Page 29 of Red Dragon
“Itlookedlike a torture device. My tonsils agreed.”
“Vocal, are they?”
“When need be. And delightfully still intact.” Teyla opened her mouth to show them off.
Relvin cleared his throat. “We’ve wandered away from the topic about how my sister, however inadvertently, allowed stormers to gain access to the shielder.”
“It could just as easily have happened to you.” Teyla’s frowning blue eyes said shewishedit had happened to him.
Syla would have preferred it that way too, if only so Relvin would have no reason to look smug and superior as he made accusations about his sister instead of defending her. It wasn’t as if any of this had been Teyla’s fault.
“The stormers, especially the dragon riders,” Syla said, moving to sit beside her cousin to examine her injuries, “are talented fighters and probably didn’t have much trouble avoiding the enforcers patrolling the streets.”
“I’ve been talking to people and gathering information for a newspaper article,” Relvin said. “It sounds like you’ve spent time with stormers lately and have learned quite a bit about them, Syla. Especially that one who singled you out in the throne room and wanted to chat.”
“His people chose for him to chat with me.”
“Because you two have some kind of weirdrelationship.”
It wasn’t weird. It was wondrous.
“Please step outside, Relvin,” Syla said. “I appreciate you coming to the capital at my behest, but I want to heal Teyla and wait for the rest of our kin to arrive before we discuss our plans for the future.”
“Teyla is fine. It’s not like you get wounded by having a rag pressed to your mouth.”
“I hit my head trying to escape those men. Hard.” Teyla left the compress in her lap but probed gingerly at the side of her head.
“Let me take a look.” Syla made a shooing motion to Relvin. She had plenty of experience healing people with an audience, but she would prefer him to go away.
“Gladly,” Teyla said.
Lips pursed again, Relvin remained where he was. Syla looked toward Fel.
He stepped close, looming effectively, almost a foot taller than Relvin. “You will exit the room, Lord Relvin.”
“Now that most of my cousins are gone, I’m a potential heir to the throne,” he told Fel. “Some might even believe me a better choice to rule than Syla. Thanks to my years of speaking with various wealthy and influential individuals for newspaper articles, I have more connections than she does. I certainly am more likely to get backing from the military.”
“You will exit the room or I will carryyou,” Fel said.
Relvin’s eyes narrowed to slits. “If Idogain the power of the throne, my first action will be to fire you.”
“Promise?” Fel’s expression grew wistful.
The response puzzled Relvin, but Syla laughed.
Despite the fantasies of fishing and nude beach-walking that surely popped into Fel’s mind, he rested a heavy hand on Relvin’s shoulder, his intent clear.
Relvin lifted his chin, glared, and pushed the hand away, but he did walk out of the room. He slammed the door on the way out, as if leaving were his idea.
“He has the maturity of my cousin’s hounds,” Fel remarked.
“Goofy puppies, are they?” Syla asked.
“One runs, jumps, and barks its head off if a raven lands in a tree. It seems to think it canbarkthe birds into falling from the branches.”
“My cousin does bark a lot.”
“I’ve noticed.” Fel opened the door, stepped into the hall, and looked both ways, probably to make sure Relvin wasn’t spying with his ear pressed to the wood, then took up a position out there.
