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that. The child queen would instead change the world.
    She heard not a word uttered by those who'd come to brief her, and they clearly did not understand when her inner smile refused to remain hidden.
     
    * * *
     
    "Are you sure you don't want to just tell me?" Kendra asked. "Maybe you could save us the rest of this flight to nowhere. You could've mentioned we were going to the other end of the world."
    Sinjin remained silent, unable to find the words. His mother had made him promise not to tell; she hadn't made him promise never to bring Kendra to her. He wasn't breaking his promise to her, but still he felt guilty. Valterius and Gerhonda sometimes slept while they flew, which made Sinjin too nervous to sleep. He and Kendra drank from the clouds and ate from the stores in their saddles. Their flight back from Terhilian had taxed their supplies, but the Drakon practice of storing extra food, herbs, and fluids within the saddle had proven wise. It had already served the Drakon well. Kendra had been the first to have been blown far off course by storms when on patrol. Sand bars and islands could sometimes be found, but the Drakon had learned it was best to be over prepared and to be as self-sufficient as possible when in the air.
    "Really?" Kendra would ask every now and then as they continued to fly over near endless waters. Valterius flew based on Sinjin's general sense of direction, which he communicated through his knees. The dragon was extraordinarily well behaved, and Sinjin wasn't certain why, but he wasn't going to argue.
    "Really?"
    Even knowing she was incensed, Sinjin kept his head down and mouth shut. He wasn't certain of the Black Spike's location, but he knew they were getting closer. Kendra would just have to wait a little longer for the answers she sought. Then it appeared, little more than a dark spot on the horizon. The instant it came into view, Sinjin could feel it, tingling and pulling at him, at the same time making his instincts scream for flight.
    "You're not taking us there, are you?" Kendra asked, seeing the lone structure rising from deep seas, the only solid thing visible in any direction.
    Not trusting his voice, Sinjin remained silent. Their path pointed unerringly toward the Black Spike. Waves assaulted the fortress on one side, deep blue mountains capped in white slammed into stacked basalt stone. Somehow the unlikely fortress withstood the force, leaving huge troughs on the opposite side. Kendra kept silent as they drew closer.
    Sinjin guided Valterius to hover before the Black Spike, despite feeling a nearly irresistible urge to leave. "Let us in!" he yelled despite his better judgment. "Let us in!"
    Nothing happened except wind gusts pushing Valterius away from the fortress.
    "What is it, Sinjin?" Kendra pleaded, emotion coloring her voice. "Who is it? What have you been hiding from me?"
    Anger burned within Sinjin. He hadn't asked for this. He could see no more reason to withhold this from his wife. It had been vastly unfair for his mother to ask this of him. It was a burden he could no longer bear. Using his pent-up emotion, he attacked the waters around the Black Spike. His attack was unimpressive, resulting in no visible effect.
    Somehow, Kendra must have perceived it. "Sinjin, no!" she said.
    He'd come too far. He'd let his anger grow to a conflagration, and he needed to release it before it consumed him. Using what his mother had taught him, he looked at the problem from a different angle. Was there a way to use nature to his advantage? It took a moment before he realized there was.
    With each towering wave crashing into the fortress, driven by the growing wind, deep depressions were created. These alone came close to revealing the entrance. If he were to add his energy to the wind and push even larger waves into the stronghold, it might be easier than trying to pull the water out of the way. Dragging in a deep breath, he drew energy from the Staff of Life, Koe, and the now frigid air