attuned to it after a minute.
My grandfather stayed quiet, letting me adjust completely as his driver steered us out of the parking lot.
“Hey, Grandfather,” I said as I pulled away to look at him. My grandfather looked maybe forty tops, which in a half-dragon showed how truly old he was. He had the impossible beauty made up of fine chiseled aristocratic features that all high ranking half-dragons seemed to be blessed with. Born among the first dracons, he barely had an inch on me, tall for his time, but shorter than most women now. He looked exhausted; it was subtle, just a slight droop in his eyelids. By showing any weakness, even that slight, he told me both that he trusted me and that I was safe with him.
Something was going on. Glacier did not get overwhelmed with concern for me, he was always confident that any situation I could stumble into, he could cut me out of. And my grandfather was never exhausted enough to show it, never.
My hand reached for my grandfather’s arm, but I set it back down in my lap. Not that I would ever ask him if something was bothering him; to him, showing concern would be me saying, ‘I am not just assuming that you have everything under control’.
“Oh,” he said, “I want to return your ring. I reformed the emotion-portal. You gave me a little buzz last night; it lasted almost half an hour.”
“Half an hour?” I said, snorting, “I did not sleep and I only had the emotions pass through me on the way to you. I wish I could digest it all like you can, it just, stays in me.” I slipped my ring back to its usual home on my index finger.
“Yes, it is unfortunate, your limitation. That is why I renewed the portal,” he said. “The portal only works for twenty or so uses.”
“Thanks,” I said. “But if Glacier has his way, I won’t be able to use it or anything else for three months.”
“Do not rekindle my anger at your disobedience,” he said. “I have given the punishment to Glacier to dole out, and he has chosen to coddle you. If a soldier followed his ideas rather than his orders when I was your age, he was flogged.”
“If you flogged me,” I said, smiling and settling into his arm, “At least I wouldn’t be able to wear that hideous halter dress my mom is forcing me to wear Saturday. I’m going to look ridiculous on the stage; I should wear a suit like the other soldiers.”
His voice was toneless, matter of fact, as he said, “The plan has changed; you will be presented with your sisters.”
The fear that blasted through me was primal, growing from the deepest strongest fear I’ve ever had in me, clustering in my chest. The black interior of the car seemed to squeeze in. My grandfather was setting me aside; this must have been what Glacier was worried about.
How did everything go so wrong from one tiny mistake, one tiny happenstance? If that band had been any other random band, the chances were slim that the entertainment itinerary of the Midnight Club would have ever been brought to my grandfather’s attention. Stepping out of line would have probably earned me a slap on the wrist from Glacier, rather than being tossed to the proverbial curb. I had always taken my grandfather’s favoritism for granted, become overconfident, and now I was going to pay for it.
My grandfather examined me with his coal black eyes, obviously sensing my fear. Like me, my grandfather could sense the emotions that people threw into the air and feed on them, digest them, especially fear. His emotional vampirism was one of his very useful and often used aspects. He could not, however, go beyond what people unwittingly threw off into the air, could not see nor dive into souls as I could.
He said, “Those dresses better look as if they are made of starlight. Your mother finagled another ten thousand dollars for you and your sisters’ wardrobe for the next two weeks.”
Grandfather looked at me with the sharp intellect that even his exhaustion could not dull. “I
My grandfather stayed quiet, letting me adjust completely as his driver steered us out of the parking lot.
“Hey, Grandfather,” I said as I pulled away to look at him. My grandfather looked maybe forty tops, which in a half-dragon showed how truly old he was. He had the impossible beauty made up of fine chiseled aristocratic features that all high ranking half-dragons seemed to be blessed with. Born among the first dracons, he barely had an inch on me, tall for his time, but shorter than most women now. He looked exhausted; it was subtle, just a slight droop in his eyelids. By showing any weakness, even that slight, he told me both that he trusted me and that I was safe with him.
Something was going on. Glacier did not get overwhelmed with concern for me, he was always confident that any situation I could stumble into, he could cut me out of. And my grandfather was never exhausted enough to show it, never.
My hand reached for my grandfather’s arm, but I set it back down in my lap. Not that I would ever ask him if something was bothering him; to him, showing concern would be me saying, ‘I am not just assuming that you have everything under control’.
“Oh,” he said, “I want to return your ring. I reformed the emotion-portal. You gave me a little buzz last night; it lasted almost half an hour.”
“Half an hour?” I said, snorting, “I did not sleep and I only had the emotions pass through me on the way to you. I wish I could digest it all like you can, it just, stays in me.” I slipped my ring back to its usual home on my index finger.
“Yes, it is unfortunate, your limitation. That is why I renewed the portal,” he said. “The portal only works for twenty or so uses.”
“Thanks,” I said. “But if Glacier has his way, I won’t be able to use it or anything else for three months.”
“Do not rekindle my anger at your disobedience,” he said. “I have given the punishment to Glacier to dole out, and he has chosen to coddle you. If a soldier followed his ideas rather than his orders when I was your age, he was flogged.”
“If you flogged me,” I said, smiling and settling into his arm, “At least I wouldn’t be able to wear that hideous halter dress my mom is forcing me to wear Saturday. I’m going to look ridiculous on the stage; I should wear a suit like the other soldiers.”
His voice was toneless, matter of fact, as he said, “The plan has changed; you will be presented with your sisters.”
The fear that blasted through me was primal, growing from the deepest strongest fear I’ve ever had in me, clustering in my chest. The black interior of the car seemed to squeeze in. My grandfather was setting me aside; this must have been what Glacier was worried about.
How did everything go so wrong from one tiny mistake, one tiny happenstance? If that band had been any other random band, the chances were slim that the entertainment itinerary of the Midnight Club would have ever been brought to my grandfather’s attention. Stepping out of line would have probably earned me a slap on the wrist from Glacier, rather than being tossed to the proverbial curb. I had always taken my grandfather’s favoritism for granted, become overconfident, and now I was going to pay for it.
My grandfather examined me with his coal black eyes, obviously sensing my fear. Like me, my grandfather could sense the emotions that people threw into the air and feed on them, digest them, especially fear. His emotional vampirism was one of his very useful and often used aspects. He could not, however, go beyond what people unwittingly threw off into the air, could not see nor dive into souls as I could.
He said, “Those dresses better look as if they are made of starlight. Your mother finagled another ten thousand dollars for you and your sisters’ wardrobe for the next two weeks.”
Grandfather looked at me with the sharp intellect that even his exhaustion could not dull. “I
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