Kaylin was never going to understand her house. She personally agreed with the sentiment, but couldn’t follow the path Helen had taken to arrive at it.
“He has his hoard,” Helen explained.
“Well, yes—it’s us.”
“Yes, dear. But Dragons do not share.”
“He’s sharing the entire Empire.”
“No, dear, he is not. The Empire ishis. There is very little room, in Dragon thought, forours.”
“But Tiamaris shares the fief that bears his name. He shares it with Tara.”
“Is that what you think?” Helen asked, obviously very surprised.
“I’ve been there. I’ve seen them. He does share.”
“Kaylin, hedoesn’t.”
“You haven’t seen them.”
“I’ve seen what you see. I see what you’re seeing now, when you think of them. You think that he cares for Tara—and he does. But, Kaylin, Taraishis hoard. He does not share her.”
“He shares her with the rest of the fief,” Kaylin argued.
“No, dear. I understand how you have arrived at your conclusion, but no. You are misinterpreting what you see.”
“How?”
“He understands Tara. He understands why she was created. He understands what went wrong for her. He does not intend ownership to be complete and impersonal—that is not the way Dragon hoards work. He allows the fief to share her time and her attention because it is whatsherequires. It gives her both joy and strength. The Emperor does not—and in my opinion, could not—see Bellusdeo the way Tiamaris sees Tara.”
“Because he can’t own her?”
“Because he has his hoard, dear. It will come first. It must come first. He is a Dragon, not a Barrani Lord. The Dragons do not swerve when they have finally chosen. But Bellusdeo requires an autonomy, a freedom, that would clash with the Emperor’s focus and attention. I do not think they are right for each other.”
Kaylin had never been the person that people came to for romantic advice.
“The Emperor did.”
“You’re telling me that’s not romantic.”
“It is not. If the Emperor has his hoard, he is cognizant of the need for Dragon children. He understands Bellusdeo’s significance to the race—and at the moment, the race is confined to the Dragon Court and those who chose to sleep rather than serve. The Emperor understands duty.”
“The Arkon’s too old.”
“As you’ve noted yourself, age does not mean for the immortal what it means for the mortal—but I concur. The Arkon feels that Bellusdeo is a child. He treats her as if she were one, although he is remarkably clear-eyed in his interactions and expectations.”
“Who does that leave? Tiamaris is out. Sanabalis is probably out. She’d kill Diarmat if she could.”
“I do not believe that to be the case, but Lord Diarmat is even more formal and rigid than the Emperor.”
“Then who does that leave? If she has to have children—and she thinks she does, even if she hates the idea—she doesn’t have a lot of choice. She asked the Emperor if she could wake one or two of those who chose to sleep, and he refused her.”
“You are possibly overlooking someone, but I will leave that for the future. I am feeling much more optimistic about the present for the Dragons than I have since Bellusdeo came to live here. I will miss her,” she added, “when she chooses to leave. You should join your guests, dear—they’re probably going to wonder what’s happened to you.”
“Have they stopped talking about me yet?”
“I imagine they will once they’re aware that you’re listening.”
