Above them, the dragon threw back her head and trumpeted triumphantly. “He believes me! You see, folk of Bingtown. I do not lie! Come. Let us seal this bargain we have made, and tomorrow begin a new life for all of us.”

Jani swept suddenly to her feet. “I will not agree. There will be no bargain here until I know what you have done to my son!”

Tintaglia gave Reyn a careless glance. “I have enlightened him, Trader Khuprus. That is all. He will not doubt me again.”

Reyn abruptly clutched Keffria’s wrist in his scaly hand. His eyes bored into hers. “She lives,” he promised her wildly. “Malta truly lives. I have touched minds with her, through the dragon.”

Beside her, Ronica gave a broken sob. Keffria still could not find hope. Was this true, or a dragon’s deception?

The whites of Reyn’s copper eyes glowed as he struggled to a sitting position. He drew an uneven breath. “Strike what bargain you will with Bingtown, Tintaglia,” he said in a low voice. “But before you do, we will make our own agreement.” His voice dropped. “For you have handed me the final piece of a puzzle.” He lifted his eyes to stare at her boldly as he offered, “Others, dragons like yourself, may still survive.”

At this last sentence, Tintaglia froze, looking down on Reyn. She twisted her head speculatively. “Where?” she demanded.

Before Reyn could reply, Mingsley had clambered down from the dais to push between the dragon and Reyn. “This is not fair!” he proclaimed. “People of Bingtown, listen to me! Do the Rain Wilds speak for all of us? No! Should this one man be able to halt our bargaining over a matter of the heart? Of course not!”

Selden stepped up to him. “A matter of the heart? A matter of my sister’s life!” He switched his gaze to the dragon. “She is as dear to me as any serpent is to you, Tintaglia. Keep faith with me on this. Show them all that you see my family’s need for her is as pressing as your drive to save your own kind.”

“Silence!” The dragon’s head shot down. A tiny nudge sent Mingsley sprawling to one side. Her eyes fixed on Reyn. “Other dragons? You have seen them?”

“Not yet. But I could find them,” Reyn replied. A faint smile played about his mouth but his eyes were grave and hard. “Provided you do as Selden suggests. Prove that you understand our kin matter as much to us as yours do to you.”

The dragon flung her head up suddenly. Her nostrils flared and her eyes spun wildly. She spoke as if to herself. “Find them? Where?”

Reyn smiled. “I do not fear to tell you. It will take man’s work to unearth them for you. If the Elderkind took cocooned dragons into shelter in one city, perhaps they did in another as well. It is a fair trade, is it not? Restore my love to me, and I shall endeavor to rescue any of your kin who may have survived.”

The dragon’s nostrils flared wide. The glow of her eyes brightened. Her tail lashed with excitement and from outside the walls, Keffria heard the fearful cries of watching folk. But within the walls, Reyn stood still, teetering on the edge of triumph. All around him, folk were frozen into a listening silence.

“Done!” roared the dragon. Her wings twitched, shivering and rustling as if she longed to spring into flight immediately. They stirred the cold night air and sent it whispering past the huddled folk in the roofless building. “These others will make plans for the dredging of the river. You and I will leave at first light, to begin the search for the ancient ruins-“

“No.” Reyn’s reply was quiet but the dragon’s outraged roar rang against the night sky. People cried out in terror and cowered where they stood, but not Reyn. He stood tall and still as the dragon vented her fury.

“Malta first,” Reyn dictated calmly as she drew breath.

“Seek for your female, while my kind lies trapped in the cold and dark? No!” This time the blast of anger from the dragon vibrated the floor beneath Keffria’s feet. Her ears rang with it.

“LISTEN TO ME, DRAGON,” REYN RESUMED CALMLY. “HIGH SUMMER is THE TIME to explore and dig, when the river runs low. Now is the time for us to seek Malta.” As the dragon threw back her head, jaws wide, he shouted up at her, “For this to work, we must negotiate as equals, without threats. Will you be calm, or must we both live with loss?”

Tintaglia lowered her head. Her eyes spun angrily, but her voice was almost civil. “Speak on,” she bade him.

Reyn took a breath. “You will aid me to save Malta. And I will then devote myself to unearthing the Elderling city, not for treasure, but for dragons. That is our agreement. Your bargain with Bingtown is more complicated. The dredging of a river for the protection of their coast, with other stipulations. Would you have it set down in writing, and the agreement acknowledged as binding?” Reyn looked away from the dragon to Devouchet. “I am willing to be bound by my spoken word in this. Will the Council of Bingtown deal likewise?”