“Here’s your spy!” said the officer, bringing me closer to the center of the room.

The demonstration room looked like an old-fashioned gymnasium, with a high ceiling, a wooden floor partly covered in carpets, and a balcony that overlooked the place, probably for sword masters to observe their students from above. There was one door at floor level, with soldiers on either side, and another on the balcony, guarded by one soldier.

A table had been placed in the middle of the room, with a model of the palace on it. I looked around and recognized the king, the crown princess, the five Senior Magi, a dozen officers and a handful of advisors, all standing around the table. I recognized Lord Gimon and Lord Torren among them. They’d probably been about to sit down when they’d noticed me.

Archbishop Terru was nowhere to be seen. I supposed that, although his initial blessing had been welcome, his presence wasn’t needed for planning a battle.

King Esthar was as dignified as usual, but his eyes clearly wished they could kill.

“Great Hero Al! Where were you all this time? You could have entered through the main door if you wanted to attend this meeting. After all, we were counting on you, before you let us down.”

I checked behind me, and there was no one behind the curtain. Vilo had escaped through the wall.

I was hoping he’d stay with me to witness the confrontation, but he only promised to get me inside. He has a protest outside, after all. He should be with his party, not with me.

Yet, I couldn’t help feeling betrayed.

“Do you have anything to say before we throw you in a cell, where you belong?” Esthar insisted.

The five Senior Magi were standing near the king and princess. All of them had taken a protective stance, but their facial expressions varied. Naenar, the elderly bald man, looked focused and determined. Malin, the woman with the silver bob, was clearly confused. The other two expressed varying degrees of defiance. Pernel, on the other hand, glowered at me, outraged.

He must know I took a fatal fall from the keep of Malo Castle, he can see the scratches and bruises on my face proving it, and he doesn’t understand how I can still stand before him. But I’m clearly not in a strong position right now. If it boils down to his word against mine, he’ll win.

I still had to make a move, so I raised my chin and answered the king’s question.

“As a matter of fact, I do have something to say, Your Majesty. There’s a traitor in this room and I came back from the shores of death to expose him.”

For a second, I could have heard a pin drop, then the king spoke.

“How dare you show up in this room and throw such an accusation?” Cold anger shone in Esthar’s blue eyes. “You deserted, you jeopardized our operation despite knowing that the future of Brealia depends on it. If there is a traitor among us, it has to be you.”

I was beginning to sweat in my borrowed coat. I still met the king’s gaze.

“I did run away, which counts as betrayal, but I came back, Your Majesty. To warn you. To put an end to what’s going on before the situation gets out of hand.”

“I will not listen to one more word from your mouth, Al. We are handling the situation as best we can. We scheduled tomorrow’s operation without you, and we will conduct it as planned.”

He gestured at the officer to bring me to the door.

“Don’t you want to know why I came back to Carastra?” I asked.

Esthar shook his head.

“We will deal with you once Kossi and Saegorg are rendered harmless.”

He claims he won’t listen to me, but he does! I must drop the name before I’m carried out of this room.

The officer was about to hand me to the soldiers near the door. I twisted my neck and shouted.

“One person in this room is uncomfortable at my sight because he thought I fell to my death two days ago! He’s worked for Inabar for a long time!”

Pernel’s face flushed. If he spoke up, he’d bring attention to himself, which was probably the last thing he wanted. Luckily for him, Lord Gimon was the first to sigh.

“Can’t you take her out faster?” he asked in an annoyed voice.

The soldiers startled and caught my arms. I only shouted louder.

“I know who you are, Sir Pernel! I know your real name is Uturi!”

I thought everything would fall into place after the revelation. I hoped I’d be released, or at least, someone would ask me more questions. But the king only clapped his hands.

“Enough! You will not throw random accusations, Al. Besides, Sir Pernel is possibly the last person in this room who could be suspected of treachery.”

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The sorcerer with the rose gold hair nodded.

“I appreciate your trust, Your Majesty.”

One soldier opened the door. I was about to be pushed into the corridor when Princess Nigella spoke.

“Wait!”

There was a second of silence. I was turning my back to the room, so I couldn’t see what was going on.

“Great Hero Al, where did you hear the name Uturi?” the princess asked from the table.

I was turned back in her direction, and one soldier shook my arm, prompting me to answer the question. Half the assembly was already looking away, but many gazes were still on me, including Pernel’s.

King Esthar looked at his daughter.

“Al obviously sided with Saegorg. He must have told her the name. Or perhaps she saw it in a family tree in Malo.”

“I still would like to know. What is your answer, Al? This is a name no one heard in a long time.”

They both know who Uturi is. I hope I’m not the only one here who doesn’t. It would make me feel very stupid.

I bowed my head. “I managed to meet the dragon Kossi, Princess. He told me who cast the spell on him and subdued him to Lord Saegorg.”

“Kossi…”

Her face turned pink and she moved closer to Pernel.

The Senior Magus stepped back when she stared at his face. “Princess, this makes no sense! How can one person, who has no knowledge of our world, go to Malo and back, and meet Kossi in-between, without getting caught by Saegorg’s guards? The only reason she’s here is that she works for Inabar! And she certainly never met the Gold Dragon!”

“And yet…”

Nigella rose on tiptoe, as close as she could to Pernel’s face, while he kept turning his head, obviously trying to avoid her gaze.

