Page 217 of Cast in Conflict

“No. Lannagaros sees her as the child she was in the long-lost Aerie. He sees her past. And perhaps that is why she values him: he sees the potential he once saw; he sees her as the mischievous child she once was, with the world awaiting her maturity. He does not expect her to be what she expects of herself, does not see her failure as she sees it.

“He offers her the comfort he might have offered when she was a child. It is with him that she can be naturally more...joyfully difficult. And she desires that comfort, in a fashion—but she cannot be wed to it, cannot be bound by it. She will see you, Lord Emmerian. In time, she will see you as clearly as you see her; you see what she is, and it is what she is that the future will be built on.”

Kaylin waited until Maggaron had left before turning to Emmerian. “Why did you want me here?”

“You have a tendency to interrupt when you feel people are going in the wrong direction.” He laid his hands across the table and stared at the tops of them as if they were a very poorly drawn map. “Am I?”

She shook her head. “You’re not trying to make decisions for her—you’re not that stupid.” She shrugged, uncomfortable now. “I’m not the person people come to for relationship advice. To me, it seems like you care about her. A lot. And you want as much information as you can get from people who also do.”

“Is this what she wants?” The words were a whisper.

“You’ll have to ask her.” Seeing the color of his eyes, she relented. “Of the Dragons, I think you do see her—or try to see her—as she is. Look, I thought I knew Teela. I’ve known her for half my life. But I didn’t. I knew her as a Hawk. She’s been a lot more than that. Doesn’t mean I don’t care about her. What I thought I knew wasn’t nothing. But knowing more doesn’t change the fact that she’s important to me.

“You see Bellusdeo in a way I don’t. Doesn’t mean either of us are wrong. We don’t want the same things from her, and she probably doesn’t want the same things from us. You need to figure out what you want, because she’ll figure out what she wants.”

“I don’t want,” he said, in Elantran, “to be a pressure or an obligation.”

She nodded. In a quieter voice, she said, “Bellusdeo found an answer for Karriamis in the heat of the moment because she didn’t want to lose you. Ummm, if you could avoid throwing your life away in order to protect her in the future, I’d really suggest it.”

His smile lightened the odd color of his eyes. “So Bellusdeo has already informed me.”

“Was she melting walls when she said it?”

“Only one.”

Kaylin was awake in the morning before Helen added obnoxious morning light to her room. She was dressed, and occupied the edge of her bed, fidgeting. Hope was cranky, and shared.

“You awake?” Mandoran asked, through a closed door.

“More or less.”

“You owe me a week of dinners.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Mortal memory isn’t that bad. Also, Bellusdeo’s here.”

Kaylin exhaled. “I’ll be right there.” She slid off the bed and headed to the door.

“Did you sleep at all?” Mandoran asked. “You look terrible.”

“You look lovely, too. How long has she been here?”

“She just arrived.” He held her gaze for a beat before offering a very fief shrug. “I hate goodbyes, too.”

Kaylin wanted to tell him that Bellusdeo wasn’t going far—but he already knew that. So did she. Bellusdeo would be getting her life back—or at least a life she’d chosen, one that she wanted. She’d be happier. Much happier. That was a good thing, right?

It was. It was a good thing—for Bellusdeo. And there’d be a lot less conflict in Kaylin’s life, because the Emperor couldn’t blame her for anything that happened to Bellusdeo.

“I’ll miss her, too,” Mandoran offered. His life would be less complicated as well. Funny how neither of them seemed to prize it. As silver linings went, it was distinctly black and tarnished.

“I don’t mean to rush you, dear,” Helen’s voice said, “but Bellusdeo is waiting.”

She was. She stood—in plate armor—at the foot of the stairs, tapping her foot impatiently. When Kaylin and Mandoran came into view, she frowned. “You look awful. Did the midwives call?”

“She had trouble sleeping,” Helen replied. Her Avatar was in the hall beside the gold Dragon.

“Where’s Maggaron?”

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