Cast in Wisdom (Chronicles of Elantra #15) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,46

came here in person for what reason?

To investigate Candallar. She exhaled. And to take a look at the Ravellon border.

Silence.

I do not believe that those were your orders.

Not specifically, no. But I’ll bet you anything you want that’s why Bellusdeo is here. The Tower let a High Lord cross the border and return bearing Spike. How that happened—how that could happen—when the fieflord is present... You don’t think he’s like Barren, do you?

No. Candallar is his. You can hear his name across the border; you can see it, if you look for it. Or rather, the fieflords and their Towers can.

Do you think he’s like the fieflord before Barren?

That I cannot tell you. But I will say this: it is no small effort and requires no small will to captain one of the six Towers. You think of the animus of the Tower as Tara. It is with Tara that you have the broadest breadth of experience. But you are aware that my Tower is entirely unlike Tara; the living heart of Castle Nightshade is, or was, one of our Ancestors.

I have not likewise made the acquaintance of other Towers. I can no more tell you whether they are like Tara or like Castle Nightshade. I can tell you nothing of Candallar’s Tower, and to glean any information, you would have to visit. I do not suggest you do so with the Dragon.

Or the cohort?

Or the cohort. You might recall what happened when Annarion visited me.

She did. The echoes of the loss of the Hawks and Swords still haunted the Halls of Law.

He did extend an invitation to Sedarias.

And she would never—as you heard—be fool enough to accept it. Not yet, and perhaps not ever. I am not at all certain that the Barrani who passed through the border to Ravellon ever spent time within Candallar’s Tower, either. It is far too risky to place one’s safety in the hands of such a building. They are not Hallionne.

Hope squawked.

Castle Nightshade is not always safe for those I accept as guests. If I accept a guest, I as host wish them no immediate harm. But the Castle does not always respect that; it is, as I said, a matter of will.

Hope squawked again.

I wish to know, however, when you plan to return to the border zone.

Why?

I wish to accompany you.

Chapter 9

Kaylin wasn’t entirely certain how the full Dragon confrontation was going to go; Bellusdeo’s eyes were a deep orange. She looked at Candallar as if he were a cockroach. Kaylin understood why. The act of treason of which he was accused was so profoundly personal to the Dragon, the echoes of rage and loss informed the way she viewed it.

She, therefore, stepped on the Dragon’s foot. Her foot was insignificant in comparison—but so was a full, all-out body-check, and the former preserved some small shreds of Hawkly dignity.

Bellusdeo’s head swiveled in Kaylin’s direction; the Dragon’s scaled neck was, in spite of natural armor, very flexible. “Yes?”

“We should head south. We can check the border for possible infestation while we’re there.”

Candallar said nothing.

Bellusdeo turned an eye on Candallar. “What have you done to your Tower?”

The question didn’t surprise him. He didn’t answer it, though.

“Sedarias An’Mellarionne has extended an offer,” Mandoran said, as soon as he was certain that fiery death was not forthcoming. He hadn’t said a word to interrupt Bellusdeo, no doubt at Sedarias’s request.

An angry Dragon who is somewhat allied is nevertheless not under anyone’s control. Sedarias understands this, but believes that Candallar would not die so easily. The threat, however, underpins her position as someone of considerable power. Not many of our kin could claim a Dragon as an ally.

Any?

Not many, Nightshade replied with more emphasis. Candallar is not as old as Teela or the cohort, in theoretical terms. He is vastly more experienced than the cohort, but Teela’s experience will weigh heavily with them.

Have you ever met Sedarias?

She felt the ghost of a brief grin.

“If I accept your offer of...hospitality,” Candallar then said, “I would request that you treat my fief as if it is, in fact, mine.”

“What would that entail?” Mandoran asked, but his response was slower; to Kaylin, it implied dissent within the cohort.

“You will leave off inspecting my borders as if I am some part of your Imperial domain.”

Bellusdeo turned on him then, eyes almost red. “We are aware that a Lord of the High Court entered—and left—Ravellon through Candallar. He carried Shadow with him.”

Candallar said nothing.

Bellusdeo stepped toward him; the ground shook with the