Eona - Alison Goodman [129]
I swayed as his words wrenched everything into a terrifying pattern of inevitability: the pearl—the emperor’s symbol of sovereignty—was the way to save the dragons.
I shook my head. “No. That cannot be.”
Ido’s grip tightened into support. “I have seen the phrase in ancient scrolls.”
Was this why Kinra had tried to steal the pearl from Emperor Dao—to save the dragons? It took another moment for the horror to build to its full meaning. If that was the reason for Kinra’s so-called treachery—the reason she risked everything to attack a king—then that meant the pearl had to come out of the emperor’s throat to save the dragons. It had to come out of Kygo’s throat. And that would kill him.
I looked up at Ido. “You are lying!”
“It is the truth, Eona.” His grim face was only a handspan from mine. “In the ancient records that have survived, one dragoneye could look after a province by himself. Now it takes all the dragoneyes to work the same level of energies. Dragon power is fading. And according to your portent, the Imperial Pearl is the way to save it.”
No. It could not be true.
Yet I had felt Kinra’s drive for the pearl. I had almost ripped it from Kygo’s throat twice under her thrall. Five hundred years ago, my ancestor and Lord Somo had tried to steal the pearl from Emperor Dao. Was I somehow locked into the same journey with Ido and Kygo?
No coincidence, Dela had said.
I tore my arm out of Ido’s grip. “I don’t believe you,” I whispered. “It is another of your sick games.”
Ido gave a harsh laugh. “This is no game, Eona. I am not lying. That is what the pearl was called.”
“Prove it.”
“All of the proof is locked in my library. But I swear; I have read it in some of the oldest scrolls.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth—there was a scream building within me that was five hundred years old. I had to find some way to prove Ido wrong.
He sucked in a sharp breath. “Does the emperor know about the portent?”
“Yes.”
“Then, if you value your life, do not tell him about this,” he whispered.
I turned away from the fear in his voice. There was too much truth in it. “You said there is proof in the ancient scrolls.”
“Yes.”
“Is it in the black folio?”
His silence gave me my answer.
I spun around. “Bring it to me.”
“No.” He stepped back. “Not yet. It is the only thing that guarantees my life. And Dillon is even more dangerous now. I will bring him and the folio to us when you have more control of your power. Then we can restrain him together.”
“Bring it now!”
“No. It is too soon.”
“Bring it!”
“No!” He braced; he knew what was coming.
The roaring fury of my Hua slammed through his pathways like a crashing wave, dragging his pounding heartbeat under mine. He staggered backward under its force then lowered his head, teeth clenched. I felt something gather within him: a sudden resistance that rose like a wall of rock. The collision of Hua against Hua dammed the rush of my power, jarring through me like a physical blow. I gasped as my grip loosened around his will.
“Eona, it is too soon to bring the folio. We are not strong enough,” he panted. Blood trickled from his nose. He had stopped me, but it was costing him.
I rammed my Hua into the barricade of power again. The strike recoiled through both of us, pushing me back a step and knocking him on to his knees. Another buffeting blow forced a grunt from him, but I could not break through. Throwing all of my fear-fueled rage into the rush of power, I rammed him once more. The pressure doubled him over, but he caught his weight on his hands, the strain ridging the tendons in his arms. His block still stood strong. He looked up, the silver sliding across his eyes.
“See. Not so easy this time, is it?” he said. “I can already hold you back.”
Ido had found a way to stop my compulsion. He was no longer starved, no longer taken unaware. I could not even reach for Ryko’s Hua to boost my power; I could feel the islander, but he was too far away.
And last time I had nearly killed him.
I stared into Ido’s face, his taunting