Lady Admiral Yakamo’s home wasn’t anywhere near the water. Another surprise for me that day, since I’d expected her to live basically in the harbor. However, her home sat on a large outcropping on the southern hill of the city, and both the house and her wooded garden had an excellent view of… well, everything, really: the harbor and the docks, including the admiralty and the naval shipyard; the Palace; the high city and the Citadel; you could see pretty much everything from up there. And with the rounded viewing platform that extended from the outcropping, the place was practically tailor made for someone with wings to come in to land.

  The house was nice, too.

  Yakamo had offered to let Mak and Herald ride in her own palanquin; the lady admiral didn’t look like she’d usually let herself be carried anywhere, but done up properly, their wraps didn’t exactly allow for a lot of freedom of movement in the legs. Her bodyguard had shot that down, though, and Yakamo had deferred to her with an apology.

  We weren’t overly bothered. It seemed a little wasteful, sure, but I had four pounds of gold, all in mint golden dragons, in a double-layered leather pouch. What was a little silver for a palanquin ride?

  “Nice place you have here,” I told Yakamo as she, her bodyguard, and my sisters came to meet me by the viewing platform. And I meant it. I’d love for us to have something like it. “Your family must be very wealthy.”

  “Not really,” she said. When I didn’t reply she continued, “My family was one of the first to settle in the ruins of Old Karakan. This place was all rubble, so it didn’t cost anything. Though I suppose the upkeep would be beyond most people.”

  “Right…” I said. She’d delivered all that completely matter-of-fact. “So… you wanted to talk to me about something?”

  “I did. I have a certain amount of money in my budget which I may spend at my discretion. I’d like to spend some of that on you.”

  “To help you in the war?” I guessed.

  “Exactly. With Tekeretek formally joining the war, we expect them to commit a significant portion of their fleet to establishing naval superiority and blockading us. If we could know where they are and in what force, we could much more effectively avoid them where they are strong and engage them where they are weak. Quite simply, you, Lady Draka, represent a strategic advantage in intelligence that can’t be replicated. I would like to acquire that advantage.”

  “Sure, yeah, I get that. But you’ve opposed me for months now. You voted not to pay me. You voted to have my family arrested, and you voted against rescinding that order. Why would I help you?”

  She looked at me with consternation, her face scrunching up in a way that made her look, paradoxically, a lot younger. Like she didn’t see what one thing had to do at all with another. “I’ll pay you,” she said, as though that should settle everything.

  “Again, I get that. But why did you change your mind? And why should I suddenly want to start helping you, if I can’t trust that you won’t vote against me again?”

  “I might do that,” she agreed. Again, completely matter-of-fact. “It depends on what the vote is. I voted against you before because Lord Soandel had some very convincing arguments about how we couldn’t trust a dragon to be completely honest with us when gold was involved, and I place a lot of trust in Lord Soandel. But he’s changed his mind. When we voted to pay you in advance, he said that after you defended him he no longer has any reason to doubt your commitment to the city, and I have no personal knowledge of you that contradicts his assessment. All I know for sure is that you can move many times as fast as my swiftest ships. You can get an accurate count and position on an enemy fleet, and you can report to me and my captains before either can change significantly. You could stop my navy from being destroyed, and possibly my city from being blockaded. I don’t see what else matters.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but I wasn’t sure how to tackle it. I gave Mak a questioning look, and she just said, not even bothering to switch languages, “She’s being completely honest.”

  “I think she may be a little bit touched,” Herald said in Tekereteki. Not at all unkindly; it was just the kind of thing you really shouldn’t say to someone’s face.

  Not that it mattered. Yakamo frowned slightly and said, “I’ve been told that before, young lady, but it’s still quite a rude thing to say.”

  Herald’s face darkened with embarrassment. “You speak Tekereteki, Lady Admiral?” she asked, then grimaced as she heard how silly her own question was.

