With three strong mules, and most of the group being seasoned adventurers, we made good time. Ardek and Kira did slow us down a bit; Ardek hadn’t had long enough out of the city to get used to walking for hours on end, and Kira was more used to spending hours and hours in the saddle.

  Fortunately there was an easy way to give them some rest every so often: me. With few outsiders to see, and thus no reason for the big, bad murderlizard to feel embarrassed, Kira and Ardek took turns riding on my back. I could have probably taken them both at once on the ground, but that wouldn’t do long-term; they needed toughening up for the rest of our adventure. And so, most of the time both walked; but when either started slowing us down, I had them climb on to rest their feet for a while. In that way, with only two proper breaks on the way, we made it to Lady’s Rest not too long after sunset.

  We could have knocked on the door to the longhouse and slept there but decided not to alert anyone. If we got too close, the night watch would see us, and then it’d be a whole thing — they’d tell Jekrie, and he would probably have everyone up before I could stop him, and then who knew how far things would go? No, instead we set up camp a little away from the hamlet, near the stream that provided them with clear, cool water from the mountains; with that done, I took Herald, Mak, and all the gold we’d brought with us and flew up to my cave.

  The air between us was electric as we descended into the depths. When we reached the crevice by the pit, Mak passed through it with all reverence and left the red lacquered lockbox there, as safe as it could be… we hoped. Then we continued, carrying the double leather bag with my own gold.

  Mak and Herald had accepted keeping half of Soandel’s tribute for the House but had insisted on me taking all of what the Council had bribed me with. Thus, that small leather sack held no less than four hundred and twenty golden dragons; five and a quarter pounds of gold. And by their best estimation, based roughly on how much I’d gained between Advancements before, I should need somewhere between four and six pounds of gold to cross my next threshold and gain my third major Advancement.

  We hadn’t talked to the others about it — mostly because we didn’t want to face the embarrassment of being wrong. And we hadn’t talked much about what I might gain, either; I wouldn’t get to choose, and I certainly hadn’t been able to predict either my shadow magic or my dreamwalking. I suspected that I’d get some kind of improvement to my magic, but what form that might take only the Mercies knew.

  So, I had no idea what to expect, and it wasn’t a sure thing anyway. I still couldn’t help but be disappointed when nothing happened in the short time between the mesmerising sight of over four hundred gold coins raining onto the carpet of silver and gold around me, and when the pain kicked in. My sisters’ estimate had been just that: an estimate, but it still felt somehow unfair.

  Besides my disappointment, I had time for two thoughts before the pain of growing so much at once overwhelmed me.

  The first was, At least it’ll be fun scaring the trolls. They’d already been wary and respectful of me, and I was going to be noticeably bigger by the time I woke up.

  The other was more of a feeling, and less of a full thought. As I was fading, right before the lights went out, I heard Mak say, “Nothing.”

  Herald replied, “Like we said, then?”

  I wondered what she meant.

  In my dreams, I stood between my two other selves; the two origins from which I’d sprung. To my right, the woman I’d been: tanned and wiry body, sun-bleached, sandy hair in a messy bun, calluses and little scars all over; just how I’d looked on my last day as a human. On my left, the dragon I’d become; though that me kept changing, shifting between the dog-sized whelp I’d been and the titanic creature Instinct no doubt saw herself as, and everything in between. And I, what felt like my true self, just kind of was; no mass or substance, a thing of shadow limned with golden light.

  Before us, suspended in the air and peacefully asleep, was Herald, and she was absolutely glorious. Her every vein and artery were painted in gold through her skin, down to the threads of her capillaries. Behind her breastbone, rather than a ball of gold like I might have seen if she were focusing her magic, I could see her heart; not quite in anatomical detail, but the outline was clear enough. As it beat the golden light flowed, circulating with her blood. It was beautiful and somewhat freaky all at once.

  “We really lucked out, didn’t we?” Conscience asked from my right.

  “We could not have chosen better,” Instinct agreed from my left.

  “We didn’t,” Conscience disagreed. “She chose us. We just glommed onto her the moment she offered a hint of friendship.”

  “You make us sound weak and needy,” Instinct said. She sounded genuinely insulted. “It was we who picked her group to engage with. Though you are right that she chose to become ours. We took Makanna, Ardek, Bekiratag, and the others. Tamor and Valmik and the mercenaries, they accepted us. But the Herald, she offered us her soul freely, asking only our loyalty in return.”

  “Yeah,” Conscience said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I doubt she really knew what she was doing, though. Binding herself to us like that and all. We certainly didn’t. But no point crying about it, is there? At least not until we find if there’s any way of reversing it.”

  “Try it,” Instinct hissed. “Try to take my servants from me, and see what happens! I have tolerated you, little ghost, because you have been harmless. If that changes, so will my tolerance.”

  Conscience’s reply was a scoff and a dismissive, “Yeah, we’ll see. But we can agree that we really shouldn’t be surprised, right? Should have seen it coming, especially after that stunt with Yakamo.”

  “I did, and I approve,” Instinct said with great satisfaction. “They both desire for our power to grow. With the gold they hold for us so close, it was inevitable.”

