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  “We?” Kaika asked. “Are you coming along?”

  Quataldo made a choking sound at her audacity.

  “I was using the royal we,” Angulus said. “You’ve seen my grappling skills. I wouldn’t qualify to be on your team.”

  “You grapple better than you think, Sire,” Kaika said, a glint in her eyes.

  “Colonel Quataldo will lead the mission.” Angulus locked eyes with the officer, who nodded firmly. He shifted his gaze to Cas. “I trust I don’t need to say that I expect Quataldo to arrive in Dakrovia with the pilots, not to get dumped alongside the road before you leave the country.”

  Quataldo’s eyebrows flew upward.

  “Relax, sir,” Kaika said. “You’re not nearly as unpleasant of a commander as Colonel Therrik. As long as you don’t threaten the pilots—or our ex-pirate scientist—they shouldn’t have any reason to disgorge you.”

  “Comforting,” he murmured.

  Angulus hadn’t stopped looking at Cas. He didn’t think she’d had anything to do with Zirkander’s usurpation of that previous mission, did he? Cas didn’t break rules or take matters into her own hands. Tolemek opened his mouth, intending to say as much, but she spoke first.

  “I wouldn’t think to arrange any such thing, Sire,” Cas said, “but I’m confused. I’m only a lieutenant. Why am I here representing pilots instead of one of my superior officers?” She looked around, as if expecting other officers to wander out of the foliage.

  Tolemek could guess at least part of the reason. Angulus wanted her on the mission to ensure he wouldn’t be tempted to stray or succumb to threats against his family. Since his parents still lived in the empire, Tolemek admitted that was a valid concern. He wouldn’t want them to be harmed as a result of his actions. He hoped he did not end up in a position where he had to choose between them and Cas.

  The king’s gaze flicked toward him, as if he heard and acknowledged the thoughts, but came back to rest on Cas. “I want your guns on the incursion team,” Angulus said, “so you were going to be assigned, regardless, but I will leave choosing the other pilots to you. I’m less familiar with the rest of your Wolf Squadron teammates and your new commander. I asked General Ort what he thought, and he said anyone could fly the elite forces troops over there. I’m not sure he imagined his pilots being a part of the action.” Angulus smiled. “I, however, like to plan for the worst. I would have given the job to Zirkander—despite his proclivity for getting rid of mission commanders he’s not fond of—but he’s obviously not here, and I know he considered you his protégé and would have trusted your decisions in this.”

  Cas’s eyes widened. Tolemek wondered if she knew Zirkander had considered her his protégé. She looked down, blinking a few times, and he caught the glint of moisture in her eyes. He rested his hand on her forearm.

  “If you pick higher-ranking officers, you’ll follow their orders, of course, with Colonel Quataldo at the top of the chain of command, but it’s up to you if you want to do that. I understand some of the other lieutenants in your squadron have some unique skills.”

  “Yes, Sire,” Cas said quietly. “Dakrovia, you said? Jungles and swamps, right? Duck would be useful if we need to survive out there. How many people do we need?”

  “Pilots to fly Tolemek, Kaika, Quataldo, and Sardelle, if I can talk her into it, and you’ll need an open seat for your passenger. And Tylie—”

  Tolemek’s head came up. “Is not going, Sire. She’s too young. She can’t go into combat.”

  “Even with a dragon to protect her?”

  “There’s no guarantee Phelistoth will go for it. He’s a Cofah dragon. He doesn’t even like Iskandians.”

  “I suppose Tylie would ride on his back, if they were to go, so she wouldn’t require a flier.”

  Tolemek felt his nostrils flare. Was Angulus planning to talk to her behind his back? That was not going to happen.

  “Put together your team, Ahn.”

  “Yes, Sire.”

  “Tolemek, you will go, won’t you?” Angulus asked. “I realize I’m presuming. I can order the soldiers, but you’re not under any obligation to obey me. You did sign a contract to deliver healing potions and knockout grenades, but I think your team would be more comfortable if you went along personally.”

