The beginnings of new Ioreth looked even more impressive up close. Light's sophisticated imagination showed in small touches on almost all of the sturdy buildings. The soil on one side of each house was planted with at least one young tree and a few bushes, probably Yasenka's idea.

  As we walked past some of the unfinished parts, kids were asking the young mage to do some more, which he happily fulfilled with more flare than necessary just to make their smiles and eyes wider. With the resources he had now, he probably wasn't too worried if he used too much than what was needed. Just as he finished one of those demonstrations, Avnith finally arrived at the capital, breathless and exhausted, which still didn't stop him from happily greeting his father.

  Around sunset, me, Siaril and Avnith got accommodated in one of the inn's cozy rooms. Ertralia of course refused to sleep away from Yasenka, so Light had to come to terms with limited freedom in the nuptial bed. And for supper, we chose to visit the tavern that was luring passersby with subtle light and delicious scents.

  Even that place was more elegant than necessary. The interior was inlaid with wood, the ceiling supported by three sturdy pillars, ivy carved on their surfaces. They reached through two stories because the main room had an upper floor as well, with tables set up on the galleries, providing some more peace and intimacy than on the ground floor. Around the level of those balconies hung a massive chandelier put together with at least a dozen massive antlers and a multitude of candles. Under each of those lights swayed a small medallion, all of them depicting the coats of arms of Earlindon's royal lineages. The aroma of various meats, teas and herbal liqueurs filled the room like the scent of some peculiar incense.

  I was happy to see that cheerfulness and new energy quickly returned to the few survivors of old Ioreth. The men who helped with rebuilding throughout the day were still lively and I wouldn't have been surprised if, after a few drinks, they would start to sing like it was a holiday. The women and children seemed to have recovered quite well too, and the young, neatly outfitted barmaid appeared at our table quicker than we did.

  When the fragrant stew started to steam in front of us, we took a break in our merry chatting and focused on the food for a while. None of us finished even half of it, when Avnith was already licking his bowl clean, moving it towards the wall so it wouldn't escape further.

  Ertralia didn't endure the busy atmosphere in the tavern for very long and sneaked outside to catch some fresh air before sleep. It was then that Light set down his glass of wine.

  "We did some small research during our trip," he took the long clean bowl from Avnith, stopping the noise.

  "Research? What kind?" Siaril started to pet the dog to prevent him from trying to take it back.

  "On the kanh."

  "... of course."

  "What?"

  I looked to Yasenka. "You really married a madman. Wastes his honeymoon to do work."

  But the illathan only shrugged lightly, smiling. "It doesn't matter if he's crazy. I still enjoyed it, and I'm still crazy for him."

  "You're bullying me today..." complained her husband.

  "Well, who else would have the right to bully you if not your wife?"

  "... fair," Light sighed. "Anyway, the kanh seem to somehow be getting active all around Earlindon recently... though 'active' might not be the best word. They're not really doing much, just... watching."

  That sure didn't sound like the kanh I remembered. "So... no signs of aggression?"

  "Not for now."

  "Could they be from the group that's against fighting the surface? You mentioned it after getting back from Hreshia."

  "That's possible... They might be willing to talk, form an alliance, but probably don't know how to approach the matter. And who can blame them, most humans would probably draw whatever sharp object is closest just upon seeing the dark skin and pointy ears..."

  "Why don't we make it easier for them?" suggested Siaril.

  Light smiled. "Well, I was hoping to ask a member of the royal family if they'd be willing to approach first. I could be the escort of course, and we could ask the hero to help."

  "What hero?" I paused mid-reach towards the juice jug. They all just looked at me, so I proceeded to pour some into my mug, pretending I didn't see it. I didn't like being distinguished. The victory over Sharish was everyone's effort.

  I took a sip, thinking about Light's words. Kanh were watching... but which kanh? The answer to that was the key to the next step. Or we could skip it and just approach to see the reaction, hoping the ones we find will speak our language. I knew some of them did, but...

  The juice strengthened with its sweetness and refreshed with the sourness, but didn't really clear my mind enough to come up with any constructive ideas. Maybe it was due to the stuffy air and noise of the tavern though, growing along with the amount of alcohol that was being consumed...