  “Maybe. And don’t get me wrong: I appreciate the freedom. Still wish they’d spent it on themselves, though.”

  “You would.”

  “What’s the point of having money if you don’t spend it? Eh, Draka?”

  Conscience turned and looked at me directly for the first time, and it was like looking back through time into a mirror. Not that I could remember what I’d seen eight months ago, as I was heading out and looked in the tall, framed mirror by the door in Andrea’s and my shared apartment. My memory had never been that good, and I’d never been quite vain enough to remember something like that even if it had been. But she looked exactly the way I imagined myself. Except for the eyes, which were like pools of molten gold, without iris or pupil.

  “Oh, what am I thinking, asking you,” she continued, giving me a teasing smile. “You’re much more like her than me when it comes to money.”

  “What’s going on?” I finally managed to ask, and my voice didn’t come from myself but from all around, thin and distant.

  “Give it a go or two and I bet you’ll figure it out,” Conscience said, the exact same thing I’d used to say to newbies asking the best line on a wall.

  “I’m dreaming,” I said, and my voice grew stronger and more present.

  She nodded encouragingly.

  “Lucid dreaming, like when I dreamwalk. Only… I can see you. Both of you. And Herald. So I’m guessing something must have happened. And you were talking about money…” Realization struck me. “Oh, no,” I sighed. “They didn’t?”

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  “They did,” Instinct confirmed proudly. She was looking at Herald much like someone might look at their dog if it found their keys in the grass.

  “Well, how much?” I asked. “We left them that money for a reason!”

  “Can’t say,” Conscience said. “We didn’t become aware until after we passed the threshold. They don’t seem too bummed about it, though.”

  “They wouldn’t!” I groaned. “Mak would give us every peacock they have if we let her, and Herald’s obsessed with us getting bigger and stronger! I’m sure they’re ecstatic, no matter how much of their own money they threw on our hoard!”

  “Well, they would be,” my human half agreed, “except Herald’s conked out and Mak’s too worried to celebrate. Tell you this, though: I’ll just bet Herald passed a threshold of her own!”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Look at her,” Instinct said. “Does this look like the Herald we know and treasure? Did she ever shine so?”

  “I mean, when she Shifts she’s as bright as anything. But not like this, no. Not with the veins and all.”

  “Right,” Conscience said. “Don’t worry, though. She’s not actually glowing in the waking world. Breathing’s a bit shallow, but not enough to be quite as worried as Mak is. But you know her—”

  “How do you know?” I said, cutting her off. “What does our new Advancement do?”

  “Finally, she asks!” Conscience cheered.

  “Focus on Makanna,” Instinct said, “and see for yourself.”

  “On Mak? She’s awake, though, isn’t she?”

  Conscience grinned, the molten gold of her eyes literally growing brighter. “Don’t worry about that. Just do it, the same way you’d invade one of our victims’ dreams.”

  Referring to our involuntary friends as “victims” was, I thought, uncalled for. Not entirely wrong, though. So I didn’t protest and instead did as she said. I focused on Mak, the same way I would if I wanted to visit her dreams, and—

  I was watching myself sleep. A vast expanse of matte-black scales filled my suddenly narrow field of view, tapering to a long, muscular neck and a head crowned by one rather substantial and one stubby horn. From Mak’s perspective, I couldn’t really judge size or distance very well — the difference in scale between us was simply too great — but Mercies, was I big!

  The thought that this might not be real never entered my mind. I had all my senses; or rather, I had all of Mak’s. There was a slight stiffness in my side. I felt the slight chill in the air, contrasting with the glorious warmth of the huge body next to me. I heard its heavy breaths, Herald’s soft snores, and the distant echoes of water dripping off the stalactites. For a moment I thought that there was no sense of smell, but there was — Mak’s was just much weaker than mine. What I lacked was control; for all that I could observe everything that Mak experienced, I was still very much an observer as the scene blinked and shifted without my input. I thanked the brief trend of 3D cinema for preparing me, because the whole experience was quite jarring.

  The image panned slowly to Herald. She was draped across my — the dragon’s — back, partially covered by one wing with her face resting on my scales as she slept. As Mak watched her, I felt a surge of gentle affection for our little sister. And I honestly couldn’t tell if it was my own or Mak’s; I was becoming more and more convinced that our emotional bond went both ways, at least when we were very close, the way we were now.

  Herald was, I noticed, drooling slightly. There was a little blip of annoyance at that, followed by a kind of “Ah, well. What can you do?” feeling that was hard to put a name to. Affectionate resignation, perhaps? This time I was sure it came from Mak. The view shifted, and I had a quick flash of Mak’s coat as she opened it to pull out a handkerchief, which she used to gently wipe the drool away from my scales and our sister’s cheek.

  She folded the handkerchief and went to put it back, then stopped. She looked at it, then back at Herald. Then she placed the folded piece of cloth on my back, near Herald’s face. Clearly Mak expected it to be needed again later.

  Then I was back with Conscience and Instinct, and the first thing out of my mouth — or whatever I was using to speak — was, “Holy fucking privacy invasion, Batman!”

