Love in the Time of Dragons ld-1

by Katie MacAlister

  Jim gave me a poignant look, but bound to silence as it was, it said nothing. I was grateful for that, since it meant I could try to sort through my mental turmoil while the dragons went through the formalities of their meeting.

  “Kostya Fekete,” the blue wyvern named Bastian said. “You have called this sárkány on behalf of the black dragons. State your business.” I looked up from where I’d been sightlessly staring at my hands.

  Kostya stood at the foot of the table and looked at all the wyverns present. “I am here to seek reparation. The mate of Baltic has revealed herself, and the black dragons demand that she be held liable for the crimes he committed against the weyr.” “What?” I asked, standing up, so stunned by Kostya’s demand I forgot that May warned me not to speak before I was called upon. “That’s ridiculous!” Bastian frowned at me. “You have not yet been recognized by the weyr. Please remain—” “I will not remain silent!” I stormed over to the table, suddenly furious. “Certainly not while you people accuse me of something I didn’t do.” “You are the mate of Baltic,” Kostya snarled. “By the laws that govern the weyr, you are just as responsible for his actions as he is.” “I am not his mate. I am not even a dragon! I’m human! You all must be able to tell that!” The wyverns exchanged glances.

  “You see? No one is denying it, because it’s true. I’m human.” “You appear human, yes,” Drake said in a voice that held an Eastern European accent. “But Gabriel’s mother assures us that your dragon self resides within you, simply waiting for you to waken it.” “Even if that’s true, that doesn’t give you people the right to try me for a crime I didn’t commit! Don’t you watch CSI? That’s totally illegal!” Kostya’s scowl darkened. “You are a mate, his mate. And unless you’d like to bring him before us, then it is you who will pay the price for his crimes.” “What crimes, exactly? The war with the silver dragons that Gabriel said wiped out your sept?” I made a disgusted sound. “If the dreams I had were actually echoes of the past, then you were a part of that sept, too, which means you were a part of the war. How many silver dragons did you kill, Kostya?” He snarled something extremely rude under his breath. “We are not discussing my actions. I have made my peace with the weyr.” “Oh, did you really?” Furious, I did something I never do — I made a scene. I leaped onto the conference table and stomped down its length to stand in front of Kostya. “You supported Baltic in everything he did! Everything! He couldn’t pass gas without you telling him how fabulous he was!” Kostya growled, positively growled as he leaped to his feet, his chair flying backwards several feet. “That is not true!” “Do your friends here know just how much of a yes-man you really were? Do they know how you followed him around like a puppy, doing anything he demanded?” “My past has nothing to do—”

  “Do they know how you let Baltic hold a sword to my throat and threaten to kill me just because I was born a silver dragon?” My voice rang out loudly.

  The entire room was silent.

  “Er…” I cleared my throat as I realized what I’d just declared. “That’s assuming that I am what everyone says I am, which I still maintain is very unlikely.” Kostya, goaded into a fury, yelled at me. “I am not to blame for Baltic’s actions! I kept him in check until he rescued you. He was unbalanced then, but he became uncontrollable after you sided with Constantine Norka against him.” “I what?” I asked, feeling at a loss.

  “I might have been able to reason with him if it wasn’t for you!” Kostya accused me. “He wanted you. He was willing to take you despite the fact that you were a silver dragon.” “Should we be offended by Kostya’s implication?” May asked Gabriel. “I have my dagger. I could poke him with it a few times.” Cyrene shot her twin an outraged look.

  “Perhaps later,” Gabriel told May.

  “But you spurned him, and bound yourself to Constantine Norka instead!” Kostya’s face was dark with anger. “Baltic was furious! His madness knew no bounds after that.” “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, my anger starting to cool. I looked around at the dragons gathered at the table, embarrassed by my show of temper. “Sorry, can I just… thank you,” I said as Bastian stood and held out a hand to assist me off the table.

  “You cannot deny what happened in the past,” Kostya said, his voice and face sullen.

