Oaths (Dragon Blood, Book 8)

by Lindsay Buroker

Ridge lifted his shoulders. “Mom doesn’t believe in magic. She would have thought we were kooks. But with the wedding coming up and Sardelle now pregnant, I don’t want any dissension between the two most important women in my life. I want them to get along, to like and support each other.”

  “Sardelle is pregnant?” Kaika asked. “Do you by chance know when the baby was conceived?”

  Ridge frowned at her. “I’m not helping you win the baby pool.”

  “Oh, you heard about that, did you?”

  “I don’t know how you heard about it. I thought it was strictly between pilots and the ground crew in the flier battalion.” Ridge stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at Angulus, hoping his request hadn’t sounded as pathetic as he feared. A grown man coming in to see the ruler of all of Iskandia about a domestic misunderstanding. “Sire, I believe my mother would believe you if you told her magic exists.”

  Angulus gazed back at him, his face difficult to read. Was he amused? Exasperated? Utterly flummoxed because Ridge had come here for this? Ridge didn’t know; too bad he didn’t have Jaxi here to read the king’s mind.

  Angulus finally pulled out an appointment book, laid it on his desk, and flipped through the next few days. Ridge bit his lip again to stop from asking if he had quickies scheduled in. Why was it so hard not to be irreverent?

  “She has a long ride in, doesn’t she?” Angulus asked. “The day after tomorrow at three past noon?”

  “That will be fine, Sire. Can you possibly have your secretary send her an official summons?”

  “Because she won’t trust you if you relay the summons?”

  “That’s a distinct possibility, Sire.”

  “Zirkander, what have you been doing to this poor woman?”

  “Nothing.” Ridge lifted his hands. “It’s just that when something she deems impossible happens, she has a hard time believing it.”

  “Mm.”

  “Is anybody else amused that a general and a national hero has mom problems?” Kaika asked.

  “Only you,” Ridge told her.

  “I’m mildly amused,” Angulus said.

  Ridge backed toward the door, relieved Angulus had said yes, and figuring he had better give them their privacy. “Permission to go, Sire?”

  “Yes.”

  Ridge told himself he walked out of the office and the castle in a stately manner befitting his rank, but it was possible he fled in ignominy.

  8

  Weeks ago, when Sardelle had envisioned acquiring a wedding dress, she had assumed she would go with Fern and let her pick out something whimsical, or perhaps let her choose fabric that she would turn into something whimsical. Fern already had her measurements and had made her two dresses. They were brighter and perkier than Sardelle normally chose for herself, but she was happy to wear them occasionally to make Ridge’s mother happy. Alas, she didn’t know if she dared show up at Fern’s house right now.

  What she hadn’t imagined, when thinking about choosing a wedding dress, was going shopping with two women in uniform, Cas and Kaika each armed with pistols in holsters. Though Sardelle wore a blue summer dress and sandals, Jaxi was also belted to her waist, and she worried the merchants would worry they were being invaded. Maybe she needed to send Lilah into the shops first. Ridge’s cousin, and one of Sardelle’s newer friends, Lilah wore a modest gray skirt and blouse, the entire ensemble free of weapons.

  Weapons or not, none of them looked like they belonged on the street Cas had turned down. Gleaming black and silver steam carriages were parked on the sides of the wide boulevard, most with chauffeurs reading newspapers or magazines from the front benches while they waited for their employers. Men and women in custom-tailored clothing, many attended by what Sardelle assumed were maids or shopping assistants, strolled along the sidewalks and wandered into stores.

  A few glanced toward her little group and pursed their lips. Sardelle didn’t know if the gesture was for their modest clothing or for the weapons or for both.

  “You say we may get a clue to Tolemek’s whereabouts at the shop you’re leading us to, Cas?” Sardelle asked.

