You came to me again. In a dream.
Kavya jerked away. She wasnt touching him, just the sharp
bark of the trees at her back. Ive been here with Chandrani the whole time. Linked with her mind. Very much awake. I . . . I
You what? The only way you can convince me of a Dragon-damn thing is to tell the truth. It has to sink into my bones as the truth. I dont have any other way to judge what you say. So say it.
I wouldve found you had I been able. She swallowed, grateful for the darkness that concealed her embarrassed flush. I wanted to know where youd gone. I wouldve cheated. I wouldve searched your mind for clues as to why youd really gone.
Tallis of Pendray bowed his neck. He looked like a supplicant, which sent shivers of satisfaction up her spinethen dread. She didnt want this man to be just another admirer.
Do you believe me?
Yes, he said quietly. Now, one more question.
He lifted his head and stepped to within a breath of her body. Hed never stared at her with deeper concentration.
Kavya wanted to look away, but that would be tantamount to running. Ask me.
Do you mourn those who were hurt and scared and stolen?
Tears were sticky like gelatin in her throat. I do, she managed to say. A piece of my heart died at dusk.
And if you were able, what color would you wear to express that mourning? Surely he had other features, but she was riveted to his tortured eyes. Tell me, Kavya. What color do the Indranan wear to mourn their fallen?
The same color we gave to the humans here in India, Pakistan, Tibet. No matter the faction, North or South, we wear white.
CHAPTER 
EIGHT
Hed rebelled against the Sunthe dictator whod turned him into a killer. Hed plotted against her and hated her. Shed been using him, and hed been right to rebel. He only regretted that he hadnt started to revolt years ago. It was past time to break free of that false prophet.
That the apparition happened to look like Kavya, happened to use the name her innocent followers had bestowed . . .
He was mad.
Or Kavya was even cagier and more manipulative than hed believed.
No, he couldnt hold on to that logic anymore. Kavya was an optimist in a time of despair. She manipulated people, but hed never seen what might qualify as malevolence, only subtle pushes toward the hope and courage few dared dream: peace.
All that remained of his antipathy toward Kavya was that her goal of unification aligned with the woman whod directed his violent hands. That thing was not optimistic or innocent. Hed felt only selfishness and ambition.
For the sake of the Dragon Kings as a whole, that ambition could not come to pass.
Part of him had grudgingly come to respect Kavya. It seemed a shame to find a reason to continue thwarting her noble endeavors. But his intention remained the same. He would rid himself of the demon in his mind, even if it meant keeping Kavya from accomplishing her mission.
I dreamed of you again. Throat tight, he cut off her protests with a stiff sweep of his hand. It wasnt you . Nothing fit. She was a warped version of how you appeared before your followers. Something to please everyone. Only . . . more exaggerated. It was the first time I could see through the illusion. She said she mourned the dead, but she wore turquoise from the North.
That would never happen. Ever. It would be an insult, not to the South, but to the people we used to be. Long ago. A people who shared the same name, without qualification. She forcefully shook her head. Hed known as much, no matter his unanswered questions and fury at having been used. What else did this . . . Sun tell you?
She claimed that peace between the factions would mean unification of the Five Clans.
Kavyas brows drew together. The more she revealed of her authentic personality, the more animated her features became. She exposed more with her frown than she could have with a hundred words. At least that was reassuring. Toward the end of his dream the phantom in his head had gazed down at him with an eerie blankness that reminded him too much of Pashkah.
That has never been a facet of my hopes, she said. Her fingers compulsively itched the evergreens shredded bark. One foot tapped the needle-strewn grounda soft patter of sound he identified despite the steady, growling flow of the Beas at his back. How would the end of our civil war unify all of the Dragon Kings? I cant even comprehend the power someone would need to make that happen. The drain of hope from her eyes buried pain behind
his sternum. To force compliance? By any means?
Tallis nodded. His eyelids felt lined with grit. The Sun I envisioned said that the factions would unify when twins stopped resisting the inevitable. A gift split between two people was a gift that hadnt been allowed its full potential.
So just start killing each other? Her melodic, softly accented voice pitched toward hysteria. Whatever tricks shed used when speaking to the assembly, none had been to modulate the musical rhythm of her speech. That rhythm was choppy now, made staccato by her mounting outrage. Murder your twin? Your triplet? Was that her message? She might as well advocate brinksmanship among human nations that stockpile masses of weapons.