Dragon Storm
Page 58
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“I’m getting a little fed up with your negativity,” Ysolde told him, much to my surprise. I hadn’t expected anyone to stand up for Constantine. “And your bossiness. We’re trying to get something accomplished, and you’re just making a fuss about nothing.”
“Baltic, control your mate,” Kostya said, looking daggers at him.
“No,” Baltic said, leaning back in his chair. There was something about him, perhaps the line of his jaw or the way his chin was shaped, that reminded me of Constantine.
Kostya goggled at that answer. “You must!” he finally said.
“Have you learned nothing from Aoife?” Aisling asked, shaking her head. Drake put a warning hand over hers, causing her to say in a whisper that was heard by everyone there, “I know I shouldn’t say it, sweetie, but honestly, sometimes your brother is the biggest boob who ever lived.”
“Hey,” Aoife said, sitting up straight. “We can hear you, you know.”
“Good,” Aisling said with a bright smile.
I stifled a giggle.
“My mate can say whatever she likes,” Baltic interjected, still looking mostly bored by the proceedings.
“It is against the rules of the—”
“Perhaps it was against the rules of the sarkany,” Baltic interrupted, leaning forward to pin Kostya back with a warning look. “But the old weyr is gone. Destroyed. This new weyr will have new rules, and one of those should be that mates have a voice.”
“Here, here,” Aisling said, applauding.
“Well done,” Ysolde said, kissing Baltic’s cheek.
Kostya looked like he wanted to argue, but evidently caught a glimpse of Aoife’s face, because he shot her a puzzled look.
“Sorry,” she told him with an apologetic gesture at the rest of the table. “About this, I agree with them. If you want me to be a part of your life and a member of the black dragons, then I think I should be able to say something.”
“It is not the way we have done things,” Kostya argued, but the fight had gone out of his body language, and he sat back down when Aoife patted his arm, and said, “I know it is, but now is an excellent time to change things, don’t you think?”
Kostya might have realized he had to give in on that point, but he stuck like a burr to another one. “Even if we do change the rules to allow mates to have input, that still does not address the fact that Constantine is here with an outsider.”
“Look,” I said, standing up and putting my hands flat on the table. “I know I’m an outsider, okay? I’m human, and I’m a Charmer, and I don’t particularly like dragons.” I slid a fast glance at Constantine. “Well, I like one dragon. The rest of you are a bit much to take in close quarters. That said, Constantine and I have just as much a right to be at this planning session as you do. More, since we’re the ones who broke the curse.”
“Which you bungled the first time you tried,” Kostya snapped.
“Because you two didn’t bother to give us the proper information!” I slapped the table hard enough to make Aoife jump. “Dammit, do you think I’m here because I don’t have anything better to do with my time than listen to a bunch of scaly human-shaped beasts bicker with each other? Bael killed the Venediger and her assistant, Guillaume. They saw it.” I pointed at Ysolde and Baltic.
Ysolde went a little pale. Baltic put his arm around her and hauled her onto his lap.
“Now, I may not be a big, tough dragon like Constantine, or even mated to him, but I did know Jovana for almost three years. She passed along many jobs to me over that time and was never anything but thoughtful. She cared about the Otherworld. She wanted to protect not just them but the mortals from any bad influences on the immortal side. And she provided us all with a safe haven where everyone could meet without fear or danger.” Tears came to my eyes, making me blink rapidly. “So yes, I’m only a mortal Charmer, but I’ll be damned if I let Jovana be snuffed out of existence like she’s nothing more than a cigarette. I will do everything within my power to see that Bael pays for his crime, and if that means he has to be destroyed, then by the gods, I’ll help cut him down!”
Silence fell on the room. It was a stunned silence, one that was eventually broken by the slow clapping of one pair of hands.
I turned my head to look at Constantine. He smiled at me, then rose and stood at my side, his hand on my back. “And so too do I swear. I will rid this world of Bael, or I will die trying. I have died once, and did not enjoy it. I don’t wish to do it again. Especially now as I am responsible for Gary’s well-being and Bee’s sexual needs.”
I smacked him on the arm. He turned a startled expression to me.
“We have a new rule: you don’t announce to people I’ve just met that we’re doing the sheet tango. It’s hard enough getting respect without them wondering which of your many toys we’ve been trying out that day.”
“Ooh, Constantine has some excellent toys,” Ysolde said, nodding. “I helped him pick out a couple of them from a fabulous shop where I got a really wonderful toy shaped like the letter U.”
“Is that for a he or a she?” Aisling asked, leaning forward to see around Drake.
“It’s sold for women, but a little creativity can do wonders with it,” Ysolde answered.
“Battery operated or electric?” Aoife asked.
Kostya shot her an indignant, “Aoife!”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” she told him soothingly.
“Batteries,” Ysolde said with a private smile. “Take my recommendation and get a few extra packs. You definitely don’t want to run short, and using both ends of the U shape takes a lot of battery power.”
Aisling clearly agreed with that sentiment, because she leaned forward again to ask, “And where did you get—”
Her question was cut short when Drake, who had evidently been holding his temper in with a not very patient hand, suddenly roared for silence, and slammed his hand so hard on the table that it sent a long crack out from the center. “Enough!” he cried, sharing a truly magnificent glare among us all. “This is a sarkany, not a sexual aid discussion! We have important things to discuss and decide upon—”
Constantine tapped the table until Ysolde looked over to him. He held a tablet of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. “What shop was the U device sold at, and do they take bulk orders?”
