Queen Eyren's letter had eased Runa's heart. Sitting at her small table, she read with a smile.

"Dear Princess Runaesthera, please forgive me for stepping outside of protocol to thank you and your wonderful husband for your kindness in accepting my son Bestenar as a ward, and even more so for convincing my king, his father, to accept him as his son once again. I apologize for his actions and words, he has suffered greatly and I assure you that his heart, like his intentions, are noble. In return for your generosity, I can only promise eternal friendship between our nations in the name of my beloved husband and king, and my sincere appreciation. Please give your little one a hug on my behalf.

Queen Eyrenerimis of Meyrin."

The woman was all heart. It was no wonder, considering all she had been through in recent years. The dragon king had killed her eldest daughter and stolen her home on the same day, and shortly after her husband was fighting at a distance with her eleven-year-old son, causing her to miss the end of his childhood.

Runaesthera was very proud of her husband. Being a failure at diplomacy, it was he who solved the succession and diplomatic crisis by being practical and kind as he always was. The bad thing was having to deal with the brat. Although Frey's influence was at least making him prudent, his derogatory comments had gradually been reduced to looks and gestures. If only they could get him to get along better with Eri.

Eri had never been resentful or wished ill on anyone that Runa knew of, but when she was in the same room with the brat Bestenar, she would stick out her tongue, look away, or wrinkle her nose. Once she had even blown a tiny flame on the ground to keep him from approaching. And despite all this, they spent a lot of time together, Eri insisting that everything he could do, she could do too. Runa had set limits, Eri could train with the sword, that had been conceded a year ago, but she still didn't want her to ride or spend afternoons in meetings with the military. At those times, she would take her flying lessons or be allowed to visit the citizens. Meracina—she had gotten used to calling her that—gave them both lessons before dinner, and they attended together, although Bestenar didn't like it when the countess's office was sometimes full of children.

But the other letter was what worried her, signed by King Bestolf's advisor, Rimpidon. Apparently, they had found a group of people conspiring against the royal family of Meyrin, as rumors that the king wanted to name Eri his heir had leaked due to the prince's failed rebellion. They had thwarted an attempt on the king's life and feared one against the prince. He wished to alert them. In addition, that morning a delegation from Atyr and another from Pellegrin had arrived in the city asking to speak with King Alistor.

She already knew what to expect from Atyr. They had come a hundred and five years ago when she was named heir and had presented themselves in Meyrin when Erina was. Pellegrin was a very distant kingdom, rarely meddling with the central or western kingdoms. For them to arrive at the same time was either a tremendous coincidence or a bad omen.

She stood up, deciding to wear her most formal clothes, a simple dress, nothing too elegant or sumptuous, but fine enough not to offend the dignitaries. Frey was going to take Bestenar to the meeting, so he could observe King Alistor and Runa herself. Eri would stay at Meracina's house, they would keep her away from them the first day under the pretext of her education. The first thing was to find out what they wanted.

She let the maid help her with her hair while reflecting on the advisor's letter. If there was a similar group in Artemia, would someone really try to hurt Eri? She was a beautiful, kind, intelligent girl, she would one day become one of those princesses that princes fight over, it was an uncomfortable thought, but somewhat provocative; maybe that's how Frey felt when Eri wielded a sword. Who would want to hurt someone like that? Oh, yes, sometimes Runa forgot that Eri was a dragon. One that, according to Meracina, was very close to being able to fly.

That thought gave her peace. Eri had returned, after almost a month, to leave her pendant stored, and although they had taught her that she didn't need it, she once again jumped from great heights, flapping her wings with force.

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The dignitaries from Atyr were the same fussy priests they always sent. It was curious that a kingdom famous for its fleet and trade was always represented by religious figures. Their gods were different, Frey didn't understand them, especially since they always visited the temple of peace and prayed according to the rites of the goddess. They shaved their heads and faces, but grew a lock of beard that they braided with colored beads. They looked picturesque over the sober gray tunics.

In contrast, those from Pellegrin were tough men, with sharp features tanned by the desert sun. They wore thick but perfectly trimmed beards, their hair in intricate braids. They wore vests and wide pants cinched by a wide belt in which they carried weapons, many weapons, which they had surrendered upon entering the city. With them, a platoon could have been armed. This was despite the fact that Pellegrin had not seen war in many generations. Not even with the dragons.

Each delegation was barely two members. They were already seated around the table that King Alistor presided over. Bestenar sat behind him, under orders to listen and learn in silence. Of all his tasks and obligations, he took this one seriously, even having ink and parchment to take the minutes of the meeting. They began as soon as Runa had sat down to the right of her father, across from him, she looked so beautiful. He would tell her later. The king was the one who opened.

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"I have met privately with both delegations and have decided that the information should be shared and discussed with all those present. I yield the floor to the delegate of Atyr, you may express yourself freely, Your Eminence." Eminence? Was it then one of the cardinals?

"Thank you, Your Majesty. We would like, in the name of the god of war and trade, to assure those present that in this matter, we speak the truth." They always beat around the bush, although Frey was struck by the part "in this matter." "Some months ago, we received a missive from the kingdom of Meyrin. Apparently, their mages confirmed that dragons take human form and are able to infiltrate us. With that information, His Majesty King Hadren of Atyr ordered a search for any possibility that any citizen might actually be a dragon. That investigation led us to find one of them among the port workers. Fortunately, our own artisans were able to create a magical mark that prevents him from returning to his true form."

