Dragon Rule - E. E. Knight [27]
Even Varatheela snuck into the circus arena to pay a call on her parents, coming in the dead of night and smelling of wine and fragrant oils. She made her apologies, and talked nonstop of social matters with the Firemaids, who had been assigned to which part of the Alliance, what entrances to the Lower World were being explored, which members of the Aerial Host were to take mates this year.
Her nonstop chatter of matters he didn’t care about, with his mate hanging on every detail, bothered AuRon more than he could put into words. It seemed he was losing his family to the glories of his brother’s empire.
He decided to take the night air outside the circus. He heard wings above and glanced up, but whatever had been there vanished behind one of the canvas shades. Curious-sounding wings. Small but almost dragonlike—no feathered creature would have made such a leathery flap. He wondered if the Copper had dispatched one of those griffaran of his—no, they were feathered, too.
What was it?
He opened his wings to go investigate when Wistala tipped her head over the circus wall.
“AuRon,” Wistala said. “May we talk? I have a duty for you to perform, if you’re willing.”
“With all these polished dragons coming and going?” AuRon asked. “They’re much more impressive. I’m sure one of them will serve.”
He hopped over the wall and joined her, landing as silently as a cat—were there a cat that weighed as much as a strong pair of horses, that is. Let’s see a scaled dragon do that! Why he decided on an athletic display he couldn’t say, just his general feeling of dissatisfaction with events of late made his muscles twitch.
She ignored him. “It’s rather a delicate situation. Your friend, King Naf of the Dairuss. He’s proving a problem for the Grand Alliance. He’s kicked out his Protector.”
“Good old Naf,” AuRon said. “I’m glad he hasn’t changed.”
His sister dug her sii claws into the dirt of the arena and tore some up. “Dairuss is in an odd predicament, as far as the Empire and these Hypatians are concerned. It was a province of Ghioz, and before that a part of the Hypatian Empire. The Tyr put SoRolotan there—do you know him? Well, never mind. The Tyr put a dragon he didn’t care for much as Protector there, as it was an unimportant province, more to get him out of the way, I suppose. Something about the Tyr preventing him from taking a mate he wanted. In any case, it ended badly. I understand SoRolotan barely escaped with his life. Are the people of Dairuss unusually contentious?”
“I’m no expert on human history,” AuRon said. His stomach was growling. He hadn’t eaten much at the celebratory feast and the smell of all the draft animals brought fierce hunger pangs.
“The old Ghioz empire has been broken up. Each province has a dragon to help the humans there, save for Dairuss. We’re afraid they’ll declare independence from the Grand Alliance. The Hypatians would never allow that.”
“You mean a war.”
“Not if I have my way,” Wistala said. “I’m sure you don’t want to see your friend killed or humbled.”
“Of course not. I have few enough friends left.”
“Would you like to hear my solution?”
AuRon sighed. “Probably not. I’m sure I can guess what it is.”
“You’d have a title. ‘Protector’ is one of the most respected of positions, second only to the Tyr himself in responsibility.”
“Title? I don’t care much for titles.”
“Dairuss must be a more congenial climate than your island.”
“You haven’t spoken about this to Natasatch, have you?”
“I dropped a hint. She swore not to mention it unless you brought it up.”
“You do know how to sink your claws into your prey, don’t you, sister.”
“AuRon, can’t you see what I’m trying to build here? Your help would be invaluable. I’m trying to make a world where dragons have faith in humans, and humans in dragons. A Hypatian family out riding the Great North Road no longer gallops to the trees at the sight of a dragon overhead. Dogs aren’t sent into caves to sniff out dragons anymore. What