  “I wouldn’t dream of trying. But I don’t think I’ve gotten to this betrayal in my visions. I assume it will come at some point, but I have to say that I find it difficult to believe.” “Kostya, this is old history,” Drake said, one eyebrow raised at the black dragon. “The blame for the Endless War has long since been settled. You cannot try Ysolde for that crime.” “There wouldn’t have been an Endless War but for her!” Kostya declared.

  “I thought Chuan Ren started that war?” Aisling leaned close and asked her husband.

  Chuan Ren narrowed her eyes at Aisling, her mouth moving silently as if she was speaking a curse.

  Aisling quickly drew protection wards over herself and Drake.

  “Kaawa said Ysolde tried to stop the war by bringing the dragon shards together to re-form the dragon heart,” May said. “She would hardly do that if she was responsible for the whole thing.” “That was later, after she realized what she had started,” Kostya said stubbornly.

  “You know, not even I think that makes any sense,” Cyrene said, looking at him. “Seriously, punky, I think we’re going to have to go to some anger management classes. You need to learn how to let go and move on.” “The black dragons—” he started to say.

  “Are not the reason Ysolde has been called before the sárkány,” Drake interrupted in a forceful voice.

  “Exactly what crime did Baltic commit that you’re all so intent on punishing me for?” I asked, suddenly tired and emotionally drained.

  Drake looked at me with eyes that held infinite sadness. “The deaths of sixty-eight blue dragons, killed by Baltic almost two months ago.”

  Chapter Seven

  Silence filled the conference room as every person — every dragon — looked at me. I shivered, rubbing my arms against a sudden chill.

  “Lucky me. I’m out of it for five weeks, lose my job, learn my husband is a rat to beat all rats, and now I find out that evidently I’m the girlfriend of a homicidal maniac. Is that it? Is that all you guys have to hit me with? Because I’m not quite over the edge yet.” “There is the matter of who held Kostya prisoner in his aerie for seven years,” Cyrene said thoughtfully. “No one seems to know for sure who captured him there, but I think it was your mate, so by rights, you should be charged with that, too.” “Thank you,” I told her. “That did the job.” Before anyone could react, I spun around and started for the nearest exit. I didn’t make it, naturally, but I knew I wouldn’t.

  Kostya was there at the door. “You will not escape justice again, Ysolde de Bouchier.” I slapped him. It felt so good, I slapped him again, then stepped back, my hand over my mouth because I’d never struck another person in my life.

  That I could remember.

  Well, there was nailing Baltic in the groin, but that was just a dream.

  “I’m sorry,” I stammered, horrified. “I don’t know what came over me. Not that you didn’t deserve it, because if anyone deserved to be slapped, you did, but still, I’m shocked that I actually struck you. Did I hurt you?” Cyrene screamed and ran toward us, clearly about to launch herself at me, but Kostya caught her before she could attack.

  I just stared at them as she struggled to get free, cursing me roundly as she fought him, my eyes filling with tears. I’d never felt so alien, so alone, so completely out of my depth. I just wanted to sink into oblivion.

  “Sit down,” Kostya told Cyrene when she had worked out the worst of her swearing.

  “She struck you! Twice! No one hits my dragon and lives to tell about it!” “Go sit down,” he commanded.

  “No!”

  “Cy, it was an open-handed slap,” May said as she took her twin’s arm and forcibly steered her toward the t
able. “I’m sure Kostya will survive it.” “I’m very sorry,” I told him again.

  To my surprise, rather than look angrier with me, he rubbed his abused cheek and looked thoughtful.

  “Ysolde?” Gabriel indicated the table. “I believe since the subject of the blue dragons’ deaths has been broached, you would be welcome at the sárkány table. Perhaps we can discuss the issue more calmly.” “I’m not at all a violent person,” I told him, allowing him to escort me to a chair he placed on his other side. “I can’t even spank my son.” He said nothing, just held out a chair for me.

  “You must understand that the weyr does not seek to punish an innocent person,” Bastian said, taking charge of the meeting again. “But there are laws that govern us, and as Kostya said, one of those laws holds that wyverns’ mates are held accountable for the actions of their wyverns.” “What about other dragons?” I asked, too weary to be incensed.

