which we were driving. He shot me an irritated look when I screamed, clutching the seat belt that crossed my chest, jabbing at the window with a frantic finger. Luckily, the ditch a bicyclist flung himself into (rather than be mowed down by Baltic) was filled with tall grass. “Mate, you will cease reacting as if I am not competent to drive this car.”
“Glory of god, Baltic! If you kill, maim, or otherwise injure anyone on the way home, I swear I’m never getting in a car with you again! Stop! It’s not our turn to go!”
Baltic ignored both the blast of a car’s horn and its occupant, who was making several rude gestures as he proceeded through an intersection toward the main highway that would take us home. “I am a wyvern. We do not take turns.”
“For the love of—ack! You almost hit that cow!”
“Cows should be in fields, not on roads,” Baltic said, glaring at the bovine in the rearview mirror.
I watched the cow in the side mirror, relieved to see it moving in a manner that indicated it was startled by its near-death experience but not hurt. “Agreed, but that doesn’t give you the right to almost run them down. Look, you scared the cow and now it’s bolted and knocked down that poor cyclist you flung into the ditch. We should stop and help him. He’s just lying stunned in the middle of the road. He could get run over.”
“You should stop trying to change the subject and tell me what Kostich wants you to do for him,” Baltic countered.
Pavel, sitting in the backseat, had turned around to watch the drama between the cow and the cyclist, but now turned back with raised eyebrows. One look at my face had him hunkering down with a book.
“Are you willing to discuss lifting the curse on the silver dragons?”
“No.”
“I can be just as stubborn as you,” I told him, crossing my arms and trying not to notice how close he came to sideswiping other cars as he merged onto the main road.
“I have had ample proof of that,” he muttered under his breath.
“I am sitting right next to you. I can hear everything you say.” I damned his stubbornness, and wondered how on earth I was going to convince him to lift the curse.
He switched to Zilant before falling silent. Although the rest of the trip was fraught with innumerable death- defying moments, we made it home in one piece.
“Mate, you will tell me now what it is you have undertaken for the archimage,” Baltic said, holding me back as Pavel headed for the house. “Is it to do with the light sword?”
“No.” I stopped trying to pry his fingers from my upper arm, admitting that he had done as I had asked and it was my turn to acquiesce. “He asked for my help with his granddaughter.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why would he seek
“Because she’s half dragon, and I was handy. She’s involved with some ouroboros dragons, and he wants her away from them. I promised to find out what’s going on and to aid her as best I can.”
“An ouroboros tribe?” His gaze turned contemplative. “Is that why you were asking about them? Which tribe?”
“I’m not absolutely certain, but I suspect they are the ones who imprisoned Kostya in his aerie.”
He shook his head; then, taking my hand in a gentler grasp, he escorted me toward the kitchen door. “Ouroboros dragons are dangerous. I do not want you becoming involved with them.”
“Dangerous how?”
“They have no respect for septs, or the weyr.”
“Neither do you,” I pointed out as we entered the kitchen to find Nico and Brom seated at the table, while Pavel was obviously about to prepare some paninis. “We’re technically ouroboros, too, so I doubt if we have much to fear from them.”
Before Baltic could answer, Thala burst into the room. “There you are! You are late! You said you would be here two hours ago!”
Baltic looked taken aback for about three seconds, before his expression darkened. “We were detained.”
She tossed an angry glance my way, then took his arm and tugged him toward the hall door. “No doubt it was intentional. Isn’t Kostich friends with the green mate?”
“Not according to Aisling.” I eyed the red peppers and turkey breast that Pavel was slicing.
Thala ignored my comment. “The green dragons summoned you while Kostich was moving my mother’s sword to safety.”
Baltic froze at her words. “He has moved the sword?”
“Yes.” Her lips compressed as she shot me an unreadable look before continuing. “I told you that we needed to do more than simply establish the level of security at Suffrage House. Your woman obviously spoke to the green mate, and she told Kostich of our plans to take the sword. He has moved it from the vault there and taken it to the sepulcher.”
“I would never betray Baltic in any way,” I said, slamming down a quarter wheel of Swiss cheese before marching over to Thala. “And if you ever again imply I would do so, you’re going to be one sorry necromancer.”
She straightened her shoulders and looked down her nose at me. “Do you threaten me again, human?”
“You bet your buttons I do,” I said, making a fist and gathering myself for a lunge.
“Ysolde, remember our son,” Baltic said, pulling me backward against his body. “You do not wish to fight in front of him, do you?”
His words acted like a bucket of cold water tossed on my head. I sent a reassuring smile to Brom, who sat watching with wide, delighted eyes. “No, of course not. But you know full well I didn’t betray you any more than Aisling did.”
“I care not what the green mate did, but I know that you would never do such a thing,” he agreed, patting me on the behind before releasing me and giving Thala a long look. “I have asked you to cease tormenting my mate. You will not make me repeat myself.”
Her eyes were hot with anger, but after a few moments during which I thought she might just challenge Baltic’s dominance, she dropped her gaze in a gesture of submission. “The fact remains that the sword has been moved to a safer location, and now it is beyond our reach.”
“Not beyond it. More difficult to obtain, perhaps, but not out of the question.”
“Where exactly is this—” My phone ringing had me pausing in the middle of the question. “Oh. I . . . uh . . . I have to take this call. It’s about that business we just discussed,” I added with meaning to Baltic, who simply shot me a warning look and allowed himself to be urged away by Thala.
“She and I are definitely going to have it out one of these days,” I said softly as I went out to the kitchen garden. “Hello?”
“Good afternoon. I am Maura Lo, and I’m told you wish to hire me for a summoning?”
“Hello, Maura. Yes, I do. I’d love to talk to you in person about what I’d like you to do for me—are you near London, by any chance?”
“Er . . . no.” Her voice had a kind of husky quality that reminded me of Lauren Bacall at her most seductive. “Actually, I’m in Estonia at the moment. Which is one of the reasons I was calling—I’m afraid my schedule is a bit hectic, so I won’t be able to undertake any new projects for a while.”
I just bet she was busy. Busy with things like orchestrating the theft of objects from the L’au-dela vaults and keeping dragons imprisoned in their own residences. “That will never do. I’m afraid my job is quite urgent.”
“I’d be happy to recommend another Summoner since you have such a great need—”
I interrupted her offer with ruthless disregard. “I was told that you are the only Summoner in Europe who is capable of bringing back the ghost of a dragon.”
“You want a dragon’s spirit summoned?” she asked cautiously. “Which dragon?”
“The former wyvern of the silver dragons, Constantine Norka.”
She sucked in her breath. “Why?”
I blinked at the tidy rows of fresh basil and mint that Pavel often teased me were cosseted. “I beg your pardon?”
“I asked why you want Constantine Norka’s spirit summoned?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that was none of her business, but I reminded myself that a little honey went a long way. “The First Dragon has charged me with a task that involves Constantine. I’ve decided the
