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“That would be nice.” I worked hard to sound enthusiastic, but the truth was I suddenly just wanted to go home and curl up on Raina’s couch. The five of us split up once we reached town. Revel lumbered off without another word, and Austri mumbled something about lunch at the Black Dragon. Madigan went off to do whatever it was she did in her spare time. The words Revel torpedoed at me earlier were still lodged tight in my mind. The trio had given up years of their lives to protect me. How on earth would I ever repay them for that kind of sacrifice?

Lyric and I walked in the opposite direction of the others, toward her family’s farm. “I still can’t believe you’re a dragon caller,” Lyric said. “I’ve never known one myself. Not many people have that power. I wonder what else we don’t know about you,” she teased.

“Please, please, no more powers. I’m now feeling nostalgic for my silly little five-second future travel.”

“I suppose it might have to do with your grandparents,” Lyric said it casually.

“My grandparents? Mom never really talked about them. She said they died when she was young. And how would you know them?”

“Well, I didn’t personally. Like you said, they were gone before I was born.”

Occasionally, it was hard to follow conversations with Lyric without getting bogged down by a hundred questions. But the main one floated to the top. “Why would my grandparents, two people I’ve never met, have anything to do with me connecting with the dragons?”

Lyric tilted her head at me. “You have more than a connection. You’re a dragon caller. They’ll listen to you and do anything you ask of them. I just thought that since it’s such an immense power and because your grandparents were the king and queen of Troikana⁠—”

I came to an abrupt stop. “Say what, now?”

“You mean, you don’t know?” She looked shocked, but I wasn’t at all.

“I never even knew their names, and Mom and Raina seemed to have left out that small detail along with a billion other small details as I grew up in my sheltered human world.” We continued our trek.

“King Articus, your grandfather, and Queen Raphaela, your grandmother,”

I stopped again.

Lyric groaned in frustration. “Those pies won’t be good if they’re cold.”

“Oh, I’m sorry I paused,” I said wryly. “It’s just that I very, very recently discovered that I was the granddaughter of a king and queen, and apparently, I was named after my beloved grandmother. Or at least I hope she was beloved. See, I’m not entirely sure of that because I only just found out she existed.”

Lyric hugged me. “You poor thing. It’s a lot to take in, especially after, you know, the whole dragon caller thing. But if it makes you feel better, your grandparents were loved by all of Troikana. My mom said they were the kindest and wisest of rulers.”

“Then what happened to them? Don’t tell me it was the—the Krakatow.”

“Oh, gosh no. They didn’t live in Norvale, though King Articus was a Valian. Queen Raphaela was a Solamite, and they lived in a beautiful palace in the north of Solamere.”

“Did they get sick? Was it a war?”

Lyric bit her lip. “Hmm, should probably ask Raina about all that. My details are sketchy on it.” She took my hand to prod me forward.

It was midday and a delicious mix of aromas flowed through windows and chimneys we passed. Lyric stopped to take a deep whiff. “I think I can smell Mama’s meat pies from here.”

“If you can, then your sniffer is on the blink,” a voice said from behind. We turned. Lyric’s sister, Anji, was walking up the road. She was carrying a basket filled with a brown-wrapped parcel. She reached us. “I’ve just been to the healer’s cottage for a poultice. Mama turned her ankle this morning when she was feeding the goats.”

“No pies?” Lyric asked.

Anji raised a disapproving brow at her. Something told me she did that a lot. “Mama’s fine, thanks for asking.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. Poor Mama. It’s just I was bringing a guest home for lunch today.”

I touched Lyric’s arm. “Actually, I feel a headache coming on.”

“Iva, the healer, has a poultice for that, too,” Anji noted.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine with a little rest. Another time, Lyric.” She was already pouting in disappointment.

“Yes, another time,” she said glumly.

The two sisters continued toward home, and I headed back in the direction of Raina’s cottage. I glanced up at the murky sky. It looked entirely different now that I knew most of the haze had been created by dragons. Dragons. They existed, and apparently my fondness for lizards was more than just a casual interest in reptiles. I was a dragon caller. Who knew that invisible, insignificant, introvert Raphael Willow had an emotional attachment to fire-breathing dragons? At least, it felt like an emotional attachment, and I wanted nothing more than to help the poor creatures regain their health.