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“They didn’t mention Bennu,” Lydia said as they ate breakfast. “He was on the footage attacking the Kithreian. They must have noticed him.”

“Hmm.” Matthias frowned at that. “He wasn’t very clear thanks to Daniel’s wards. He looked like a bird shaped fireball. It’s quite likely they thought he was a projection rather than a real phoenix. That would explain it.”

“Yes,” Lydia agreed. “It would.” She stabbed at the bacon with her fork. “But it feels wrong. Somehow I’m sure that that guy knew he was a real bird at least – but I have no idea how I’d know such a thing.” She sighed heavily. “Guess we’ll ask him if he agrees to a meeting.”

“Speaking of meetings,” Karen said. “How did yours go?”

“Fruitfully,” Matthias said. “I know we have to be careful of Indaturan but I can’t help liking him. He’s genuinely concerned to do this right because he doesn’t want a war. And he is certainly the enemy of our enemies. Even though that doesn’t make him our friend necessarily, it gives us somewhere to start. He’s offering help without strings as a gesture of goodwill.”

“Did you have a unicorn present?” Kyle asked.

“Of course,” Matthias said. “And he had one present as well. That helped as well. When someone brings a unicorn with them, you know they aren’t intending to lie to you.”

“He made one really odd suggestion,” Sonia said. “He suggested finding Gerian’s former consort because he thought she’d be able to throw some light on how to close the crack in the sky and what Xantaria is up to.”

“Ralinda-ida?” Tarian looked surprised. “You’ll be lucky. She outwalked centuries ago – long before I was born though my parents knew her – and was last seen flying west across the Mabain sea. Goodness knows what she thought she’d find there.”

“That’s what Ystelyan said,” Sonia said. “But Indaturan is sure she’s alive.”

“She was probably intending to create an island for herself out of the mabain,” Kelaria said. “Or join up with others who already had. One of the idri is quite capable of it and she wouldn’t be the only one. You must have heard the stories.”

“The land beyond the sea?” Tarian made a skeptical noise. “They’re just stories. An idri who made an island would have to constantly maintain it which would sap their energy for anything else. What would be the point and how would you get Speakers there safely to colonise it?”

“Without dissolving or going mad, you mean? Very carefully,” Kelaria said with a straight face. “But the amount of energy it would take is a point. Unless they made it as a group and knew how to make it self stabilising, which they might well do. And it is worth looking into. Ralinda was supposed to have been a good woman – I think she’d help us. Working out where to start looking would be the trick.”

“Find out where she was last seen,” Kyle said. “And start there.” He gave Matthias a speculative look. “We could go and investigate but it would mean not being on call here.”

Matthias drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully and looked at Sonia. “What do you think?”

“Any of the kids can form a team to rescue any more potential explosions but only resonants can safely go and investigate this,” she said. “I don’t think we have much choice if they’re willing.”

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