She felt nothing. Only the fevered heat beneath her palm made clear she hadn’t lost the necessary physical contact. That made things simpler.
“He’s feverish. I don’t know enough about Barrani physiology to know how much of a fever Barrani can safely maintain, or for how long.” She couldn’t read him at all. She couldn’t tell if there were internal injuries she couldn’t see.
“We won’t make it back to the Tower. We have a Dragon waiting in the street at the edge of the border. If he had permission to fly—and land—we could ask him to take us to the Tower. But the Tower will be a problem. I can’t wake Nightshade. I can’tgethis permission, if Tiamaris would even ask it.”
“I highly doubt a Dragon is capable of the subtlety required to pass beneath the Tower’s notice.” Andellen’s voice was stiff. Tiamaris was standing at the very edge of Nightshade, and Nightshade had a death-grip onMeliannos, one of The Three, weapons considered dragonkillers by the Barrani.
Kaylin grimaced. “Fine. We need Nightshade not to be here. I don’t know how much time we’ll have. I don’t know if there are spies who are waiting until they feel enough time has passed that they can approach. Help me carry him.”
“What do you intend?”
“I don’t have a Tower. I could ask Tiamaris to shelter him while we try to figure out what’s wrong. Tara might have some idea.” Before Andellen could reply, she said, “Or I couldtake him to my home. Helen used to be the home of a sorcerer. She might be able to give us information.”
The Consort would prefer that, Ynpharion said.
Andellen carried Nightshade across the border. Tiamaris was, as Kaylin had said, waiting—and he hadn’t bothered to transform again. He was a large red Dragon whose scales reflected the day’s light. His eyes were orange, but red flecks—far more visible in eyes of this size—were moving in.
“I need you to carry us to Helen,” Kaylin told him, without preamble.
“I cannot legally do so in this form.”
“I don’t think the city streets will be safe,” she said, ignoring the question of legality, although technically she was on duty. “Can you pick him up in your claws?”
“By unsafe, what do you mean? Corpses seldom pose a problem, except in that they must be removed.”
“Fourteen Barrani are dead by my count. Does that mean much to you?”
“War band, perhaps.” Tiamaris’s voice was a rumble. He knew flying in draconic form was illegal but knew as well that exceptions were often made in emergencies. In what the Emperor deemed an emergency.
Severn nodded. “There may be Barrani in the houses or streets who are waiting to confirm Nightshade’s death. If another gathering of Barrani soldiers is waiting, they’ll be waiting within the city itself.”
“You believe they would be foolish enough to attack in the Emperor’s streets?”
“They were foolish enough to attack Nightshade in his own fief.”
Tiamaris rumbled. “Your request does not appear to be entirely foolish, given Lord Nightshade’s condition. Fine,” he said, dropping High Barrani for Elantran for the single word.
“Andellen is coming with us.” Kaylin let the statement tail into a question by tone alone.
“He will not be an encumbrance. But Kaylin, I do suggest we move.”
Severn hadn’t sheathed his weapon. He turned. In the distance, Barrani, armed and armored, could be seen. None were carrying bows.
Ynpharion cursed. To Kaylin’s surprise, he chose Leontine. In any other circumstance, she might have been amused.
“Two war bands’ worth of Barrani,” Kaylin murmured. She leaped onto Tiamaris’s back. Severn sheathed his weapons in a single gesture. He joined her. Andellen did the same. If he had reservations about riding a Dragon’s back, the obvious danger overwhelmed them. He trusted Tiamaris more than he trusted the Barrani.
Fool. It’s you he trusts.
It didn’t matter. Tiamaris pushed himself off the ground. Any thoughts Kaylin might have shared with Ynpharion were lost; she needed to hold on tightly, his ascent was so steeply angled.
Nightshade, he dangled in his forepaws.
Kaylin had no easy way of communicating with Helen at a distance. None of her namebound lived in her house. Severn was directly behind her. Nightshade was unconscious. Lirienne was in the West March. Distance didn’t destroy the bond—it couldn’t.
That left only Ynpharion, and in this particular case, he couldn’t be of much use either.
“You’re going to have to land on the lawn!” she shouted. Tiamaris was flying quickly; he kicked up enough wind to make shouting necessary.