We stepped into that monument to my father with all the solemn reverence it was due. It took long minutes before anyone spoke, and when she did, it was Herald.

  Bless her beautiful soul, the first thing she said was, “We have to bring Val here.”

  We really did. The mural was beautiful. I couldn’t imagine the amount of work that had gone into it — the technical and artistic skill and the sheer amount of time to get all the detail down. Now, the style was a bit… I suppose the term would be “primitive.” The artists didn’t really do perspective; things that were further away were smaller, but there wasn’t any real foreshortening or anything like that. It didn’t matter. I didn’t have the words to truly describe why it was so captivating, but the detail, the vivid colors, the gesture and expressiveness of the people and animals, it all came together to move all three of us to awed silence as we took it all in.

  The mural told a story, divided into panels. There were inscriptions running above and below and between each panel that doubtless told the story of each episode in more detail, but the general plot was easy enough to follow.

  At some point in the past, a few ships had arrived at a natural harbor, overlooked by a tall, steep rock formation. They cleared away the forest along the banks of the river that flowed into that harbor and built a small settlement of wood and brick. The land was rich, and life was good.

  The settlement grew. More people arrived by sea, to stay or to trade, and the simple docks grew into a port. The forest was cleared away further and further, the harbor and the rock surrounded by a palisade, and the settlement prospered.

  Then trouble arrived. More and more Rifts appeared, and the city was beset by monsters. Twisted animals of various kinds, along with trolls, goblins, and other humanoid creatures I didn’t recognize stole people away and devastated farms outside the palisade. But heroes emerged who fought back the monsters and, and I was sure that this was what they meant, absorbed the power in the Rifts and closed them. Still the settlement grew and prospered.

  The settlement turned into a city, still of wood and brick but with temples and other monumental buildings of sandstone and marble. The harbor was crowded with ships, the squares and streets teeming with life. It was a city to rival Rome or Athens from my own ancient history.

  And then, disaster. I was a little unclear on the timeline and the exact details of this panel, but it looked like Rifts appeared in multitudes inside the city. The walls were no protection as monsters appeared behind them, and the citizens’ own animals changed and turned against them. That wasn’t quite how I understood Rifts to work, but for all I knew it was supposed to indicate a general problem over many years rather than a sudden surge of monsters. What was clear was the depiction of some kind of plague ravaging the population at the same time, with the dead lying in droves around the Rifts. I took that to mean that the Rifts were responsible somehow, and it made me just a tad uneasy about having my humans here.

  It was clearly a disaster of cataclysmic proportions to whoever had painted this mural. There wasn’t really any other way you could interpret people dying of sickness in the street, running from and being killed by monsters in the streets, and some off to the side, seemingly being led off as prisoners by thin, gray figures that I took to be valkin. Parts of the city clearly lay in ruins, and the monumental buildings on the rock burned. The harbor was empty of ships, which to a city like this was probably the ultimate sign of disaster.

  And then, above all this, a dark, winged form wreathed in a halo of light. The people ran, or cowered, or hid, but the dragon, who could be none other than my father, left them alone. He didn’t plunder their treasuries, or eat their cattle. Instead he destroyed the monsters and consumed the Rifts, and the city was reclaimed.

  The final panel was at once clear and confusing. Clear, in that He Who Darkens The Night sat in a great forum, surrounded on all sides by people who raised their hands in thanks and supplication. The city was once again prospering, the harbor full of sails and most of the buildings built of sandstone and marble. Confusing, in that he sat before a round structure containing what looked very much like an enormous Nest Killer. The crystal was as tall as he was, and shadow edged by golden light flowed from it into him.

  “Herald, what do you think about this?” I asked, indicating the final panel with a nod. I could barely force my voice to rise above a whisper, but the acoustics in there were great; a whisper was all I needed.

  “That’s your father, isn’t it?” she whispered back, her voice full of awe.

  “I think so. But what do you think is going on?”

  “The people of the city, they love him. And he is… draining a Nest Killer? I do not think I have ever heard of that being done without specific tools. But that Nest Killer looks too large for even him to move, so… where did the power come from?”

  “I wish I knew,” I muttered. “I hope the answers are in the inscriptions.”

  “So do I. This is fascinating.”

  “Wait, that’s your father?” Sarina asked, approaching the panel.

  “I think so,” I confirmed. “I know he loved this city, so unless this mural is a lot older than I think it is, I don’t see who else it could be.”

  “But didn’t Old Mallin fall to ruin a thousand years ago?” she protested. “How old are you, Lady Draka?”

  “More like five centuries,” I corrected. “As for how old I am… that’s a complicated question.”

  “One that I will get the answer to?” she asked hopefully.

  “One day, perhaps. Not yet,” I replied, and while Sarina looked disappointed she knew better than to argue.

