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“Oh yes. But back to the blooded—our ancestors. One of their tasks was upon the death of a dragon, usually by misadventure given they age slowly, to remove the egg from the body and ensure its rebirth.”

She glanced at the ceiling as if she could see the four eggs sitting on her dresser. “The Dracova stones obviously weren’t hatched.”

“Because instead, the blooded used them to keep Zhos quiet, but don’t ask me how that worked. The book doesn’t speak about that. It only mentions the eggs having special properties.”

“So our ancestors allowed the dragons’ line to end to save humanity.” She had to wonder what the dragons felt about that. Probably not too happy. It would explain the behavior of the one in Verlora. “Since there are five stones, I assume that means there were only ever five dragons.”

He shrugged. “Assuming some weren’t lost along with forgotten bloodlines.”

“If we hatch the eggs as you suggest, we won’t be able to use them to quiet Zhos.”

“It’s too late for that.”

“How would you know? The spire’s guardian told me if I returned them?—”

“Firstly, there are only four eggs left, which might not be enough. Second, what if something happens while you try to return them? Your ship sinks, or some miscreants get ahold of the eggs. Third, what if Zhos has already emerged?”

Avera countered with, “How will hatching a dragon make a difference? There were at least five the last time Zhos roamed this world, and the best our ancestors could accomplish was to lock Zhos away. I can only imagine the difficulty in doing even that, seeing as how the five dragons died doing so.”

“Actually, they didn’t perish in battle. They were sacrificed.”

“What?” Avera couldn’t help her shocked exclamation.

“The story of what happened isn’t in the book. However, I did recover a scroll that spoke briefly of what happened. In it, the writer explained how they couldn’t kill Zhos. Best they could do was to restrain the entity.”

“Did they say how?”

Titus lowered his voice as he said, “A dragon’s blood supposedly paralyzes Zhos, which gave humanity time to build its prison.

Only the effect of the blood wouldn’t last forever, according to the person who wrote the scroll.

Hence why the dragons agreed to donate their lives, to let their essence in the stone eggs act as guardians so humanity might be spared. ”

“I highly doubt a wild animal agreed to be killed,” was her dry reply.

“Who says they are wild?”

“I’ve met one.”

“Obviously not properly. As mentioned before, dragons are quite intelligent. Capable of speech and logical thought.”

“And you think these supposedly smart creatures agreed to die, knowing they’d be forever bound in their stone eggs?”

“It wasn’t supposed to be forever. The humans of time promised they would find a way to eliminate Zhos only…”

“With the danger vanquished, people wondered why bother?”

“Essentially. The urgency faded within a generation. Within a few more, people had forgotten about Zhos, and dragons became myths. A thousand years later and no one remembers its name or that dragons ever flew our skies.”

“I’m surprised the blooded allowed that to happen. I thought you said they had a bond with the dragons.”

“They did, but to free the dragons would have meant Zhos’ return, a being that couldn’t seemingly be killed. Thus with the dragons no longer acting as overlords, the blooded chose to renege on their promise and seized the reins of power.”

“My kingdom is founded on murder and betrayal.”

Titus’s lips flattened. “That is one way to look at it. Or you could see it as humanity finally being allowed to thrive without being servants to temperamental beasts.”

Avera sipped her wine before saying, “What does hatching the dragons do for us now? You already said they couldn’t kill Zhos, and I highly doubt they’ll agree to be sacrificed a second time to save us.”

“They will aid us because there is a way to control the dragons.”

“Truly? How?”

“You’ll see. Their assistance will be crucial when it comes to ridding the world of Zhos.”

“But I thought you said it couldn’t be killed.”

“It can’t be, but we can send it back from whence it came.”

She sat up straight. “We can do that?”

“Oh yes. It took centuries of research, but the solution to the problem has been found.”

“By whom? I thought no one remembered Zhos.”

“The general populace doesn’t. However, remember that shrine you asked about? The Nogard, which is a branch of the Dracova Shrine at the base of Mount Ygnis, are run by a sect that never stopped searching for a way to rid the world of Zhos so they could free the dragons.”

Only then did her mind click in that Nogard was dragon spelled backwards. “You said it involves sending it back to where it came from? Sounds too simple. Why has it taken so long?”

“Because there are a few things required, the first being a proper alignment of our world and Zhos’ which has taken a thousand years to repeat.”

“What else?”

“Dragon blood to paralyze Zhos so as to facilitate its removal. And lastly, a dragon is needed whose task will be to carry Zhos through the rift that will form when our worlds align.”

“Why use a dragon? Can Zhos not just be tossed through once paralyzed?”

“The portal between our world and the other isn’t accessible from the ground but rather hangs midair.”

“Oh.” She chewed her lower lip. “Guess that explains why you want us to hatch a dragon, but why all four?”

“Backup. Between the blood needed to immobilize Zhos, as well as one of adequate size and character for transport, it seemed prudent to be sure we didn’t lack for one or the other.”

“Assuming they agree to help.”

“They won’t have a choice,” was his ominous reply.