‘Believe me,’ Kai said, ‘it really isn’t that much of a chance. I wouldn’t bet money on it.’
‘Did Mei Feng’s name mean anything to you?’
Kai turned his head slightly to one side, in a gesture that might have been uncertainty. ‘I can’t be sure, but she may stand at the Queen’s left hand – in the same way that Li Ming does to my uncle.’
‘Meaning?’ Evariste said.
‘Meaning a faithful servant who gets things done – both on and off the books,’ Irene answered. ‘Rather as Hu is to Qing Song.’ She frowned. ‘For Mei Feng to be here suggests that the Queen was keeping a close eye on this. Kai, how serious a threat do you think there was to the world’s stability?’
Kai hummed thoughtfully, and Irene felt it vibrate beneath her. ‘Possibly very serious. I have been warned that a fight like that could shake a world in its course, but I’ve never been near enough to find out.’
‘Right. That’s a positive.’
Evariste took a deep breath behind her. ‘How is anything in this situation a positive? We’re all prisoners, there’s no way we can even get to the Library now, and my daughter’s still a hostage . . .’
‘It means that we did a good thing by stopping the fight,’ Irene said patiently. She kept her tone level, not wanting Evariste to realize just how poor she thought their chances were. ‘When this comes down to explanations, we helped. At severe personal risk. Even if it might have involved some minor inconvenience for Qing Song and Jin Zhi.’
‘An inconvenience . . . You co-opted a mob boss to blast a couple of dragons out of the sky with bootleg alcohol!’ Evariste growled.
‘We do the best we can with the materials available to us,’ Irene said. ‘Evariste, try to stay calm. I’m not asking you to be optimistic. That would be unreasonable. But there may still be possibilities. And Qing Song can’t get to your daughter until we can get this sorted out.’ She nodded at the still-unconscious Qing Song, where he lay on Mei Feng’s back. ‘I haven’t forgotten about her. Believe me, I haven’t. We . . .’ An unwelcome thought struck her. ‘We have actually secured the book somewhere, right?’
Evariste bit back a snort somewhere between laughter and bitterness. ‘I am so tempted to say no right now, just to see your face.’
‘I might have deserved that,’ Irene admitted.
‘It’s safe in the Library,’ Evariste said. ‘Room B-349. Though is it actually any use at this point?’
Irene shrugged. ‘We might need it as proof to support our story.’
‘What sort of authority does the Queen actually have?’ Evariste asked. ‘Over us, and over Kai? She won’t want to get into a fight with the Library over us, will she?’
‘She has whatever authority she chooses to have,’ Kai answered. ‘If she considers that I have offended her, then my father . . . will accept her judgement over me. These are her territories. Her will is law. Lying to her is high treason. And she might send you back to the Library. Or she might send an apology for having you executed. It depends on her final decision.’
‘But wouldn’t that start a war?’ Evariste demanded.
‘Not if we’re found guilty,’ Irene said.
‘So what are we actually going to tell the Queen?’ Kai asked, returning to the crux of the matter.
Irene really wished she had a good answer. She’d sworn to help Evariste get his daughter back. But she’d also said With the understanding that my duty to the Library comes above all other oaths . . .
If she couldn’t prove Qing Song was at fault, and he or Jin Zhi counter-accused, then her options were sorely limited. She’d have to say Evariste had been a rogue agent, and possibly so had she – and take the consequences.
‘We’re going to be economical with the truth,’ she finally said. ‘We – Kai and I – were sent to that world to find you, Evariste. While we were there we discovered the dragons fighting, and we stopped them, out of the goodness of our hearts. And if Qing Song and Jin Zhi have any sense, they won’t try to push us, because it would incriminate them just as badly. And afterwards . . .’ She was surprised to hear the restrained fury in her voice. ‘We contact Qing Song. We demand that he returns your daughter safe and unharmed, or the entire Library will know what he, and by extension his family, is willing to do to Librarians. And other dragons will learn that he’ll risk war to get what he wants. The book won’t be an issue any more by that point. He will hand your daughter over, or he’ll be putting his family at risk.’
‘Will that work?’ Evariste asked. His tone begged to be reassured. ‘You said if they have any sense. What if they haven’t? What if they think the only way they’ll get out of this is by blaming us?’
‘Then you both leave the talking to me. As far as possible.’ Irene’s stomach was a mass of knots. She couldn’t see any way out. With no proof, and no witnesses, she might just as well be voiceless and powerless again.
But she had to try.
Ahead of them, Mei Feng spread her wings and called – a long note, like a trumpet soaring above a lesser orchestra of whispering strings. A rip tore in the swirling currents of blue in front of her, and she plunged through it. The escorting dragons closed in on either side, a clear direction to follow her.
‘Holy shit,’ said Evariste as the view was revealed.
Kai circled high above the land below, which was beautiful, regular and almost too idealized. The mountains they were approaching reared up as if they’d reached the end of the world, framed by clouds and painted with snow. Directly ahead stood a fortress of concentric white walls, each one higher than the last and banded with gold. Green fields spilled out from the foot of the mountains like scattered fragments of emerald silk, bounded by the clean glitter of roads and rivers. This whole world was a place of order and control: mere humans were fragile, transient dust in the face of its power.
Mei Feng led the way down to one of the inner courtyards, and one by one the dragons settled to the ground and took on human form. Irene could see signals being exchanged between the guards on the battlements, and she had no doubt that the Queen was being informed of their arrival.
Jin Zhi and Qing Song had finally regained consciousness. Hu was conversing quietly and rapidly with Qing Song, nodding attentively as his master spoke. He seemed almost more in control of the conversation than Qing Song.
Jin Zhi stood alone, her eyes flicking between the different groups. Irene almost felt sorry for her, until it occurred to her to wonder why Jin Zhi wasn’t attended by her own servants. She’d been on her own throughout. Had she been planning something that she didn’t want even her servants to know?
‘I hope this inquest is going to be private,’ Irene murmured to Kai as he adjusted his jacket. ‘Surely the Queen isn’t going to want a public display until she’s decided what she wants known?’