  “I do,” Yakamo replied, as though she hadn’t noticed Herald’s realization at all. “That and Barlean, and Tavvenarian and Marbeki.” Then, apparently deciding that an explanation was in order — which it really wasn’t — she said, “I was a naval captain for twenty-five years before I became the lady admiral. Learning Tekereteki and Barlean was only good sense.”

  “Right,” Herald mumbled. “That makes sense. Apologies.”

  “Accepted. So, Lady Draka? Can I pay you to do reconnaissance for the navy? You’ve accepted similar arrangements before.”

  “How much are you willing to pay?” I asked, deciding to be as direct as she was.

  “One gold per day that you make a report, either to myself, the admiralty, or one of my captains. Although, the captains would have to make their own report before we could pay you. A bonus if you report anything of great value, such as if it saves one or more of our ships, or allows us to capture or destroy one or more of theirs. We may need to negotiate the bonuses ad hoc.”

  “Acceptable, if you accept a minimum bonus of one gold.”

  “Accepted.”

  “And this would be entirely on a when-I-have-time basis? No commitment?”

  Yakamo gave me one of those little frowns again but said, “It would have to be. I understand that you have other demands on your time, especially with the deal you struck with the Council today, and I see no way of forcing you. But I would appreciate it if you assigned this some level of priority. Tekeretek’s navy compares favorably to those of the entire League, and the League is being infuriatingly unhelpful.”

  “They’re not being great allies, are they?” I asked, just to see what she’d say.

  To the side I saw Yakamo’s silent bodyguard shift uncomfortably, and she shook her head slightly at her mistress. Yakamo, though, either didn’t see or didn’t care, and she was as honest as I’d expected. “No,” she said. “They are unfortunately being quite useless.”

  The bodyguard sighed softly.

  “I believe we’re done,” Yakamo said abruptly, barely pausing after condemning the League. “I have work to do. Your palanquin should still be waiting, but please enjoy the gardens; I’m quite proud of them and like it when people appreciate them. Good day, Lady Draka. Ladies Drakonum.” She started to turn then stopped and looked at the three of us. A small smile graced her lips. Then she gave a single chuckle and said, “Oh, I see! ‘Drakonum!’” before continuing toward the house, her bodyguard in tow.

  “I am going to ask to use their lavatory before we go,” Herald declared suddenly and started following the two.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “We’ll be home in—”

  “I’ll go with her,” Mak said, reaching up to pat my shoulder. “You just enjoy the garden. We’ll be fine.”

  “I—” I started then decided I was being ridiculous. Each of them could take care of herself, let alone both of them together. “Okay,” I said instead. “Fine. Just don’t take too long.”

  “We’ll be right back,” Mak said and set off with quick steps, catching up to Herald, who herself had caught up to Yakamo and the long-suffering bodyguard. I was left alone with the view. And the rather lovely garden. And my big bag of gold.

  It wasn’t that bad. I could deal. After only a minute or two, I relaxed, choosing to actually look around instead of thinking about the fact that I was separated from my sisters in what was only nominally friendly territory. I let myself enjoy the garden. Honestly, I’d never been huge on gardens as a human, but with a dragon’s nose it was just a whole different experience! Yakamo, or her gardener, had a love for some kind of thornless roses and—

  Herald was moving, but not toward me. She’d separated from Mak and was moving around inside the mansion, in small bursts of speed that I found very suspicious. It wasn’t like she was running from someone, more like she was…

  “Oh, no,” I muttered. My little sister had gone rogue. She was sneaking around in there, and I could really only think of two reasons. And there was nothing I could do without upsetting everything, so I had to just let it play out.

  I laid down on the viewing platform, my head on the bag full of gold, and waited as patiently as I could with a sinking feeling in my gut.

  About five minutes later Herald and Mak met back up and came outside. When I could see them again, it was easy to guess what had happened; Herald was smug as anything, and Mak looked vaguely guilty. But I still had some sick hope that I might be wrong, so I had to ask.