“Even the most powerful Senior Magus cannot hide his eyes,” she said in a dreamy voice.

His eyes. His steel-gray eyes. I met someone else who had the exact same gaze, and he had me killed in front of my friends. Or so he thought.

I blinked. “Uturi is related to Saegorg?”

“Uturi is Saegorg’s younger brother,” replied Princess Nigella. “He went missing over twenty years ago, and until today, the common understanding was that Saegorg killed Uturi, lest he challenged him for the throne.”

“What a lovely sense of brotherhood.”

Pernel shook his head, making a nice show of discarding the princess’s hypothesis.

“My eyes,” he sneered. “Are they even supposed to mean anything?”

He looked at King Esthar.

“Your Majesty, I don’t know what Crown Princess Nigella holds against me, but this is beyond ridiculous. With all due respect, we’ve known each other for a long time. I didn’t become one of your Senior Magi by accident. I served Brealia before the princess was born.”

The king sighed. “We have no time for this nonsense. Take Al to a cell, now.”

The two soldiers pulled me through the door again. Princess Nigella looked at me with tears in her eyes, while Senior Magus Pernel gleamed with pride.

“Shall we be ready for the ambush tomorrow?” asked the king, already acting as if I didn’t exist.

But I wasn’t ready to disappear. It was my last chance, so I spoke as fast as I could.

“No! Saegorg expects this ambush, he even hopes for it, and as soon as the first shot strikes Kossi, the Gold Dragon will retaliate and obliterate this whole council!”

“Be quiet!” said Pernel.

He pointed a finger at me, and I felt my voice die. My words were reduced to a whisper no one could hear. Oh, no, you don’t!

I found the spell inside my throat. It could be undone by repeating a formula, which I mouthed. My voice came back just as one soldier opened the door.

“You’re not silencing me with your spell, traitor!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Pernel glared at me. “How did you…”

Once again, the soldiers stopped. I was standing in the corridor, one small step away from the demonstration room, and I could have heard a pin drop.

The other Senior Magi probably felt the magic. They know he cast a spell. They know I’m not accusing him out of nowhere.

King Esthar shot a questioning glance at Naenar, who nodded.

“Was it a silence spell, as Al claimed?”

Another nod.

Princess Nigella pointed a finger at Pernel’s chest, a gesture so out of place, coming from her, that several people winced around the table.

“Sir Pernel, is there something you do not want this assembly to hear?”

“Of course not. This woman was only annoying all of us, and probably trying to buy some of our precious time. I wanted to spare everyone the inconvenience.”

“This woman is the one you chose to summon on our behalf. If she faltered, some of the guilt falls on you.”

The princess looked at the Senior Magus, then at me.

“Great Hero Al, as crown princess of the Brealian kingdom, I grant you one last sentence to prove your claim. Speak wisely.”

How am I supposed to prove anything? I didn’t bring back any signed paper from Saegorg or from Kossi. All I have is my wounds, and I literally could have gotten them by falling into a pile of trash.

I took a deep breath.

What if I asked Cherub for… I don’t even know what to ask.

“I bear cuts and bruises all over my body because Saegorg had Kossi throw me off a cliff in Malo.”

The disappointment on Nigella’s face confirmed that it wasn’t enough. I had a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry, Princess, I understand you need more proof, but this is all I have. A miracle, because I ought to have died in the fall, and Uturi’s name. I did all I could to prevent the bloodbath, but it looks like all I could wasn’t enough.”

Pernel looked relieved. King Esthar sighed.

“That was your last chance. I will talk to you later, Al.”

“Can’t she be telling the truth?” asked one advisor.

“I believe in Sir Pernel. Let us begin this last meeting.”

I knew it. I knew the king would never trust me as much as he trusted the sorcerer. That was why I’d never intended to come straight into the middle of the room. I’d planned to observe and find a weak point before showing myself. The only thing I didn’t see coming was my getting noticed as soon as I set foot behind that curtain.

The officer and his soldiers hesitated, glanced sideways at Pernel, but they had their orders.

“We must take you away,” apologized one soldier in a whisper.

Why must I fail now? What’ll happen to Catalin and Chess now that I let them both down? I did meet Kossi, I’m one step away from freeing him, I can’t give up now! I must prove I saw him and kissed him and…

A sudden vertigo made my knees weak, and the soldiers holding my arms had to physically support me to keep me upright. There was something wrong in my body. I hickuped. Then I understood.

It’s back. I thought it’d died, but it was inside me all this time.

“Kossi gave me this!” I said right before a flame that didn’t burn thrust my head back and escaped through my mouth.

The whole assembly, including myself, gasped in surprise.

So that’s why he kissed me. He hid a flame inside my body, as a token of his will to be freed before it’s too late. He doesn’t really love me after all, it was a small lie to justify the kiss.

“Kossi!” exclaimed Princess Nigella.

Even from a distance, I could nearly see the sparkle in her eyes. King Esthar turned to Pernel, whose face was turning pale by the second.

“Sir Pernel, did Al gain the ability to breathe fire while she was away?”

For a second, there was no reply, no sound in the demonstration room. Then Senior Magus Malin volunteered an answer.

“The flame wasn’t hers, Your Majesty. It was a Gold Dragon’s flame. Probably Kossi’s.”

“How do you…”

The king never finished his sentence. Halfway through it, Pernel had cast a spell and vanished from the room.