Page 129 of Realm of Thieves

“Now that I’m alive?” I repeat.

“It’s a lot, I know,” Brynla says to me, rubbing her hand down my back. “I’m still not sure of anything except that you’re here and you’re back and that’s all that matters.”

I look at the lava lady. She would be quite attractive if it weren’t for the, you know, magma. I can even see the resemblance to Brynla in her upturned nose and small chin.

The lady smiles. “You will know the truth when you hear it.”

“But I don’t understand,” I say. “How are you a goddess?” I look at Brynla. “Does this mean you’re a goddess?”

“Not quite, though she certainly seems like one, doesn’t she?” her mother says. “I have the blood of Magni in me. I am a direct descendant, which makes Brynla a descendant. I had been told this, a rumor in our family, kept close to the heart because of the risk of it being blasphemous. But I felt it was true. I think the government did too. Once they were able to try my husband for our crimes, they were more than happy to sacrifice me to the dragons in some twist of fate. But I never knew what I was; the only proof I had was when I arrived at the Midlands with that ship full of bleating rockdeer. I watched as all ofthem were eaten and yet the dragons wouldn’t eat me. They would sniff me, circle me, but they’d always walk away.”

I glance at Brynla. She’s sucking it all in like oxygen, her eyes hungry.

Her mother continues. “So I lived among them for a few moon cycles. I ate seaweed and crab. When the next ship came, I was tempted to sneak on and go back to Esland. But at that point, I knew there was a chance I could really die. My husband was dead, and my daughter I knew would be taken to the convent, though I had hope that my sister-in-law would pull her out like we had discussed one day, had the worst-case scenario happened. And at that point, the dragons started to bring me meat.”

“And so how did this happen?” I ask, gesturing to her body.

“A volcano exploded, burying me in lava. I thought I was dying an agonizing death, burned and smothered alive, but I didn’t die. Instead I emerged from the lava, just like you did, except I didn’t revert to normal. I stay as part of the islands. Part of the earth. Part of my home. I became Voldansa, the unworshipped goddess, known by no one else but the dragons. Even the dragons have to worship someone, you know.”

“So I’m related to Magni,” Brynla says in awe.

“Wait, I saw a dragon in the dungeon at the convent,” I say. “The Sister called it Magni. She thought it was the sorcerer.”

“The Sisters are wrong,” Voldansa says. “Magni is still alive, fueled by suen, his own magic, it’s hard to say. He’s out there but he is not in any dragon form. They believe what they want to believe.”

“But where did they get that dragon from? It was bigger than any I’ve ever seen.”

She gives me a small smile. “Not all dragons are kept behind the wards. Some of them were out in the realms when the wards went up. Those dragons eventually died off, but there are pockets of them stillremaining. The ice caves in Sorland, for one. The volcanic vents of Vesland. There might be dragons on every continent, keeping hidden until the end of days.”

“So there is an end of days,” Brynla whispers, wringing her hands together.

“Not all prophecies come true for the same reasons,” she says. “The wards will fall but there’s only one group of people who are interested in making that happen. If you can’t get the world to follow your beliefs, then you can create something that will.”

“And when is this happening?” I ask.

“I don’t have the gift of sight, I’m sorry. But I’m sure someone out there does, thanks to suen.”

“Well, it’s not me, since suen has never worked on me,” Brynla grumbles.

“And it never will,” her mother says. “It doesn’t work in your system because you have the blood of dragon in you.”

“But Magni is a man,” she says, though the truth seems to widen her eyes.

“Magni was a man at some point, but he was always a sorcerer. The Midlands changed him in ways I still don’t understand.”

“Wait, does that mean Brynla’s blood might act like suen does?”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Brynla says, glaring at me. Then she clears her throat. “So the egg of immortality would never work on me, would it?”

Her mother stares at her for a moment before exchanging a look of some kind with the two-headed dragon. “The egg of immortality is something that should never fall into human hands, or the world will end a lot faster than the prophecy predicts.” Her voice is grave, heavy, and she’s staring right at me with burning white eyes. “That kind of power corrupts even the purest souls.”

Brynla clears her throat. “I’m glad you’ve said that. Because something has been weighing on me. You see…”

“Brynla,” I warn her.

“We just stole the egg of immortality from the Harbringer. We broke into the convent.”

Her mother doesn’t say anything for a moment, just stares at her. Then she nods. “I am grateful you did that, for the egg was part of their plan. Make their citizens, or at least their officials, immortal, so when the wards fall, no dragon can hurt them.”

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