  “What did you do?” I asked Herald when she got close.

  She knew what I was talking about. She didn’t even pretend that she didn’t. “I took the opportunity to talk to Yakamo,” she replied, completely unrepentant. “We will not need to worry about her changing her mind in the future.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “You ‘talked to her,’ did you?” I was still somehow clinging onto that poor, abused shred of hope. Maybe she had just talked to her? I mean, I knew that wasn’t the case, but what if I was wrong?

  “Yes,” she said breezily. “I was not entirely convinced that she could be trusted. Not that she seemed at all dishonest, just… far too easily convinced. Sure, she supported us today, but if the wrong person said the wrong thing, she might have opposed us tomorrow. So I talked to her. Now she will support us and follow Soandel’s lead if she is not sure what we would want.”

  The certainty I’d been trying to ignore chased away that foolish little hope I’d been clinging to, and I huffed a deep sigh. “You broke her.”

  As Mak’s shoulders slumped Herald raised her chin, not looking away from me. “I did. I snuck past her staff, and her bodyguard, and I made sure that she’ll never oppose you again.”

  “Herald…” I said, trying to think of a way to say this without sounding like a complete hypocrite, “you can’t just do that. She’s not bad! You…” I turned to Mak. “Back me up here?”

  “I’d love to,” Mak said, her eyes pleading with me to understand, “but I can’t think of a good reason other than you not liking it.”

  I sighed again. “Come on,” I said. I needed to think, and I wasn’t comfortable doing it in the home of the latest person I’d hurt, even indirectly. I led them toward the gate to the street. “Did you plan this?” I asked them as we walked.

  “I told Mak not to be surprised if I saw an opening and took it,” Herald replied, still without a hint of shame. “And I asked her to soothe your fears if necessary.”

  I looked at Mak. I didn’t ask her if it was true; of course it was. And I didn’t scold her. I was disappointed in them both, and Mak’s pain at that disappointment showed on her face as it was. I’d made her what she was. I’d made my own wellbeing the most important thing in the world to her, and to Herald, though I’d never intended to. And as I was learning — slowly — that didn’t necessarily mean doing what made me happy or comfortable in the short run.

  They’d done what they thought necessary to protect me and our House. I didn’t agree with their methods, but I couldn’t be angry with them for doing what I had made them feel that they had to.

  I was still frustrated, though, and a little bit sick over the whole thing. And not only because of Herald’s callous disregard for violating someone’s free will; I didn’t have a leg to stand on there. No, what bothered me the most was that I really couldn’t think of a good argument against it other than the moral one.

  With Parvion still being something of an unknown, definitively flipping one of my opponents had likely secured me a reliable majority in the Council. And of the three remaining Councilors who’d consistently opposed me, Yakamo was the one whose change of heart would be least questioned. If Nahasia or Alster suddenly supported me, people would start asking questions, but Yakamo? Yakamo had turned out to be direct, and fully willing to change her mind in the face of new facts. She’d already reached out to me in front of her colleagues. If she became one of my staunch supporters, I doubted that the others would question it. At least Sempralia, Barvon, and Berkia wouldn’t, and they were the ones I cared about.

  So it made sense to, as Herald had put it, “talk to” her. But that didn’t make it right. I knew that — and so did Conscience.

  This isn’t okay, yeah? She told me, her tone brooking no argument. And it’s your fault. You made Herald who she is, you gave her this power, and you should have seen this coming!

  And she was right. There really wasn’t anything I could say in my own defense. After Sarina and Marvan, I should have seen this coming.

  You should talk to her. We both know we won’t try to control her unless absolutely necessary, but this is people’s free will on the line. The next time — and there will be a next time. Look at her! The next time, you need to step in. And if you don’t, I will. Believe me. Just because I haven’t had to so far doesn’t mean that I can’t!