  Quataldo’s eyebrows twitched, but he did not object.

  “They’re salves,” Tolemek muttered. “Not potions.”

  He rubbed his face. Was Angulus truly trying to recruit him at the same time as irking him with this insistence that Tylie go? Maybe there was a reason that he hadn’t been able to negotiate a peace treaty with Cofahre.

  “I’ll go. Tylie won’t.”

  “Of course.” Angulus did not appear concerned by his half victory. Maybe because he still planned to talk to Tylie himself. Tolemek would have to speak with her first, to make sure she didn’t volunteer for this, thinking it some grand adventure.

  “The wedding is in four days,” Angulus said. “You’ll leave in the morning.”

  “Yes, Sire,” the officers said while Tolemek gaped. Why were these things always done on such short notice? Did everyone think it was a simple matter to make enough supplies to take along?

  “Dismissed,” Angulus said.

  Cas tugged on Tolemek’s hair. He was the last one sitting at the table. Sighing, he stood. They walked out together behind Kaika and Quataldo, and she linked her arm in his.

  “You look pleased about all this,” he observed as a pair of guards fell in behind them to make sure they headed out instead of wandering around the castle for a private tour.

  Cas seemed to have gotten over being stunned about being referred to as Zirkander’s protégé and now had a gleam in her eyes.

  “Relieved is the word,” she said. “When I saw that I was the only pilot in there, I thought he would want me to take the awful sword to wield again. Especially when he started talking about dragons and a shaman fiancé. If all he wants is for me to pick some good people and go along to guard the rear after the kidnapping, I’m relieved.”

  “Where is that sword?” Tolemek asked as they walked out of the building and crossed through the courtyard, where landscapers trimmed the manicured lawn and flowering hedges. “The last I saw of it was at Galmok Mountain.”

  “Ort left it up there with Therrik, since the sorceress was believed to still be in the mountains and likely up to mischief. Also, he wasn’t sure if more dragons would come for different artifacts. Sardelle mentioned that there were others, though now that most of the levels of mines have been collapsed, even a dragon would have a hard time getting at them.”

  Tolemek grimaced at the idea of Therrik with Kasandral, a sword happy to slay anyone with a smidgen of dragon blood. Still, if Tolemek, Sardelle, and Tylie weren’t up in the outpost and the only possible people for Therrik to attack were enemies, he supposed it was in capable hands.

  “I’m not positive it’s still up there,” Cas said, “but I’m hoping it is. I prefer sniper rifles to swords.”

  “Who doesn’t?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, some of the tension fading from him as they passed through the castle gate and headed along the cobblestone drive that led down the hill and back into the city—and to his lab.

  “It won’t take me long to pack and get my people ready. Are you going to be up all night mixing goos? Or shall I stop by?”

  “Yes and yes. Mixing goo is lonely work.”

  “I noted that you didn’t object to being turned into a pharmacy when the king was doing it,” Cas said, “not the way you used to when General Zirkander did it.”

  “The king pays me to be a pharmacy. Or whatever else he needs. And he supplies my lab. Chemicals, books, tools, state-of-the-art equipment.”

  “It sounds like he’s courting you effectively.”

  Tolemek snorted. “I guess he is. So long as he leaves Tylie out of this.”

  “You don’t think Tylie would like to help get rid of the person who issued the bounty on her broth
er’s head?”

  Tolemek halted, not caring that they were in the middle of the street and that a steam carriage was clanking in their direction. “Don’t tell me you think she should go along.”

  Cas lifted her hands. “I understand your concerns and agree that she shouldn’t be in a combat position, but I also think she’s safer on Phelistoth’s back than anywhere else in the world. This mission might be more likely to succeed with a dragon’s help, especially if...”

  “What?”

  Cas pulled him to the side of the road so the carriage could pass without rolling over them. “I’m not sure if Sardelle will go. The last time I talked to her, she was very determined to go back to the Ice Blades. I don’t think she’s going to give up until she finds Zirkander’s body.”

