Page 49 of Cast in Atonement

“But you were aware of Dragon outcastes from other Aeries?”

“Yes.” The single syllable took far longer to speak than Kaylin would have liked.

“I don’t know if the chancellor has spoken to you about the early days of the Imperial Dragon Court.”

“He has not.”

Kaylin looked up from people’s feet, swiveling her head toward the chancellor. His eyes were a deep, dark orange as they met hers. She really wanted him to take that part of the discussion and fill it in; he remained silent.

“One of the Dragons in the Imperial Court—in the Emperor’s flight—is outcaste. He was not while he dwelled within the Aerie; he was considered a Dragon during the Draco-Barrani wars. But in the early attempts to investigate the heart of the fiefs, something he encountered there changed him.”

“Lannagaros?”

The chancellor nodded.

“Very well. Continue.”

“He was an adult Dragon; he understood the methods by which adults attained their True Names and forms. But he could traverse Ravellon, even after the Towers rose. And through Ravellon, he could traverse the portals that stood there—those that had not been destroyed, those through which Shadow traveled to devour worlds.”

Kaylin met the Arbiter’s gaze. Her early training took over. “Bellusdeo was lost to a different world: he found her—and her sisters—there.”

“You are telling me that it was an outcaste who guided the nine children to incorrectly adopt their adult names?”

“Yes.”

Had the library ceiling opened up to a storm of lightning bolts, it would probably have been more comfortable—she’d be forgiven for running away and dodging.

“Lannagaros.”

“We did not—we could not—know.”

“Does the Outcaste survive?”

It was Kaylin who answered. “Yes. And his name—I’ve seen it. He showed me. I don’t think I could even begin to say it, to think it, because it’s so complicated. It’s like the name of a small world.”

“You saw his name.”

“He was fishing. If I tried to somehow use that name, to read it, the attempt would form a bridge between us. My will versus the will of an outcaste Dragon. I didn’t take the bait.”

“Perhaps one of the few moments of maturity and wisdom in your long career,” the former Arkon said.

Kavallac exhaled fire—a small amount. Kaylin could feel its heat, although it didn’t reach her. Hope squawked loudly, pushing himself up to stand at attention on Kaylin’s shoulder. He clearly resented having to make the effort.

Kavallac coughed. “My apologies, Corporal. It appears that even the ancient and wise are not shorn of emotion. This is not the news I anticipated. Almost, I want to leave the library to confront the danger that faces the remnants of my race.”

Which was impossible.

“Bellusdeo was guided to find her so-called adult name by a Dragon who understood the process—but did not understand how that process was different for Bellusdeo. She attained an adult name, and the fullness of the prowess of her form. As did her eight sisters, if I understand what I have heard.” This time, she looked to Bellusdeo for an answer.

Bellusdeo nodded.

“And you knew those names.”

The gold Dragon nodded again.

“I will not lecture you—as no doubt your mother would—about the folly of sharing your adult name; to you—and your sisters—it would be a simple, natural progression of the relationship you had shared to that point.

“I would be concerned—ah, far more than I am now—were you not Lord Bellusdeo of the fief of Bellusdeo. No Tower built by the Ancients would accept you as captain were you to be tainted by Shadow; indeed, at least in the case of the Tower you now occupy, I do not believe you would survive the encounter.

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