  “Dammit,” I muttered as we made for the gate to the street, where the palanquin waited. Conscience was right. I needed to talk to Herald about this, but I needed more time. More time to think, more time to search my own feelings. More time to decide where my limits had moved to.

  My sisters looked at me curiously, and I felt I had to say something. “Nobody else, all right?” I told them. “Not unless we have to.”

  “Not unless we have to,” Herald agreed.

  * * *

  Tamor and Val took the news of Yakamo’s new status as Herald’s latest acquisition in a kind of exasperated stride. And they weren’t thrilled about the idea of leaving Karakan for however long. Neither was Ardek or Kira, but they were committed to me and the House, and where we went, they’d follow. So, of course, would Avjilan, Sarina, and Marvan, but they were all experienced adventurers. They were, if anything, excited.

  Dorten, though… I couldn’t see myself dragging Dorten through a hundred and fifty miles plus of monster-infested forest, no matter how grateful he was. That, and things would be said and things would be seen there for which I just didn’t trust him enough. Besides, Dorten was a helper by nature and needed to be around people. He’d be safer and happier in the city.

  No matter their feelings on the subject, no one was very surprised by the news that Tekeretek had officially declared war; and that, they agreed, was a very good reason for the core family to make themselves scarce.

  Tam put it quite succinctly. “This is, what, the third war with Tekeretek since we’ve lived here?” he asked the others. “When we were kids, we mostly got a pass. A beating here or there, sure, but nothing life threatening. The last one, though, four years back? Mercies, that was bad. Had a mob run me into the river once, after news came in of a particularly bad naval engagement.”

  “There were also accusations of cheating at dice,” Val added. “Not that it excuses anything.”

  Tam shrugged. “There was that, sure, but most accused cheaters don’t get hanged. The way that mob was screaming… gods, I’d have been lucky if stringing me up was the worst they did. But, yeah. I hate it, but with you, Draka, being named as Tekeretek’s reason for joining the war… you’re not wrong that we should get out until things calm down.”

  “A good deal of provisions will be needed, and another animal beside Stalwart to carry them,” Val said. “Myself, Ardek, Sarina, and Marvan can arrange them. I think it best for the three of you to remain indoors until it is time to leave. A day, no more.”

  “I’ve got a good lead on mules and horses already,” Ardek said. “Just say the word.”

  “So is there a plan?” Tam asked. “Where are we going?”

  “Lady’s Rest, initially,” Mak said. “And then, perhaps, if you’ll all agree…”

  “Old Mallin!” Herald said excitedly. “With Draka by our side, we can be the first people for hundreds of years to really explore Malyon! We can show you the temple and the library… oh, and Draka and I have not even been to the palace there yet! There is so much to see!”

  That idea lit a fire in them — at least in the four adventurers among them. Ardek and Kira were much less enthusiastic about what might end up being a two-week trek or more into the monster-infested north to explore a city known to all as a deathtrap. But, again, they’d go where we went, and they trusted us implicitly not to risk their lives needlessly.

  And to really put their minds at ease, I told them, “I’m sure Mother would return to Old Mallin too, if I’m there. She prefers it there, really, with all the ambient magic. And the trolls and all don’t dare come within a mile of wherever she’s staying. It’d be perfectly safe.” Then I thought about that and added, “As long as you’re respectful toward me and Mother. But that’s never been a problem before.”

  “So we’re doing it?!” Herald practically burst, her diction breaking in her excitement. “We’re all going to Old Mallin?”

  “Lady’s Rest first,” Mak said firmly, while glancing at me for confirmation. “But then… yeah. Probably.”

  With a joyous squeal, Herald threw herself first at Mak — Old habits die hard, I figured — then at me, and then at everybody else in turn. That included Sarina and Marvan, who both looked absolutely beyond themselves with delight after she let them go. It was a weird thing to see from the outside, so to speak. I must have had the same effect on Mak more than once and not thought much of it. And while I knew that Herald would just be happy for her sister if she saw that, I wondered how uncomfortable it might have been for Tam or Val.

