight streaming through the hole the dragons had made in the ballroom wall.

Obsidian laid the branch gently at Tanin’s feet, then reached into his satchel for another. This one was more slender, its wood gleaming white. And its leaves weren’t silver, but delicately pressed gold. Zinnia stared in amazement as Obsidian placed the second branch beside its brother, then plunged his hand into his satchel yet again.

A few gasps sounded from the onlookers at the appearance of the third branch, and Zinnia didn’t blame them. It was dazzling, with leaves that could only be—

“Diamonds,” Violet muttered beside her.

And so they were. They caught the light, sending sparkles dancing erratically over the faces of the watching crowd.

Tanin stared at the branches for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Slowly, his eyes rose to Obsidian’s face. “You collected these branches from our lands yourself?”

Obsidian nodded.

“How did you detach them from their trees?”

“I used my magic,” Obsidian said matter-of-factly.

Tanin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It is a great crime to remove such items from our realm, Enchanter. Dragons have been known to destroy cities for less.”

A palpable tension spread through the room at his words, but Zinnia was proud to see that Obsidian didn’t flinch.

“I meant no disrespect,” he said calmly. “And I had no nefarious intentions for the use of these objects. I collected them merely as evidence. Now that they have served that purpose, I unhesitatingly return them to the dragons, as their rightful custodians.”

Tanin considered him for a long moment. Then he swiveled his head around to study Idric, who had let out an involuntary huff of surprise at the appearance of the branches. Making no response to Obsidian’s words, Tanin turned to Rekavidur.

“In spite of these revelations, I will not willingly bring humans into our realm. However, it seems that if we wish for all the information on this matter, we may need to include those whom Idric’s magic has touched.”

His gaze passed to King Bern. “We will return.”

Without another word, he swept back out through the hole in the wall, taking Obsidian’s branches with him. He and Idric shared a brief confrontation—Zinnia thought she caught the murmur of words, although certainly not in the language of men. Zinnia wondered how Tanin would compel Idric to go with him, but it seemed it wasn’t necessary. Idric must still be hoping to convince the elders to side with him. In any event, both elders took to the sky with a rush of wind that had those nearest the gardens throwing their arms up over their faces.

“Wait for us,” Dannsair told the gathered royals curtly. “We will not delay.”

Then she and Reka also exited through the broken doorway, their brighter forms launching into the sky in pursuit of the dark ones which had already disappeared.

“What did that mean?” Violet asked, turning a dazed face to Zinnia.

“It means we do as we’re told and wait,” Zinnia said grimly.

“But dragons have such a strange perspective on time,” Violet said. “They say, ‘see you soon’, then don’t come back for months.”

“Not this time.” Zinnia shook her head. “You heard Dannsair.” She turned to Obsidian. “What do you think they’re going to do?”

He was watching Basil, who was deep in conversation with King Bern and Amell, but he looked over at once when she addressed him.

“I think they’re going to do what we can’t do without their help,” he said simply. “End this for good.”

“I hope so,” Zinnia said fervently. She couldn’t entirely dismiss the fear that Idric wasn’t as deluded as he seemed—that perhaps the elders would share his view once he put his case to them.

With a swift nod to his son, King Bern strode away from the group, his steward hovering nearby as he climbed again onto the dais.

“Honored guests,” the king said, his voice booming over the crowd and causing the excited chatter to still. “Although events have arisen entirely outside our expectations, we are no less delighted that you have come to celebrate the union of Crown Prince Amell and Princess Aurelia of Albury—now a princess of Fernedell also.”

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