Me and My Shadow - Katie MacAlister [101]
“Bring Fiat!” Chuan Ren, never one to expend energy on extra words when a few sharp commands would do, almost yelled the order to Drake.
He merely raised his eyebrows. Aisling narrowed her eyes, and I could see her fingers twitching, as if she was dying to draw a ward.
“I believe the agenda lists the petition by Kostya for recognition,” Drake said calmly.
Chuan Ren gripped the edge of the table until her fingers were white, but she didn’t come unglued as I half expected. She merely gave Kostya a piercing look. “Konstantin Fekete, the weyr acknowledges your petition for recognition and reinstatement of the sept of the black dragons. You are familiar with the laws which govern members of the weyr—do you now agree to abide by and uphold those laws?”
Kostya rose, looking at everyone for a long, long moment. “The black dragons have been valued members of the weyr since its inception, and our inclusion within it is long overdue. Although we have had a somewhat troubled history—”
Gabriel stiffened as Kostya shot him a quick glance.
“—we have resolved our differences and are willing to let the ghosts of the past rest easily.”
I wondered if he really would, whether he had realized what a folly it was to try to battle the silver dragons, or whether it was all a horrible deception meant to lull us into a false sense of security. On the whole, I believed he was sincere. He wanted to be back in the weyr just too much to endanger it by pursuing the idiotic idea of reclaiming the silver dragons.
“As wyvern by right of tanistry, heir to the former wyvern Baltic—” He choked just a smidgen on that name, but he recovered nicely. “As heir, I swear upon my life that the black dragon sept will abide by and uphold the laws of the weyr.”
Chuan Ren looked bored and impatient. Barely had Kostya finished his little speech and sat down before she was on her feet, demanding to know, “You have heard the petition for recognition. How say the wyverns?”
“Aye,” Drake said clearly. “The green dragons will welcome the reinstatement of the black dragons to the weyr.”
Aisling smiled at Cyrene, who was positively bouncing in her chair next to Kostya. I frowned at her, but she just grinned back at me, and blew me a kiss.
Chuan Ren’s nostrils flared, but she said nothing, just looked pointedly at Bastian.
He cleared his throat and stood, bowing to the table in general before saying, “As the rightful wyvern of the blue dragons, I, too, say aye. We will be delighted to see Kostya and his dragons in the weyr once again.”
“I like him,” Cyrene said to Kostya. I think she meant it to be a whisper, but she was so excited, everyone heard. “He’s so much nicer than his nephew.”
Bastian flashed her a quick smile before sitting down.
Chuan Ren took a deep breath, her fingers still tense on the table, as she glanced to Gabriel.
Gabriel watched Kostya closely for a moment, his expression benign, but his eyes blazed. “There is a fact about which the weyr is ignorant that I believe should be taken into consideration.”
“Fact? What fact?” Kostya shot Gabriel an irritated look.
“You were seen in Paris,” Gabriel answered. “Shortly before it was discovered that sixty-eight dragons living in France had been brutally slaughtered.”
Kostya’s eyes narrowed. “And you think I had something to do with that?”
“I think it’s possible that your relationship with Baltic was not destroyed when he was,” Gabriel said evenly. “I think you conceal your true intentions from us. I think you are capable of killing innocent dragons in the pursuit of whatever goal you feel worthy.”
The look on Kostya’s face was telling. Disbelief mingled with anger,