‘‘Ysolde was intended to be Baltic’s mate. He had chosen her and she indicated she would accept him. But before she could, Norka stole her and made her his own mate, an underhanded trick I am not surprised you wish to keep from Mei Ling,’’ Kostya answered with a sneer as he turned away.
‘‘Baltic abused Ysolde!’’ Gabriel shouted. ‘‘She hated her life with him, and begged Constantine to take her away-’’
‘‘So you say. But we all know how much truth can be found in the words of a traitor,’’ Kostya answered, a distinct baiting note in his voice.
‘‘Before you boys get into another fight, why doesn’t everyone sit down?’’ Aisling suggested.
‘‘Sound advice,’’ I said, nudging Gabriel back toward our couch. He gave way reluctantly. I was about to retake the seat beside him but thought better of it, plopping myself down on his lap instead. ‘‘To keep you from doing anything imprudent,’’ I said with a kiss to his chin.
‘‘Sweetie, I’m a little confused. Did you see the whole thing with Kostya and Baltic yourself, or just hear about it?’’ Aisling asked Drake.
Drake shot a look toward his brother. ‘‘I didn’t actually see Kostya kill him, no.’’
‘‘But the body-there must have been a body?’’
Kostya turned his back on everyone and resumed his post at the window, as if dismissing us from his thoughts.
‘‘When Baltic realized Kostya’s intent, he used the castle bolt-hole to try to escape. The silver dragons had sieged Baltic’s stronghold and were about to break down the last of the keep’s defenses. Kostya caught Baltic in the caverns below and slew him. But in the turmoil of the onslaught from the silver dragons, his body was not recovered immediately thereafter. Rather than risk Baltic’s body and stronghold becoming a martyr’s shrine, Constantine Norka had it destroyed altogether,’’ Drake said.
‘‘So no one but Kostya saw what happened in those final moments,’’ I said, thoughtful as I watched Kostya.
‘‘I returned with his sword,’’ Kostya said roughly, his shoulders twitching with irritation. ‘‘I cleaved him in two with it. He did not survive.’’
I put my hand on Gabriel’s chest, where his heart was. ‘‘Did you help sack Baltic’s castle?’’
‘‘Me?’’ Gabriel looked surprised for a moment before his dimples made a brief showing. ‘‘How old do you think I am?’’
‘‘Well… I don’t know. Five hundred years?’’ His dimples deepened.
‘‘Six?’’
‘‘I was born in 1702,’’ he answered. ‘‘My father was with Constantine when he made the final blow against Baltic, though. It was a victory, but one which was met with saddened and grieving hearts. The dragons who died were our family once.’’
‘‘Which brings us back to the point of who it is who’s doing all this,’’ Aisling said quickly, interrupting Kostya’s obvious rebuttal. ‘‘If it’s not Baltic, then who is it?’’
‘‘I don’t see why it matters who’s doing it so long as the phylactery has been returned,’’ Cyrene interjected.
We all looked at her.
‘‘Well, honestly, does it matter if it was this Baltic person, or another dragon, or a benevolent fairy who’s pulling the strings? All that matters is getting back Gabriel’s guards, not who took them.’’
‘‘The question of Baltic’s possible survival is of the greatest importance to the silver dragons, I assure you,’’ Gabriel told her.
‘‘Why?’’ she asked, her nose scrunched in confusion.
‘‘Why?’’ Gabriel asked, aghast.
‘‘I think I know what she means,’’ I said. ‘‘Assuming Baltic is alive, he is no longer the wyvern of the black dragons. You said the sept was destroyed, yes?’’ I asked Drake.
He nodded, his gaze flickering to his brother. ‘‘It was, although Kostya intends to gather what members remain and apply for recognition of the weyr.’’
‘‘Even if he did get that, though, it wouldn’t mean Baltic would immediately step into wyvernhood, would it?’’
‘‘Baltic will never again lead the black dragons,’’ Kostya said, his voice pitched low with warning. ‘‘The sept will be reborn, but I will lead it.’’
I bit back a retort about the wisdom of that little plan. ‘‘I begin to see Cyrene’s point. Assuming Baltic is alive, he’s been neutered by the loss of his sept, so why does it matter if he was the one who returned the phylactery?’’
‘‘It matters because of what Baltic is,’’ Gabriel answered.
‘‘A lunatic, you mean?’’ I asked.
Kostya shot me a nasty look and would have said something, but Aisling cleared her throat in a meaningful way.
‘‘Not just that-Baltic wielded great power,’’ Gabriel said with hesitation. ‘‘More power than was natural even for a wyvern. It was said he had learned the arcane arts.’’
‘‘Arcane? He was a mage?’’ Cyrene asked.
Kostya said nothing, which pretty much confirmed that guess.
‘‘I didn’t think dragons could be mages,’’ I said.
Gabriel and Drake exchanged glances. ‘‘None have ever been able to master the arcane skills a mage must control.’’
‘‘Except Baltic?’’ I asked.
‘‘That is what we believe.’’
‘‘Which means if he really is alive, he’s going to be one badass dragon,’’ Jim said.
‘‘All of this is moot. I killed Baltic three hundred years ago. What matters is the phylactery-and I want it returned immediately,’’ Kostya said.
‘‘How do you explain the theft of the phylactery in the first place if Baltic really was dead?’’ I asked.
He glowered. ‘‘You stole it from me.’’
‘‘How do you explain it assuming I didn’t steal it?’’
‘‘I would make no such assumption. You admitted you took it the night I caught you in my lair.’’
‘‘Oh, this is useless,’’ I said, getting off of Gabriel’s lap. ‘‘We’re just going round and round. Whether or not Baltic is alive, the important thing is to retrieve the phylactery, and find Maata and Tipene.’’
‘‘I thought you said you had the phylactery,’’ Aisling said.
‘‘I did have it-and then I was arrested, and my possessions taken from me, the phylactery included. So far as I know, it’s with my other things in the L’au-delà vault in Paris.’’
I was moving toward the door when Kostya shouldered me aside.
‘‘Where are you going, brother?’’ Drake asked him.
‘‘To reclaim what is mine,’’ he said with a dark look at Gabriel.
‘‘Like hell you are,’’ I said, dashing after him. ‘‘That phylactery belongs to Gabriel!’’
The room emptied out after us. For a moment, everyone stood looking at one another in the large entryway, then Kostya muttered something that had Gabriel lunging at him, Drake’s two men grabbed Gabriel, and Aisling started ordering her demon to stop her brother-in-law. But Kostya was gone before Jim could whip into action.
‘‘Agathos daimon,’’ I swore under my breath.
‘‘Should I follow him?’’ Pál asked Drake.
The latter hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. ‘‘No. He would just shake you.’’
‘‘May can follow him,’’ Cyrene said. ‘‘She’s very good at following people. I had a boyfriend once who I thought was two-timing me-he had the tiniest eyes, which I’ve always felt was a sign of a shifty nature- and May followed him around for a week without him ever knowing she was there.’’
‘‘Mayling will stay with me,’’ Gabriel said, grabbing my wrist and hauling me up the stairs after him.
‘‘Well… I suppose I could do it,’’ Cyrene said with a slight frown. ‘‘It can’t be that hard to follow someone. And I’ve been watching May do it for years.’’
‘‘Don’t even think about it,’’ I called from the top of the stairs. ‘‘He’s much too dangerous, Cy. We’ll keep an eye out for him, never fear.’’