  "I'll go catch some fresh air," I eventually decided, getting up. "And try to lure the kitten home for the night."

  "Have fun," Yasenka seemed amused for some reason.

  "What?"

  "Nothing, it's just sweet how worried you seem to be."

  "Look, she's a good hunter, but still a frail one. It's easy to mistake her for prey."

  "Can't argue there."

  I sneaked out, almost failing to notice Avnith following. And wondering why my cheeks felt warmer than usual.

  The plaza was lit by some discreetly placed lanterns now. Their heights were adjusted to the sizes of buildings so they wouldn't disturb any inhabitants during sleep, their flames hidden within glass globes that Light fantasized into the shapes of acorns. I headed for the outskirts, and only there took a relieved breath.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Here, the light of fire got replaced by the much fainter light of the stars, the smell of alcohol by scent of withered grass. Cold emanated from the forest's wall, shreds of mist wafting around the tree crowns. I delighted in it all for a moment before starting a slow walk just by the border.

  A few minutes later, approaching the far north end of new Ioreth, and there was still nothing that would betray Ertralia's presence among the delicate sounds in the young, silvery silence.

  I would have expected her to linger somewhere near the whispering brook, but maybe the embers of the campfire that someone left behind near it caused her to look for some peace and quiet somewhere else... When calling didn't bring her out either, I decided to switch over to the western side of the city. I just spread my wings, when I suddenly heard someone's voice behind my back, silent and so unexpected that I almost jumped.

  "Good evening."

  I swished around to see a slender figure in a dark cloak emerging from between the trees. I took a step back, my wings twitching involuntarily. The stranger appeared like a bird of prey - suddenly and soundlessly. I didn't hear, I didn't even feel him approach, which was not something I was very used to recently...

  "Don't be afraid, I'm not your enemy," the masculine voice from underneath the hood spoke again. The soft accent gave away a foreigner, the tone almost no emotions. I thought I saw some strange symbols on his neck despite the darkness...

  "Who are you then?" I asked, trying to not allow any fear to seep into that question. I didn't know why, but there was something about this person's presence that made me subconsciously expect an attack... Avnith limited himself to making noise - he hid behind my legs and barked till I silenced him with a hand gesture. Which he oddly obeyed.

  "Somebody who wants to warn you."

  "Warn me?" I frowned. "Against what?"

  "The soul of the Last Black Dragon."

  The bushes around us stirred restlessly, moved by a slightly stronger gust of wind. The man sat down on a nearby rock, calm and composed.

  "What do you mean?" I choked out finally, choosing a more defensive tone this time.

  "You never wondered about it? If what you received from one of the Last Dragons wouldn't influence you?"

  Some faint, but very unpleasant pressure in my stomach caused me to feel like I didn't want to listen any further. "It already has," I attempted to cut the conversation short. "I inherited a lot of traits and abilities from him."

  "I mean something much deeper."

  "If you have something to tell me then please get to the point before I turn around and hit the evening breeze."

  The stranger kept quiet for a few moments, and when he spoke again, I wasn't entirely sure if I just made myself clear: "Did anyone ever tell you that a dragon's subspecies usually determined its character?"

  I sighed, walked over to a different, smaller rock a safe distance away and sat down. The stone was still pleasantly warm after the sunny day. I wasn't even quite sure why I was doing this. Common sense whispered that I should ignore this man and return to the tavern. "No," my answer was rather dispassionate.

  "Then you might be interested in the fact that the black dragons were the worst beasts to ever walk upon this earth. And Sariarin was one of them."

  "Nonsense. Even if what you say is true, it couldn't have been a fixed rule. Because why would he have sacrificed himself along with the other Last Dragons to stop Ered and give us the possibility to stop his descendants otherwise?"

  A short, mocking laugh came from under the hood. "You bend facts to your wishes... Do you think that such a powerful being, living for hundreds of years and valuing its own pride above everything else, would sacrifice itself just to save beings as pathetic as humans? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the Last Dragons gave you their magic only to prolong their own existence. The chasm between the truth and the lies you've been fed with is as huge as the chasm between Yasenka Glorifiel and Sharish Caydranth." The man must have interpreted my dumbstruck silence as a sign to continue: "These abilities helped you defeat Sharish? Coincidence. That need happened to arise at a moment where the fragments of the dragons that you received didn't fully awaken yet. You had lots of luck in that regard, especially when it comes to you. There was nothing worse among magical creatures than a black dragon."

