Cast in Honor (Chronicles of Elantra, #11)(54)

“What language were you speaking?”

“An old, dead tongue.”

“An old dead tongue, more to the point,” Teela said, rising at last, “that I have not personally encountered. Mandoran and Annarion were exposed to the same languages that I was, in my youth; they have not been exposed to the breadth of languages that I have since our separation.”

“Then you will have something to chat about on your way out.”

Kaylin blinked.

“Bellusdeo told me everything of value. You will, as I said, speak with Gilbert. You will keep me informed.”

“Of course.” Kaylin smiled. “Dinner in five days?”

The Arkon exhaled smoke in a steady stream. Bellusdeo came to stand beside Kaylin. Her smile, which looked genuine and made her face seem so much younger, deepened.

“I cannot think why I missed you in your long absence.”

“Of course not. Come. If we must build bridges—and why, exactly, bridge is a good metaphor when we can all fly, I don’t know—help me to establish a different paradigm. You were there at the beginning. Be here now.”

*

Bellusdeo was still chortling when they left the Palace.

“He didn’t answer any questions,” Kaylin pointed out.

“He answered most of mine earlier, and he doesn’t like to repeat himself.”

“Except when he’s being critical.”

“He’s seldom critical of me.”

Of course not.

“But he was always critical when I was young. It makes me nostalgic. He was so stiff and so proper it was fun to tease him.”

“Should I ask what Dragon teasing entails?”

“No. Teela is already giving me the side-eye.” Still smiling, she said, “His interactions with you remind me of the way he always treated us—me and my sisters. I do not believe you could annoy him so much that he would kill you; he has some affection for you.” Her smile faded. “All of my attempts to irritate him come to nothing now; he pities me too much.”

“I would have thought that would be life-ending. His life.”

“He is old, Kaylin.”

“Which should make it—”

“Age in the immortal sense does not mean what it does for your kind. If I truly meant to kill him, I would resort to poison. I am not sure I could do enough damage, otherwise.”

“He would never kill you.”

“In self-defense, we are more...primal.”

“And why, exactly, are we talking about your possible death at the hands of the Arkon?” Kaylin glanced at the rest of the company. They all looked amused.

“It passes time,” Bellusdeo replied. “And it is pleasant enough to consider in the abstract.”

Kaylin was never going to understand immortals.

*

Convince Moran to stay with Helen. Check.

Visit the Arkon. Check. She had even managed to sneak in the possibility of an informal Imperial dinner.

Squawk.

She should have felt at least a little accomplished. But sometimes the world—her world—seemed so fragile. One wrong move, one moment of unrelieved ignorance, and it was over. The Devourer had almost destroyed it. The idiot who had hoped to take over the power of the Keeper—without any of the responsibility, of course—could have destroyed it. If the heart of the green had been destroyed, if Mandoran and Annarion had returned to the world without the tenuous link to the names that had given them life, Kaylin thought it likely that the world would have eventually ended, as well.

The fact that it hadn’t implied, strongly, that they’d been collectively lucky. And relying on luck was a mug’s game. The only reliable thing about luck was that it was a coin toss. It could come up heads or tails, good or bad, win or lose. If you played long enough, bad was inevitable.

“Kaylin,” Mandoran said.

She stopped.

“Where are you going?”

“Didn’t you hear the Arkon?”

“I did.”

“Well, then. I’m going to visit Gilbert and Kattea.”

Teela said, “Your stomach is making so much noise I can hardly hear myself think. We’re almost near the midmarket. Pick up something to eat—for all of us—on the way there. Bellusdeo can pay.”

“Oh?” the Dragon said.

“The Emperor will see to any reasonable expense you accrue. Even if he offered to do so for Kaylin, ranks of bureaucracy stand in the way of her refund.” When Bellusdeo failed to respond, Teela grinned. “Look, he has to be good for something.”

The gold Dragon snorted. But she paid.

*

Kattea was far more subdued on their second visit than she had been on the first. Her eyes did light up when Bellusdeo presented her with the basket that contained a late lunch; she didn’t even wilt when Kaylin explained that the day had been so grueling none of them had had time to eat yet.

The small dragon squawked. A lot.

“Is Gilbert in?” Kaylin asked.

“Yes. He’s busy.”

“Does he need to eat? I mean, can you interrupt him?”

“He knows you’re here.”

Kaylin frowned. The difference in Kattea was so marked, she dropped straight into worry. “Did something happen last night?”