I enjoyed The Two Dragons very much because it is the book in which Zurfina’s secrets are finally revealed.  I should say that they are finally revealed to Senta.  I revealed some of them in Book 0.  Believe me, I had a hard time deciding if that was the right thing to do.  In chapter four, we discover the secret of Zurfina’s mysterious tattoos.

The next morning, Senta was pressed so tightly between the dragon’s body and his head, that she had to fight to extricate herself.  Sometime during the night he had covered her with the barbed tip of his tail and now she was drenched in perspiration.  Who would have though a scaly reptile could produce so much body heat?  At last she made her way down onto the wooden floor of the barn.  Bessemer blew smoke from both his nostrils but gave no other indication that he had noticed her going.  She felt a now familiar stinging sensation just below the clavicle on the left and the right side of her chest.  Pulling the neck of the dress as far out as possible, she peered down inside to confirm her fears.  A two-inch star tattoo stood at the top of each of her small breasts.

“Blinking heck!”

Senta walked to the house and opened the front door to find Geert and Maro sitting at the table, staring in rapt attention at Hero, who was cooking at the stove.  Geert looked to the door when it opened and smiled at his cousin, but his younger brother refused to take his eyes off of the dark haired beauty cracking eggs into a cast iron skillet.

“What are you doing here?” she asked Hero.

“Making breakfast.”

“I remember a time when you wouldn’t have given me a glib reply.”

“And I remember a time when you slept indoors.”

Senta shrugged and sat down at the table.

“How come you were sleeping outside anyway?” asked Geert.

“I didn’t sleep outside.  I was just checking on something.”

Hero brought three plates to the table loaded with eggs over hard, sausages, black pudding, beans, and muffins.  She sat one in front of Senta and then one in front of each of the young men.

“No fourth plate?” asked Geert. “Aren’t you eating with us?”

“I ate already.”

“Then I hope there is a fourth plate for me,” said Zurfina’s sultry voice from the bottom of the stairs.

Both Hero and Geert visibly started.  Maro’s head for the first time turned away from Hero’s direction.  Senta was sure he was looking to see if the sorceress really did like to run around the house naked.  To his disappointment and her surprise, Zurfina was as clothed as she had ever been.  Her gown was a silky smooth purple one that Senta wouldn’t have been surprised to see Mrs. Dechantagne or Governor Staff wearing, despite its quite low neckline.  When Zurfina turned toward the stove however, everyone in the room could see that the dress had no side from the armpits to the waist, and Senta saw enough of the sorceress’s breast to remind her of the tattoos on her own chest.  She jumped up from her seat and pinching Zurfina under the arm, pushed her across the room into the far corner.

“Hey, what is… ow!  You little bint, that hurts.”

“What are you doing to me?” hissed Senta, pulling the top of her nightdress away from her body.  “Piercing my ears was one thing, but this…”

“Why didn’t you tell me your sigils are coming in?”

“My what now?”

“Oh my,” Zurfina smirked.  “Oh I had nothing to do with this, Pet.  Okay, well maybe it is a bit my fault.  But it’s really you.  Did you think I had someone tattoo me?  Did you think I had them sneak in and tattoo you?”

“Well… yes.”

“These are sigils, my dear girl.  They are a product of the magic you are using—specifically the high level conjuring and evocation spells.  It’s been my experience that enchantments and transmutations don’t leave much of a mark, but create, teleport, or summon and there you go.  Don’t worry.  I only have eight sigils and I doubt you’ll ever achieve the level of my art.”  She paused and rubbed her chin thoughtfully.  “How many do you have?”

“Three.”

“Three?  Already?  Well I may be wrong.  It just goes to show that you never can tell.  I wasn’t even sure it was about you, but now…”

“What was about me?  What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’ll tell you all about it when you grow up.”

“I’m grown up now.”

“Fifteen is not grown up.”

“I’m seventeen,” said Senta.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then it really is time we had a talk.”

“I know!”  Senta said, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear.