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“I’m coming with you!” Marian was waiting for them outside the door. Her jaw was set and her mouth compressed into a determined line.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Marian,” Matthias said. “You’re not well yet.”

“You need me there,” she said.

“Is that a premonition, mum?” Adrian asked.

Marian nodded. “I didn’t catch all of it; it was fleeting. But I’m going to have to tell them what happened to me.” She hesitated. “And I think some of them may want to check that Matthias hasn’t had me brainwashed into changing my mind.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“I wish I could attend today,” Sarah said. “But I promised to start work on studying Talira’s mother.”

“It’s fine, Sal,” Matthias said. “Just keep an ear out in case we need you.”

“Of course.” She looked over at Darya. “Are you coming too? She wants to meet you.”

“Huh…” Darya looked like he wanted to disappear into his seat. Read the rest of this entry »

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The next morning Karen pushed Lydia into a chair in front of the dressing table in their room.

“Right. How do you want your hair for the meeting?” she asked.

Lydia scowled at her. “Does it matter? We’re there as backup, not to make a good impression.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“So what did you think of Indaturan?” Matthias asked as they compared notes on the meetings.

Lydia made a thoughtful sound. “You’re right, I like him and yes, I think he’s potentially dangerous. But right now he’s on our side, more or less. Kind of like his alran over there.” She cocked her head at Adrian, who chuckled.

“It’s a fair comment and neither I nor my mirian claim otherwise.” He sobered quite suddenly. “But he wanted us to give you a warning. He and Ystelyan think you’ve made a dangerous enemy.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“No argument there,” Karen said. “Keeping the government panicking more than it already is needs to be one of our primary objectives.”

“Well said, Kaz,” Matthias said. “Or failing that, we need to keep their panic aimed in the right direction. Which makes me like Naria’s plan even more.” He smiled at the dragon girl. “You have a good head on your shoulders. Can I put you in charge of this?”

Naria gave a warm smile. “Your trust honours me.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“Well for one thing, we were hoping that you could give us the coordinates of where you found the emergent kids so I can do some scrying myself,” Sonia said. “Not that we doubt you but–”

But two sets of eyes are better than one? Emily said. I understand. Of course I can. But Edwin could have given you that. There’s something else, isn’t there? Read the rest of this entry »

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Matthias tutted thoughtfully to himself. “Yes,” he said finally. “I think that’s doable. It will take some thinking about but we can probably come up with a way to do it.”

“But how?” Edwin said. “Could you really pull off pretending to be a whole other species?”

“Well they do, apparently,” Matthias said. “So we should be able to. We can conceal ourselves and disguising ourselves as something else is only a matter of degree.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Lydia tutted to herself. “We’ll warn dad,” she said. “Though we really don’t need any more enemies. You’d better tell us more about this Savira-ida so we can tell him.”

“She’s brown, very strong and the youngest draconic idri. She was conceived on Taloa but born on Kithra – she has a heart friend but their bond is damaged. It’s strong enough to protect her from the mental disturbances that afflict potential idri who don’t have a heart friend and to keep her from frenzy, but it’s otherwise deficient. As a kithreia, her obsession was to fix her bond and gain heart friends for those who don’t have one – and even as a dragon she’s never quite let go of the idea. Her court is a ragtag mob of dragons of various colours who want the same thing.” He hesitated then added. “And she’s in descent – she has been for a couple of centuries at least – so she’s willing to do all sorts of horrible experiments to further her aims.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“Hmm…” Lydia studied Indaturan thoughtfully as she tried to think of another question. “This is kind of hard; I don’t know what I should be asking.” She tutted to herself for a few moments. “Do you raid?”

“Ouch,” he said but he was smiling. “That’s direct. Yes, but rarely and only if it’s necessary. Better a hunting raid by dragons who are in control of themselves than a rampage by one who’s frenzying due to starvation or injury.”

“Better for whom?” Daniel asked sharply. Read the rest of this entry »

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“That’s the first thing everyone asks,” Indaturan said. “I suppose it is what I’m known for.” He sighed and looked away. “Taloa has changed so much that it’s not the home I remember. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve ever lived there, so logically this is my home now and I even think I’ll get homesick for here. On the surface it’s not rational.”

“So why?” Lydia asked. “Something below the surface obviously.”

He nodded. “I’ll tell you what I told your parents. I don’t know why. I’ve never been able to define it. It’s like something I can’t quite recall, but I have no doubt that Taloa needs us to return.” Read the rest of this entry »