“Perhaps,” Leif said. “That is certainly another way to interpret the facts. Unfortunately, and not without reason, the wolves believed Drifa to be the culprit. They demanded she stand trial, but we could not find her.”
Mylestom spoke up from the front of the room. “Or we refused to send her to Holbard, from the wolves’ point of view.”
“Just so,” said Leif with a sigh. “As one of the dragons who hunted for her, I can tell you that I, at least, truly could not find her. But the wolves and the citizens of Holbard were not placated. Rumors flew, and every day citizens of Holbard became warier of dragons than they had ever been.”
“For all they knew, dragons were murderers,” Ellukka said slowly.
Leif nodded. “They told us dragons we had to wear red coats when we were in Holbard in human form, so they knew who we were. And then they told us we were only allowed to move through certain parts of the city.”
“They thought you were that dangerous?” Theo asked quietly.
“Thatwewere that dangerous,” said Mikkel. “Or I bet they could have said it was because people were angry about the murder, and nobody wanted a dragon to be hurt by angry people in Holbard. So better to stay in safe, designated parts of the city.”
“Very good, Mikkel,” said Leif. “That was exactly the excuse. Every time a dragon flew overhead, coming in to work in Holbard, humans would run for cover, and the Wolf Guard would watch us.”
“Who’d want to go to Holbard at all, with things like that?” Rayna asked.
Leif sighed. “As it turns out, almost nobody. Fewer and fewer dragonsmiths agreed to work in Holbard, and projects began to pile up. We were worried for our own safety.”
“Or,” said Ellukka, “you were refusing to help people in Holbard. I mean, that’s what they might have said.”
Leif looked across at Saphira and Mylestom. “You see?” he said.
“They’re doing more than the Dragonmeet ever manages,” said Mylestom. “Usually the ’Meet members are all talking over each other by this stage, or hopelessly off-topic. At least your students are listening to one another.”
“That’s what being a Finskólar will do for you,” Saphira replied, with her easy smile.
“This is why I am telling you this story today,” Leif said to the students. “We do not speak of it often, but you are young, and your minds are open. Sometimes you see possibilities where we adults do not.”
Was Leif telling them again to take action? Anders wasn’t sure, but he suspected the Drekleid was. Then again, he had no idea they already had Drifa’s map.
Leif continued. “Fewer and fewer dragons were willing to work in Holbard, no matter what the reward. The wolves were demanding Drifa stand trial. Some of us felt she should, and some felt no dragon should subject herself to wolf justice. But in any case, nobody could find her.”
Anders’s hands made fists under the desk. Nobody had been able to find her, he knew, because she had been hiding. Waiting to have her babies and conceal them with some ally in Holbard. But where had she gone then?Hadsomeone found her, and done the justice the wolves thought she deserved?Or, a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered,was there a chance she was hiding still?
“What happened next?” Krissin asked softly.
“The wolves took dragons prisoner,” Leif said, “refusing to allow them to leave the city, forcing them to work on the wind arches and other projects.”
“Hold on,” said Lisabet, holding up her hand. “The wolves are a pack, and we make decisions differently from dragons, but I don’t know if you can say ‘the wolves’ all did something, any more than you can say ‘the dragons’ all did something. The wolves’leaderstook dragons prisoner.”
“And maybe they were desperate,” Ellukka said reluctantly. “If they thought a dragon killed a wolf—”
“And maybe she did,” said Bryn. “She hid afterward, that doesn’t look good.”
Rayna drew a quick breath—Anders knew she wanted to defend their mother—then looked down. He was pretty sure Ellukka had stood on her foot under the table.
“Perhaps they were desperate,” Leif agreed. “With little reason to trust dragons, and no help with projects they thought were vital.”
“That still doesn’t mean you can just take prisoners,” Nico said. “Even if everything they thought was true, and we don’t know that it was, they were following a wrong with a wrong.”
“Many dragons thought that way,” Leif said. “A rescue mission was mounted. A raid to free the dragons being held prisoner and made to work in Holbard. But how else might such a mission be described?”
“An attack,” Anders said softly. He hadn’t spoken yet, taken up with images of his parents, and everyone in the room turned to look at him.
“Just so,” said Leif, just as soft. “An attack. Which led to a battle. And a break in what little trust there was, which has led to a separation that has lasted until this day. Many members of the Dragonmeet fought in that battle. The current Fyrstulf was a squad commander back then, one of the loudest voices against us.”
“We were never taught this,” Lisabet said, her voice shaking. Anders realized with a pang that it was her mother they were discussing. “The older wolves must know, but nobody our age has any idea.”
