He would not kill Tyrsun, which was just as well, since he was still the best candidate for his mate’s eventual soul transference. Daiana and Granville Kipp were most likely enough of a threat that Heriel and Naydruun would aid in killing them. The only question was how to do it.
He mulled this over as he finished his studies, said goodbye to Dirge, and headed back to Polimnos. He considered it as he flew late into the night, until the familiar coastline came into view, and he could just spot his tower rising far on the horizon. When he arrived home, Vesper coiled on his chest radiating contentment, and he slept for a long while. But when he woke and tidied his tower and his hoard the way he often did after he’d been away, he continued to turn the situation over and over in his mind.
By the time Heriel and Naydruun came to Polimnos two weeks later, he had a vague idea of how they might proceed. He sensed them approaching late in the afternoon on the day they had agreed to reconvene, then stood outside his tower watching the path that led from town to his home until he spotted them.
“Thank you for allowing us to come here, Zamnes,” Naydruun said, when the three of them gathered in the sitting-room in the tower. Heriel nodded next to them. “We have come up with a few ideas of our own, but I’m curious about what you’re considering as well.”
“I have thought of a few things,” he replied.
When he explained, they remained silent for a long while, looking at each other in wordless communication, as he had seen in the past. After a moment, Heriel glanced back at him and nodded.
“I think that sounds much better than what we had thought of,” she said slowly. “We will help you with this. The sooner the better.”
“I can arrange an audience as soon as next week, I think,” Adrissu replied. “Can you wait until then?”
“We will wait,” Naydruun agreed.
Just as he hoped, Adrissu secured an audience with both Granville Kipp and Daiana in Wintergrove the following week. Under the guise of being a creator of magical items, he expressed interest in Kipp’s weapons, offering additional funding for his projects, which was sure to pique the human’s interest.
He, Heriel, and Naydruun had also discussed the difficulty of communicating over such a long distance. Much as it pained him to do so, Adrissu procured some of his enchanted paper—the kind he had used with Kian when he was away—and gave a sheet of it to the pair, explaining its use.
“I will tell you what day we’re to meet them,” he explained. “So check for my note each day and let me know you’ve received it. I’ll alert you as soon as I get a response.”
“Clever thing, isn’t it?” Heriel said, examining the paper before handing it to Naydruun. “I had no idea humans made things like this.”
Adrissu smiled wryly. “They can be quite inventive, obviously. If only all their little creations were like this.”
They shared a nervous laugh, and for a moment, Adrissu wondered what it would be like if dragons were able to get along this decently all the time—if dragons could befriendswith other dragons without needing to be drawn to them through some magical force that they didn’t understand. He liked Heriel well enough. After all, she had been quite generous with him; and while he wouldn’t say helikedNaydruun, their presence was becoming more tolerable now. The sheer awareness of two other equally magical and dangerous creatures in his space was uncomfortable, but he could tune it out over time. They were the only dragons with whom he had any kind of decent interaction, aside from his own ancestors, but dragons did not have friends. They worked together when necessary, but dragons always preferred their own company.
And they had only come to him because they needed his help, he reminded himself, not because they wanted to be friends. He was just becoming lonely without his mate. That was all. He pushed the thought from his mind as they concluded their business and said their goodbyes.
Once he received the reply from Kipp, he wrote to Heriel and Naydruun to let them know the day Kipp had agreed to meet them. They replied they would meet him in Wintergrove then.
When he arrived, just before sunrise the day they planned to meet, he disguised himself as a human, taking on the appearance that he had used when he visited the Gennemont libraries as a student several years before: a plain-looking man by the name of Adam. Adrissu had warned the other two of his disguise, so they knew not to betray any surprise. It would have been easier not to change his disguise, of course, but both humans were too likely to recognize him on sight for his comfort, so it would be best to be someone else entirely.
“Thank you for meeting with us,” Adrissu said smoothly, bowing his head in greeting as Granville Kipp led them into his workshop. The man was tall for a human, with brown hair that was cut close to his skull and a tidy goatee. Though Adrissu knew he was a mage first and foremost, he was dressed more like a metalworker, with a thick leather apron over his plain clothes. “I’m Adam, and these are my associates, Heriel and Naydruun.”
“Thank you so much for coming all this way,” the man replied, grinning at them. “I’m Granville. Daiana should be here soon. Shall I give you a tour in the meantime?”
“We’d love that,” Heriel said, smiling demurely up at him. The dress she wore accentuated her curves, and the human’s gaze lingered on her as he led them further into the workshop. She knew more about dealing with mortals than she let on, Adrissu thought, though he supposed many dragons could be dealt with in the same way. Naydruun seemed unphased, following silently as Granville led them, his resonant voice explaining how they had opened only a year before.
“I was very lucky to develop the prototype with as much guidance as I had,” he said with a slight laugh. “The Academy didn’t like it, but it had never been done before, so there was no rule against it. Of course, they banned the creation of weapons the year after I left.”
“Very fortuitous,” Adrissu replied dryly.
“I had some connections here in Wintergrove, and it wasn’t far from Feld Heslyn where the school is,” he continued. “So I asked around, and all signs pointed me to Daiana. I was lucky enough to meet her before she was about to leave on another hunt, but she really liked the prototype and helped me out a bit before she left. But by the time she came back, I had secured the workshop space and started on my second pass at improvements, and her help was invaluable in getting that finished. I knew we could get investor funding early on... Well, hopefully, of course. I really think you’re going to be impressed. Daiana should be here any minute. She’s been testing the newest prototypes—they’re looking more promising than ever.”
“So we’ve heard,” Heriel said, stepping a little closer to him as they walked. “Oh, what’s this?”
“Ah—the enchantment forge,” Granville said, and they stopped in front of what looked like a blacksmith’s forge, but significantly smaller. Where there would normally be fire was a carefully laid out collection of gems and other ingredients. “I’m sure it must look rather eclectic if you don’t know what you’re looking at, but this is what allows such intricate enchantments to be cast on mechanical components like the crossbow.”
“Fascinating,” Adrissu said, suppressing a scowl of distaste as he looked it over. Most of what he saw was standard enchantment fare, but a few of the ingredients were unfamiliar to him. “The gems make sense to me as conduits, but what are these other components?”
“Know a little of the arcane yourself, then?” Granville replied, smiling indulgently over at Adrissu, who forced himself to smile back with a sharp nod. “The other ingredients have particular associations that help bring out certain properties when they’re used in the enchantment process. Usually, you’d keep them separate and only have them out when you’re doing specific enchantments, but since I’m really only making variations on the same thing, I just keep everything I need out in the forge. Helps me work a lot quicker.”
Adrissu peered over the components again—sebran flowers, obsidian shards, a large orb that looked like moonstone, and some kind of long, pale horn. They all seemed to be items that either granted power, or things that absorbed and neutralized heat or flames, which he supposed all made sense for a weapon designed specifically to target dragons.
“Hello?” a woman called from back the way they came; years after their short meeting, Adrissu still recognized Daiana’s voice. “You here, Kipp?”
