Page 83 of Cast in Conflict

“Aggarok is—or was—Wevaran. Liatt’s his captain, now. And I’d bet any money you want that Liatt travels her own fief with the use of those portals, those webs.”

“Maybe she can trust Aggarok because he is a Tower?”

“Or maybe she can trust him to tell the difference—I don’t know. But at a guess, I’d say he volunteered because he could. Starrante was an Arbiter before the Towers rose. You’d probably have to ask him.”

Robin brightened. “I will. He likes it when I ask interesting questions,” he added, as everyone swiveled to look in his direction. “And this would be an interesting question—I’m sure of it.”

“We’ll leave that to you, then,” Kaylin told the boy. She’d been eating throughout. “I think Bellusdeo is getting ready to leave, and we have to follow her.” She turned to Terrano. “Please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Killianas is like Helen,” Serralyn said, when Terrano failed to answer. “I’m pretty sure he can protect the Academia from any of Terrano’s acts of stupidity.”

Kaylin had been certain, but Androsse’s reaction had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit. She nodded anyway.

“We have Liatt on board,” Bellusdeo said, when they met up outside of the dining hall. “Durant. Tiamaris and Nightshade.”

“Farlonne?”

“Farlonne was not only on board, but happy to be so. The little details—timing, number of meetings, forms of communication—are still being worked out. Most of the Towers have very, very little mirror capability. Even Tara confines all such communications to one room. If Tiamaris was not in part dependent on mirror use, I highly doubt she would have that capability at all.”

“Helen’s the same.”

“There are enough incidents on record of disasters with the mirror network that I consider them both to be wise.”

Kaylin nodded. The Dragon was orange-eyed; Mandoran, silent, was blue-eyed. Severn was himself.

“Candallar,” Kaylin said.

Bellusdeo exhaled. “The fief that was formerly Candallar, yes.”

“The Tower’s core was provided by Karriamis.” It was Mandoran who said this, which surprised Kaylin, although he’d been present for the whole of the conversation.

“You think that gives me an advantage?”

“Not really,” he surprised them both by saying. “I’m sorry to say this, but—if you were Emmerian, I think it would.”

“I do not believe Lord Emmerian has any interest in captaining a Tower,” she replied, her lips crooked in the left corner in something that was midway between a grimace and an actual smile. “You refer to my gender?”

He nodded. “I didn’t think it would be as much of a problem, but...”

“Arbiter Kavallac did not approve.”

He failed to answer, and Bellusdeo turned to Kaylin. Kaylin hesitated. “She didn’t approve, no. But—she can’t leave the library, and I think she’d be happier to have children than you’d be.”

“And you think she would hate it.”

“I think what she wanted was the library. I don’t think it’s her hoard—I mean, she has to share it with Androsse and Starrante—but it was the thing she was willing to devote the rest of her life to. But...she’s also a Dragon. Being a librarian didn’t change that. I also think she’d have children if she could.”

“And I can.”

“I think that’s what she believes, yes.”

“And you?”

Kaylin clamped her teeth together. The silence lasted for at least fifteen seconds. “I don’t get why it’s such a big deal right now. I mean, I get it with us—with mortals—because we’re going to age and die. We’ve got decades. You’ve got forever. Does it matter right now?”

“She could die,” Mandoran said quietly. “Immortal doesn’t mean invulnerable. And Dragon families—well, Aeries—are not like mortal families. They’re more like Barrani families.”

“Even that is inaccurate,” Bellusdeo said, but softly.

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