Page 12 of Cast in Conflict

Kaylin exhaled. “Look, I’ve been seconded to the Imperial Court before. There’s no reason to have me do it now. If you give her any choice, she won’t accept me. If you give her no choice, she’ll be beyond angry. She’s been taking Maggaron everywhere; he’s eight feet tall, and while I did well in combat training, he spent most of his life at war.

“She’s just going to feel insulted.”

Emmerian nodded. Water was wet, after all.

“Why can’t you do it?”

“If she feels insulted at your inclusion,” he replied, the barest hint of amusement shifting the contours of his face, “she will contain the anger. She might make noise, but there are strict practical limits to how she displays that anger.”

“And she can fight with you.”

“Yes. In fighting, as you call it, with me—or any other member of the Court—there will be collateral damage. There is a reason that the Emperor created the Halls of Law; you, as Hawk, can safely do what he cannot. When Dragons rage, the damages are far more extensive.”

“She knows that she can’t go full Dragon in the middle of the city.”

“You are certain?”

Kaylin was annoyed. She folded her arms and glared up at Lord Emmerian. “No. You are.”

Emmerian closed his eyes and nodded.

That might have been the end of it, but Hope squawked.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Terrano said.

“Why are you even here?” Kaylin demanded. Helen’s expression made clear that he hadn’t asked for—or received—her permission to enter the room.

“Well, we were talking—”

“You’re always talking. About what?”

“Candallar’s Tower, actually.”

Emmerian’s eyes plunged into orange. There was no way Terrano didn’t notice.

“It’s empty, right? The Arkon killed him.”

“Towers can function for some time in the absence of a lord. Tiamaris’s Tower did,” Helen told him, her voice chillier than usual.

“But it causes problems, even in the short term.”

“Terrano.”

“Sedarias thinks one of us should take the Tower. Not that we’re unhappy with Helen,” he added, a rare display of courtesy, if mistimed. “We understand sentient buildings, and we’re at home in them.”

“Absolutely not,” Kaylin snapped. She was thinking of the beings that had awakened in Castle Nightshade, and the deaths they had caused.

“We need a base of operations we have some control over,” Terrano continued. “We can’t stay with Helen forever.”

Kaylin opened her mouth.

“You’re mortal, in case it’s escaped your notice. And Sedarias has painted a target on her forehead. Helen can keep us all safe in the immediate future—but when you die, there’s going to be another tenant. This new mortal, whoever they are, has no reason to let us remain here. We’d have to move, and Sedarias isn’t certain she can establish a secure base of operations in the remaining time left.

“She thinks Candallar’s Tower could serve as that base.”

“The people who captain the Tower have very specific duties and responsibilities. You can’t just waltz in and out of the Towers the way you can Helen.”

“Yes, we’re aware of that. But a couple of us have no home to return to anyway.”

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