Your arms are going to ache."
"They already are," Leisa admitted. She set the cup on a table and shook out her arms. "It will help, you know."
"No, I don't know." Tressa sat on a damask upholstered chair. She rubbed her forehead. "I can't trust anyone anymore. I'm not even sure why I'm here. Jarrett felt it was the right thing to do, but how would he know?"
Leisa shrugged. "I don't know who he is, so I cannot speak to his character. Do you trust him?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation in her voice. She believed Jarrett always had her best interest at heart.
"Then believe him. We will help you here."
"Why?" Tressa asked. "You're asking me to trust you and I don't even know who you are."
She smiled. "I am the assistant to the Black Queen."
Tressa was taken aback. "The queen? What does the queen want with me?"
"The queen sent our dragons to Malum to protect you. The queen is a powerful seer. She knew you needed help, and she knew you would be coming here."
"Why me? I'm no one," Tressa said.
"Not true," a familiar voice said as the door creaked open.
Tressa's heart thundered in her chest. She turned toward the door and saw the speaker clearly. "You're dead," she stammered.
"No, my sweet Tressa, I am alive again." Granna seemed to float across the room, a black train trailing from the back of her long gown. She knelt in front of Tressa, grabbing her shaking hands.
"I saw you die. I was there." Tressa pulled her hands away. She glared at Fi, standing in the doorway. "What is this? Why are you doing this to me?"
Granna placed a soft hand on Tressa's cheek. The old woman’s wrinkles had been replaced by smooth, youthful skin. "It's me. After I passed, I was resurrected and brought to my new home. You need to drink this medicine." Granna took the cup off the table, holding it out to Tressa.
"What makes you think I would drink anything you offer me?" Tressa knocked the cup over, spilling the red liquid all over the carpet. She turned to Fi. "This is why you brought me here? Because you thought she'd help me? That woman never did anything but ruin my life."
Granna stood, rejuvenated and youthful. Though her hair was still gray, her body was no longer ravaged by old age. She could have been the same age as Tressa’s parents, if they were still alive. "Now, Tressa..."
"Don't!" Tressa sprang to her feet, but dizziness overtook her, and she sank back down into the chair.
"Drink this. It will help, I promise." Granna nodded to Leisa to bring a pitcher from the table. Leisa poured another cupful of the mystery liquid.
Tressa pressed her lips together.
Fi stomped over to Granna and took the cup. She lifted it to her lips and took a long swig. She held it out to Leisa. "Fill it up again." Once the cup had been refilled, she held it out to Tressa. "Will you drink it now?"
"What is it?" Tressa demanded.
"Tell her," Fi said, glaring at Granna. "She might as well know. You've kept it from her long enough."
Tressa looked at Fi, then at Granna. "No more lies."
"I've never lied to you," Granna said.
"There is so much you haven't told her either." Fi stood next to Tressa.
This new friend was on her side. Jarrett had placed his trust in the right person.
"She's not ready," Granna said.
Fi knelt beside Tressa and squeezed her hand. "You are a dragon. You were born that way and you will forever remain one of us."
"I've been told that before," Tressa said.
Granna's eyebrows rose. "Who told you that?"
"Just some dragons up in the Meadowlands. They didn't know what they were talking about. They were only silly children. I'm not a dragon."
"Tressa, it’s true," Granna said. "You were born with dragon blood in you."
"Impossible. My father only became a dragon after he left Hutton's Bridge. Not before."
"No. Your father had dragon blood in him before he entered the fog. So did your grandfather. I know because I have dragon blood flowing in my veins."
Despite her anger, Tressa laughed, like she'd laughed at the Green dragon, Margret, when she suggested Tressa was a dragon. "Is this because of the drop of blood I drank up in Malum? It wasn't enough to turn me into anything. My father, Fenn, he said I had to drink all of it to become like him. Besides, if I'm a dragon, then why haven't I ever turned into one?"
"Tressa—”
"Don't." Tressa