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“Are you sure you can get the message in without him knowing?” Ystelyan said.

“I wouldn’t suggest it if I weren’t,” Darlryan said.

“Then yes, I think it’s a good idea,” Ystelyan said. “We do need to know.”

Darlryan waited while the others murmured their agreement and then formed an imp before sending it shooting off. “If it is Salindan’s son, what are we going to do about it?”

“Something, I hope,” Sarilli said. “I have heard enough about this Gerian not to want Lasil’s heart friend to grow up in his court.”

“I don’t blame you,” Ystelyan said. “Does anyone think there’s any chance of turning Salindan-alran?”

“Probably not,” Alaryia said. “I tried to find an in on him, especially since he’s silver, but he’s extremely loyal to Gerian and doesn’t have the scruples Lyrrekka-ida does.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “But we should ask Lyrrekka. She might have some insight.”

“That’s a good idea,” Matthias said. “If Kasi says it is this child, I’ll send her a message.”
***
Kasi’s reply came far more swiftly than they had expected. Darlryan snagged it from the air and absorbed it before frowning. “Well, we definitely need to come up with a plan.”

“That’s a yes then?” Matthias asked.

“It is,” he said. “But Kasi thinks Gerian suspects something about the kid. He’s taking a lot of interest in him.”

“That’s concerning,” Matthias said. “I’ll send Lyr a message.”

“I hope she can think of something,” Sonia said. “Because we can’t just kidnap the child if he’s not in danger just because we don’t like his family.”

“We’ll think of something,” Estara said.

“The best bet is to find Kelaria.” Indaturan looked at Darlryan. “Have you got any leads on that yet?”

“No,” Darlryan said. “Though I still feel like I’m missing something obvious. I’ll look some more because she’d definitely help us.”
***
“Salindan?” Lyrrekka said when she arrived. “He’s not too bad, I suppose, but he hero worships Gerian for some reason.”

“It’s because Gerian rescued him from Mitakrian when he was just a child,” Takilyan said.

“That would do it,” Lyrrekka said. “But he’s not going to turn on Gerian.” She chewed on her lip. “But he loves Masilan as well and would never let anything to happen to him. Then again, neither would Gerian if he knew.” She frowned to herself. “Which he doesn’t, but I think he suspected something. He was never as interested in Karilya as he is in Masilan.”

“Kasi said the same thing,” Darlrydan said. “And he might at that, even if he can’t figure out why. There’s a certain levelness to the emotions of a dragon with a heart friend if you know what you’re looking for that most of the others don’t have.”

“I never had that either,” Savira said.

“And neither did Elza until her heart friend turned up,” Takilyan said. “I suspect for the similar reasons. In Elza’s case, the Core was strangling her connection to her heart friend and in yours the bond is damaged.”

“That and the fact you’re in descent,” Darlryan said. “That really messes with your emotional stability.”

Savira tilted her head. “Yes, that would explain it, wouldn’t it?” She stared at her hands. “I hope this experiment solves both of those.”

“It will, I’m sure,” Darlryan said. “And we’ll know pretty quickly as well. Even before you hatch.” He looked over at Lyrrekka. “We’re putting Lady Kaliss into stasis while Savira is in transition to try and fix their bond.”

“Ah, yes,” Lyrrekka said. “That might well work.”

“I hope so,” Savira said. “But even if it doesn’t, we’ll learn something.” She stood up. “But we’ve answered the question about the little ones. I think it is time to do this.”

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