The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4)(122)

Neph watched him for a moment and moved closer to Dresharn with a look of curiosity. It should have been Jail that arrived for him, and the fact that Dresharn was here didn’t bode well for Merro. Of course, given Jail’s nickname, it was possible that the big Han’shy was waiting in one of the holding cells as well. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Neph offered in greeting as Dresharn turned from the clerk to face him.

Dresharn smiled and shrugged one shoulder before motioning to the door. “I will explain it all once we are in a more fitting place. I detest the crowds in here. Too much noise and jostling for a conversation,” he replied quietly. The dragon’s low cultured voice seemed so out of place that Neph almost smiled.

“A lot has changed in the city since the last time I was here,” Neph said neutrally as they stepped out of the stuffy confines of the prison to the bright sunlit day. His gaze shifted to the massive white palace and then back to Dresharn who was taking care to keep all expression from his face.

“Indeed. There is quite a lot I should inform you of once we are comfortably back in our district. A nice tumbler of brandy and a discussion of laws. What could possibly be a better way to while away the afternoon?” Dresharn replied with a slight smile. He raised a black gloved hand and waved toward one of the coaches before glancing back at Neph. “I apologize for taking so long to respond to your difficulties, but I was at the palace when Victory brought the word to Merro’s district.”

“May I ask where Jail is?” Neph spoke quietly and watched Dresharn for any hint of trouble.

The dragon turned to look at him, but his dark glasses concealed any emotion that his eyes might have revealed. “There were matters that needed to be addressed at the palace, and Jail remained behind to finish with them. He will be in Merro shortly I’m sure. He was quite curious as to what brought you to Sanctuary,” Dresharn answered with a faint smile and motioned toward the coach as it rolled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

Neph nodded in understanding and headed silently for the coach. It was obvious that Dresharn wasn’t willing to speak of anything important in their current surroundings. By the way the man was acting and his vague responses, it was as if he thought they were being spied on, which Neph supposed was very possible. It seemed far too convenient to him that someone as powerful as Victory Faydwer was posted at a menial assignment such as the security check. Most likely the Fionaveir had several of their powerful members positioned all over the city in the event that someone such as he appeared. Most Elder Blood were far more subtle than he was, though, so spying would be the only option to discover their intentions.

His gaze flicked to the Bendazzi symbol on the coach door as he stepped inside and he smiled faintly. Jala had always refused to ride in coaches and the idea that she had one waiting for her in Sanctuary was rather amusing. “Does she know she has a coach?” Neph asked quietly as Dresharn seated himself across from him and closed the door.

The dragon shook his head with a smirk, and settled farther into his seat. With a glance toward Neph and a quick smile he removed his dark glasses and carefully began cleaning them. To the casual observer it looked as though the dragon’s full attention was on polishing the lenses, but Neph caught at least two glances toward the window. After several moments, Dresharn raised the glasses for inspection and nodded in silent approval before looking up at Neph once more. “Felicity Dawn was the spy in that particular quarter. I doubt you have had an opportunity to meet her, but she is a rather big thorn in the backside. She isn’t actually a member of the Fionaveir, but a rather a freelance mage. She is very good at her job, and delights in finding gossip on the pure bloods. Especially when they are connected to a major house such as you are,” Dresharn informed him with a disgusted sigh.

“I figured we were being watched,” Neph replied with a nod. “So Sanctuary has become a rather dangerous place lately,” he surmised.

“As far as crime goes it has become safer,” Dresharn corrected with a faint smile. “Politically, however, it is as treacherous as it comes,” he finished and raised a hand to rub at his temples. “Symphony, you see, is very sheltered from what is actually occurring in the world. In order for her to get the truth of things, you have to have a personal meeting with her. As you can imagine, a personal meeting with the Empress is very difficult to obtain, so most of the time you speak with her advisors instead.”

“So, Jail is meeting with the Empress herself right now or with one of the advisors?” Neph asked. From the sounds of things, Jala wasn’t going to be happy at all when she discovered how Sanctuary was being ruled. He couldn’t blame Jail for not informing her sooner, though. With the way things were going in the outside world, Jala couldn’t afford to worry about Sanctuary, and by Dresharn’s behavior so far, it appeared as though Merro was in good hands here.