Page 61 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“No one will speak of this.” Valerius gave each of them a hard stare. “I will find out who is behind her and all the rest of it. Mark my words.”

“Is it not clear that Esme is? It was her woman!” Illarion waved negligently at Esme.

Esme’s eyes narrowed. “Sometimes I forget how very stupid you are, Illarion, but then you remind me with your next sentence!”

“What? You--”

“If I was the culprit, I can assure you that I wouldnothave her with me now so Iolaire could easily identify her! Then give her a poison tooth to activate upon that inevitable disclosure!” Esme snarled at him. She was shaking. Chione stroked her back. “Whoever did this, whoever turned her from me and sanity, will pay for it!”

Valerius reached for Esme. She turned towards him, her head held high. Valerius took her hands in his. Only then did he feel the slightest trembling.

“I am so sorry, Esme,” he said.

She gave him a nod that held only the slightest stiffness to it. “Not as sorry as I am for not catching this treachery.”

“But they will be caught,” he said, certain it was true.

“Oh, yes, they most certainly will be.” She let out a breath. “Would it not be too rude if I called off dinner this evening? I need to start my investigation into this.”

“Not at all. Dinner will be served for whoever likes it in the main dining hall or can be brought to your quarters. I will also not be joining in on the main festivities,” Valerius said.

“Because you will be trying to seduce Iolaire to stay by your side?” Illarion scowled at him.

Valerius found a smile crossing his own lips. “I assure you, Illarion, that the more time Iolaire spends with all of you--you, especially--thehappierIolaire is exactly where they are.”

Valerius let go of Esme’s hands after a gentle squeeze and gestured for Chione to join him in the throne room. Already, the Claw, with their equivalent of crime scene investigation, was swooping in to take Serai’s body away. She joined him by the throne itself. She was dressed in a long sand colored dress with diamonds sewn into the fabric. She looked like a desert at night.

“You look lovely,” he told her.

She smiled. “I feel I am in the wrong outfit. I should have dressed for a funeral.”

He grimaced. “Find out all about Serai, Chione.”

“Do you want me to be circumspect with Esme?” She tilted her head towards where the Blue Dragon Shifter was already leaving the room with Molly in tow.

“I doubt she will come to you for anything. Her pride, if nothing else, has been wounded by failing to see a traitor in her own house,” he said as he tracked Esme’s movements.

“You don’t think she is behind it?”

“I suppose she could have brought Serai with her as some kind of ruse, as she knows I would never believe her so stupid,” he surmised. “But that is an unnecessary risk and might do the exact opposite. So no, I do not. Besides, while she has killed many civilians in her time, blowing up tourists hardly seems her style.”

“Indeed, not.” Chione shook her head. “And she would have no reason to cause such chaos. Of all the Dragon Shifters, she’s the most inclined to want there to be a seeming balance between humans and Shifters.”

“Seeming?” His eyebrows lifted.

Chione crossed her arms. “I think we have to be honest that Shifters have advantages that humans cannot always meet. Our immortality allows us to hone our minds and increase our wealth.”

“Yes, but it also makes us lazy and take too long to make decisions. We think we have all the time in the world when we do not. Humans feel time in a way we no longer can,” he cautioned her. “While I see some of the long term planning here of a Shifter mind in these attacks, there is also the in the moment feel of a human mind.”

Chione looked down thoughtfully. “Yes, I think you are right. So it could be a new Shifter.”

“Or a Shifter and human working together,” he replied dryly.

Her head lifted in surprise. “But what would coincide between the two? Both species want to be on top.”

“Maybe it’s what part of those species gets to be on top,” Valerius said with a frown.

“You mean someone like Marban might want the system to change? Not him, specifically, but someone like him?” she asked.

---