Therrik stepped forward, raising Kasandral, as if to defend his monarch from a fellow officer who had gone mad. Ridge halted him with a smirk—and an iron grip.
Angulus spread his arms, and a second later, he and Kaika stood with limbs entwined, locked in a kiss that could have woken a man—or woman—from the dead. The guards sighed and looked at the ground.
Therrik gaped.
Ridge’s smirk widened. “Good to see some things didn’t change while I was gone.”
Therrik didn’t stop staring, but he did manage to close his mouth and fix it into his usual scowl. He stalked over and took over guarding the emperor, who had been struggling to escape the guards.
Are there any Cofah coming in behind our people’s fliers, Jaxi? Sardelle dreaded the idea of another fight, but she wouldn’t be surprised if more than dragons had been sent to recover the emperor—and his daughter.
None on the horizon yet, Jaxi said. Though maybe you want to ask Bhrava Saruth about that. His range is a lot farther than mine. That is, if he can pull himself away from that massage. Jaxi sniffed. I had no idea dragons were so needy.
Just that one. I’ve never seen Phelistoth request belly rubs.
We don’t know what he asks Tylie for when we’re not around.
Sardelle didn’t want to contemplate that.
“Therrik,” Angulus said, finally breaking his kiss with Kaika, though he hadn’t let her go yet—a challenge when she had one leg wrapped around him. “Take a couple of guards and find someplace to lock up our prisoner until I can have him taken to the new home I’ve prepared for him. We may need to take over the old citadel for the time being.”
The emperor’s eyebrows drew together in a V, and he looked like he wanted to speak, but nobody had removed his gag.
“Yes, Sire,” Therrik said.
“See to it that he has food and something to drink, whatever small comforts we can offer, considering...” Angulus extended a hand toward the ruined castle.
“Yes, Sire.”
As Cas and the others soared over the castle, looking for places to land their fliers—a challenge in the demolished courtyard—Therrik strode off with his head high, Kasandral sheathed on his back, and his prisoner gripped firmly in hand. While they waited, Kaika walked over to Ridge, a satisfied grin on her face, and thumped him on the shoulder.
“Good to see you alive, General.”
“Good to see your lip muscles haven’t atrophied while we’ve all been away, Captain.”
“I keep them well exercised.”
Ridge opened his mouth, caught Angulus looking at him through slitted eyes, and shut it before anything else came out. Maybe the last couple of weeks had left him a little wiser.
Just subdued, I think, Jaxi said. I’m sure his mouth will be back to normal once you forgive him for lip wrestling with other women.
I’ve already forgiven him.
Don’t tell him that right away. Tonight, he plans to very passionately and vigorously demonstrate to you that you are the only woman he loves.
I do enjoy his vigor.
Now, if I can just get him to put that scruffy Cofah soulblade aside. With vigor.
After landing, the flier pilots and their passengers headed directly to the king and the growing group around the collapsed tower. Unlike her father, who was no longer in the area, the young dark-haired Cofah princess was not bound or gagged. She followed Pimples and looked around with large, uncertain eyes.
Cas ran ahead of the group, reaching them first. After a hasty salute for the king and a grin and a salute for Ridge, she went to Tolemek for an embrace that wasn’t quite as molten as Angulus and Kaika’s but which, given their usual preference for privacy, surprised Sardelle in its thoroughness. Ridge usually sighed and rolled his eyes when his lieutenant showed affection for Tolemek, but he merely smiled and pulled Sardelle closer.
After a suitable time had passed, and while Angulus greeted the princess formally and respectfully, Cas left Tolemek’s embrace and came over to stand in front of Ridge.
“It’s good to see you alive, sir.” She saluted him solemnly and hesitated, glancing at Sardelle.
Sardelle inclined her head and stepped to the side. Cas bit her lip and hugged Ridge. His eyebrows rose in surprise, but he returned the embrace and patted her on the back.
