Cast in Peril. Michelle Sagara

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      Chapter 3

      “Does this mean that we’re off the lesson hook?” Kaylin asked Bellusdeo as they walked to the yard. They were shadowed by Clint, whose wings still hadn’t come down and whose eyes were still blue. She particularly hated to see Clint’s eyes go blue, because, among other things, he had the laugh she loved best in the entire department, and when his eyes were that color, there was no chance of hearing it.

      “I have no idea. Given the time, and given Lord Diarmat’s current disposition, I would guess that we are, indeed, excused from a few hours of his pompous and unfortunate cultural babble.”

      Clint actually choked slightly, and his eyes did clear a bit. Lord Diarmat was the captain, and therefore commander, of the Imperial Guard, and the Imperial Guard wasn’t generally beloved by the Halls of Law; the Imperial Guard had a very high opinion of themselves and a less than respectful opinion of anyone else in a uniform who also served at the Emperor’s command.

      The small dragon was now sitting half in her hand; the other half extended up her arm so that his neck could more or less rest against it.

      “I wish that creature could make himself invisible,” Bellusdeo said quietly.

      “Why?”

      “Because I worry about the attention he’ll attract.”

      “Could it be any worse than an Arcane bomb that destroys his entire home?”

      “Oh, I don’t think his life—if it even is a he—is in any danger. I think yours, on the other hand—”

      “Let’s pretend I just repeated that question.”

      Bellusdeo lifted a brow and then just shook her head. “Do you honestly think that the bomb was meant for you?”

      “Does it matter? If it was meant for you, it still destroyed my home and everything in it that wasn’t attached to something breathing.” She took a deep breath, expelled it, and shook her head. “Sorry. You don’t deserve that.”

      “You’re certain?”

      “No. I was trying to be polite. If someone’s trying to kill you—” which, in Kaylin’s opinion, was the most likely option “—it’s probably not fun for you, either. But that’s been my home since I crossed the bridge from the fiefs. Caitlin helped me find it. Caitlin let me choose it. It’s the only place I’ve ever been certain was mine.”

      “…And if someone was trying to kill me, it’s indirectly my fault that it’s gone?”

      “You’re sure you’re not a Tha’alani in disguise?”

      “Relatively.”

      Kaylin muttered a few Leontine words and wished she could just sew her own mouth shut for the next hour or two. Because part of her did feel exactly that, and she wasn’t proud of it. She just couldn’t figure out how to squelch it. It would be different if she’d begged Bellusdeo to live with her; she hadn’t. She’d practically done the opposite. And if Bellusdeo had been living in Tiamaris or the Imperial Palace—which had been Kaylin’s first and second choices—Kaylin would still have a home.

      The small dragon sank claws into her arm and dragged itself up to her shoulder, where it perched to bite her ear. She cursed in louder Leontine and then swiveled her neck to glare. The opal eyes of the small creature regarded her, unblinking, for a long moment.

      “I guess I deserved that,” she said in a quiet voice as some of the tension began to leave her jaw and neck.

      “Why?” Bellusdeo asked in the same cool, practical voice.

      “Because if you’re right—and given my luck, you probably are—he’s trying to tell me that he wouldn’t have hatched at all if someone with a crapload of magical power hadn’t been trying to kill you.”

      * * *

      Sanabalis was enraged. If he’d opened his mouth and foot-long fangs had sprouted, it would have looked completely natural. Kaylin, who’d been following on Bellusdeo’s heels, almost backed out of the carriage. She managed not to, but only barely. “I—I have another place to stay,” she began.

      “Get. In.”

      She СКАЧАТЬ