Nightlove growled, but she was too exhausted to move. The foal, however, had energy to spare. It hissed and rose up on its haunches, white wings spread wide in the darkness, blocking Lord Layne's retreat. Its eyes were mean, silvery slits.
"
Wait!
" Lord Layne squealed, suddenly not sure which way to go, not sure which direction was the least terrifying: Master Khondus stepping towards him from the front or the white dragon foal blocking him from behind.
"We'll take you to Captain Fyr," Master Khondus said pleasantly, still moving forward, hammer held ready. "See what she has to say about you and your father's little 'surprise.'"
"How
dare
you! How dare—."
"Funny." Master Khondus smiled grimly. "Your big mouth has been an embarrassment to our High Keep for three years—yet now, in a mere moment, it's become our savior. Had to come down and show me who was in charge, didn't you? I thank the Great Sisters for your pea-sized wits, boy. Kneel. Put your hands behind you."
"You wouldn't
dare
—."
"Kneel, boy. I'll brain you like the senseless pup you are."
The Master took a step forward, hammer cocked.
"
Stop
!" Lord Layne cried, and actually stamped his foot in the straw. "I am of House Tevéss! Halt! I am Tevéss! You cannot—!
No
—!"
But as Lord Layne cried "No!" he reached for his sleeve, pulled a hidden stiletto, and lunged for Master Khondus's neck in a single, fluid movement.
The maneuver might have worked. On someone whose profession wasn't war.
Master Khondus ducked, Layne's stiletto spearing over his head, and jabbed the lordling hard in the throat with his finger. Layne reeled backwards, eyes bulging, hands at his neck. Master Khondus kicked his legs out from under him, knocked him to the straw, and flipped him over onto his stomach like a trussed pig, pulling the lordling's hands behind his back and binding his wrists with a leather thong from the birthing basket. Then he rolled Layne back over, grabbed him by the front of his doublet, and hauled him up from the straw.
"Through which pass does Lord Fel come?" the Master asked him calmly. "Which pass?"
Lord Layne wheezed and stared. His eyes had gone glassy; he couldn't answer. Master Khondus dropped him to the floor. The dragon foal leaned over the lordling, its fangs gleaming.
"Three days," Master Khondus said. His voice was calm, but when he looked at Anna, she saw that his eyes were black with rage. "We have three days."
The Master glanced at the foal. It was leaning farther over Lord Layne, wickedly licking its fangs. The lordling wheezed, his legs churning the straw, eyes wide with terror.
Master Khondus turned to Anna. "We must gather Master Zar, Master Borónd, Captain Fyr, and our other captains. We need to tell our allies in the minor houses. Your mother must know, as well. Lord Fel comes—."
He stopped and looked at the dragon foal.
"Sir?" Anna started, following the Master's gaze.
"And our work isn't yet done here," Master Khondus said.
Her hands went cold, the understanding coming quickly. With everything she'd just seen, she'd forgotten why she'd fetched the hammer in the first place. The foal cocked its head at the Master for a moment. Then it turned to Anna and cooed, asking its question. She looked at it. Then looked away. Master Khondus nodded and set the hammer in the straw in front of her.
"We must take care of him now, girl. There's no time."
8
I
N SPITE OF
herself, Anna shook her head.
It wasn't supposed to happen like this.
Master Khondus was supposed to spare the foal after what they'd just learned, after what had just happened. She didn't know why, but the Master was supposed to realize that the foal should live.
She took a step backward, her head spinning. She had the sudden urge to grab the hammer, run from the birthing stall, and throw the cursed thing over the nearest balcony.
Lord Layne gasped in the straw.
The dragon foal cooed.
What's happening?
Lord Layne groaned and managed to hiss, "My father will see your head on a spike, you old—."
Master Khondus kicked Layne in the stomach, and he shut up.
The foal tutted.
Master Khondus put his scarred hand on Nightlove's side and took a deep breath. He seemed suddenly tired. The big dragon sighed at his touch.
Anna suddenly remembered something Father had said to her many years ago: "Duty usually means obedience. But sometimes, duty can mean defiance."
Anna nodded. "Truth and honor, Master Khondus, sir." She snapped her heels together and crossed her fist over the leather apron at her chest. "We serve you, the High Lady Abigail Dradón, and her rightful lord and liege, High King Bellános Dallanar, the true King of Remain."
Nightlove growled. The foal stared at Anna for a moment, then hissed its agreement, reared up, and extended its white wings, as if showing them off.
"I know what you want, girl." Master Khondus shook his head. "But it must be done. Walk him down to the last stall, away from her."
The foal was right behind her now, its head leaning over her shoulder. Then it opened its wings and slowly fanned the air. Hay stirred. The lanterns' orange flames guttered. Without warning, it leapt to an oak perch that penetrated the birthing stall's far wall. Its rear claws had fully spired. They dug into the perch, the wood crunching and splintering. It cocked its head, eyes glowing, as if waiting for Anna to speak.
"It's a pity," the Master said. "But it must be done. Bring him down. If he bonds any further with her, it could ruin her." He patted Nightlove's side. "We can't delay. These next days—these next hours—will determine the fate of our House."
"You're all
dead
!" Lord Layne hissed from the straw. "My father—."
Master Khondus kicked him again, much harder this time, in that soft spot right below the ribcage. The lordling coughed and doubled up, wheezing.
"I
will care for him, sir," Anna said calmly.
