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“I’ll collect him at once,” Acantha said, snapping off a salute and brushing past Callan on her way down the hall. After offering the Queen a grateful smile and a quick bow, Callan followed, eager to get down to the Plateau. Difficult as the situation was, he was feeling better about their odds of figuring out a solution. And once Queen Lana met Kaya, he knew she’d be just as eager to keep her safe as he was.
Part of him was grateful, too, that all of the secrecy was coming to an end. Maybe a few outside perspectives would ease the paranoid feeling, low in his gut, that there was still something that Kaya wasn’t telling him.
Chapter 22 - Inota
An audience with the Queen, Inota kept thinking, pacing briskly back and forth along the Plateau both to keep her nerves at bay and to keep herself warm in the chilly winter air. Queen of a tiny kingdom, of course, but a Queen nonetheless. The stakes had never been higher. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d given so much actual information about herself to someone—and while what Callan knew about her was still laced with half-truths and misdirections, he was certainly the closest to knowing who she was since … well, since Devere.
Inota did her best not to think about how things had ended for him. This would be different. It had to be.
It wasn’t long before Callan returned to collect her. She wondered if he thought it was strange that she kept insisting on riding on his back instead of shifting into her own draconic form, but it seemed his mind was on the upcoming meeting with the Queen, which was a relief. She paused just long enough to marvel at what a profoundly stupid, dangerous thing she was doing here, then she climbed aboard Callan’s back and held on tightly as his great wings carried them toward the mountain’s peak.
Soon they were spiraling down through the all-too-familiar cavern. Inota reminded herself to react to the Palace with the awe of someone who’d never seen it before. It wasn’t hard to pretend to be intimidated, at least. Being surrounded by dragons at Brisant had been bad enough, but right now, she was in the absolute belly of the beast, surrounded not only by dragons, but dragons she’d actively conspired against. They had no way of knowing that, she reminded herself as Callan led her through the familiar passageways of the Palace she’d personally launched an attack on. No way of knowing, unless…
It was all she could do not to freeze solid when she stepped into the Throne Room. Some ancient instinct prevailed, keeping her mask up despite the panic that had shot through her like lightning at the sight of the all-too-familiar figure sitting at the front of the room. She’d hoped that they might have missed him, somehow, that he’d be at the university with Morgan’s sister, or otherwise busy. But there stood Cato, her friend and unwilling colleague from the miserable years spent serving Haspar.
If he recognized her, he did a good job of hiding it. She didn’t let her eyes linger on his face, moving straight on to the Queen. Another jolt of nerves she did her best to hide. She knew the Queen’s face all too well too, having disguised herself as her second-in-command and holding her hostage for a brief time during the attack on the Palace. Did they remember, Inota wondered. Did they remember the shapeshifter who’d tricked them? Or had she been just a minor footnote on the history of a chaotic day? She wished now that she’d asked Callan more about the attack, that she was more prepared for this conversation.
The Queen greeted her warmly enough, but she knew better than to trust that friendly disposition. Lana might have been new to authority, especially for a dragon, but it was clear that she wore it well. Inota didn’t miss the sharp eye her mate was keeping on proceedings, too. The silver-eyed wolf at her side didn’t speak much, clearly preferring to melt into the background, but she could feel his close attention on her. A dragon and a wolf ruling jointly over a community presumably composed of both species—politically, this was a strange little insula, that was for sure. It was almost enough to make her wish she could stay.
It wasn’t long until the Queen dispensed with the pleasantries. Inota was grateful. As practiced as she was with such things, she was exhausted and her face was starting to ache with the smile she was forcing into place.
“Callan has given us a brief overview of your situation,” Lana said, her expression sober. “We understand you’re in danger.”
“Very much so. Have you had any dealings with the Mage’s Guild, your Majesty?”
The Queen glanced sidelong at Cato, who looked back and forth between them with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, no. I’m as unsanctioned as they come. There’s a reason that mages like me keep well clear of the Guild, though. Their reputation precedes them for a very good reason. I’ve known unwary mages to be taken in for what they call ‘questioning’, never to be seen again. And those are just humans who the Guild decides have more power than they’re happy with. I can’t imagine what they’d do to a dragon who’d learned Guild secrets.”
Internally, Inota cursed him, though she kept her expression blank. He always had been one of the best liars she knew. He’d looked her right in the eyes when he’d called her a dragon, and she still couldn’t tell if he’d seen through her or not. There was nothing she could do about it but hope that he hadn’t recognized her… or that if he had, he knew better than to say anything. He of all people ought to know what she was capable of when she was forced into a corner.