“Baltic, control your mate,” Kostya said, looking daggers at him.
“No,” Baltic said, leaning back in his chair. There was something about him, perhaps the line of his jaw or the way his chin was shaped, that reminded me of Constantine.
Kostya goggled at that answer. “You must!” he finally said.
“Have you learned nothing from Aoife?” Aisling asked, shaking her head. Drake put a warning hand over hers, causing her to say in a whisper that was heard by everyone there, “I know I shouldn’t say it, sweetie, but honestly, sometimes your brother is the biggest boob who ever lived.”
“Hey,” Aoife said, sitting up straight. “We can hear you, you know.”
“Good,” Aisling said with a bright smile.
I stifled a giggle.
“My mate can say whatever she likes,” Baltic interjected, still looking mostly bored by the proceedings.
“It is against the rules of the—”
“Perhaps it was against the rules of the sarkany,” Baltic interrupted, leaning forward to pin Kostya back with a warning look. “But the old weyr is gone. Destroyed. This new weyr will have new rules, and one of those should be that mates have a voice.”
“Here, here,” Aisling said, applauding.
“Well done,” Ysolde said, kissing Baltic’s cheek.
Kostya looked like he wanted to argue, but evidently caught a glimpse of Aoife’s face, because he shot her a puzzled look.
“Sorry,” she told him with an apologetic gesture at the rest of the table. “About this, I agree with them. If you want me to be a part of your life and a member of the black dragons, then I think I should be able to say something.”
“It is not the way we have done things,” Kostya argued, but the fight had gone out of his body language, and he sat back down when Aoife patted his arm, and said, “I know it is, but now is an excellent time to change things, don’t you think?”
Kostya might have realized he had to give in on that point, but he stuck like a burr to another one. “Even if we do change the rules to allow mates to have input, that still does not address the fact that Constantine is here with an outsider.”
“Look,” I said, standing up and putting my hands flat on the table. “I know I’m an outsider, okay? I’m human, and I’m a Charmer, and I don’t particularly like dragons.” I slid a fast glance at Constantine. “Well, I like one dragon. The rest of you are a bit much to take in close quarters. That said, Constantine and I have just as much a right to be at this planning session as you do. More, since we’re the ones who broke the curse.”
“Which you bungled the first time you tried,” Kostya snapped.
“Because you two didn’t bother to give us the proper information!” I slapped the table hard enough to make Aoife jump. “Dammit, do you think I’m here because I don’t have anything better to do with my time than listen to a bunch of scaly human-shaped beasts bicker with each other? Bael killed the Venediger and her assistant, Guillaume. They saw it.” I pointed at Ysolde and Baltic.
Ysolde went a little pale. Baltic put his arm around her and hauled her onto his lap.
“Now, I may not be a big, tough dragon like Constantine, or even mated to him, but I did know Jovana for almost three years. She passed along many jobs to me over that time and was never anything but thoughtful. She cared about the Otherworld. She wanted to protect not just them but the mortals from any bad influences on the immortal side. And she provided us all with a safe haven where everyone could meet without fear or danger.” Tears came to my eyes, making me blink rapidly. “So yes, I’m only a mortal Charmer, but I’ll be damned if I let Jovana be snuffed out of existence like she’s nothing more than a cigarette. I will do everything within my power to see that Bael pays for his crime, and if that means he has to be destroyed, then by the gods, I’ll help cut him down!”
Silence fell on the room. It was a stunned silence, one that was eventually broken by the slow clapping of one pair of hands.
I turned my head to look at Constantine. He smiled at me, then rose and stood at my side, his hand on my back. “And so too do I swear. I will rid this world of Bael, or I will die trying. I have died once, and did not enjoy it. I don’t wish to do it again. Especially now as I am responsible for Gary’s well-being and Bee’s sexual needs.”
I smacked him on the arm. He turned a startled expression to me.
“We have a new rule: you don’t announce to people I’ve just met that we’re doing the sheet tango. It’s hard enough getting respect without them wondering which of your many toys we’ve been trying out that day.”
“Ooh, Constantine has some excellent toys,” Ysolde said, nodding. “I helped him pick out a couple of them from a fabulous shop where I got a really wonderful toy shaped like the letter U.”
“Is that for a he or a she?” Aisling asked, leaning forward to see around Drake.
“It’s sold for women, but a little creativity can do wonders with it,” Ysolde answered.
“Battery operated or electric?” Aoife asked.
Kostya shot her an indignant, “Aoife!”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” she told him soothingly.
“Batteries,” Ysolde said with a private smile. “Take my recommendation and get a few extra packs. You definitely don’t want to run short, and using both ends of the U shape takes a lot of battery power.”
Aisling clearly agreed with that sentiment, because she leaned forward again to ask, “And where did you get—”
Her question was cut short when Drake, who had evidently been holding his temper in with a not very patient hand, suddenly roared for silence, and slammed his hand so hard on the table that it sent a long crack out from the center. “Enough!” he cried, sharing a truly magnificent glare among us all. “This is a sarkany, not a sexual aid discussion! We have important things to discuss and decide upon—”
Constantine tapped the table until Ysolde looked over to him. He held a tablet of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. “What shop was the U device sold at, and do they take bulk orders?”