  I opened my mouth... and it ended with that. I could have expected a lot of things, but not something like this... "Are you saying that the soul of Sariarin will take control over me someday?" I asked once I finally regained my voice. "That's absurd! Even if a part of him lives within me, it's just a small amount of his magic, there is no way it could control my entire mind."

  "Don't vow to go through the darkness of night when you didn't even witness dusk yet... You have no idea how powerful Sariarin was, even a small fraction of his soul is something mighty enough to raze this new city to the ground even quicker than Sharish did a few months ago," the stranger got up and calmly brushed off the tiny amounts of dust from his robe. "You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but if I were you, I would start to wonder if I should act. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, or the shoes of your friends when the most cruel creature in Earlindon's history awakens in you."

  I wanted to say something, oppose, anything, but I wasn't able to. A cold shiver ran down my spine, my voice stuck in my throat. And the man didn't seem to have anything else to tell me in that matter.

  "If you're looking for that frisky sykerien, you'll find her there," he just added, pointing towards a part of the forest I didn't search in, then turned around.

  "Wai..."

  But the stranger literally dispersed into the shadows, as if the forest absorbed him.

  It took a while before I shook the shock off and reached for my sirath. It stayed cold the entire time... a cruel, icy cold...

  I didn't really care much about who this man was and what he wanted to achieve anymore. Rather... I wanted to know if he could be right... Was it possible for some change to happen soon, a change that would make me a threat to the people around me? It was obvious that I've been gaining more extraordinary abilities lately, but... for it to completely take control of me? It was hard to believe, but I learned to trust my stone... Though, I also had to remind myself of the fact that my sirath wasn't 'a huge library storing all the truth about this world'. Armailith did say that it only detected the intentions of my interlocutor, so if the stranger believed that what he said was true, my sirath wouldn't react.

  I rubbed my forehead, sighing. It made no use to give myself a headache over this right now, when having no ways to verify anything... I decided to find Ertralia first, return to the tavern and maybe then give what I just learned a deeper thought.

  This time, finding the sykerien didn't take much time. Shortly after I walked in between the fragrant pines, I noticed her under a solitary, branchy oak near the border. Though when I came closer, I realized that she wasn't simply being lazy there... she was lying unconscious, her dark hair spread over the dry forest bed.

  Terrified, I ran up to her and carefully slid my arm under the slender back. "Ertralia... Ertralia!"

  Luckily, her eyelids almost immediately twitched and she soon opened those hazed, sapphire eyes. "Sigrian...?" she whispered weakly. She tried to sit up, but almost immediately let out a small whimper, reaching for her head.

  "Easy..." I leaned her comfortably against my shoulder. "What happened? Did that man do something to you?"

  Ertralia frowned, trying to remember. "What man...? I didn't see anyone... I... I think I fell from the tree... Yeah, the branch broke..."

  I let out a sigh of relief. At first, I was worried that the stranger had prepared more for me than just a confusing conversation. On the other hand though... was it possible that the most agile and nimble creature I knew could just fall from a tree like that? I've seen her in such situations more than once and she came out of them unscratched every time. But... maybe it was the fatigue after an exciting day combined with sleepiness after a delicious meal that slowed the reaction...? Or the fact that she wasn't a feather-light kid anymore and forgot it sometimes...?

  I shook my head and told my brain to shut up for a moment. I carefully took Ertralia piggyback, muffled her with my wings from both sides and headed back to the tavern. There, Yasenka fortunately stated that severe injuries were avoided and swiftly tended to the small bruises and abrasions.

  When some song, out of tune but enthusiastic, reached our ears from the other end of the room, we deemed it a sign to call it a day. Even without that, the wine that some of us had and the warmth of the huge hearth brought in the blissful clouds of sleepiness.

  And I... focused on trying to hide that I was the only one not affected by the idyllic atmosphere of the evening.