As he said this, his companion rose from his seat and removed his tunic, revealing an intricate tattoo all over his back. Some of those present, understanding the implication, stood up nervously.

"Please be calm," continued the cardinal. "Vernier is now a member of our cloister, he has proven to be harmless. The important thing is the information he has kindly provided us. Go ahead, please, Vernier."

"I... My name is Vernier, it is my dragon name. In my disguise, I called myself Venuem. I have hidden among humans for many years." He spoke haltingly, pausing between each sentence to look at the cardinal. "I have offered to negotiate peace between dragons and humans on behalf of our kingdom."

One of the dignitaries from Pellegrin intervened before Frey could say anything.

"If that is true, you arrive at a very opportune moment." His accent was very pronounced; Pellegrin spoke the common language of the entire continent, but in a very particular way. "We come to request help. Dragons are approaching the great city, and Pellegrin has no dragonslayers. We are defenseless. We are strong, but we do not know how to fight them. Artemia is famous for its order of dragonslayers. But if Atyr offers peace, we want to hear it."

Frey stood up, ready to give his opinion, but Runa and the king looked at him; they didn't want him to say anything.

"This... Your Excellency," he cleared his throat to give himself a moment, "it seems we have said too much. The scribe may have missed some words..." He looked at Bestenar, who rolled his eyes and continued writing.

Everyone stared at him until he sat down. He had embarrassed himself; hopefully, Runa had a plan. It was obvious what the cardinal was doing.

The cardinal cleared his throat. "Your Highness Freydelhart, thank you for your consideration. We will go a little slower. In light of this offer that the dragons have made us, the people of Atyr have taken on the task of serving as a bridge between our races. We have come to Artemia first for the same reason as the nobles of Pellegrin, because you are the greatest dragonslayers on the continent and peace depends largely on our showing, as a race, our goodwill."

Hadn't they heard? Or did they perhaps consider that Eri couldn't represent the dragons because of her human form or age? No, of course not. They simply didn't believe it, they trusted that it was a fabrication, that was what the king and Runa wanted to imply until they could take advantage of it. They believed that was why they were hiding her.

The meeting continued, refining details. The Atyrians wanted the dragonslayers to withdraw their camps and units from Atyr's borders, while the Pellegrinians needed the opposite. The solution would be obvious if they weren't on opposite ends of the continent, and if there weren't populations at risk of being attacked. But at that moment, they tried to give in...

In the afternoon, with the meeting concluded, they let the dignitaries retire to rest. Runa and Frey remained with the king to decide how to act.

"The cardinal of Atyr is up to something, his supposed dragon is a tale," Frey told the king. "What he said in the meeting makes no sense."

"That's obvious, Frey," said the king, "even if we didn't know what we know, his story is implausible. Probably the king of Atyr is trying to expand his borders and devised this ruse to keep our soldiers away from them. The less the dragons attack, the more men fight, I fear..."

"Father," Runa interrupted, "Lady Mera and Eri know ways to verify his story. We need proof before accusing an emissary from another kingdom, or we'll have a war on our hands anyway."

The king stroked a non-existent beard; he wasn't wearing his false beard. "If it turned out to be true that this priest is a dragon, it would be dangerous to confront them. The mark could be fake, I've never seen enchantments like those, and they're not in Elvish. It would be best to confront them in an enclosed space or use one of our shackles, if there are any available."

"We have the one we used to capture Meraxes," Runa replied. "We replaced it with a more complex one in the form of an anklet when we arrived in Artemia. I can imbue it with magic to make sure it still works. Making another one would take a few days."

"Then," Frey finished, "we can arrange for the dignitaries to meet Eri in the company of her governess at the palace. She should wear her emerald necklace." Hopefully, they could confirm their suspicion without causing a commotion. If their dragon was fake, there was nothing to worry about. And they would be prepared if it wasn't, and he decided to attack them.

They prepared everything, summoning the cardinal and his dragon priest to one of the private rooms of the palace to introduce them to Eri. The only thing that wasn't planned was that Bestenar had insisted on being present. They hadn't wanted to inform him of the plan because they didn't trust him, but it was difficult to keep him away from a supposedly diplomatic meeting.

They waited, seated at a tea table, while Eri arrived.

"I am very honored that you have decided to introduce us to the little princess. I understand she is... adopted, correct?" The cardinal spoke in a soft voice, much more composed and polite than during the meeting.

"I hope you don't mind if I put this shackle on your companion, to reassure my daughter," Frey said. "She's been told he's a dragon and was afraid to come. We told her that with this, he couldn't do anything to her."

"Oh, but what an interesting concept. If there really are such shackles capable of sealing a dragon, we would love to take some with us to make our own. It was not easy to put the mark on Vernier, this seems much more practical."

"We are working on it with the mages of Meyrin, but we don't yet have one that works."

"Well, it's no problem anyway. If the little one feels better this way, Vernier will have no objections, right?"

The man just nodded. Frey was able to put the shackle on him without resistance. He signaled for Eri and Mera to be let in. They entered the small room hand in hand.

The moment they crossed the door, Eri's eyes locked on the cardinal. Lady Mera was startled...

"I found you, little sister..." whispered the cardinal as he lunged at Eri with a knife.