  Tylie and Phelistoth hadn’t come back to the house yet, so she didn’t have any more leads than she’d had the night before. When Cas had arrived early that morning, circles under her eyes suggesting she hadn’t slept much, and mentioned an eccentric Dakrovian foreigner being spotted at a clothing shop, Sardelle had been willing to go along and check. Lilah hadn’t started her classes yet, so Sardelle had swung by her apartment to collect her, and Kaika seemed to have been assigned to Tolemek’s case, so she’d been easy to pull away from work. Sardelle was fairly certain Jaxi had been in contact with her because Kaika had been waiting when they’d ridden into the city.

  You’re welcome, Jaxi said. We may have to use some magic to convince this storeowner to assist us. I can already tell she’s going to be snooty.

  You’ve located her? Sardelle peered at the shop names farther down the boulevard. She hadn’t seen the Sophisticated Hem yet.

  No. Call it a hunch. I do believe the shop is on that corner next to the gold-gilded dragon fountain breathing not fire but a stream of water out of its nostrils.

  That almost looks like Bhrava Saruth.

  Maybe his magnificence has inspired sculptors of late.

  Very possible, but that statue looks to have been there for a lot longer than he’s been in town.

  “I see it.” Cas pointed to the corner Jaxi had identified.

  “Next to the garish statue with the runny nose?” Kaika asked.

  A woman strolling toward them along the walkway, with a somber-faced older man carrying shopping bags behind her, curled a lip when she caught Kaika’s words, and gave her a long dismissive look up and down.

  “Common filth,” she said, raising her nose as she strode past their group.

  “Does that mean you don’t want to get randy with me later?” Kaika winked at her. “I was hoping to bag a noblewoman when I came down here.”

  The woman threw a horrified glance over her shoulder and practically leaped into the next doorway. The man gave Kaika a more speculative look before following his wife—or was she his employer?—inside.

  “I learned that move from Captain Blazer,” Kaika said. “It tends to shut up snobby women quickly.”

  “What happens if they’re interested in being bagged by you?” Cas asked.

  “It hasn’t happened yet. Should I be worried about my allure?”

  “Is it rude of me to find it remarkable that she dates the king?” Lilah asked Sardelle as Cas and Kaika, their destination in sight, surged into the lead.

  For a moment, Sardelle was surprised Lilah knew about that, but then she remembered Lilah had spent a number of days researching bones at Galmok Mountain with Captain Kaika as her bodyguard. Kaika might have admitted to spending time with Angulus, but she didn’t brag about it or mention it to many people, as far as Sardelle had observed. She found it more likely that Therrik, who’d learned about the relationship a few months ago, had said something.

  “I believe Angulus enjoys her refreshing bluntness,” Sardelle said.

  “Actually, he likes my ass.” Kaika winked again and gave one of her back cheeks a slap.

  Lilah lifted her eyebrows. “She is blunt.”

  “Refreshingly,” Kaika said.

  They reached the corner in front of the Sophisticated Hem, and Cas paused, regarding Kaika with a concerned expression.

  “Perhaps Sardelle and Professor Zirkander should go in,” Cas said, “while we…”

  “Blow up that runny-nosed dragon fountain?” Kaika asked.

  “You didn’t bring explosives with you, did you?” Lilah asked.

  “I am on duty. Looking for kidnappers.”

  The question, Jaxi said, is not whether she brought explosives but how many she brought.

  You, being a sentient soulblade, no doubt know the answer, Sardelle replied.

  Naturally, but I don’t want to spoil the guessing g
ame for anyone.

  Cas turned to Sardelle, pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, and held it out for her to read. “This is the incident that the proprietor reported, a man paying for a hat in Dakrovian coin. I’m hoping you can use your telepathy to learn more about the man and especially if she has any idea what part of town he’s staying in.” Cas shifted her weight back and forth, glancing at a pair of well-dressed women who sashayed out of the shop. “Maybe I should go in and ask the questions. I’m just not very… I mean, even when I’m not in uniform, I don’t look like I fit in here. I’m just like Kaika.”

  “You’re supposed to sound reverent and awed when you say a sentence like that,” Kaika observed.

  After Sardelle read the snippet, she looked at Cas. “Unless I miss my guess, you’re the only one of us who grew up in a wealthy household.”