  Tam had once said that he recognized and appreciated that I made our sisters happy. The healthy thing to do would be to trust that he’d been honest with me and leave it at that. But a small, awful part of me still thought that maybe I should keep an eye on him, just in case.

  * * *

  In the spirit of cooperation and goodwill, and also making a gold dragon when I had nothing better to do with the rest of my day, I decided to make my first reconnaissance flight for Yakamo that very afternoon. Me feeling bad about what Herald had done might have played a part, too.

  It was entirely uneventful. I stopped by the admiralty, causing a hell of a commotion and confirming that they were aware of my deal with Yakamo, and then spent six or seven hours flying a long circle over the southern sea. I found plenty of ships, of course, but no hostile fleets heading for vulnerable friendlies, or vulnerable smaller groups where our own ships could cut them off or run them down. When I decided that I’d been out long enough, I returned to the admiralty, told them what I’d seen and where, and they thanked me and paid me my dragon. And that was that. No fuss, no drama, and I had a lovely little piece of gold to stick under my tongue. With any luck, that would set the tone for the rest of our arrangement.

  I had a lot of time to think during that flight, and I spent a lot of it worrying about my mother. She still hadn’t returned from the south, which I took to mean that the silver male was still hanging around. And to be honest, that did make me a little nervous; when I wasn’t looking for ships, I was looking for him. But I couldn’t let anxiety determine where I did or didn’t go, and besides, he never showed.

  I really hoped that he’d bugger off sooner than later, though. Herald was excited about bringing everyone to Old Mallin, and so was I. Perhaps I just wanted to relive those weeks, several months ago and before everything became so complicated, when we’d gone north to find the Three’ers and returned with a fortune. Perhaps I just wanted to see Herald happy. Either way, having dear old Mum around would make things a lot safer and would let me leave them for a day or three every so often without worrying. And to not worry was something I wanted very much right around then.

  * * *

  We left around noon the following day. With as many experienced people in the group as we had, preparations were mostly about getting hold of everything they needed and making sure that everything was settled for the smooth operation and security of the inn while the members of the House were away. Everything else, mostly having to do with making sure that all their gear was in top shape, was so routine that they barely counted it as work.

  An hour before midday, they had everything laid out on the floor of the cellar, including the magically locked, red lacquered box that held their fortune. By unanimous agreement, we’d be leaving that somewhere near my hoard; probably on the ledge above the Pit, where I’d first hidden my own small box of coins. Sarina and Marvan’s attempted robbery notwithstanding, it was the safest place we could think of other than the strongroom at the inn.

  Then, with everything arranged and accounted for, we loaded up the mules — Stalwart was joined by a surly girl called Ashen, for her coat, and a skittish old fellow named Apple. Finally, we said our see-you-soons to the staff, the regulars, and the guards, with two guards getting some particular attention. I hadn’t been quite clear on how close Mak and Terdam were beyond “time to meet the whole family,” but by how Mak literally hung off his neck, they were pretty close.

  Captain Nahasia wasn’t quite so affectionate, but she was disappointed enough that I felt the need to promise that I’d come visit soon. The cynical part of me — mostly Instinct — considered it “protecting our investment.” More than that, though, if I were to be honest with myself, the young Captain was growing on me. Getting too close to me might not be the healthiest thing for her, but I was selfish enough to let her take the risk.

  Then we were off. It felt a little ridiculous to be leaving again so soon after I’d returned, but I didn’t regret it. We walked from the inn up the main streets, past the Forum, and out the Forest gate. Even without a dragon towering over them, the large party of adventurers would have drawn looks, but we didn’t care. Spirits were high. We may have been going into a sort of mild exile, but we didn’t allow ourselves to see it that way. Instead, we were going on our first big adventure of the year.

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