One of their four escorts had left, the moment the rest of them had entered this world, flying off on an unknown errand. Irene had a nasty suspicion that they were reporting in to receive further orders. But all the other dragons had assumed human form, as had Kai and Hu. And now the strangers wanted answers.
‘Identify yourselves,’ a woman who appeared to be their leader commanded. She was robed in deep amethyst-purple with light green collar and cuffs, and her rich dark hair was coiled up in an elaborate hairstyle. ‘Why are you bearing unconscious nobles, courtiers from the Queen of the Southern Lands’ domain?’
‘My name is Kai,’ Kai answered, ‘son of Ao Guang, the King of the Eastern Ocean. If I have trespassed on the territory of another, then I will make my apologies. May I also know your name?’
Irene kept her mouth shut, hoping against hope that they might somehow wriggle out of this without her and Evariste being identified as Librarians. Their interrogator was clearly fixing on Kai as the obvious one to question. Perhaps they’d blundered into a standard patrol. Perhaps these strangers would accept a plausible explanation for Qing Song and Jin Zhi’s state.
‘I am Mei Feng, of the Queen of the Southern Lands’ court,’ the woman in purple said, in a noticeably more courteous tone. She clearly hadn’t expected to catch such a big fish. ‘A violent altercation was observed, which might have caused a change to the very reality of that world. Were you involved?’
‘I observed these two dragons in dispute and intervened to stop them,’ Kai said. The twitch of his shoulders suggested polite boredom. ‘As you say, it might have been unhealthy for that world’s stability.’
‘Ah.’ Mei Feng stepped closer, inspecting the two unconscious bodies. The other pair of dragons, robed like their leader but less elegantly, were too close for comfort. ‘I recognize these individuals. But where did you intend to take them? And who are these humans?’ Her questions were polite enough, but it was clear that her attitude could very easily change if Kai did not provide suitable answers.
‘Such questions are extremely personal and could be considered to be prying into my private affairs,’ Kai objected. But it was weak. Irene knew it, and she knew that Kai knew it, and she was fairly sure Mei Feng knew it as well. They’d been caught with the evidence on them. It was, as the English would say, ‘a fair cop’.
‘I would not wish to interfere, your highness,’ Mei Feng replied. ‘But perhaps you could provide me with some information?’ Her glance fell on Hu. ‘Or maybe you wish to tell me what is going on?’
‘I am servant to my lord Qing Song,’ Hu said quickly, ‘and may not speak on the matter without his permission.’
‘I see,’ Mei Feng said. ‘Well, then, these humans—’
‘Are under my protection,’ Kai broke in.
And the other two possible witnesses are unconscious, Irene thought, and let’s hope they stay that way for the foreseeable future.
Mei Feng paced thoughtfully, her face perfectly calm. The wind was picking up, however, and Irene wondered if that might be a more accurate representation of her feelings. ‘Your highness, you must understand that your position here is rather dubious. You appear in the company of these two nobles. They appear to have been drugged, scorched and half-drowned – and you wish me to believe that your involvement is completely innocent?’
Deny everything, keep your mouth shut and demand a lawyer, Irene thought, remembering Kai’s earlier advice. But did dragons have lawyers for this sort of situation? Or was it much less civilized?
‘I couldn’t possibly comment,’ Kai said. ‘And I must ask by what authority you are keeping me here. I am not under the Queen’s rule.’
‘You are within her domains,’ Mei Feng countered. ‘Are you here with your father’s leave?’
‘He is not aware of my current whereabouts,’ Kai said with great care. ‘I hope there will be no need to involve him in this matter.’
As the two of them stared at each other – irresistible force and immovable object – there was a roaring noise in the sky above, and a rift tore open. The fourth dragon had returned. The newcomer dropped from the heavens like a stone, barely managing to spread their wings in time to slow their fall.
The dragon’s form blurred in a burst of light, and then a young man was standing there – his breath coming in hoarse gasps, his forehead streaked with sweat. ‘My lady,’ he croaked, struggling to keep his voice even, ‘her majesty commands the presence of all involved, with the utmost speed, in order to resolve this situation.’
‘Excellent,’ Mei Feng said, clearly relieved by this solution. ‘Your highness, let me invite you to the court of the Queen of the Southern Lands, so that you may restore her subjects to her presence. As you perceive, she will be glad to know the full truth of this matter.’
‘A moment,’ Kai said, suddenly regal. He turned to Irene and Evariste. ‘Irene?’
Irene could hear all the undertones of his question. What do I do now? What do I tell them? How can we go in front of the Queen and explain any of this?
Irene took a moment to silently curse her luck. But she answered in her most politically neutral tones. ‘Naturally we will be glad to comply. We wouldn’t want to inconvenience the Queen.’ She smiled at Kai, trying to reassure him.
But her stomach settled like lead. She’d failed. There was no way this could be explained without bringing the Library into it. Maybe if they were allowed to see the Queen in private, then she could plead for mercy. She could explain that Qing Song had broken the rules . . . But would that actually work, if Qing Song denied everything?
If she needed to claim all responsibility herself – to save Kai, Evariste and the Library – then she would. But she could lose everything that she cared about in the process.
There was no way to measure time on the flight to the Queen of the Southern Lands’ court. Their ‘honour guard’ had graciously taken charge of Jin Zhi and Qing Song, allowing Irene to join Evariste on Kai’s back. Irene suspected it was because Mei Feng hadn’t wanted to leave either of the two unconscious dragons in Kai’s custody for a moment longer than necessary. But at least now they were all together, with Irene perched forward on Kai’s back and Evariste behind her. Mei Feng, her subordinates and Hu all flew at a courteous distance, allowing Irene and her friends to talk quietly and hope they might not be overheard.
‘First things first,’ Irene said. ‘Kai, what you did with Qing Song and Jin Zhi was incredible. You didn’t get hurt, did you?’
‘Nothing to signify,’ Kai rumbled. ‘But we should be more worried about the future.’
‘Is there some way we can get out of this, before we get there?’ Evariste asked. He didn’t need to define the there.
‘Even if I could manage to evade our guard, it would do severe damage to our reputation,’ Kai said. ‘And it would leave the others with the opportunity to spread whatever story they wanted.’
Irene considered that. ‘Do you think we’re being offered a chance to escape – now we’re together – for just that reason? So that the whole affair can be blamed on us?’