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Khramelan barely glanced at the six cranes waddling in the sand. “What you did with the pearl is none of my concern.”

“But—”

“You humans are all the same. I do you one favor, and you ask for another.”

My jaw locked. “It isn’t a favor. They risked their lives to help save you.”

“Their lives will be better spent as cranes than as men.”

Fury boiled in my throat, but I swallowed it, knowing it’d do no good to lash out at Khramelan. He’d only fly away, and my brothers would be trapped forever as cranes. So I chose my next words carefully. “Humans treated you like a monster, and you hate them,” I said. “I understand that. They were the same to Channari.”

Khramelan didn’t flinch this time when I spoke my stepmother’s name. Undeterred, I ventured a step toward him. “You were friends. A long time ago.”

“Your stepmother made the mistake of thinking so,” he replied. “It cost her.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said, remembering Ujal’s words. “I’m sure she hated you. But you must have deserved it.”

At that, Khramelan fell silent.

Sensing an opening, I said, quietly, “Why did you kill Vanna?”

Khramelan gave me a dark look. “Channari and I had an understanding,” he replied, speaking through locked teeth. “I promised her I would not harm the Golden One, and that I would not claim the pearl in her heart until she died. I am immortal, after all. A few decades of waiting is inconsequential.”

“What happened?”

“Obviously, I didn’t wait.” Khramelan stared straight into the sun. “I was tricked into attacking Vanna. Channari failed to protect her sister from me. She had a chance to kill me, but she hesitated. Another one of her mistakes.”

My eyes fell on a stab wound in his chest. Unlike the wounds he’d incurred while fighting Bandur’s demons on Lapzur, this one had not healed. It was deep and old, pale against his night-black flesh, and gravely close to his heart.

So that was how Raikama’s spear had broken.

“It still hurts from time to time,” said Khramelan thickly. “As you say, I deserved it.”

I was quiet, filled with pity and remorse for all the wrongs of the past—and a sad wonder that they had all led to this moment.

But a few things still didn’t make sense. “If Vanna died, shouldn’t the pearl have gone to you?”

“I broke my promise to Channari,” said Khramelan. “When an immortal breaks his promise, he loses a piece of his soul. The pearl found me…unworthy.”

I eyed the pearl as it lurked in the half dragon’s shadow.

“It chose Channari. It burrowed itself inside her, forcing me to wait until she died.” A pause. “She cursed me: ‘Until I die, you will live in darkness.’ ”

“You felt it when she passed,” I said.

“It was like waking up from a dream,” Khramelan said. “The demons sensed my change too. That is why they were eager to follow Bandur.”

I nodded, understanding. “What happened after my stepmother cursed you?”

“She disappeared to Kiata, and the Dragon King trapped me into being the guardian of Lapzur.” Khramelan bared his teeth. “For that, I will never forgive him.”

“You’ll seek your revenge.”

“I will go wherever I wish,” he said. “That is what it means to be free, after all. For sixteen years I have been the guardian of Lapzur. Bandur will be there for much longer.”

“I hope he’ll be trapped in that well forever,” I said.

“He’ll find a way out. Even demons deserve to be free. Most of them, anyway.” A grunt. “Demon magic created Lor’yan, same as the gods and dragons, and they are owed respect. Something your ancestors clearly forgot.”