When he finished, holding a perfect translucent blue scale between his fingers, she turned back around. The scale was bigger than her head, but her mouth enlarged in an instant, and she gulped it down.

She flashed sapphire, giving a whistling breath of satisfaction and patting her stomach.

“I do apologize,” he repeated. “Friends?”

She chirped brightly and dashed up his arm, coming to rest on his shoulder opposite Dross.

[Good for you, holding strong in your negotiations while his spirit is wounded. You can't let him pressure you into helping.]

Two cold spots pressed against him as Little Blue suddenly grabbed the side of his neck. He felt an odd tickling as she sent her awareness into his spirit.

Since when had she been able to do that?

When she discovered the injury to his madra channels, she gave a high-pitched wail, flooding his spirit with her cleansing power.

Her madra helped, but it was a bit like throwing a bucket of cold water on a sunburn. He hissed and gritted his teeth, his spine straightening. Spiritual pain wasn't necessarily any worse than physical pain, but it was much harder to ignore.

The sharp spike of discomfort began to ebb almost immediately, and he could feel his spirit recovering already. Little Blue burbled apologies, leaning against the side of his face.

“I'm perfectly fine, see?” He turned to smile at her.

On his other shoulder, Dross gasped. [What is that? Do you feel that?]

Lindon hadn't before Dross pointed it out, but when he focused on his perception, he felt a dark hole in the center of the basement that he swore hadn't been there before. The basement was well-lit by scripts drawing their power from a madra furnace upstairs, but he could feel a black spot in the middle. Now that he noticed, he was starting to see it, like a puddle of smoke gathering on the floor.

Dross drifted closer, peering with his giant eye. [I don't ever...oh, it's her!]

Lindon recognized the madra shortly after Dross did, but by then it was too late. Akura Charity materialized from darkness in the center of the basement. Lindon immediately pulled Dross back into his madra channels.

Or he tried. His madra channels were blocked. He focused his spirit, pulling at Dross. The spirit remained where he was, peering curiously into the Heart Sage's eyes.

“Well,” Charity said, “this explains a few things.”

Chapter 3

Lindon stood still, quiet panic growing in his mind, as Akura Charity examined Dross. The spirit was the creation of Northstrider's Ghostwater, and as far as Lindon knew, was completely unique. Lindon could easily imagine someone as strong as a Sage murdering him in order to pry Dross from his Remnant.

But Eithan had sensed Dross' presence without understanding his nature. Lindon had to hope that others wouldn't be able to tell how valuable he was either.

[You're the Sage of the Silver Heart!] Dross exclaimed. [I didn't know much about you before the last few months, but when you blanked those minds, just bam! and they're out, I was impressed. And jealous. I mean, not jealous! Well, yes, I was...I was a bit jealous.]

“You bonded with a mind-spirit,” Charity said, still examining Dross. “And a surprisingly advanced one, considering how stable its manifestation is. Now I understand how you did so well on your mental tests.”

[Not to take credit, but that was entirely me.]

“And you have taken a drop of ghostwater as well,” she went on. “Between the two, it's no wonder that you have such an impressive mental foundation.”

That wasn't totally accurate, but Lindon took the way out that she'd offered. “I could never hide anything from a Sage. I was blessed to stumble on good fortune inside the Ghostwater facility.”

“Not just there,” Charity focused on Little Blue, who ducked shyly behind a lock of Lindon's hair. “It would seem that you have been blessed by the heavens on more than just one occasion.”

Lindon thought of the glass ball burning quietly in his pocket. “I humbly agree.”

“And yet you were beaten today.”

Lindon usually thought of the Sage as cold or impassive, but this time he detected the anger behind her mask. He chose his words very carefully, feeling his breath come more quickly.

“I am honored by your estimation of me. But, if you’ll allow me an observation, I am also lacking in basic knowledge and skills. Your Underlords are not. If Pride were my enemy, I might find some way to stop or defeat him, but within the confines of a judged duel, I’m afraid I am truly not his match.”

He had long been aware of his weaknesses. He had worked hard and learned much in the past two years, but in many areas, he still hadn't caught up to those sacred artists who’d received the best training their entire lives. He'd made it as far as he had through relentless determination, reliable companions, and leaning hard on his areas of strength.

As Charity remained quiet and studied him, her expression grew more and more distant, as though she were contemplating some abstract problem.

Sweat beaded on his skin. He had been honest with her, hoping she would respect his humility, but maybe he had misjudged her.

He pulled Little Blue down from his shoulder, cradling her in his hands to comfort her.

“You don’t know what we’re fighting for, do you?” Charity said at last.

“For the pride of the Akura clan, and I'm not certain that I am worthy to carry such a great burden.”

She slowly nodded, like she had come to some conclusion. “And you don't feel such pride, so you do not value it.”

Dross looked between them, his wide eye staring into Lindon from an inch away. Lindon began to sweat in earnest. “I do not dare to underestimate the pride and honor of a Monarch's family, which is why I feel that I may be unsuited for this task. If the reputation of the Akura clan affects the survival of nations, I don't—”

“It does,” she interrupted. “It affects your nation.”

Lindon stopped.

“The dragons have been pressing in on us for longer than you can imagine, but we have managed an unsteady balance. Now, with the uncertainty of the Dreadgods added in, all has been called into question. Every major house and family is pushing their boundaries to gain as much as they can.

“The Uncrowned King tournament is an exhibition of our future military power. If the Dragon King believes we are weak, he will take what he wants from us. If the other great families believe we are weak, they will not help us. There is no sense investing in a loser.”

She pressed her fingertips together, and though she was over a foot shorter than Lindon, it was as though she towered over him. “They want the Blackflame Empire.”

Dross gasped.

Lindon didn't want to believe her. He wanted to think she was lying to him in order to motivate him to fight. But she didn't need to lie, she could simply order him to do as she wished, and he would have no choice but to comply.

And it made sense. The Empire had once been ruled by dragons, and now the dragons wanted it back.

He followed her line of reasoning, but he still held out hope. “How far do we have to make it?”

“Farther than the gold dragons,” she answered. “But there is far more at stake in the tournament than this. If at least one of you does not reach the top eight and become one of the Uncrowned, preferably Mercy, then we may find ourselves in great danger.”