  Bastian looked confused. “What other dragons?” “What about a normal dragon’s mate, a non-wyvern. Are they held accountable, too?” “No,” he said, frowning.

  “Why not?”

  Silence fell on the table. Drake cleared his throat and answered, “Wyverns’ mates are unique in dragonkin. They have power of their own, and are accorded a place of honor in the sept second only to the wyvern himself. Mates always support the wyverns’ decisions, and thus the law was set into place recognizing that position and power.” “Let me make sure I have this straight. You all think that because I was alive two months ago, unaware of any of you, unaware of Baltic, unaware of anything but doing my job as an apprentice for Dr. Kostich, and being a wife and mother, you seriously expect me to believe that I am guilty of the deaths of sixty—” “Sixty-eight,” Bastian interrupted.

  “My apologies. I didn’t mean to make light of that tragedy. Where was I? Oh, you want to hold me responsible for the deaths of dragons I didn’t even know existed in the first place? Is that what you’re saying?” Drake’s gaze dropped. Gabriel and May exchanged uncomfortable glances. Kostya coughed softly and scowled at the table. Bastian looked into the distance. Chuan Ren smiled at me, showing far more teeth than was called for.

  “Do I want to know what the punishment is for killing sixty-eight blue dragons?” I asked.

  No one looked at me. “The punishment for a crime of such a heinous nature outside of a declared war is death,” Bastian said at last.

  “Lovely. You want to kill me for someone else’s crime. That certainly sounds like justice to me.” No one said anything to that bit of sarcasm, either.

  I thought of fighting, thought of running away, thought of damning them all and just letting them make me a scapegoat, but something inside me finally reached a breaking point.

  “There is something going on with me,” I said slowly, looking again at my fingers spread on the table. “Much as I want to deny it, I am willing to admit that I have some sort of a connection to this person named Baltic. Despite that, no one can deny that I am human, and it is for that reason that I do not, cannot, will not admit that I am the dragon named Ysolde. However, if any of you can prove to me that I am, if you can show me that what I’m experiencing is due to a dragon hiding inside of me, then I will acknowledge the laws of this weyr, and will accept the punishment for the deaths of those dragons.” That got their attention. They didn’t look happy, though.

  “That seems reasonable to me,” Aisling said, nudging her husband with her elbow. “Of course you want proof that you’re really Ysolde. We’ll just have to show you that it’s so. I’m not sure how we’ll go about doing that other than giving you time to find yourself, so to speak. That’s only right and fair, especially since the weyr is asking you to give up your life. Doesn’t it seem fair to you, Drake?” His frown cleared. “It would seem that such a demand is not unreasonable given the circumstances. What say the other wyverns?” “I agree wholeheartedly,” Gabriel said quickly. “Ysolde must have proof. She must be easy in her mind that she is who we know her to be. It would be a gross misinterpretation of the weyr laws to condemn her without her acknowledging her dragon self.” “I agree,” Bastian said, a bit to my surprise since it was his sept members who had been killed. I thought if anyone would have wanted to see me condemned, it would be him. But he actually looked relieved, and turned to Kostya. “What do the black dragons say?” Kostya pursed his lips as he looked at me.

  “I think she needs to be smacked upside the head,” Cyrene muttered. Kostya shot her a glare, then said, “I am influenced by the memories of what Baltic did to the black dragons because of Ysolde. Long have I sought to see her pay for the pain and suffering she caused us for her treachery with Constantine Norka—” “She was a silver dragon,” Gabriel said abruptly. “She agreed to be his mate. That can hardly be said to be treachery!” Kostya leaped to his feet, his face red with anger. “Baltic wanted her for his mate!” “Then he should never have handed her over to Constantine, saying he didn’t want her!” Gabriel shot back, jumping up as well.

  “Oh, that makes me feel good,” I said softly.

  “That discussion is not pertinent at this time,” Bastian said, pounding on the table with his fist until the two dragons retook their seats. “Kostya, how say you?” He sat down with a huff, his arms crossed, his expression black. “I will agree to a temporary stay so long as it’s for a reasonable amount of time.” I was taken aback by his agreement. That left one wyvern.

