“The dragon master, Ryuji, told me?—”
Her eyes fly wide. “Ryuji? You spoke with the dragon master?”
“He gave us permission to stay on his island.”
“Well. Then that rumor is true,” she muses. “How on earth did you wrangle that? Dragon masters kill first and ask questions later.”
“Well, they did try the whole killing thing,” I say. “And it was all a bit awkward, but I convinced Ryuji to help us.”
“Okay,” she says, her eyes still wide. “So he told you about Galeia’s heart.”
“He wanted to find out more about my claws, since I cut up his scales with them.” I grimace at the memory, but it was what saved my life. “He searched through the ancient texts and found that, in the history of our world, there have only been two other recorded cases of supernatural creatures who had claws like mine.”
Halle nods. “The first would have been the Vandawolf.”
“Yes, the Vandawolf, who was human. Until he was turned into a beast by supernaturals, who controlled an arcane power that nearly destroyed the world. At least, that’s what Mother told me.”
“I’m assuming, then, that the second recorded case Ryuji’s texts spoke of was your mother,” Halle says.
“That’s correct,” I reply. “He told me that the same arcane magic was used to create my mother’s heart. But he also said there was no familial relationship between her and the Vandawolf. They were separate beings impacted by that magic at separate times.”
Halle purses her lips. “Hmm.”
I’m surprised when she doesn’t sound convinced, but she continues before I can question her.
“How much do you know about that arcane magic?” she asks.
“I know it was infused into metal,” I say. “I also know that it was considered so dangerous that every piece of it was destroyed after those beings were defeated. Except for my mother’s heart.”
“What else do you know?” Halle asks, peering as hard at me as I’m now peering at her.
“That’s it,” I reply.
She stares at me for a moment longer before she asks, “What about those arcane beings themselves? What do you know of them?”
I shake my head. “Only what I’ve told you already. They nearly ruined the world. The Vandawolf brought them down. Their metal was destroyed. Their magic no longer exists.”
“Oh, child.” She exhales so heavily that it’s impossible for me to take offense at her tone, especially when she chews her lip sharply enough to break the skin and reveal the ashen flesh beneath.
She refolds her hands in her lap. Twice. “First, you should know that those arcane beings were called ‘Blacksmiths’. They were so named because of their affinity with metal. I’m telling you that simply because it will make our conversation go easier if we call them what they were.”
Again, she refolds her hands, a seemingly restless movement that tells me she’s thinking hard before she speaks. “But you’re missing a very important piece of information.”
“Which is?”
“Not every Blacksmith was capable of the kind of destruction that warranted their annihilation. Oh, they became a cruel people, that’s for certain, but not all of them could render the kind of power that belonged in nightmares. No. There were only two Blacksmiths who had that sort of power.”
I should be leaning away, preparing for the worst, but instead, I crane forward, thirsty for knowledge and answers, no matter what they are.
All around me, my pack—the dark elves, my brother, even Orlan and the hellhound—is doing the same, as if they’re hearing things for the first time, too.
Once again, only Jonah remains in the shadows.
“You must understand, Veda,” Halle says. “That even knowing about this power is dangerous. Very dangerous.”
As she speaks, her pixie façade peels away and her death goddess appearance rises. One half of her face and body appears blackened and charred. Her eye on that side gleams red. Her clothing splits down the middle so that she’s wearing black leather on her un-living side, although her other side remains alive.
But it, too, changes, becoming wizened.
