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'Gods, I'd forgotten how good these things are,' said Sensis, popping a strawberry into her mouth.

Fyia rolled her eyes, and the Spider tutted at the decadent display. Chocolate had become scarce since their lands had cooled, and eye-wateringly expensive.

'What will you do?' asked Sensis.

'The only thing I can do,' said Fyia. 'I know the location of only two eggs.'

'Fae'ch and Black Hoods?' said Sensis.

Fyia nodded. 'So off to the Fae'ch mountains I shall go.'

It wasn't an idea she relished, but she had no choice, and she longed to see her brother—an added bonus. Certainly the Fae'ch were the better of the two options, because with the Black Hoods, no one knew what was legend and what was true.

'You're running away?' said the Spider, with a cruel smile.

'I know that's how some will see it, but … convince them otherwise,' said Fyia.

'That's not my job,' said the Spider, 'and leading your council as your stand-in does not play to my skills.'

'Then who?' said Adigos. 'Sensis?'

Sensis laughed. 'The Queen's sending me to Moon to deal with the military academy, remember? And it's not a job for me either; military command and political councils are different beasts to tame.'

'I have to find the dragon eggs,' said Fyia. 'If I can't do that, it's only a matter of time before we have another war on our hands.'

'You're the legitimate ruler of the Five Kingdoms, even without dragons,' said Adigos.

'I know,' said Fyia, hotly, 'but not everyone sees it that way, especially givenyouractions during the war.'

'You know I'm sorry,' he said, his features betraying his guilt.

'You riled a few people up at the council meeting earlier, too,' Sensis said to Fyia.

'Rightly so,' said Adigos.

'It was stupid,' said the Spider, placing her hands calmly in her lap. 'You should have got them on side, and said you would consider marriage options. Only when they owed you something should you have introduced your ideas for the markets and guilds … slowly … step by step.'

'I will neither pander nor play politics,' said Fyia. 'If I start that way, I set the tone for my entire reign. But you're right, I need someone to keep them in line while I'm away.'

'There is only one person,' said Sensis, with a chuckle.

'You can't be serious …' said the Spider.

'She's right,' said Fyia. 'No one else is both capable and trustworthy.'

'She's a hedonist,' scoffed the Spider.

'Who?' said Adigos.

Fyia inhaled deeply, then held her breath. 'My aunt.' And convincing her would be a challenge.

It took a day's hard riding to reach the Temple of the Goddess. They tracked the river Sage and its adjacent canal upstream into the heart of the Kingdom of Plenty, but it was a beautiful autumnal day. Fyia smiled as she watched farmers working in the fields of the lowlands, tending to sheep and cows, or cutting late hay.

The Kingdom of Plenty provided much of the meat consumed within the Five Kingdoms, and it was good to see life continuing as normal, despite the war she'd brought to their doorstep. Plenty was the second kingdom she'd conquered, so they'd had time to adjust, and they were generally a good-natured, easy-going people. Unless she messed with the bloodlines of a prized variety of sheep, there wasn't much that would truly upset them.

The Temple of the Goddess was an imposing marble building that sat atop a square pyramid, with steps on all four sides. At the top, a terrace wrapped around, where the devouts of the temple regularly laid booby traps to prevent unwelcome visitors from making it inside.

Fyia paused at the bottom and looked up the steep stairs. A man wearing nothing but a loin cloth watched them, leaning against a pillar.