  “You know,” Herald said, still facing the mural, “I am coming to like the Malyoni more and more. Their palace and so many other rich buildings lie in ruins, but what did they choose to protect? So far we have seen a temple, a library, and this shrine to your father. That says a lot about what they deemed truly important, does it not?”

  “That, or they never imagined their buildings would need protecting, the library was the most precious possession of some ludicrously wealthy noble, and they protected the temples and this place because they feared divine retribution,” I countered drily. “But I like your version better.”

  “Right?” Herald was not the least bit put off by my cynicism. “I would have loved to live in a city that placed libraries higher than palaces.”

  “Even so, there must be protected chambers inside other buildings,” Sarania said. “You yourselves found that enchanted lockbox, didn’t you? And Marvan and I once found a room in the cellar of a ruin that was almost perfectly preserved, just… I think whoever lived there emptied it themselves on the way out, which was a shame. Barely got anything out of that place.” Her voice trailed off sadly as she reminisced, but then she perked up again. “Anyway, my point was that as fantastic as this is, my nose is telling me that there are more… solid treasures around.”

  “In the palace?” I asked.

  “Possibly,” she said, grimacing with embarrassment. “When I said ‘around’ I meant just that. I can’t quite tell what direction we need to go. It’s like it’s literally all around, and I’m not sure how to interpret that.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Perhaps we are lucky enough that your impression is entirely correct,” Herald suggested. “There could very well be treasure all over the palace grounds.”

  “There could!” Sarina agreed, eyes shining with excitement. Then that dimmed somewhat as she continued, “but most likely it means that whatever I’m sensing is well concealed, or locked away securely somewhere.”

  “So you can’t lead us to it?” I asked. I found myself surprisingly unbothered by the idea. So we’d have to search a bit? No worries! As far as I was concerned, finding this little rotunda and the invaluable history it contained made the whole trip worth it on its own. I couldn’t wait to show it to everyone else. Especially Mother! I was sure that she’d love to see this obvious sign of the high regard in which this city had held her mate.

  No matter how satisfied I might’ve been, though, Sarina was determined to prove her usefulness. “I should still know if we get close,” she said. “When something is truly hidden my Advancement has some trouble, and I have to focus, that’s all. I feel more of a general location than a specific one, but once I get close enough to treasure I can tell if I’m getting closer or further away.”

  “All right!” Herald said. “That makes our next course of action obvious, does it not?”

  “Right!” Sarina agreed. “Shall we?”

  When they both looked at me I snorted. “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that it isn’t. What exactly do you want to do?”

  “Something we would want to do anyway,” Herald said, without a hint of annoyance or derision at how slow I was being. “We will take a tour of the palace grounds!”

  The palace grounds was its own little world. The elevated location and difficulty getting up no doubt kept a lot of the larger creatures out, though I could see cats like the one that grabbed Mak taking it as a challenge. Even if something made it up the wall that separated the grounds from the rest of the city was tall and, more importantly, intact, which would’ve made it hard for anything that couldn't fly or climb sheer stone to make it inside, unless they were light enough to clamber to the ends of the surrounding tree branches. Combined with a lack of Rifts and the dense canopy of the trees it was a bit of a haven for smaller creatures — or a battle royale, depending on how you looked at it. Just because there weren’t much in the way of monsters didn’t mean that it was peaceful.

  Not that I got to see much, since anything smarter than a slug hid as soon as I got close enough for them to see or smell. Herald happily described them for me, though, telling me about the rodents, reptiles, and small, flightless birds she saw between the trees. Would've been nice to see them myself, but her enthusiastic descriptions were a strong second best. Impressively, she did this while slowly drawing a map of the area, marking streets, buildings, and other features of interest.

  Meanwhile, Sarina walked as though in a trance, eyes half lidded. She'd warned us that she'd have to focus, and Herald kept her from tripping over roots or stumbling on broken cobbles. It was still an eerie thing to see — like watching someone sleepwalk through a jungle, completely at the mercy of the wilderness around her.

  She was, for all intents and purposes, leading us. Sure, Herald picked which little streets or alleys we walked down as we wound our way through the grounds, but she held Sarina’s hand tight at all times, and followed at the slightest tug. Meanwhile, Herald talked and I followed behind, listening with great interest to what Herald described and casting the occasional jealous glance at those clasped hands. I’d never really thought that I wanted to hold her hand before. I’d never been one to hold hands with my friends, or even with Alex or anyone else I’d dated. But now I kept thinking how my hands were too damn big and rough to hold hers, and I’d missed my chance while I was still little. It was the dumbest thing, really, but there it was. Sarina got to hold her hand and I didn't, and I was being a little green-eyed over it.