“Are you all right, Ahn?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, sir.” Cas cleared her throat and backed up, her cheeks flushing slightly. “We all thought you were dead.”
“I’m glad to disabuse you of that thought then. Now, before you leave, could you explain to me why that young woman—a Cofah princess, I understand?—is holding Pimples’ hand?”
Her eyes crinkled. “I’m not sure I can explain that, sir.”
Epilogue
Cas and Tolemek rode on horseback down a tree-lined lane in a quiet part of the city. A steam wagon rolled along beside them, driven by Pimples and Beeline, both of whom were sharing ridiculously pleased grins. Several other Wolf Squadron pilots sat in the back, keeping an eye on the precious cargo.
“Are we sure we want to arrive with this?” Tolemek muttered to Cas and tilted his head toward the wagon bed.
The large group was on the way to General Zirkander’s house for one of his legendary brisk-ball and beer gatherings, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the previous summer. Now, with the late spring weather finally warm and sunny, and no Cofah warships lurking off Iskandia’s shoreline, the time for gatherings had apparently come. Cas, not much of a partygoer, had only been to one of them. She recalled drunken colleagues wandering around the yard, wearing nothing but curtains. She also recalled their repeated efforts to convince General Ort to go over and kiss the neighbor’s aged grandmother. Now that Sardelle and Ridge had moved off base, the latter shouldn’t be a problem. Cas wasn’t sure about the former. She was fairly certain the general’s new house had curtains.
“As appalling as it is,” Cas said, “I suspect General Zirkander will like it.”
Tolemek was still looking dubiously toward a tarp covering a couch in the back of the wagon. “I was thinking more of Sardelle’s likes.”
“She can ask a dragon to incinerate it if she hates it. Now that she has two living there most of the time, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I don’t think they’re there most of the time,” Tolemek said.
Cas was less certain. She’d heard the neighbors on the street had moved out of their houses. That might just be a rumor. She had also heard that a growing number of people in the city had heard about how Bhrava Saruth had helped defend the castle in an attack and wanted to come touch him for luck.
“They just visit,” Tolemek said. “They don’t live there all the time. I have been feeling guilty about foisting Tylie off on Sardelle so often, but now that we’re getting a house...” He smiled shyly at Cas. They had discussed it again a few days ago and were now looking in earnest for something that suited their joint needs.
She smiled back. “Tylie and her dragon can spend time there?”
“She can. I’m not sure about having dragons around. If we do end up leasing a place, I’d like to get the damage deposit back someday.”
“I thought Phelistoth didn’t breathe fire.”
“He doesn’t, but he’s been teaching Tylie how to levitate things. Sometimes there are concentration lapses.”
“Ah.”
Cas looked forward to sharing more than a room with Tolemek and shopping for a place of their own, rather than simply staying in the barracks or in the room near the lab that the king provided, but she got the impression that Tylie liked staying out here, with woods and a pond next to the house. She seemed to enjoy nature, even when she wasn’t convincing trees to lean this way or that.
“I trust my gift will be well-received,” Colonel Quataldo said from the side of the road. He was walking instead of riding, keeping up with the group easily. He carried a brown box with a bow tied around it.
“Is that t
he egg you found in Dakrovia?” Tolemek asked.
“Now with a dragon carved into the shell, yes.”
“Sardelle should like that,” Cas said.
“So long as it doesn’t hatch,” Tolemek muttered.
Cas wasn’t close enough to swat him, but she flicked her fingers in his direction.
“As I told you in the swamps,” Quataldo said, “it wasn’t fertilized.”
Giggles came from the front of the wagon as Pimples and Beeline made the final turn onto the general’s street. Judging by excited shouts that drifted from the yard at the end, the athletic activities had already begun. Cas would join in later, once the targets were half drunk. She had better aim than most, and people were quick to claim her for their team, but the other team always targeted her first, often three at a time. When she got pegged with one of those big leather brisk-balls, it was enough to knock her on her butt—and leave a bruise the size of her butt.
