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the extra power of first union between dragon and Dragoneye. Perhaps that was not true. Perhaps the Mirror Dragon and I could always heal. But I could not yet direct my dragon’s power. If we joined and tried to heal Ryko, we could fail. Or we could be ripped apart by the sorrow of the ten bereft dragons.
    â€œEona!” Dela’s anguish snapped me out of my turmoil. “Do something. Please!”
    Each of Ryko’s labored breaths held a rattling catch.
    â€œI can’t,” I whispered.
    Who was I to play with life and death like a god? I had no knowledge. No training. I was barely a Dragoneye.
    Even so, I was Ryko’s only chance.
    â€œHe is dying because of you,” Dela said. “You owe him your life and your power. Don’t fail him again.”
    Hard words, but they were true. Although I had lied to Ryko and betrayed his trust, he had still guarded my back. He had fought and suffered for the hope of my power. Yet what was the good of protecting such power if I did not have the courage to use it?
    I gathered my skirt and kneeled beside the pallet, instinctively seeking more contact with the earth and the energy within it.
    â€œI don’t know what will happen,” I said. “Everyone must stand back.”
    The herbalist hurriedly joined the Beseecher in the far corner of the room. Tozay ushered his daughter and Solly away from the bed, then turned back for Dela, but she ignored his outstretched hand.
    â€œI’m staying.” She saw the argument in my eyes and shook her head. “I will not leave him.”
    â€œThen don’t touch him while I am calling my dragon.” The first time I had called the Mirror Dragon, the wild surge of power had ripped through Lord Ido as his body locked mine against the harem wall.
    Dela released Ryko’s hand and sat back.
    Perhaps the key to this healing magic was to touch Ryko, just as Ido had been touching me when the dragon and I had forced compassion into his stunted spirit. Gingerly, I placed my palm on the wasted muscle of Ryko’s chest, above his heart. His skin was hot, and his heartbeat as fast and light as a captured bird’s.
    Taking a deep breath, I drew on my Hua , using the pulsing life force to focus my mind-sight into the energy world. There was a sudden shift in my vision, as though I had lurched forward. The room shimmered into the landscape of power that only a Dragoneye could see, swirling in intricate patterns of rainbow colors. Silvery Hua pumped through the transparent energy bodies of my friends and around the room, the flow irresistibly drawn east to the huge power presence of the red Mirror Dragon, and returning in abundance from the great beast. Over my left shoulder I caught sight of the coiled form of the Rat Dragon in the north-northwest. His energy was sluggish and thin.
    There were still no other dragons in the celestial circle. Were they waiting for another chance to rush to their queen?
    Grimly, I pushed away that fear and opened my inner pathways to the Mirror Dragon, calling out our shared name. She answered with a flood of energy, and the sweet spice of her greeting filled my senses until I could no longer contain my delight. A joyous laugh broke from me.
    Across the bed, the transparent figure of Dela straightened. The power center at the base of her spine flared red with anger, the emotion igniting the other six centers that lay in line from sacrum to crown. I could see it as though she was made of glass; each spinning colored ball of energy stoking the next, bright with misunderstanding.
    Although I stifled my joy, I did not stop to reassure Dela; the ten bereft dragons could return at any moment. I gave myself over to the Mirror Dragon’s power, and was swept into a dizzying gold spiral. For a moment, all was bright, rhythmic color and a single pure note—the song of my dragon—then my vision split between earth and heaven.
    Through dragon eyes high above, I saw the