  When I realized what was going on, though, I did some serious introspection and was pleased to find that there was none of that ugly possessiveness that I’d still sometimes feel when I saw Herald and Maglan together. I couldn't remember ever being truly jealous when Herald talked and laughed with either of her two minions. Conscience put it pretty well when she weighed in unbidden, having noticed what was going through my head.

  If you can share Herald with her family, and with Maglan, you can share her with Sarina and Marvan and anyone else whose brain she turns to mush, she told me. You don’t get to be mad at people for liking each other, especially not when they have no choice in the matter. I’m glad you see that.

  Lost in thought, I followed along mutely as Herald and Sarina alternated between leading each other through broken, overgrown streets. Conscience was right. Sarina didn’t have a choice in whether she'd like Herald, and Herald didn't have one in whether she cared for Sarina. And despite Sarina being a would-be hoard-raider, she was pleasant and helpful. There was absolutely no reason for me to be mad except that my draconic side didn’t like to share, and Instinct had nothing at all against them. As far as she was concerned, there was no question of sharing or rivalry; Herald’s minions were property, and anything that belonged to Herald belonged to us in the end.

  As if to really strike home what a great addition she was to the group, Sarina suddenly stopped and spoke for the first time in what must have been an hour. “In here,” she said, then looked dubiously at the giant pile of overgrown rocks before us. “Or under, I suppose.” All that remained of the building was a corner, no taller than Herald, and a few pieces of interior wall that hadn’t fared much better over the years. Small trees grew among the rubble.

  “I am not digging through that,” Herald stated. “Absolutely not. But you think there is something good underneath?”

  “I’m sure of it,” Sarina said. “There’s probably more elsewhere, but this place… there’s definitely something under here. Something big. It’s… imagine if someone was banging a giant gong made of flowering roses, and you stood right next to it. It’s a bit like that.”

  “All right!” I said, really pushing on the excitement. I didn’t know if it was possible to pavlov yourself into associating a person with lovely things, but I was going to try. “I don’t smell anything, but with all this rubble that’s no surprise.Herald, mark this place then let’s move on! I’m sure Sarina can find another place or two of interest.”

  “I do like the idea of letting someone else do the heavy lifting,” Herald said cheerfully as she updated her map. “We have, what, three people now with strength Advancements? And Tam’s got endurance. Having them shift all these rocks is just efficient use of resources. And that is not even counting you, oh amazing and powerful sister of mine.”

  “Is that your roundabout way of asking me to do manual labor?” I asked, crinkling my eyes at her in the draconic gesture of amusement.

  “Better you than me,” she said, then made a great show of barely being able to lift an exposed rock. It couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds, and I was sure that it wasn’t anywhere close to what she could manage if she really put her legs into it. “See?” she said, huffing exaggeratedly after letting the thing clatter back onto its fellows. “Meanwhile you drop literal tons of the things onto tents and men alike.”

  “Point taken,” I laughed. “I’d rather have you on overwatch, anyway. Now, come on. We may have all day, but the day only has so many hours, and we still have two thirds of this place to wander through. Sarina, if you please.”

  By the time we returned to the temple, Sarina had found three locations worth checking out more closely. Excavating, really, since they were all as collapsed as the first. And that didn't count the palace proper, which we were definitely going to be exploring no matter what.

  Val was beside himself at the mention of the mural. “And the vividness of the colors remains?” he asked as soon as Herald had finished her description. “It has not withered over the centuries?”

  “I tell you, greens and yellows as bright as a Kohahp’s head!” she said, beaming with pleasure at his excitement. “Reds and blues and purples as deep as the Sarey. Lines as fine as hairs, laying out detail like you will not truly believe until you see it! I cannot wait to show it to you!”

  “We try again tomorrow, yes?” Val asked, looking around the group and getting only enthusiastic agreement and discussion back.

  “About going to the palace,” I said once the talk wound down, and everyone’s eyes were immediately on me. “I have a suggestion. And I do mean ‘suggestion’. I’m not saying what will happen; I want us all, together, to decide if this seems like a reasonable thing to do. What do you all think of relocating to the shrine?”

  The shrine was the safest place I could think of in the city at that moment, with thick marble walls and doors that could be shut tight. The last time we’d done before leaving the rotunda to tour the grounds was to see if Herald could close and open them, and she could; closing them was easy, but opening them again had drained her. It wasn’t ideal, but it meant that we could shut ourselves inside at night and sleep easy. It was large enough to fit us all comfortably, and there was a fountain with potable water nearby, much like the one near the temple.

  There wasn’t much discussion. Nobody objected to relocating; the only real concern that anyone brought up was Val insisting that we mustn’t light any fires inside, lest the smoke damage the mural. And I was grateful for it, because I hadn’t thought of that at all.

  And so, it was decided. Once we figured out a way to get everything up there, including the mules, we’d set up camp in the shrine built by a mighty city to honor my father. And from there, we’d start to explore the palace in earnest.

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