She knew that it might sound childish. She knew she could lose her position. She knew that they had no time. But she also knew that her family owed this foal something. This was Voidbane's son. She would obey Master Khondus's orders, of course. But the very least she could do was try to convince him of another course.
"I will find a place for him, sir. Until we find his rider. I'll clean him and mind him when I'm off duty, sir. I'll do the extra work. I will pay for his food and bedding out of my own purse, sir. I can take him home to our farm. Any offspring of Voidbane will be welcome there. I know my Mother will agree."
"It's not your decision, girl," Master Khondus said gently. "Nor is it mine.
Nature
has chosen. We must honor that. He can't see. He can't fly. And he can't fight. He's strong, no doubt. Strangely so. But he cannot serve. Would you put your own momentary suffering before his lifetime in a cage? And what of Nightlove? Every moment they share now will make it twice as hard for her to continue. You know this."
The Master's words sounded like wisdom. They
were
wise. But it didn't matter. She wouldn't do it. And, she realized quite suddenly, she wouldn't let the Master do it, either.
She didn't know how, but this dragon foal would live.
From its perch, the foal growled, as if reading her thoughts. Lord Layne coughed. There was blood on his lips. He tried to speak, but gasped and coughed wetly instead.
"Forgive me, sir." Anna nodded calmly, but her mind raced. "I'm sorry, sir."
Sometimes, duty can mean defiance.
Was this what Father had meant?
"You've done no wrong," Master Khondus said. "If you didn't feel this way,
that
would be cause for concern."
Anna nodded with what she hoped seemed like agreement and looked at the straw. Her head spun.
Think!
But she felt paralyzed.
And it was starting to make her mad.
"Anna." The Master's voice was gentle. "Look at me."
Anna did.
Her face was hot.
It
cannot
die!
The foal hissed.
Her brain whirled like a black pinwheel. And she could feel the anger coming on now, stronger than ever, hungry teeth glittering in that dark corner of her brain. Great Sisters, she hated the feeling, and yet sometimes . . . . She shook her head to clear it.
"Anna."
It was hard to look Master Khondus in the eye.
The foal cooed.
Easy
.
She looked at the foal. It seemed to look back at her—even though it couldn't see. Its silvery eyes glowed, as if looking into her heart. And, just like that, the dark pinwheel slowed. She took a deep breath. And it was gone. The foal gurgled. Everything would be alright.
"I understand how you feel," Master Khondus continued. "When I was a dragon squire, I stood in the very place you stand now. This very stall, in fact. There's nothing harder. And nothing I say will make it easier. I can only tell you what my father told me. Sometimes, we're called upon to do things that
must
be done, whatever the cost. We must be the strong ones, Anna. The duty is ours, or it is no one's. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir. It doesn't feel like duty, sir."
"I know," Master Khondus said. "Sometimes, that's what duty feels like."
9
"C
OME HERE
," A
NNA
said.
The dragon foal looked down from its perch, its eyes glowing in the dark. Then it dropped to the straw with a muscly grunt and gave Anna a gentle head-butt. She started to smile, then cut it off. The foal furled its wings and flopped backward into the straw, as if waiting for its chest and belly to be rubbed. But it had landed directly beside Lord Layne, who promptly squealed, coughed, and twisted away in terror. Upside down in the straw, the foal turned its huge eyes to Anna, fangs gleaming in what looked like a demented smile—as if Lord Layne's squeaks and yelps were the funniest noises it had ever heard. Which, considering his age, Anna supposed they were.
"Walk him down to the last stall." Master Khondus cocked his head at Nightlove. He held the hammer in one hand. "I'll be there in a moment."
"Yes, sir." She nodded.
And when the Master arrived, Anna realized, she and the foal would be gone.
But where?
Anna could barely understand why she was thinking like this in the first place. All she knew was that she felt
good
when the foal was around. That when she looked into its eyes, there was no more room in her head for that dark, hungry rage. Would Mother understand? In one sense, yes. Mother loved Voidbane almost as much as Father had. She might appreciate Anna's regard for the dragon foal, but she'd never condone direct insubordination. But still, Anna just felt . . .
better
. Better than she had in three years.
"Anna—." Master Khondus began.
Anna nodded. Her mind was made up.
We'll run.
Outside in the hallway, iron-shod boots scraped the stone pavers.
Anna and Master Khondus looked at each other, at Lord Layne, and at the stall door, almost in the same instant. Nightlove's sapphire eyes snapped open with a growl. The foal leapt back to its perch and stared down, eyes glowing. It sniffed once, hissed, and showed its fangs. Master Khondus changed his grip on the hammer so that it was ready to swing.
"Get behind me," he said.
Floren d'Rent, Guard Captain of House Tevéss, stepped into the birthing stall's doorway. He wore a jet-black beard that rode high on his cheekbones. His armored hand rested on the well-worn pommel of his broadsword. Behind d'Rent, five guardsmen wearing the dark maroon livery of House Tevéss stood at the ready. They wore short battleswords at their hips and round shields on their backs. Like d'Rent, they all wore steel breastplates. D'Rent also carried a firearm, an ancient revolver crafted of the finest high silver. The gun was slung beneath his left armpit in a leather shoulder rig, its grip worn with use. He was a big man, yet he moved with that weird smoothness taught in the Kingdom's best combat schools. A muscular night lynx. His dark eyes seemed to take everything in at once, flickering only a moment on Lord Layne, before settling on Master Khondus.
"Take these traitors!" Layne choked. "Take them! Look what he
did
to me!" He tried to show d'Rent his bound hands. "He
struck
me! They were going to take me to—."