  “But that could wait until we got back.”

  “Could it? If she thinks he’s injured out there somewhere, she’ll be worried about delaying.”

  Tolemek stuffed a hand in his pocket and stared at the ancient cobblestones. “You don’t think he’s alive, do you?”

  “No, but I’m not his—” She groped in the air with one hand. “Let’s just say that if it was you, I’d want to make sure too.”

  “Hm.” Even though they were musing about his death, he found this proof that she cared, and would perhaps even care to the exclusion of reason, heartening. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders again and steered them back onto the road, this time walking to the side so they were not in danger of being run over. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Does that mean you’ll talk to Tylie about coming?”

  He grunted. That wasn’t what he had been agreeing to at all. “Maybe I’ll talk to Phelistoth about coming. Tylie could stay home and study.”

  “Have you spoken with him often?”

  “Not... often.” As far as he knew, Tylie tended to be everyone’s intermediary for the dragon. Oh, Phelistoth spoke from time to time, especially when he was in human form, but he always gave the impression that it was tedious for him to have to do so.

  “That should prove interesting,” Cas said.

  “Yes,” he murmured. As they continued into the city, he dwelled upon what sort of bribe he might offer to a dragon to help with a kidnapping.

  Chapter 2

  The guards led Sardelle into the atrium, a part of the castle that usually soothed her nerves, thanks to its gurgling fountains and chirping birds. This time, she wasn’t in the mood to be soothed. She twisted her hand in the sash that wrapped her waist, acting as a belt for the elegant blue dress she had chosen for this meeting. She wanted to look professional, even if the king never seemed to require much in the way of ceremony or formality. She planned to return to the Ice Blades one way or another, but it would be much easier to go with a flier.

  Or a dragon.

  Find me a dragon, and I’ll consider that. I haven’t even seen Phelistoth since we returned.

  No, he’s probably cuddling with that crystal. When Bhrava Saruth lets him.

  “Sardelle?” came Angulus’s voice, almost hesitant. That was unlike him.

  She followed the sound to a wide wall fountain that occupied the far corner of the atrium. He sat on the rim, goldfish darting about in the shallows of the pool behind him. She sensed bodyguards in the room, but they were being discreet and stood far enough away to allow a private conversation. Did he have something in mind that he wanted to discuss? When she had sent a message requesting an appointment, she hadn’t mentioned what she wished to discuss.

  “Please sit.” Angulus gestured to the ledge.

  Sardelle shifted the material of her dress so nothing would dangle in the water and perched beside him, leaving a few feet between them, not wanting to presume any intimacy. She had expected to be led to his office or to the throne room rather than this serene setting.

  “I’m glad you’re here.” He leaned over and rested his hand on the back of hers for a moment. “I’m sorry that Zirk—Ridge—didn’t make it.”

  “Thank you, Sire.”

  He leaned back, withdrawing his hand. “We have about an hour until the council heads start arriving, and I’ll be swamped with attending to their needs—excuse me, listening to their wisdom—for the next week. There’s something I’d like to ask you—two things, actually—but tell me what you need first.”

  “Yes, Sire. I want to go back and do a more thorough search for Ridge. It’s possible that he’s injured somewhere and that we’ve all abandoned him. I talked to General Ort, and he said all of the flier squadrons are occupied and that he can’t spare anyone. I know you keep a flier or two here, for your personal use. I was wondering if I could borrow one if I could find a suitable pilot.” She thought about saying she could figure out how to fly the craft herself, with magic if not with skill, but she wasn’t sure that would make him more likely to lend it to her.

  Less likely, I should think. You know even less about machines than I do.

  That’s not true.

  You didn’t read all those scintillating books in the prison library while you were knocked out for three hundred years.

  “Judging by the reports—by what General Ort reported—it’s unlikely that he could have survived,” Angulus said, his tone gentle.

  “Yes, Sire. Unlikely, but not impossible. And then there’s the sorceress.”

  Angulus’s eyebrows rose. “Yes?”