  “But my father’s money is new money, not old noble money. There’s a difference. Besides, I learned about guns and bows, not dresses and shoes. You always look regal and serene, Sardelle, even when General Zirkander is flying upside down with you in his back seat.”

  “I don’t think that’s true, but I will thank you for the compliment.” Sardelle returned the paper to her. “Lilah, will you accompany me inside to see if I can find a dress?”

  She hoped Lilah wasn’t offended that she hadn’t been identified as regal and serene. Probably not. She was scrutinizing an old plaque on the dragon fountain. She drew a notebook out of a purse stuffed with no less than three paperbacks and scribbled something down.

  Sardelle waited until she was done writing to touch her arm. “Lilah? Will you help me find a dress?”

  “Oh yes, of course.” Lilah wedged the notebook inside her purse between the books. “I just wanted to make a note of that. I believe I spotted a factual error. If so, the plaque should be corrected.”

  Sardelle eyed the patina on the old plaque, guessing it had been in that spot for decades, if not centuries. She doubted anyone would rush out to have a new one made, but she didn’t say so.

  “Make sure to get a dress with inside pockets and straps,” Kaika suggested. “To hold grenades and knives.”

  “I have Jaxi. I don’t need grenades and knives.”

  “Then make sure to get one that matches her scabbard. I assume you’ll be walking down the aisle with her?”

  “Of course.”

  Kaika gave her the thumb-to-fingers circle gesture that the pilots favored. It seemed to mean both ready and good.

  “Can you actually afford the clothes here?” Lilah murmured as she and Sardelle headed for the entrance.

  Unlike most of the other shops, the Sophisticated Hem had no large display windows. Instead, the storefront was castle-inspired, with formidable stone walls and high, narrow windows reminiscent of arrow slots. The heavy oak door was bound with iron bands full of rivets, and the small window in it was covered with bars.

  “I don’t know,” Sardelle said. “But it doesn’t hurt to browse. And question the owner.”

  “I’m surprised Fern didn’t offer to make you a dress.”

  “She did, but then… I’m not sure if she’s talking to me now.”

  Lilah looked at her in surprise.

  “She found out I’m a sorceress.”

  “I didn’t think she believed in magic.”

  “She does now,” Sardelle said glumly, pushing up the heavy door.

  Polished hardwood floors lay inside, with few racks and display cases cluttering the area. A small selection of gowns hung on wooden dummies near the walls, and steps in the back led to an area of jewelry, scarves, and men’s and women’s hats.

  A graying lady in an elegant summer-green dress and short jacket strolled toward them. Sardelle lifted her chin and did her best to look regal, as Cas had called her. And like someone who could afford expensive clothing. Technically, she could conjure nucro bills into existence, but she didn’t think Angulus would appreciate her flooding the capital with counterfeit currency.

  “Greetings, my friend,” the woman said—was this the Lady Masonwood that Cas’s report had mentioned? She came forward to clasp Sardelle’s hands. “The future Mrs. Zirkander, isn’t it?”

  “Ah, yes.” Sardelle did her best to rein in her surprise at being recognized. “Please call me Sardelle.”

  “I’ve seen your picture in the newspapers.”

  Sardelle attempted a smile, but she was taken aback, both at being recognized and also at being greeted so enthusiastically. The former usually did not lead to the latter, not in this century.

  Jaxi snickered into her mind.

  Do you know something I don’t know, Jaxi?

  Usually.

  Are you reading this woman’s thoughts?

  If I am, it’s certainly not my fault. She’s spewing them all over the place, much like the water shooting out of that fountain’s nostrils.

  “It’s lovely to make your acquaintance, Sardelle. I am Lady Masonwood, only a distant relation to the king. Are you here to see my dresses? I may be able to offer you a discount in exchange for…” Masonwood looked at Lilah, then also at a pair of young, well-dressed women perusing the racks, and finally at a gentleman in a suit working in the hat area. “Assistance,” Masonwood finished in a whisper.

  She released Sardelle’s arm, stepped back, and said, “Stay here, please. Look around. I’ll return shortly.” Masonwood started away, but turned back, raising a finger. “Don’t leave. Promise me you’re staying, yes?”

