Cast in Flame. Michelle Sagara

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      “I am not,” was the frosty, Draconian reply.

      “I was under the impression,” Mandoran continued, moving around the back side of Marcus’s desk with care to avoid the now-bristling Leontine that occupied it, “that tourists were not allowed to accompany on-duty Hawks.”

      Marcus was either breathing heavily or trying to stifle a growl. Kaylin put money on the latter, and would have refused to bet on his chances of continued success.

      “Lord Bellusdeo,” Sanabalis said, “is a member of the Dragon Court—the governing body that advises the Eternal Emperor. It is well within her purview to ask for—and receive—permission to inspect the forces assembled within the Halls in light of those duties.”

      “Whereas I am merely a Barrani Lord visiting your fair city, and therefore have no responsibilities and no duties?”

      Kaylin risked a glance at Sanabalis’s eyes. He was annoyed, but not yet angry.

      Mandoran, having navigated the desk, came to stand beside Kaylin. He was grinning, and his eyes were almost green. Certainly greener than Barrani eyes generally were in this office. He winked at her. This did not make the Leontine Sergeant any less bristly.

      “I see Teela hasn’t strangled you, yet,” she said, in as quiet a voice as she could.

      “Why would she want to do that? At the moment, she’s not bored.”

      “She is,” Teela said, “considering the concept of boredom with more deliberate care.”

      Mandoran’s grin didn’t falter.

      “Where is Corporal Handred?” Kaylin asked, hoping to stem the tide of this particular conversation.

      She’d’ve had better luck with a tidal wave. “He’s closeted with the Wolflord,” Teela replied. “The duty roster hasn’t been updated, but apparently you and I are now covering Elani street.” She turned and offered a correct bow to Sanabalis. Unfortunately, Kaylin now recognized it as a correct bow for the Barrani High Court. “I ask that you overlook any impertinence from my guest. He is in a situation very similar to Lord Bellusdeo’s; the Empire—and the Eternal Emperor—did not exist when last he walked these lands.”

      Bellusdeo frowned. “I was not aware that the Barrani could voluntarily enter the long sleep.”

      “I’m certain there are many things that would surprise you about the Barrani,” Mandoran replied. His voice, however, had taken on both edge and chill, and his eyes had darkened to blue.

      This predictably caused unrest among the Imperial Guard, subtle though it was; it caused Sanabalis’s eyes to shade toward a brighter orange, and it caused Teela’s eyes—Teela, who had made her way to the other side of Mandoran—to narrow. They were, on the other hand, already as blue as they could safely get.

      Bellusdeo, however, lifted a brow; her eyes were no longer slightly orange. They were gold. She was amused.

      Mandoran wasn’t.

      Bellusdeo then turned to Teela. “If you have now had cause to reconsider your attitude toward boredom, I have not been so fortunate. Even for the Immortal, time can pass incredibly slowly. I believe I will find the patrol of great interest on this particular day.” She turned to Mandoran and added, “as a visitor to the city that is my current home, I bid you welcome. I am certain you will do nothing to disgrace yourself or your Court should you be forced to accept the company of a Dragon for an afternoon, and I am certain the Sergeant will relax his rules enough that you may join us.”

       CHAPTER TWO

      Although Bellusdeo had the last word, there were several hundred other words—thankfully none of them in native Dragon—before it. Kaylin thought it unfair when Sanabalis asked for a private word with her before she could leave the office.

      The lack of justice didn’t notably ease when he marched her to the West Room in which her magic lessons were taught, and practically shut the door on her shoulder blades—without bothering to touch it. He did, on the other hand, activate the door ward with his own hand.

      “What,” he asked, in Elantran, “do you think you’re doing?”

      “I thought I was going on patrol in the Elani district.”

      His eyes darkened a shade. “If there is ever a time to play games with a Dragon, Private, it is not now. The Emperor is not pleased by the current state of events.”

      “Not even I could have missed that.”

      He grimaced, and his eyes lightened a shade. “He has granted Bellusdeo his very reluctant permission to leave the Palace. He is placing the fate of the race in your hands.” And clearly, while Sanabalis held Kaylin in some affection, he didn’t consider her the appropriate receptacle for that responsibility.

      She stared at him. She remembered to close her mouth after the first few seconds. “The same Emperor who initially thought I should be destroyed because I presented too great a risk?”

      “We have not notably changed rulers in the interim.” His eyes gained more gold as he studied her face. “Tell me about this new Barrani. He is a recruit?”

      She started to say no, stopped, and shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s a friend of Teela’s. An old friend.”

      “He is to my eye one of the Barrani young.”

      “She’s known him practically all her life,” she replied, trying to dodge the question he hadn’t yet asked.

      “And you trust him?”

      Did she? “I don’t know him well enough to trust him.” That was true. “But I trust Teela.”

      “Teela is a Barrani High Lord. She owes her loyalty to—”

      “She’s a Hawk, Sanabalis.”

      Sanabalis was silent for a moment. “Kaylin, you have been the most difficult student I have ever accepted. The rewards are few; the frustration is legion. But you are not—as I’m certain Bellusdeo will tell you—boring. In my fashion, I have grown accustomed to your eccentricities. My opinion carries some weight at court. It will carry exactly none if Bellusdeo comes to harm.” He lifted a hand as Kaylin opened her mouth. “Yes, I am aware that she is not a child. So, too, is the Emperor.

      “But you have told anyone who will listen that you are no longer a child, either. The Emperor therefore wishes you to understand what is at risk for you. Bellusdeo has a home in the Palace. She will be as safe there as she would be—”

      “In a grave.”

      Silence.

      Kaylin watched the color of Dragon eyes closely; she’d folded her arms and widened her stance without conscious intent. But if Sanabalis felt insulted, it didn’t anger him; the color remained a constant, pale orange.

      “You do not understand the politics of the Dragon Court.”

      “Then I СКАЧАТЬ