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For dinner, she proceeded to Titus’ tent, where she found him sitting atop cushions. She joined him and they shared a cup of wine as they waited for his viziers to arrive. Finally, she’d get to meet the infamous witches. As they entered, Titus stood and held out his hand to help Avera rise.

“Queen Avera Voxspira of Daerva, may I introduce my viziers: Klothi, Kachezi, and Karoki.” As he spoke their names, they removed their veils, revealing women ranging in age from forties for Kachezi, late twenties for Karoki, and fresh-faced late teen for Klothi, the only one to not boldly meet Avera’s gaze.

Avera inclined her head. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“And we are most honored to have you here with us on this momentous journey, Your Majesty,” Klothi stated. “It’s been a long time in the making.” She spoke like a woman much older than her appearance indicated.

“Titus says your sect has been waiting a long time for the return of dragons.”

“Since they were sacrificed.”

“I’m surprised your members didn’t know where the eggs were hidden.”

“We knew,” Kachezi murmured. “However, it was also prophesized that to bring back the dragons too soon would result in great catastrophe. And so we bided our time, waiting for the right moment.”

“Which Basil almost ruined by stealing them,” Avera noted.

“Basil did as he was supposed to,” Kachezi replied, and Avera’s eyes widened.

“Wait, you knew he would take the Dracova stones?”

“Yes. We told him to,” Karoki primly stated.

The revelation rocked Avera. “But why?”

“Because it was time for the dragons to return.”

“But by having them removed, you gave Zhos a way to escape!” Avera couldn’t help the accusation.

“As foretold,” Kachezi murmured.

“I don’t care about your supposed future-seeing, you intentionally set in motion the events that led to my mother’s death. That turned Verlora into a place of death. And now, on your word, we’re supposed to hatch four more dragons?” She turned to Titus. “How can you trust them?”

“The loss of lives was regrettable, however, we are talking about saving the entire world. Zhos would have eventually escaped. Better to do so now while we have the means to handle it.”

“But he’s only escaping because they”—she pointed to the viziers—“told Basil where to find the eggs and encouraged him to remove them.”

“You see that as an act of evil, and yet, had we not led Basil down that path, they would have languished for only another century before being discovered,” Kachezi murmured, her eyes turning milky.

“An explorer named Jonas would have found the ancient hidden city of Ultilina and discovered the strange rocks. He would have taken them to market. Sold them all to curious buyers. Three would have been lost at sea. Another would have ended up on a mantle in a parlor. Only one of the eggs would have hatched and its dragon would have refused to do anything when Zhos emerged. Within a decade, all of humanity would have perished.”

Avera listened and couldn’t help but feel horrified by the prediction. “Surely it would have been better to simply ensure this Jonas never found them.”

“Jonas could have been killed, but then Bartholomew would have been the one to take his place. And if not him, then Kerrianne, the shepherdess who wandered into Fraegus Spire looking for ewes missing from her flock.” Kachezi rolled her shoulders.

“The stones were never meant to be a permanent solution.”

“So you manipulated Basil into taking them, and he in turn had no idea what he’d unleashed. You could have warned him, or at the least encouraged the Verlorians to flee.”

Kachezi bowed her head. “While I saw the birth of the dragon, I didn’t see the destruction it would cause. Keep in mind, we were familiar with our own volcano. Mount Ygnis never caused such devastation when it erupted.”

A plausible explanation, but Avera remained unsatisfied. “Because of your actions, Verlora’s been inhabitable for close to thirty years. Thirty years of you waiting to act. Thirty years of Zhos getting stronger. Expanding its reach.”

“Thirty years of us waiting for the one who could retrieve the stones. For the one who could lead us into the future. For the right alignment that would allow us to send Zhos back from whence it came.” Klothi finally looked Avera in the eye as she said, “We’ve been waiting for the day when you would set forth on destiny’s path.

It wasn’t something that could be rushed.

Not something we could tell you for fear of changing the outcome. ”

“Yet you’re telling me now.”

“Because everything that was expected has come to pass. Once the dragons are released, then it will be a moment for triumph a thousand years in the making.”

Avera glanced at Titus. “I assume you already knew all this.”

He nodded. “Yes. I’ll admit it was difficult for me to grasp. Like you, I am impatient. I want things done immediately. However, given the precarious nature of what we must achieve, I was heavily cautioned to not rush.”

Pretty explanations that glossed over the trauma Avera had suffered. A neglected childhood, a family murdered, accusations that stole her throne, a quest that almost saw her die and cost the lives of others.

But if it would result in Zhos no longer being a threat, saving thousands of lives, wouldn’t that be worth it?

Servants entered the tent bearing trays of steaming food.

“Let us nourish our bodies while your intellect digests what we’ve revealed,” Klothi stated with a clap of her hands. Odd how the youngest appeared to be in charge.

Filling her mouth with savory meat and potatoes kept Avera silent, but her thoughts churned. For all that had been revealed, she sensed they held back.

Over the meal, her gaze strayed often to Klothi, the vizier’s visage familiar, but for some reason she couldn’t place her.

During dessert, Karoki broke the silence by saying, “You met the dragon on Verlora.”

“I wouldn’t say met. We exchanged a look when I took the eggs,” was Avera’s dry reply. She still remembered her fear it would roast her.

“Did it speak?” Karoki asked.

“How could a dragon speak? It is an animal.”

“Dragons are more than mere beasts. Did you perchance hear a voice in your head?” Karoki questioned.

The recollection had Avera gasping. “I thought I imagined it. You’re saying it was the dragon?”

“Yes. Their jaws can’t exactly pronounce our language and, given their advanced intellect, they have found other ways to communicate.”

“What else can they do other than fly and breathe fire?” Titus inquired.

“A dragon’s skills will vary. When newly hatched, they are as the stories depict, oversized flying lizards who spew flames and eat anything that moves.

However, as they age and overcome their hunger, they settle down.

For example, they won’t decimate herds knowing they need to keep some to propagate.

They will converse with those who can hear them.

The ancient texts claimed some can do feats of magic,” Klothi explained, waving her hands.

Her lips then curved. “Why, I’ve even read an account where it is claimed they could take human form. ”

Avera snorted. “I have a hard time imagining that. I mean, given their size, it would be a gigantic person. Fairly noticeable, and not something ever mentioned in any history or even children’s fables.”

“Not entirely true. A long time ago, someone wrote in their diary that it happened and that dragons co-mingling with humans is how the blooded came into existence. Such a pairing would explain why the blooded have special abilities,” teased Klothi.

Avera arched a brow. “What special abilities?”

“You heard the dragon.”

“That doesn’t seem too remarkable. I have to think if they’re as smart as you claim, they could find a way to communicate if needed.”

“Your touch counters Zhos’ magic as does your blood,” Klothi reminded. Titus must have told her, since Avera hadn’t.

“But why does that work?”

Klothi rolled her shoulders. “I can only think it is because dragons and their bloodlines are the antithesis of Zhos. Think of it as oil and water; The two do not mix.”

“Is this why Zhos keeps trying to kill me?”

“It fears you.”

“Shouldn’t it fear all the blooded?” Avera waved at Titus. “It doesn’t seem to be trying to kill him as hard.”

“It’s been attempted. It’s just not been successful because we’ve put safeguards in place to protect His Eminence, since we feared such a thing. The cask of wine that allowed those soldiers to be possessed bypassed those security measures.”

“What of the other blooded? Like the leaders of Okkilam and Pequilh?” History claimed their families had been ruling for centuries.

“The Pequilh line is no longer blooded, as the dragon’s descendant and his heir died less than a century after Zhos’ quelling.

As for Okkilam, there are so many due to them being prolific breeders that Zhos most likely didn’t think it worth the effort.

Especially since they don’t believe in dragons and rarely treat with outsiders. ”

“When Benoit had my family killed, he did so on Zhos’ orders. Given what you claim, it had more to do with ending my line than taking the throne.”

“Correct. Luckily, the false king failed, and you escaped.”

“Did you predict that?” She eyed Kachezi.

“Yes. Your mother’s death was foretold the moment the Dracova stones were stolen. That day set events into motion leading to where we are today.”

“I’m still struggling with the fact you let Basil take them. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for one of you to retrieve them? It would have given us more time to prepare.”

“As mentioned before, there were glimpses of different futures. The path we chose gives us the best chance to succeed. After being locked away for so long, the dragons will return.”

“And you’re sure releasing them won’t destroy Merisu like it did Verlora?”

“The Verlorians foolishly built around their volcano. Even if the dragon hadn’t caused it to erupt, eventually calamity would have befallen them. Ironic that a people who prided themselves on science forgot that nature can’t be stopped.”

“And what if you’ve misjudged the Merisuan volcano? What if the eggs cause it to explode beyond what the area can handle?”

“We’ve seen it,” Kachezi spoke, her expression dreamy. “Four mighty beasts rising from the mountain, once more gracing our skies.”

And hopefully not diving from it, ravaging the land and devouring its people.