“Almost there,” Beeline crooned, the rim of his oversized cap pulled down almost to his nose.
“Won’t you feel guilty delivering that thing to your C.O., Farris?” Tolemek asked Pimples.
“Not at all. I need a few laughs to keep my mind off...” He sighed dramatically—melodramatically, Cas would have said—and gazed toward the western sky.
“Still missing your princess?” Tolemek asked.
“Yes. I know we have her to thank for the fact that the Cofah aren’t trying to obliterate the city right now, any more than it’s already been obliterated, but I wish she hadn’t had to go home.” He brightened. “She did send me a letter recently. She wants to come to visit.”
“To visit you or visit her father?”
“Me, of course. She doesn’t know where her father is. None of us do. The Cofah actually seem fairly certain that he died in the Dakrovia dragon attack. They’re not entirely sure who to blame, but they know we were there. We’re lucky nobody’s retaliating.”
“I understand that Angulus implied the princess’s return was a peace offering,” Cas said.
Pimples sniffed. “She came with me willingly. We wouldn’t have kept her here against her wishes.”
“I don’t think the king felt the need to make that clear.”
There were so many vehicles already parked in front of Zirkander’s house that the couch delivery team struggled to find a route to the lawn. A couple of the fancier steam carriages looked like they had come from the king’s garage, and Cas glimpsed a few bodyguards in uniforms patrolling the premises. Unlike most of the other guests, they did not carry mugs of beer in their hands.
Tolemek guided his horse away from Pimples and Beeline, perhaps wanting to distance himself from Wolf Squadron’s carefully selected gift. He headed toward the side yard where an impromptu corral had been set up. Cas went with him, also not wishing to take credit for any part of that gift. She had dutifully chipped in on it, but she had been on the losing side of the vote, wanting to get Zirkander and Sardelle a nice couch akin to the one that had been obliterated by the dragon.
Tolemek handed his reins to a youth who looked like he might have been borrowed from the castle for the job. If the king was here, this was a much more prestigious gathering than usual. Cas hoped his presence meant that Angulus had forgiven Zirkander for allowing the sorceress access to the castle. She hadn’t heard the entire story, but she remembered the uncharacteristic hangdog look the general had worn that afternoon when she first landed. The next day, he’d shown up at work with his expression more sure, but he still seemed subdued, not as cocky and irreverent as usual. Of course, it had only been three weeks. Time would likely heal any wounds on his soul and return him to his typical self.
“Uhm, Cas?” Tolemek asked, his tone odd. He had dismounted first and stood looking toward the backyard. The shouts, grunts, and thumps of a brisk-ball game came from that direction.
Cas slid off her horse, handing the reins to the stable boy. “Yes?”
“Should I be worried? Or perhaps armed?” Tolemek lowered his voice. “I didn’t bring any knockout grenades. I didn’t think I would need them at a barbecue.”
“Are you talking about for the game?”
“Ah, no.”
Cas, too short to see over her horse’s back, had to walk around to find out what Tolemek was talking about. She paused to stare, not certain whether to share his alarm, to be pleased, or to feel wary. Maybe all three?
She patted Tolemek on the chest, hoping the gesture reassured him that he wasn’t in danger—and hoping she was right. Her father watched them from the corner of the house. In stark contrast to most of the barbecue attendees, who wore brightly patterned and often clashing shirts that left one grateful that uniforms were mandatory at work, her father was dressed in his usual black and gray, the drab colors indifferent to the sun’s cheer. Most likely, he had numerous weapons stashed about his person, though none of them were visible today. Cas walked toward him, deciding to find the lack of obvious weaponry reassuring. The king’s guards meandering around the property were equally reassuring, though if her father was truly determined to kill someone, guards wouldn’t stop him. He could strike and disappear into the woods behind the house quickly.
“Caslin.” Her father nodded gravely. His jaw tightened when he glanced at Tolemek, who was following behind her, but he did nothing worse.