“And what of your other pursuers?” Queen Lana wanted to know. “Forgive the interrogation, Kaya. I hope you know that we will do everything in our power to help you. But I need to know what danger I’m bringing to our doorstep by offering you safe harbor here.”
“I appreciate that.” Inota took a breath, settled her nerves. “I won’t lie to you, Queen Lana. A lot of very dangerous people would be very interested to learn my whereabouts, even beyond the Mage’s Guild, and there’s only so much protection that false names and new identities can offer. Allowing me to live here would absolutely put your people at risk.”
That seemed to surprise Queen Lana, who sat back a little in her chair. Her mate’s silver eyes hadn’t left Inota’s face. And beside her, she felt Callan stiffen. She could sense his surprise at what she’d said, his confusion—though ever the diplomat, he didn’t interrupt her.
“But there’s another way I think you can help me. A way that will ensure my safety, as well as the safety of your community here if and when my pursuers come looking for me.”
“And what might that be?” the Queen asked.
Here goes nothing, Inota thought faintly. “It involves you personally, Queen Lana. And I need to open with an apology. As Callan has mentioned, much of my life recently has been spent trading in secrets. Not many other lines of work remained open to me, after everything that happened with the Mage’s Guild. In the course of this work, I learned that a dragon here in this newly-discovered insula had discovered a unique ability to manipulate the Fog itself into portals that led to a new world… not another insula, but a world entirely its own, untouched by Fog.”
Queen Lana’s expression didn’t change, but she could tell from the low, worried murmuring of the audience that they were surprised such news had reached beyond their insula. She didn’t risk so much as a glance at Cato, though she knew he’d be studying her intently. If he hadn’t figured her out already, this would certainly give her away… after all, it had been Cato who’d first told her and Haspar’s other mages about the Queen’s unique ability.
“Where did you hear that?” Cato’s voice was sharp. She looked at him, affecting surprise at the question, aware that the Queen would be watching her closely.
“From an unsanctioned mage I worked with briefly,” she said, watching his expression. “I doubt he gave me his real name, and he was understandably reluctant to share how he’d learned what he knew, but after a few too many drinks, he showed me a few scars that he claimed had been dealt by dragon claws.” Hopefully they’d be clever enough to join the dots she’d placed for them, she thought. Nearly a dozen mages had escaped the attack on the Palace, and they’d all known what Haspar had been planning. The idea that one of them might have shared a few secrets with a dragon in a bar wasn’t an outlandish one.
“And what is your suggestion regarding these portals, exactly?” Queen Lana asked, once it seemed Cato had been satisfied by her answer.
“My suggestion—my humble request, really—is for the provision of safe passage through to that other world. A one-way trip, as it were. I’ll be gone from your insula and from your lives, and even if the Mage’s Guild come in search of me, there will be nothing for them to find.”
She could feel Callan standing stiff as a board at her side. She hadn’t let him in on this particular part of her plan yet, and she knew he’d be upset that she’d held something back from him, but it was too crucial an element of her plan to risk involving him. What if he’d tried to stop her? What if he’d disagreed that it was the only way?
“You’d be willing to leave this whole world behind?” Queen Lana wanted to know, her brow furrowing just a little. “With no hope of returning, even to visit?”
“This is a world that’s wanted me dead for as long as I can remember,” Inota said, not liking the hollow sound to her voice. “In all honesty, Queen Lana, it would be a relief to have no way back. At least I’d know the people I’ve brought to harm would be safe from me at last. That includes you, Callan.” He turned to her, clearly surprised by the sound of his name. She met his eyes, steeling herself against the rush of feeling that his face always brought up in her. “I can’t express how grateful I am to you for what you’ve done to protect me, for the risks you’ve taken to bring me here. You risked expulsion from Brisant to keep me safe—risked your education, risked the career you’re building for yourself.” She took a deep breath. “That’s why I think this is the best course for everyone involved. Let me go through to the other world, where my old foes won’t ever be able to find me. Before I go, I’ll create evidence that I compelled you to help me by magical means, evidence you should be able to present to the Dean. He’s a reasonable man, he’ll clear you of any wrongdoing.”
“Kaya, no,” Callan said, his eyes bewildered. “You aren’t seriously considering this. Exiling yourself permanently? Never seeing your home again?”
