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“Oh come on, Nari,” Andrew said as he followed her and Lyrrekka down into the cellar. “You said he wasn’t happy – why are you being so mean?”

“I… well…” she began.

“I called Naria-alra something bad,” Yedan said haltingly before continuing in draconic.

Naria paused and tilted her head at him before responding in the same language.

“What are you saying?” Andrew asked.

“He apologised to me. I think he means it so I accepted it.” She gave a small shrug. “He dropped into draconic because he understands Lova better than he speaks it.”

“We still have to lock him up,” Lyrrekka said. “At least until we find out how to seperate him from Xantaria’s court. Come on young man.” She gave Yedan a gentle push and paused when he whimpered. “We’re not going to hurt you, but we can’t let you go back to Xantaria.”

“Good, I hate her.” He paused and flinched. “She’s calling me.” He pointed to his arm where the red tattoo had started to glow.

Lyrrekka made a sharp hissing sound and grabbed him again. “Come on!” She pulled him through a large cellar full of barrels to a heavy wooden door. She pulled it open and pushed him inside before turning to Naria. “We need to get those wards up quickly!”

“I’m on it,” Naria said. Fire was already dancing from her fingertips and swirling around the room before disappearing into the walls. “I could do with some help.”

Lyrrekka looked over at Andrew. “Keep a hold of him while I help Naria.”

Andrew nodded and took hold of Yedan’s shoulders firmly. “Sorry about this.”

“Is okay,” Yedan said. “Don’t let go.” He whimpered again. Andrew looked down at Yedan’s arm and saw that the tattoo was glowing more fiercely. “Does that hurt?”

“Yes!” Yedan snarled before dragging in a breath. “Sorry.”

Andrew kept his grip firm as he looked back towards Naria and Lyrrekka. They were back to back in the centre of the room, swirls of blue and yellow fire dancing around them. As he watched, the fire faded and Naria slumped.

“Done,” she said. “But that was hard work.” She looked over at Yedan who was staring at his arm in surprise. The tattoo had stopped glowing and looked more antique pink than red. “Better?”

“Y-yes.” He sounded as stunned as he looked. “How?”

“I… it… damn I don’t think my Lova’s up to explaining this,” she said before talking rapidly in draconic. Whatever she was saying, their prisoner’s expression shifted from shock and confusion to comprehension.

“He didn’t understand how we warded him this way when he’s oathbound,” Lyrrekka said. “The idri council tends to hide the knowledge because they have a vested interest in people thinking it’s unassailable. It really isn’t, though I’m not sure what the permanent solution is.”

“I can think of one,” Naria said. “Though I doubt he’d-”

“No!” Yedan said firmly.

“See, I was right.” She gave a bright smile. “It’s not as bad as you think.”

“If he doesn’t want to be a dragon he doesn’t want to be a dragon,” Lyrrekka said mildly. She looked over at Andrew. “You can let go now. He’s not going anywhere.”

Andrew did as she said and Yedan sank down and hugged his knees.

“What now?” Andrew asked.

“Now I give him a psychic crash course to improve his Lova,” Naria said. “He doesn’t speak it well enough to answer Matthias-idan’s questions at the moment but we can fix that. You should go and get him something to eat.” She scowled into space. “How long can he survive on Taloa, anyway?”

“A kedan?” Lyrrekka said musingly. “A few weeks, maybe a few months, but it won’t be pleasant after more than a few days. We really need to find somewhere to keep him in Talonyka. He can survive there. I’ll ask Alaryia when I send the imp.”

“I’ll send one to my mirian as well,” Naria said. “This one was so well hidden I’m worried.”

“See to his lesson first,” Lyrrekka said. “I’ll send my imp and I’m sure Alaryia will warn the others.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Naria agreed. “I’ll do that.” She looked over at Andrew. “Get him something to eat and tell your father he’ll be ready to answer questions in about half an hour.”

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