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'But doyouthink he has them?'

The Spider inhaled deeply. 'If he has—especially if he has five—it's strange he hasn't shown them off. He's an exhibitionist, yet he hides his most prized possessions? And there are no accounts from his staff; no singed curtains or scratched floors, no new area constructed to house them. And the Emperor hardly ever leaves the palace, so if he's keeping them elsewhere, he never visits.'

'If he had even a single dragon, he'd have it draped over his arm, present at every dinner and court function,' Starfall said with complete conviction.

'So he's lying,' said Fyia, sitting back in her chair.

'Even if he's not,' said the Spider, 'you can't enter his territory as he's requested; you'd never make it out alive.'

'At least not unmarried,' said Starfall, with a taunting smile.

'Then I have to go north,' said Fyia, 'to the Black Hoods.'

'Why?' said Starfall.

'Because they have a dragon egg,' said Fyia, sending Starfall a questioning look.

'Spider,' Fyia continued, 'we heard of attacks in the north of the Kraken Empire. Do you think it's the Black Hoods?'

'No,' she said. 'Venir is convinced the Emperor's being attacked by his own people. The Emperor wants to dig up the north, and the people there don't want him to. Venir says the north is rich in mineral deposits, and the Emperor wants to mine them. The people believe the minerals contain magic that protects the world. They keep destroying his mines.'

Fyia laughed. 'Nice to hear I'm not the only ruler being attacked by my own people.'

Starfall chuckled. 'Maybe youshouldmarry him; you've got things in common.'

Fyia sent Starfall a warning look, which only made her laugh harder.

'But what about the egg in the south?' said Starfall. 'Why not go there?'

Fyia rounded on her aunt. 'The egg in the south?'

'Queen Scorpia's egg,' said Starfall.

'What?' said Fyia.

Starfall turned to the Spider. 'Youdidn't know?'

The Spider pursed her lips and shook her head. Fyia would have smiled if she wasn't so frustrated. 'Where exactly is Scorpia's egg rumored to be?'

'In the Temple of the Whore,' said Starfall.

'The what?'

'One of the seven temples?' said Starfall, looking around at the sea of blank faces.

Fyia gritted her teeth. She waved her hand irritably, motioning for Starfall to continue.

'My Gods, your parents really did teach you nothing. The seven temples of the seven deities?'

Fyia shook her head, suppressing her rage. Did her brother know this stuff? 'Tell me,' said Fyia, taking comfort that everyone else in the room seemed as clueless as she.

'Back when the Five Kingdoms were united under the Dragon King, the people worshiped seven deities: the Gods of the Dragon, Brother, and Whore, and the Goddesses of the Night, Sea, Warrior, and Seven Hells. They built one magnificent temple for each deity, spread across the world. When the dragons disappeared, and the kingdom split into five, those deities fell out of favor for some, while others added more.'

'Wait, the Warrior's a woman?' said Adigos, his forehead furrowed.

'I've often wondered why no one cares about the anatomical inaccuracy of the expressionWarrior's balls,' said Starfall.

'But Queen Scorpia's lands aren't part of the Five Kingdoms,' said Fyia. 'Why is there a temple there?'