  “Jaxi sensed her in the area right before the other dragons showed up. We think—”

  Oh no, don’t include me in this. You think.

  “I’m not sure what to think, Sire,” Sardelle admitted, “but if Eversong was nearby, she adds an unknown factor to the equation. Also, it might be useful to locate her, get a feel for what she’s up to.” So long as Sardelle could survive locating her. Their last confrontation had left her devoid of ideas as to how to defeat the woman. In truth, she only mentioned her in the hope that Angulus would be more likely to provide a flier.

  “I won’t deny that,” he said, “but I have had other matters on my mind this week. I was going to ask if you would go with Tolemek, Lieutenant Ahn, and Captain Kaika on a mission to kidnap the Cofah emperor.”

  Sardelle stared at him, not certain she had heard him correctly. He’d said it so casually, as if emperors were kidnapped all the time. “I—now, Sire?”

  “They’re leaving in the morning. We have an opportunity to catch him out of the empire, a rare one. We have to act swiftly to exploit it.”

  Sardelle stared down at the fish darting under the rippling water of the pool. Even without hearing the details, she judged this mission to be something that would take many days, if not weeks. “Sire, I would normally agree to help, but if Ridge is injured somewhere out there, he may have very limited time.”

  She made herself look up, though she was afraid she would catch a pitying look in his eyes, the same one Cas had given her, the one that said that it was sad that she’d lost the love of her life but that it was misguided of her to believe he might still be alive. And yes, that was exactly the look Angulus gave her. She didn’t need to brush his mind with her senses to tell what he was thinking.

  “Sire, I chose to stay down in the outpost when they went into the air. I—I didn’t factor in the wind and the storm, so I didn’t realize how far away the battle would take them. I thought I could protect the fort and Ridge and the others at the same time. But by the time I made it over to them, it was too late. If I’d gone up with them, maybe I could have done something. Maybe—” She swallowed and looked down at the fish again. She’d thought she could get through this without falling apart. She wanted him to help her because of reason, not out of pity or because she was weeping into his fountain.

  “I know what it’s like to make mistakes,” Angulus said softly. “Trust me. Though I’m not sure you made one. I think Ridge would agree that protecting hundreds of people is more important than protecting one.”

  “Jaxi didn’t agree,” she muttered.

  “Your sword has spoken
to me a few times. She seems... young.”

  Young? What does that mean? Is that an insult? Do I need to incinerate his nose hairs?

  “She’s six hundred years old, Sire. And passionate.”

  “Hm.” This time, he was the one to gaze down at the fish. He dragged his finger through the water. The fish must have thought that implied feeding time, because a school of them formed and came to the surface, lips pursing eagerly. Angulus snorted and reached over to a shelf beside the fountain. He pulled off a canister, opened it, and tossed in some flakes of seaweed or whatever it was goldfish ate. “I think you could be a great help on this other mission, but I understand that your heart calls you another way. You’re not a soldier—or a king—so you’re allowed to choose what your heart wants over any duty imposed upon you by others.” A wistful smile flashed across his face, the expression gone almost as soon as it formed. “And if you believe Ridge might still be alive, then I can’t help but wonder about that too. Losing him is a great blow. Even if I haven’t always approved of his methods of doing his duty, there’s no doubt that he always did do his duty, and that he and his squadron brought down more enemies than anyone else in the country.”

  Sardelle leaned toward him, hoping this meant he would give her what she wished.

  “It would also be useful for me to know where that sorceress is, even if we don’t have the means to destroy her currently.” Angulus had been dropping pinches of fish food into the fountain, but he paused, his hand dangling. “Actually, we might.” He looked at her, his eyes narrowing.

  “The sword?” Sardelle guessed. “I can’t wield it, Sire.”

  She almost pointed out that Cas could and that she could be her pilot in this, but if she was heading out on another mission, they would have to find someone else.

  “Wait here a moment, please.” Angulus returned the canister to the ledge and stood. “I want to show you something.”