  “Yes,” Sardelle said.

  As the woman hustled through a doorway on one side of the show room, Jaxi snickered again.

  Are you going to enlighten me? Sardelle asked her.

  Where would the fun be in that?

  You remember that it’s not appropriate to read people’s minds, right? We’ve had this discussion before. You never used to do this in our century.

  Our century was ridiculously stuffy when it came to that kind of thing. The freedom of this lawless era is growing on me.

  “That’s not the greeting I expected,” Lilah said.

  “Nor I.” Sardelle ignored the glances the young women were sending in her direction and headed for the wall of dresses. Though she had come because of Cas’s lead on Tolemek, it would be convenient if she could get the dress selecting out of the way, and if this Lady Masonwood truly wished to give her a discount, perhaps the garments would be affordable.

  “What do you think she wants?”

  “Healing of some sort would be my guess. It is what I’m known for.”

  “Is it?” Lilah trailed her to the dresses. “The newspapers have highlighted your ability to control Ridge and magically coerce him into marrying you.”

  “No need to bring that up.” Sardelle wondered if everyone in town, or in the whole country, had seen those ludicrous articles.

  Lilah smiled slightly. “I don’t know who these people are who think someone tricking Ridge into marrying her would be a good idea. I’m surprised…” She glanced at Sardelle, then said, “Never mind,” and stroked the sleeve of an ivory gown.

  “I think his mouth fools a lot of people into not realizing he’s a good man who loves his job, his country, and is loyal to his friends,” Sardelle said.

  Lilah’s cheeks grew pink as she pretended to examine the gown. “I suppose he is. Honestly, I still don’t know him that well. He was a trying young man.”

  “So he tells me.” Sardelle didn’t take offense at Lilah’s comments. She hoped Lilah and Ridge got a chance to spend more time together now that she lived in the capital. They didn’t seem to have much in common, but family was important, something Sardelle hadn’t realized fully until hers was gone. “I imagine Therrik was a trying young man too.”

  “He still is.” Lilah smirked. “But if he likes you, he can be quite personable.”

  “How do you get him to like you?”

  “I caressed his weapon.”

  “You were taking advice from Kaika, I see.”

  Her
smirk deepened.

  Sardelle glanced toward the side doorway, but Lady Masonwood still hadn’t returned.

  She’s washing her feet in the lavatory, Jaxi informed her.

  Ah.

  I’m not sure whether to be alarmed or bewildered that such information doesn’t surprise you.

  I’m going to guess that she needs something… attended. By a healer.

  I hope you brought gloves.

  “Ridge was wondering,” Sardelle said, moving over to look at the next dress in the row, “how you’re getting along here in the capital. And with Therrik.”

  “I’m delighted that Vann has been sent back down to the capital from that remote outpost, even if he didn’t get the job I encouraged him to apply for. We’ve been enjoying each other’s company. He helped me move into my new apartment.”

  “You aren’t having any problems with his surly tendencies?”

  “No problem at all. As I said, he isn’t surly with those who don’t irk him.”

  “I can only imagine since my very existence irks him.” Sardelle smiled.

  “I’m hoping that one day, he’ll learn to mistrust those with dragon blood less. He has his reasons for hating magic, and I understand why he does, but it’s not right for him to loathe everyone he meets that falls into that category. But you can tell Ridge that Vann and I are getting along nicely. He needn’t worry about me.”

  “Good. And I will tell him. Do you like this green one?”

  “Mm, not enough lace to fit in with current fashion, from what I’ve seen. I don’t follow popular trends, admittedly, but I went to the weddings of two colleagues in the last year, and they assured me they were dressing in line with the modern fashion coming out of the capital.”

  “How much lace?” Sardelle always felt lace was something that should be reserved for undergarments.

  Yes, I believe your soul snozzle enjoys your lacy underwear, especially the pair that’s almost see-through. Jaxi made a thoughtful hm noise in Sardelle’s mind. It’s possible it’s the see-through aspect that appeals to him more than the lace itself.

  Thank you for the analysis, Jaxi.

  You’re welcome.