Page 135 of Queen’s Gambit

‘As long as your will and your magic exist in Tangra. Put your mask back on.’ He looked at the villagers as they approached, then shifted into a protective stance.

‘Who are you, my lady?’ the elder asked, standing a respectable distance away.

‘The Songstress,’ I said, turning to the crowd so they could see my porcelain visage. Then I released my wings. ‘The gods heard your prayers. I am their answer.’

Someone spat on the ground, and a few people turned away, but several looked at me with new hope.

‘Can I touch your dragon?’ a small boy asked, pulling free from his mother’s hand when she tried to stop him. Then, with unbridled enthusiasm, he rushed towards Cinared.

Cin stiffened, a ripple running over his scales, but he lowered his head and let the child touch his muzzle. For a moment, even the wind quietened over the desert. Then, as the child returned to his mother, the crowd began to whisper. Within moments, they drifted away, some dabbing at their new grass, others chasing spooked cattle that wolfed down the grass. Within an hour, the villagers had prepared a feast, and the vibrant music of the flute and oud filled the night.

‘Why Songstress?’ Siras asked, sitting next to me.

‘I have a life, Siras. Not as a symbol, but as Sana. Tangra needs hope as much as magic, and the Songstress can be that hope.’ I sighed. ‘Will you let me help you now? Everything you did was for your home.’

‘I can’t forgive myself for what I did to you,’ Siras admitted with a grim expression.

‘What?’

‘My hands. You called me stubborn, but those hands shot you in the back while you fought for your life. I let Tivala take you and do those… Yet you are here. Saving your enemy.’ Siras covered his face with his mangled stumps. ‘This is my penance.’

‘Did it ever occur to you that I don’t want your guilt? That this kingdom needs a strong leader to take power and guide its people into the future?’ I shook my head and rubbed my temples. ‘Tomorrow I’ll fix your hands. Then I’ll heal Tangra and finally go home.’

‘If that is your wish,’ he said, studying me. ‘Do you need something? You look tired.’

‘I am tired, and worried. I miss Reynard. I want to go home, Siras. This is the last debt I owe. I just want to live my life with the man I love.’

I stood up and walked to the dragon sleeping on the sand. With a little effort, I was lying on Cin’s front paw with his wing shielding me like a giant tent.

I hadn’t lied to Siras. I was bone-deep tired, and I wanted to go home before the craving that had started when I shaped the water transformed me into something I didn’t want to become.