he’d do.
“Silly dragon?” Kostya roared, his expression as dark as his hair as he glared at Cyrene. “You left me! You made me name you as a mate—despite the fact that you
aren’t
a wyvern’s mate—in front of all the weyr, and then you left me six weeks later!”
“I didn’t really leave you. I just had to go do some…er…work….”
“You told me I was a beast and cruel and wasn’t worth the ground you walked on!” Kostya stormed. “You said you hated me, and that you were going away to live with some water god, and you never wanted to see me again.”
Cyrene, with another glance at the rest of us, tried to put her hand on his arm, but he snatched it back with a disbelieving glare. “Now, dumpling, I’m sure the others aren’t interested in our silly little squabbles—”
“Squabbles!” Kostya bellowed, sucking in the remainder of the air in obvious preparation for continuing at that volume.
“Cyrene, I think now is not the time to have this discussion,” May said, taking her twin and pushing her toward the door. “You’re just upsetting everyone, and if Kostya continues to yell like that, he’ll wake Aisling’s babies.”
“But I’m a mate,” Cyrene protested as May forced her out of the room. “This is a mates’ meeting. I should be here.”
The door closed on May’s soft murmurs, leaving the room highly charged.
“Wow,” Jim said, snuffling Kostya’s legs until the dragon narrowed his eyes. “Never thought she’d have the balls to try to sweet-talk her way back into your good graces. You’re not going to take her back, are you? ’Cause if you are, I’m going to want to have a video camera handy to film it. It isn’t often you see a wyvern emasculate himself over a chick.”
“Aisling,” Kostya growled in warning.
“Jim, silence. Don’t you give me that look—you know better than to say things like that, especially to Kostya. Although…” She glanced up at Drake. “Although I do admit to wondering if you’re intending on taking her back, Kostya. Not that it’s any of our business, but…er…I wondered.”
“As did I,” I said, noting that Kostya looked as if he wanted to set fire to something. Or more likely, someone.
To my surprise, he shot an unreadable look at me. “Why do you care? You aren’t going to try to make me believe you have any fondness for me, too, are you?”
It took me a moment to find the words. “I have always been fond of you, Kostya, right up to the point where you killed Baltic, and then, obviously, I had a change of heart. But lately, I’ve been reminded that you weren’t entirely bad, although I could do without your breaking Baltic’s nose all over the place.”
“Twice. I’ve broken it twice in the last few months, and he broke mine as many times, so we’re even,” Kostya protested, rubbing his nose. He stopped and squinted at me. “You want something from me, don’t you? I can tell. I can always tell when a woman wants something.”
“Of course I want something. I want my house back.”
Kostya took a deep breath. “Dragonwood is mine.”
“Baltic built it for me! I designed the gardens!”
“It belongs to the black wyvern, and thus it’s mine now,” Kostya argued. “Unless you have something of equal value you wish to exchange for it?”
“I have money. Well, Baltic does,” I said slowly, knowing full well that all of Baltic’s resources were being funneled into the rebuilding of Dauva. Although it went against the grain to buy what truly belonged to me, perhaps Kostya could be tempted into an arrangement. “How much were you thinking of?”
“I would not sell Dragonwood for mere money,” Kostya scoffed. “You have nothing else of value to offer?”
“Me, personally? I have my love token.” I touched the chain around my neck, the small oval of silver that hung from it tucked warmly between my breasts. “But its value is sentimental rather than material.”
“I wouldn’t take the love
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