Something about what Ternoc said ticked Ardasa off. Maybe it wasn't so much what he said, but the way he said it. Maybe this was all just happening in her head. That must be it. The giddiness of travel was making her go crazy. "What do you have to fear from cultural exchange?" she said, before thinking. "We do not seek to do Hekaga any ill, and I would very much like to hear you say the same for Xigyll. There's more to alliances between nations than non-aggression, I'm sure."

The day was becoming late. The temple was built in such a way that at in a single moment of sunset, the rays would pass through the window and strike the jewels of the dragon's eyes. In that single moment, the eyes glowed with the intensity of the evening sun itself, and an unspeakable force washed over the room. Were the room not silent enough before, even the hushed whispers cut into silence. As quickly as the moment came, it was done, and the sentences broken off in the middle were picked up again, as if nothing at all had happened.

"Perhaps we should return to the palace," Ardasa said, trying to still her pounding heart. For a second, she felt the prey of an unknowable predator, lurking from beyond the vision of the physical, its eyes trained upon her and her alone. "Where do you intend to have me stay for the night?"