Trina leaned into me. “There’s more, Simon, and it’s worse. Kestra told me that on the way to Brill, Loelle stole the necklace back from Wynnow. Why would Loelle have wanted it?”
I shook my head. “We know it lured Lord Endrick to Brill. But Loelle wouldn’t have planned it that way. After going to so much effort to give magic to Kes, she wouldn’t risk it all by forcing a confrontation with Lord Endrick.”
Trina had an answer for that too. “I don’t think Loelle intended for Kestra to face Lord Endrick, but I do believe she wanted him to go to Brill. Loelle didn’t like the Brillians and never trusted Wynnow. The Brillians were close to being able to replicate everything Endrick can do, only without magic. I believe that Loelle thought Endrick would see it and destroy Brill for it.”
“So Wynnow never betrayed Kes?”
“No,
she absolutely did, but I think her betrayal happened after Lord Endrick came to Brill. He probably threatened to destroy Brill, just as Loelle wanted, and so Wynnow needed to offer him something even better. Wynnow must have offered up Kestra as a trade for a guaranteed peace.”
“Only Kestra didn’t cooperate. She fought back, maybe even achieved some level of victory over Endrick.”
Trina added, “And in his anger, he destroyed most of Brill’s capital city, including the royal palace. Including Wynnow.” She touched my arm. “Whether she intended it or not, Loelle is the one who corrupted Kes. And now Kes is with her.”
A hard lump formed in my throat. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know. All I can tell you is that when we stopped for a change of drivers, Loelle insisted on driving the carriage herself, claiming only she and Kestra could go the rest of the way. I was dismissed.”
“We’ve got to find them. If Loelle went that far to get Kestra under her control, then she’s got a much bigger plan in mind.”
“Agreed.” Now she smiled. “But it’s not all bad news. I also have a special message for you. Kestra wants you to know that she remembers everything now. More importantly—” Trina stopped mid-sentence as she noticed my exposed arm. Her eyes widened with alarm. “The burn!”
Instinctively, I pulled it toward myself. Except when the physicians had applied creams to the flesh, I’d kept my arm tightly bandaged since the crowning ceremony. I’d forgotten it was unwrapped now. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“I think it’s just the other way around.” Trina leaned forward enough to get a closer look at my arm. Most of the skin from my wrist to my elbow remained as red as when it had first been burned, but the heat generated from my flesh made my entire body feel like I was constantly standing too close to a fire. The cauterized line had turned to a dark shade of red and the lump beneath the skin was hardening. Trina tenderly pressed on the lump and I yanked my arm away.
“Did that hurt?”
I looked at my arm. “No, it just … I felt something happen when you pressed on it.” It was like a thousand vibrations coursed through me, all of them gathering in my arm.
Frowning at me, Trina said, “When you fell into that pond, with the cut on your arm, the Rawkyren was in the water too, a cut on its leg. What if its blood got into your blood? Simon, what if that dragon is somehow connected to you now?”
Almost in answer to her question, a fluttering sound came at the balcony door, ending with a thump on the balcony floor. Trina stood, withdrawing her sword, and I crept to the door, parting the curtains again. I barely breathed at what I saw: the Rawkyren from the forest, slightly larger than a falcon now, and obviously here for a reason.
It must have cauterized the wound on its own leg, which had a black line similar to the one on my arm. Its silvery scales were like mirrors, reflecting the stormy night, so I might not have seen it except it was looking through the window directly at me, with large piercing eyes. I reached for the door handle.
“Don’t go out there!” Trina said.
I opened the door and the Rawkyren flew in, landing on my injured arm, which I’d instinctively raised to hold it. I felt the talons dig into my flesh but with the thick mass beneath the skin, I wasn’t hurt. It was almost as if … as if that were the purpose for the lump.
Trina stood back as the young dragon stretched its wings and looked around the room, like it had come home.
“I think you’re right about me being connected to this dragon,” I said, almost to myself. Then to Trina, I added, “If only I still had any connection with Kestra.”
Trina smiled. “I think you do; I have a message Kestra asked me to deliver.” She looked me directly in the eye, then added, “Simon, she wants me to tell you that she loves you too.”