Light Dragons 03 - Sparks Fly

‘dread wyvern Baltic,’ and yet he doesn’t seem that bad to me. I mean, a man who would sit up for half the night just so that you wouldn’t worry about your son doesn’t scream bad ass to me.”
    “He isn’t bad, but he can be very protective.” I thought for a moment. “How did you know he was sitting up for four hours?”
    “Eh? Oh.” To my surprise, she blushed. “I ... er ... He came to check on us once. Er ... ” She cleared her throat, not meeting my gaze.
    “Why would he do that?” I asked, sensing a mystery. I loved mysteries! “I told him before he went to relieve Pavel that Savian had fallen right asleep when I tucked you in for the night.”
    Her blush deepened. “Savian was making ... noises.”
    “What sort of noises?”
    “Just noises! Does it matter what sort of noises? A noise is a noise is a noise!” She took a deep breath.
    I eyed her, wondering what was going on, but decided now was not the moment to press her. Not when I had other things to discuss. “He wasn’t in pain, was he?”
    “Not in the way you think.” The words sounded as if they were being ground through her teeth. How very intriguing this was. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
    I let her change the subject, making a mental note to ask Baltic later about what he heard. “You’re not going to like it.”
    “What else is new?” she said with a slump of one shoulder.
    “It’s about Thala ... .I know you’re probably going to resent my questions, and I think you know me well enough now to be aware I wouldn’t wish to cause you undue distress, but my son’s welfare is at stake here, as well as everyone else’s. I know full well that you are bound in loyalty to Thala and the other dragons in your tribe. I’m not trying to undermine the sense of camaraderie or friendship that you feel with them. And I know it’s going to be a difficult thing for you to go against everything you swore to uphold with the tribe, but I really have to ask if you know where Thala is right now, and if she has any intention of trying to harm Brom or the rest of us.”
    “Ysolde, I don’t-” Maura started to say, but I lifted a hand to interrupt her. I knew she wouldn’t betray her tribe unless I gave her a very good reason to do so.
    “Let me just add that I am well aware that there is a price on your head, and that if something doesn’t change very soon, thief-takers the world over will be looking for you and the rest of your tribe of ouroboros dragons because you guys broke into the L’au-dela vault in Paris.”
    She blinked in surprise. “You know about that? How-oh, Emile.”
    I nodded. “Actually, it was your mother who mentioned it, but your grandfather was very angry with her for telling me about it. She had to, though, in order to bring me up to speed if I wanted to help you.” I looked thoughtfully at her. “Which I failed to do, but loyalty to Violet prompts me to again make the offer of assistance I made two months ago in Ziema: I will help you return to your family, and I can just about guarantee that if you promise to leave Thala and the tribe, Dr. Kostich will remove the bounty for your capture that he swore he was going to put into place if you didn’t return the things your tribe stole.”
    “Ysolde, I think you-yeouch!” Maura’s arm was jerked painfully against the windowsill, causing her to glare at the window, the privacy glass making it impossible to see in. She slapped a hand on the glass. “Hey!”
    “Sorry,” came the reply. “I normally use that hand to-never mind.”
    “Thank the saints you can heal bruises quickly,” I commented when she rubbed the abused part of her arm.
    “If he thinks he can get anywhere with that sort of treatment-what? Oh yes.” She stopped grumbling to herself and gave me a long look. “What I was going to say is that you’ve got hold of the wrong end of the stick.”
    “I do?” I stopped considering her and Savian as a couple and wondered where the flaw in my reasoning lay. “How so?”
    “I am not beholden to Thala. I do not feel a sense of obligation to her, or loyalty, or, in fact, any of those things you mentioned.” My disbelief must have been obvious because she gave me a weak smile. “I’ve split from the tribe. I’m no longer a part of their plans-at least not in the sense you think-and have nothing to do with whatever it is Thala is now up to. And no, I don’t know where she is right now, although I suspect ... ” She