side was Leannan Sidhe, one of the Water Fae.
Herne stood, also, as did Victor and Yutani. “Welcome. Please have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?”
She held up her cold cup. “I have lemonade, thank you. One of the delights I’ve discovered since coming into your world.”
Viktor pulled out her chair for her and she settled herself gracefully at the table, greeting everyone with a smile and a nod.
“So,” Herne said after all the niceties were out of the way, “you said you have important information to share with us?”
Ashera nodded. “I didn’t want to broadcast this over the phone since you never know who’s listening and I know these devices aren’t foolproof. As you know, a group of us who are the Celestial Wanderers and Mountain Dreamers have gathered over on Bainbridge Island. We’re one of a number of such groupings who have chosen strategic spots around the world in order to keep watch as the Luminous Warriors arrive. The Luminous Warriors are, almost to a dragon, in league with our father, Typhon.”
Yutani cleared his throat. “Would you mind clearing something up for me?”
“What do you want to know?” Ashera asked, accepting a cookie from Talia, who passed her the tray.
“Your father—Typhon—did he sire all the dragons? I mean, are you all his actual children?”
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, then a look of understanding crossed her face. “Oh! No, Typhon isn’t my literal father. But he is the ancestor of us all—Typhon and Echidna were the beginnings of the Dragonni. So, in essence, we all bear his blood. But the first hatchlings—there were sixteen of them, a pair to each color. And Echidna cast a spell that they would breed true and free from genetic issues that often plague inbreeding. So, while all blue dragons spring from the original pairing, we evolved and mutated over the years. If you were to test our DNA, there would be differences.”
“Magical genetics?” Talia asked.
Ashera nodded. “Echidna was brilliant. She had an eye for the future. She and Typhon fought tooth and claw over many an issue. Echidna believed in evolving, in cooperation and diplomacy and compromise. Typhon had his sights on conquest and keeping the status quo.”
It was hard to know what to say to that. But after a moment, Angel asked, “What happened to her? We know what happened to Typhon, obviously.”
“Echidna vanished, shortly after Typhon was driven into stasis. Nobody knows where she went, but we always keep hope that she might return one day and lead us against the Luminous Warriors. We wish she could return and take up the throne, as a good queen should.” Ashera’s expression grew dreamy, and it occurred to me that was one thing that the dragons lacked.
Oh, the Luminous Warriors followed Typhon, but there was no true monarch, no true council. The Dragonni were a race without a clear leader. That made me sad. It was hard to live under a leadership you hated—under someone who was a despot.
Herne cleared his throat. “I wish for that, too. Very much. She seems to have been an extraordinary woman…dragon…”
“Queen,” Ashera said, smiling at him. “I suppose, there is always hope. Anyway, to matters today. I wanted to tell you about a dragon who has been spotted around Seattle. I believe he’s the one responsible for the vrykos rising. And we think this is happening all over your country, if not the world. You see, the shadow dragons have a firm grasp over the dead. And one in particular has been seen in your city. He’s dangerous. I remember him from before we came through the portal, back in the Forgotten Kingdom. His name is Gyell.”
She pronounced it with a hard “G.”
“Gyell? Would he possibly be working with white dragons?” I asked. “We saw Aso and Variance out at the graveyard, loading the vrykos we hadn’t managed to destroy into a van.”
“Yes, from our network we’ve been developing, we found out the three of them are assigned to the Seattle area. They’re all dangerous, all deadly, and Gyell is an ancient dragon compared to most of us. He’s cunning and brilliant, and he’s ruthless. Aso and Variance might as well be common thugs compared to him.” Ashera shuddered. “The white dragons act pretty much as the brawn for the red and shadow dragons. They seldom rise to prominence. My guess is that Pandora was put in charge of all three, and she and Gyell are most likely the ones hatching the ideas.”
I let