Chapter Thirteen
Idly, I rubbed my cell phone and wondered if I���d put the cart before the horse. Baltic hadn’t denied that he had killed those blue dragons, and yet I had seen a moment of hurt in his eyes before he answered with a typical dragon nonanswer. “I couldn’t love someone who was a murderer,” I said aloud to the empty room. “I couldn’t.” “What couldn’t you do?” Baltic asked from the doorway, causing me to jump.
“I’ll tell you if you answer two questions for me.” His eyebrows rose as he strolled across the room to me, all coiled power and sexy hips. “Just two?” “Yes. The first is whether you had any involvement with the deaths of the blue dragons.” He paused for a second, giving me an unreadable look. “You have already asked me that question, and I have answered it.” “No, you gave me a nonanswer.”
“What purpose would I have to kill blue dragons?” I ground my teeth. “You know, this dragon thing of not answering a question outright is driving me nuts.” “It shouldn’t. You are prone to the same trait.” “I am not! I’m human! I don’t do that! Now please, just answer the question — did you have anything to do with those deaths?” “Yes.”
My stomach dropped like a lead weight. I was so sure he would deny it. “You did? You killed those dragons?” “No.”
He stood near to me, not touching, but close enough that I could feel his dragon fire come to life. “You just said you did!” I all but wailed.
“No, I said I had something to do with it. I did not kill them, but I knew that their deaths were possible.” “I don’t understand.” I wanted to run screaming from the room and at the same time I wanted to wrap myself around him, reassuring myself that he wasn’t the monster everyone thought he was. “Who killed them?” He said nothing.
I put my hand on his chest, over his heart. “Baltic, this is important. The weyr thinks you are responsible for the deaths of all those blue dragons. In fact… well, we’ll talk about that later. But right now, I really need to know — who did kill them?” “I had forgotten how persistent you can be when you desire something,” he said with a sigh, placing his hand over mine. “I will tell you, but only because you are my mate and I trust you. Fiat Blu killed the dragons.” “Fiat Blu? He’s part of that sept?”
“Yes. His sept was taken from him by his uncle.” “Why would Fiat kill his own people? And why would you know about it?” His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me into a gentle embrace. I let my fingers wander up the thick muscles of his arms, enjoying the solid feel of him, the tingle that seemed to come to life in the air around us whenever we touched. It was a sense of anticipation that left my body extremely aware of the differences between us.
“I have no quarrel with the blue dragons or Fiat. A few decades back, when I returned to life, he gave me shelter. Later, when he lost his sept to his uncle Bastian, he sought my aid in recovering control, but he disappeared a month ago. I do not know where he has gone to ground.” “You didn’t try to stop him from killing innocent dragons?” A flicker of pain crossed his face. “I did not think he would carry out his threat. He is unbalanced, mate, but I did not believe he would massacre members of his own sept. I was mistaken.” “Those poor dragons.” I spent a moment sending up a silent prayer that they found a better life before something Baltic had said finally nudged my awareness. “Wait a second — a few decades back?” “Why are you making that horrified face?” He frowned, puzzled.
“You said a few decades ago, when you were reborn.” He made an annoyed gesture. “I died after you were killed, Ysolde. I’ve told you that.” “But you were reborn right away, weren’t you?” “No. Life was not returned to me until almost forty years ago.” I stared at him in confusion. “But when was I reborn?” “I don’t know.”
“Dr. Kostich said my husband wasn’t mortal. If he’s not, and I was reborn right after I died… oh my god!” “What?” Baltic asked as I reeled back from him.
I pointed a finger at him. “You’re younger than me!” The look he gave me was almost comical. “What does age matter?” “Oh, it matters if you’re three hundred years old and the man you’re dating is… what? Thirty-five? Thirty-six?” “Thirty-nine.”
“Great! On top of everything else, I’m a cradle robber.” “We are immortal. In our past lives, I was six hundred years older than you. Therefore, I’m still three hundred years older.” “It doesn’t work that way,” I said, disgruntled.
“You are making something of nothing,” he said, trying to pull me back into his embrace.
I held him at arm’s length. “Tell me this, then; why were we brought back?” He said again, “I don’t know.”
“How were we resurrected?”
“Do I look like an encyclopedia of the resurrected? I tell you I do not know!” “Who is responsible for bringing me back?” He glared at me. “You are beginning to annoy me, woman.” “They’re important questions! I would like some answers!” “I do not know the answers!” After a moment’s silence, he slid me an odd look. “This man who married you — does he know about your past?” “I thought so,” I said slowly. “He certainly has always known about the fugues… ” “Then we will gain that information from him before we sever him from you,” Baltic said with decisiveness.
“How is it you were reborn?” I asked, still wondering how long I’d been alive.
“Thala arranged it.” He glanced away, something about his expression immediately catching my interest and setting my Baltic radar pinging.
“Who is Thala?”
His lips pursed slightly as he gazed out of the window. “A necromancer, of course.” Necromancers, I remembered from some long distant store of knowledge, had the power to raise the dead as liches. “Glory of god! You’re a lich?” “No, of course not. I am a dragon. You’ve seen that for yourself,” he said, still not meeting my eye.
The radar cranked up a notch. “Necromancers only raise liches.” “When they raise humans, yes. But a dragon is different.” “Oh.” That seemed to make a tiny bit of sense, and as I had little knowledge of the art of raising the dead, I didn’t dispute the statement. “Why would she raise you? Did you know her before you died?” He tried to keep his head turned, ostensibly scanning the fields outside the house, but I moved around to block his view. His face was filled with something that looked like chagrin. “Yes, I knew her. Her mother was Antonia von Endres.” “Ah, the daughter of your mage friend? I see.” A horrible thought struck me. “She’s not your daughter, is she? This Thala person?” He looked appalled. “Christos, I hope not. Not after we… er…” My jaw sagged a little. “You slept with her, too?” “No. Perhaps. Just five or six times,” he said, every word making me see red. He waved the thought away. “No, I could not be her father. Thala once mentioned that her father was a red dragon.” “Where is this girlfriend of yours? Does she live here, too? Are you hiding her from me? If you think I’m going to share you, you’re madder than everyone says you are! I—” “Your jealousy pleases me, chérie,” he said, smiling one of those arrogant, smug male smiles that men are prone to when they think women are gaga over them.
“Yeah? Then you’re going to love this,” I answered, making a fist and aiming it for his gut.
He caught my hand with a laugh. “You are making yourself angry over nothing. Thala lives here, yes, but she is not my lover. She was briefly, but as with her mother, that was before you were born.” “Where is she now?” I asked, mollified enough to allow him to uncurl my fingers and kiss the tip of each one.
“Your silver dragon friends have her.” My eyebrows shot up as he gently bit the pad on one of my fingers, heat flaring to life deep in hidden parts of me. “They do?” “They captured her two months ago. I assume she is still alive, although I have not been able to locate where she is being held.” His gaze turned thoughtful as he released my hand. “You are in an ideal situation to do that.” I tamped down on the spike of jealousy that rose at the suggestion. “Possibly. But—” He stopped me with a raised hand as he turned toward the window. “Who is that? Who has made it past my security?” The crunch of gravel being crushed beneath a car’s tires reached my ear.