  “Chuan Ren?” Bastian asked her.

  “The red dragons don’t care what happens to the woman,” she answered. “Kill her, or do not kill her, it is of no concern to us. We are only interested in the whereabouts of Baltic.” “Why do you care where he is?” May asked.

  Chuan Ren just smiled again. It wasn’t a pleasant smile.

  “We are agreed, then, that Ysolde should have time to… what?” Bastian asked, looking puzzled. “How does one find oneself?” “My mother says the dragon inside her is waiting to be woken,” Gabriel said. “That is what must be done.” “But how do you go about doing that?” Bastian shook his head. “I’ve never before met a dragon who didn’t know he was a dragon, who wasn’t able to be a dragon.” “I think I may know of a way to do that,” May said thoughtfully. She sat up a little straighter when she realized all eyes were on her. “There is a house in the country that belongs to Baltic.” “It is mine now,” Kostya interrupted. “I have claimed it on behalf of the black dragons.” “That’s right, we have,” Cyrene said. “It’s a bit too big as houses go, and needs a lot of redecorating, but it has a nice pond. Kostie says we can dig up the garden to enlarge the pond into a small lake.” Kostya gave his mate a thin-lipped look that she ignored.

  “When I bore the dragon shard, it caused me to react quite strongly to the house.” May’s gaze turned to me. “It actually had me feeling things that I believe you felt while you bore the shard.” “I bore a shard?” I asked, refusing to cope with one more bizarre thing. “A shard of what?” “A dragon shard, one of the five pieces of the dragon heart.” I closed my eyes for a minute. “Is the dragon heart something that’s going to make me completely lose the tiny shred of sanity I’m holding on to? Because I have to tell you, if it is, I think I’d rather just not know about it.” May laughed. “It’s not that bad, honest.” “The dragon heart is made up of five shards. Each of the wyverns here possesses a shard,” Gabriel told me. “For a while, May bore the same shard that you bore. Just as she did, you successfully re-formed the dragon heart — imbued with the power of the First Dragon — and allowed it to reshatter into five pieces.” “That sounds very clever of May and me, and I’m thrilled to bits to hear it despite the fact that I don’t have the slightest idea of the significance of any of that, but so long as it has no bearing on whether or not there is a dragon curled up inside me, I’m willing to move on.” “Brava,” Aisling said, applauding until her husband scowled at her.

  “I take it you think that if I were to go to Baltic’s home—” “My home! It belongs to me now!” Kostya said.


  “Pardon me, Baltic’s former home, that it would somehow prove I’m a dragon? Will I start setting things on fire? Burst into scaly lizard form? Suddenly become fascinated with gold?” I asked, too tired to mind my manners as I should.

  “Judging by what I felt when I was there, yes, I think you’ll have some sort of a definitive experience,” May said.

  “But Ysolde doesn’t bear the Avignon Phylactery anymore,” Kostya said.

  May slid an unreadable smile toward her wyvern. “No, but I can attest to the fact that once you’ve borne a shard, it changes you. I’m sure it changed Ysolde, too.” “It sounds like a good idea to me,” Aisling said.

  “With Kostya’s permission, we will take you to the house in question tomorrow,” Gabriel said. “You will not, I hope, mind if May and I accompany you?” “I will be there as well,” Kostya said.

  “Oooh. That sounds interesting. Can we go?” Aisling asked Drake.

  He raised his eyebrows and looked at Gabriel. “We have no reason to, but if Gabriel — and Ysolde — have no objection, I admit that I am curious to see if the house does have some effect on her.” Gabriel stated a time, and everyone agreed to meet at the house. I sat back in my chair, drained by the emotions I’d been through in the last few days, wanting nothing more than… I sighed to myself. I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore, other than peace of mind.

  I expected to dream that night, and I did. I closed the door to Brom’s room after seeing him settled for the night, wished May a pleasant evening, and stepped into my room, and straight into a maelstrom of testosterone.