  Conscience snorted at me before saying, “Nice to know that there’s something of me in you. But you get it, yeah? And it’s not just Mak. Apparently Tammy’s having trouble sleeping, and she’s doing her best to talk with one of the night guards. Her Karakani’s coming along!” Then her voice dropped to a gossipy whisper. “And you know what? I think—”

  I cut her off. “Hold on! Sort of, what’s it, buried the lede there! You can look through Tammy’s eyes?”

  “Yes!” Her eyes flared as she grinned wide at me. “I knew you’d pick up on that!”

  “Makanna, Leretem, Bekiratag, Ardek, and Onur,” Instinct said. “These of our servants are awake now, and we can go to any of them. It is wonderfully freeing!”

  “Yeah,” Conscience agreed. “Just… don’t look in on Kira and Ardek. I hadn’t considered the possibility, but Scaly over there took a peek. They’re busy.”

  I’d never seen myself blush when I was still human. It was rather adorable, if I were to say so myself.

  I took her meaning, though. It really drove home the whole invasion of privacy aspect of this new ability. Not that I wouldn’t use it; even Conscience hadn’t been able to resist, and I was dragon enough to take advantage of being able to see and hear through my minions’ eyes and ears. I just had limits to what I was comfortable with, that was all. Some care and consideration was most definitely in order.

  “So, is this going to be a thing now?” I asked, changing the subject. “The two of you? You’ve always been there, but never like this. Are we just going to be hanging out all night from now on?”

  “You know as much as we do,” Instinct said, circling Herald. She was still shifting between tiny and titanic, almost from moment to moment, and it was hard to know where to look. “I suspect that this is special. A major threshold passed; the Herald no doubt crossing a minor one of her own. These are exceptional circumstances. And I cannot say I will miss the experience if it never comes again.” She gestured at the darkness that surrounded us. “What is the point of this emptiness? You two are in my mind already, and if I wish to appreciate the Herald I can do so while awake. No, I think I would rather simply rest.”

  And with that she vanished. It was, I thought, unfairly dismissive.

  “I’m with Scaly, to be honest,” Conscience said. “Being in a body like this again is nice and all, but it’s not like I can do anything. And I’ve been having more of an afterlife than I ever expected, so it’s not like I’ll miss out on anything if it goes back to how it’s been the past few months.”

  “You don’t miss being in charge?” I asked. It was something I’d wondered about but never really asked, since she never made a fuss the way Instinct did.

  “Mate.” She drew the word out the way Andrea always had when I’d said or done something disappointing. “Haven't you figured it out yet? I am not the person we were. Some of her, yeah, but most is in you. I’m just what’s left. I have no ambition; no real desires beyond keeping you and Scaly from doing too much damage. Any part of me that might have resented not being in control is inside you. Me, I’m quite satisfied with commenting from the back seat.” Then she smiled crookedly. “Hope I can still see through your minions, though. Really get to see a different side of people when Mistress Dragon isn’t around, you know? Did you know that Tammy actually has a sense of humor?”

  “Sure, make me feel guilty, why don’t you?” I grumbled.

  “Sure will! I’m your Conscience, remember? It’s what I’m for.”

  Mak was sound asleep when I woke. She’d nestled under my wing at some point and was pressed close against me, enjoying my warmth. Herald was either awake already or woke when I did — I’d barely noticed Mak before there was a happy, strangled whine from my other side. Then I myself was being strangled, strong arms wrapping around my neck and doing their best to wrench it from my shoulders.

  “I passed a threshold!” Herald whispered so loudly that I couldn’t say why she didn’t just shout. “I passed a threshold, I passed a threshold, I passed a threshold!”

  “Imagine that,” I choked out, trying to sound surprised.

  “I’m only eighteen and I have my first high minor! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  The way she was jerking my head around, I had to assume that the magic that made her unable to intentionally hurt me knew that she wasn’t strong enough to actually break my neck. It sure felt like a close thing, though.

  Along the way, some combination of Herald’s excited whispering and the way she was jostling me woke Mak. “You passed a threshold?!” she asked excitedly. Then she used my wing to climb up my side and throw her arms around Herald’s neck, exclaiming, “You passed a threshold!”

  “I did!” Herald replied, letting go of me with one arm and wrapping it around our smaller sister, pulling her in and crushing her between us.

  With the assassination attempt over, I managed to ask, “So, what does it do?”

  “Oh,” Herald giggled, “you are going to love this. I— you know, I should just show you!”

  And as she said that, I felt a pull, different from the one that let me know where they were or where I might find a Rift. Those pulls were, for lack of a better word, non-committal. This one, though, was as welcoming as it was insistent. I had the feeling that all I need do was to accept it, and—

  And though I was still looking at Herald, I was also looking at myself and Mak, just like how I’d seen through Mak’s eyes as I slept. Having two perspectives felt shockingly natural and not the least bit nausea-inducing.

  Herald laughed. “I can feel you in there, looking out! Great, is it not?”

  “Yeah, it really is,” I answered. And when I did, though the voice, full of fondness and wonder, was my own, it was Herald’s lips that moved.

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