“Father,” Cas said, knowing she sounded as stiff as he did, but never knowing how to change that. She couldn’t ever be comfortable with the man. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”
“No?” His sandy brows arched slightly. “General Zirkander invited me.”
“It looks like he invited everyone.” Cas glanced toward the king’s men. “It’s possible he’s considering this a belated housewarming party and expects gifts.”
Her father gazed at her without comment, his eyebrows settling into their normal position. It occurred to Cas that her comment might have been an insult.
“I mean, I’m not surprised that he invited you,” she said, not sure that was any better. “But why did you come?”
“To see you. You haven’t been by since returning from Dakrovia.”
A mission he shouldn’t have known about, but his knowledge of such things did not surprise her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were expecting me.” The last time she had visited the house had been the first time in years. She wouldn’t have guessed that he expected her to return, though he had mentioned something about them target shooting together.
“I wish to let you know that the bounty on your pirate’s head is no longer in effect,” her father said.
“We guessed that, but it’s good to know.” She glanced at Tolemek, not sure if she should introduce him or encourage him to run away before her father spoke to him. “His name is Tolemek, Father. He’s no longer a pirate. He’s working for the king as a scientist.”
She was sure he knew all of that, but she did not know what else to say for an introduction. Tolemek and her father had never met face to face. Tolemek stood quietly, with his hands clasped behind his back, almost in a military stance. He hadn’t reacted to the your pirate comment. He’d heard much worse here, she knew.
“Is the pay adequate?” her father asked him. His mouth turned downward slightly. “Your apartment is... modest.”
Leave it to her father to subtly let him know that he knew where he lived—and that he thought it wasn’t good enough.
“It’s a reasonable monthly income,” Tolemek said, “and Cas and I are planning to look for a bigger place together, something that’s truly ours. I have a side deal going with a pharmaceutical company that’s proving quite lucrative. I suppose we could eventually look for a house up in your neighborhood, assuming they let foreigners buy land around here.”
“You didn’t tell me about that,” Cas said.
“No.” Tolemek smiled agreeably.
She lowered her voice and murmured, “Not because it’s something dangerous that I wouldn’t approve of and that
you shouldn’t approve of either, right?” She was certain he did not want to make anything that could be used to harm people anymore, but she wondered why he hadn’t mentioned the side project. They had been together often of late.
“It’s not dangerous. It’s not glamorous either. Your Lieutenant Averstash was in an early trial.” He nodded but said nothing more. Not wanting to go into details in front of her father?
She sensed a hint of embarrassment from him. What would Pimples have agreed to use in a trial? Even as she wondered, Pimples jogged past on his way to talk to Captains Blazer and Crash, who were minding the barbecue pit and the smoker in the backyard.
“We’re going to do the unveiling soon,” he told them. “Can you finish up and join us out front, sir, ma’am?”
As Pimples ran back past Cas, giving her an inviting wave, she noticed that his face lacked the telltale acne that had resulted in his nickname. He’d said something about avoiding the mess hall food lately, but maybe that wasn’t it at all. She squinted at Tolemek. His smile broadened. Seven gods, had he used his scientific gift to make some kind of pimple cream?
“Maybe that has something to do with his newfound luck with princesses,” Cas said.
Tolemek winked. “Likely so.”
“Father, will you join us for the, ah, unveiling?” Cas gestured toward the front yard.
He twitched his nose in that direction, not appearing enthused at the prospect. “General Zirkander said there would be brisk-ball.”
“You’re not interested in playing, are you?”
“I would be interested in watching you play. It’s been many years since you competed in marksmanship competitions and brought home medals.”
No, she just brought home pirates now. Ex-pirates.
“I’d be particularly pleased if you placed yourself on the team opposing Zirkander,” her father said, an unholy gleam in his eyes.
“I’d like to see that too.” Tolemek grinned.
“As a leader, he should be targeted early and removed from the game,” her father said.
“Absolutely,” Tolemek said.