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Along the other side of the table sat some members of the dwarven delegation. I assumed if they were in the room, that meant they must be pretty important. Some were clad in armor. Others wore fine dwarven-made clothing—coats of rich green fabric, trimmed with gold braids and fastened with beautiful metal clasps. One dwarven man particularly stood out. He sat in the center, his silver-streaked beard braided with gems, gold rings on every finger. His clothing looked richer than what the others were wearing. A heavy gold medallion carved with dwarven symbols hung on a chain across his chest.

Beside him sat a younger dwarven woman who radiated barely suppressed fury like heat from a fire. Her skin was a deep, rich brown. Kohl traced the shapes of her large dark eyes. Her long black hair was plaited into heavy braids, each one tied off at the ends with bands of gold. Her robes seemed almost ceremonial. They were a rich dark green, and the hems and sleeves were bordered in a design of what looked like runes, woven in gold and silver thread. Her jaw was clenched tight as her fingers tapped the arm of her chair impatiently.

“Uh, welcome everyone,” Rodriguez said awkwardly, standing at the front of the room. “If you haven’t already met our guests from Thrazdummar, allow me to introduce you.” He gestured to the powerful man I’d been staring at. “Lord Dinesh Sharma is the head of the Thrazdummar High Council. And to his right is Zaira Bloodshield. Zaira is—” He looked down at the table as if to check his notes. Scratch that, he was checking notes on a piece of parchment in front of him. “Zaira is a Stone Keeper and—”

“First Stone Keeper,” the dwarven woman interrupted, her tone frosty.

“Yes, right, First Stone Keeper. My apologies.” Rodriguez ran through the rest of the introductions, then paused, looking around the room. “Well, you already know why the delegation from Thrazdummar is here. They’ve asked for a moot.”

“We have not asked. We have demanded one, as is our right,” Zaira corrected. She looked around the table. When her eyes found mine, she held my gaze for a moment before shifting her stare to Pendragon. “Besides, Lord Sharma and I are not here for the moot.”

Rodriguez gaped. “You’re not here for the moot? I’m not sure what … I mean, of course, you’re more than welcome to visit Bloodwing. Tomorrow, I’ve arranged a little tour—”

“No,” she interrupted. She looked down at the high-council head beside her, and he gave a tight nod. “We’re here to see your dragon.” She looked across the table at Pendragon and now there was no mistake about it. Zaira was definitely glowering. “And we’re here to meet the woman who murdered Lord Sharma’s grandson.”

Chapter 32

MEDRA

The room went very quiet. I looked over at Lord Sharma. “Are you really Naveen’s grandfather?” He nodded slowly. I took a deep breath. “In that case, I am sorry for your loss. Naveen was my friend. I had no wish to hurt him.”

“Yet you killed him, did you not?” Zaira said icily. “We were told he died at your hands.”

“He did,” I said softly. “He was trying to kill me. I stopped him. But at that point—”

“I’ve got this, Pendragon,” Blake snapped. He stood up beside me, his handsome face stormy. “She did what she had to do to survive. What the letter Headmaster Kim sent you probably left out was that Naveen was trying to kill her, too. He’d been … altered. You wouldn’t even have recognized him. He was already dead. He’d been brought back with blood magic and necromancy.”

Lord Sharma and Zaira glanced at one another. “I don’t understand,” the head of the council said slowly.

“Nor do I,” Zaira said, her voice laden with fury. “Dwarven students are supposed to be off-limits while attending Bloodwing.”

It certainly did seem like an incredibly stupid faux pas to murder the dwarven high-council leader’s grandson. I wondered if Headmaster Kim had a thing about dwarves. Then I thought of Lace and Dani. Or maybe dwarven children simply weren’t quite as untouchable aboveground as their families liked to believe.

“Can we get back to the part about dragons, and you and Medra can settle your little blood feud later?” Visha asked, leaning forward. Traitor.

“Very well,” Zaira said curtly. “Where is your dragon—Nyxaris, I believe he is called? Summon him here.”

I exchanged a look with Blake and Rodriguez. “He’s not around right now. Nor is his rider.”

“When will he be back?” Zaira demanded. “We must see him.”

“Why did you say you were here for a moot when you actually needed to see Nyxaris?” Rodriguez asked, his face puzzled.

“Obviously we doubted the highbloods would allow us access to the dragon,” Zaira replied disdainfully. “But we must see the Duskdrake. It is vital we do so.”

Naveen’s grandfather spoke up. “Zaira and I represent not just the Kingdom of Thrazdummar but the Order of the Emberwatch.”

“The what?” Rodriguez choked, looking stunned. “Did you just say the Emberwatch?”

“That’s right,” Zaira said coolly. “Have you heard this name before?”

“I … Yes, I should say so.” Rodriguez face was strained. “I believed I was the last member.”

Zaira looked amused. “You, the last member?” She shook her head. “No. That’s not the case. The dwarves have always been the foremost members of the Emberwatch.”

Rodriguez looked a little annoyed. “Well, that’s not exactly true. Historically, there have been blightborn members.”

She waved her hand. “Perhaps a few.”