Before she could answer, a tentacle broke the surface of the loch with the water dragon’s jaw latched onto the thrashing limb.The fighting pair sank out of sight, and Fiona sighed.
“The problem with seeing the future is the fact sometimes the knowledge makes you do or not do certain things, thus changing it.”
“How is telling me the winner supposed to change the outcome?It’s not like I can help.”
“No, but you could hinder, say by seeking out a weapon to thrash Nessie’s body with should they come close to shore.”
“I’m not the bludgeoning type.”
“You’d be surprised what you’re capable of.”
Coming from a seer, I took that as a compliment.“If you saw this fight happening, why didn’t you warn Tiamat?”
“She might have blackmailed me into coming, but that didn’t mean I wanted to help her.As a matter of fact, I’m the reason Alistair is here.”
“Because you told her to send those Red Caps,” I accused.
“I did because I knew their appearance would irritate Alistair.”
“They almost killed me,” I grumbled.
“Which was an unfortunate aspect to that plan,” she admitted with a shrug but no apology.
“Instead of the manipulation, why not send Alistair, or even your sister, a message about Tiamat possessing her twin?”
“Seers aren’t supposed to just tell people what to do or what’s happening.Doing so would change the very future we’ve just seen.We have to be subtle.Nudge.Influence.And hope.”
My nose wrinkled as the water churned and frothed as the water dragon and kraken battled it out.“Seemed like you did more than that with Tiamat.She wasn’t just determined to cage Alistair to steal his power.She planned to go after her babies, too.”
“Planned, but would have never succeeded.While I did see a future where the hatchlings came for a visit, the big black one with the gift of fire would have ended up scorching her to ash once he realized she planned to murder them all.”
“He would have killed his own mother?”I couldn’t help but sound skeptical, despite everything I’d learned.
“In a heartbeat.Dragons show no compassion when it comes to dealing with threats, even those blood-related.”
The agitation in the water ceased, and I hugged my upper body, a frisson of cold—and fear—going through me.
Before I could wonder how Alistair fared, a tentacle emerged from the lock and the tip of it flicked.Something soared through the air.A broken chain, still holding the pendant that once hung around Nessie’s neck, hit the ground by my feet.I crouched to grab it, only to hesitate.
“It’s safe for you to touch,” Fiona stated.
“Is Tiamat’s soul gone?”I asked, my hand hovering but not touching.
“No, but her spirit can’t inhabit any flesh but her own, which is long gone, or that of the twin, who is essentially a genetic clone.”
“Are you sure?She managed to influence Malone.”
“Unlike him, you’re protected by Alistair’s claim.”
Ah yes, the claiming thing, which I’d yet to discuss with him.Was it because we’d had sex?What did it mean?Were we a couple now?
Questions for later, when I saw Alistair, assuming he still wanted to see me, given all that had happened.
I closed my fingers around the pendant and expected a jolt, maybe even some whispering.All I felt?Cold, wet metal.“What should we do with it?”
“Lock it away for as long as Nessie lives,” Fiona replied.“Here’s Oliver now with a lead-lined box.”
Sure enough, the wulver/lawyer came into view, looking stiff and proper in his suit, a small metal box tucked under his arm.“Evening, Davina.You’re looking slightly bedraggled.”
