clicks vibrating in her throat. “Praise her every time she ignores the straps.” He tossed a piece of meat to Flora. She snatched it from the air and swallowed it. “When she tugs on them, distract her, and then reward her again when she turns her attention to you. Here.” Tauran detached the treat pouch from his belt and handed it to Jasper. “Give it a try, and tell me how she does.”
Jasper’s eyes were wide when he accepted the pouch. He nodded eagerly. “Thank you, sir!”
“You’re good with the recruits,” Roric said, when Tauran returned to him.
“Thanks.” Tauran sat on one of the benches lining the room and watched the rest of the recruits work on getting their dragons used to the training saddle straps with varying degrees of success. Tauran’s hand strayed to the Sky Guard weapons belt he wore for the first time in four years. The weight of the pistol and knife against his hips were surprisingly familiar and comforting. “Hey,” he said, after a moment’s silence. “Did anything weird happen in the archive before Kalai moved in?”
Roric raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
Tauran shrugged, glancing at the recruits. “I don’t know. A fight, maybe? An accident?”
“I... haven’t heard anything about that. Is this about those burned papers Ro-Ani found?”
Tauran hummed. Roric loved to stick his nose in everything. If he didn’t know about the blood, maybe that meant it wasn’t anything serious. Kalai would be happy to hear it. Instead, he said, “I heard something about the saddle maker, Albinus, getting arrested yesterday? Do you know what for?” He glanced at Roric as Roric sat beside him.
“Not really. I haven’t been down there,” Roric said. “But it sounds strange. If they’re holding onto him this long, it must be something serious. He always seemed like a nice old man to me. But Falka thinks there could still be some of Andreus’ supporters left in the city. Rebels.”
“I heard.” Tauran frowned, attributing the tightness in his gut to the altitude. “Albinus is still here?”
Roric nodded. “Yeah. I would have overseen the interrogation myself. I’m curious to find out what his deal is. Falka told me to send some guys down to question him and they’ve been reporting to Falka since I’ve been busy up here.”
“Maybe I could talk to Albinus,” Tauran suggested, as casually as he could. “I used to have a good relationship with him. Maybe if it’s me, he’ll talk.”
Roric shrugged. “As your commander, I say go for it. And tell me what he says.”
“Will do,” Tauran said, and rose.
“You know you can take the lift down,” Roric called as Tauran reached the stairs.
Tauran simply waved a hand over his shoulder.
* * *
Albinus was confined in the holding cell block. Two men stood watch when Tauran arrived.
“I have orders from Sky Commander Landa to question the uh... Mister Coile,” Tauran said.
One of them moved to open the door and follow him inside, but Tauran stopped him with a hand against his shoulder. “I’ll knock if I need you,” he said. The guard retreated, and the door closing behind Tauran left him in silence.
The hold was a rectangular, dimly lit space, with a narrow corridor on one side and a row of six cells on the other. Five of the six doors were open. Only the door at the end was closed. Tauran took the key off the hook by the door and unlocked it.
Albinus Coile was tied to a chair in the center of the cell. When Tauran stepped inside, Albinus raised his head, displaying a red and purple bruise curving along his cheekbone, swelling his eyes. “Tauran Darrica.” Albinus sighed his name. His lip was split too, drops of dried blood coloring the front of his shirt.
“What in all the skies?” Tauran closed the door and kneeled in front of Albinus. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Is this my fault?”
Albinus’ expression twisted. “No! No, no.”
“Then what happened?” Tauran asked, gripping Albinus’ wrist.
Albinus sighed deeply. For a long moment, he said nothing. “I refused to tell them who commissioned the saddle.”
Tauran’s heart sank. “But why? I told you, the saddle is for Sorcha, there’s nothing illegal about—”
“Sweet boy,” Albinus broke in. He turned his hand over and gripped Tauran’s. “I’ve made four saddles for Sorcha since Catria became a rider. You and I both know the measurements you gave me are not Sorcha’s measurements. And unfortunately, so does the rest of the Sky Guard.”
Tauran’s blood turned cold. How could he have been so