“Maybeyoushould see if they’re hiring and if free coffee is a perk.”
“I might consider that, yes. But working across the street from a dragon sounds almost as unwise as workingforone.”
“Mercenaries aren’t known for their abundance of wisdom.” Which was undoubtedly why Rylana felt compelled to check on the dragons. Hopefully, she hadn’t managed to shoot and wound the brother during the war, as well.
“Some aren’t, no.” Sylin pointedly arched an eyebrow as Rylana walked out.
4
When Rylana crossedthe street and opened the front door of the diner, the only people inside were the gnome waiter and the solo customer who hadn’t left his booth, even after the excitement outside and seeing the other patrons being kicked out. He was working on a dessert now, some kind of flatbread that smelled of cinnamon. The scent of bacon that she’d lovingly inhaled earlier lingered in the air, but it didn’t smell like someone was cooking it fresh now. She almost slid into a booth and asked the gnome if there was any left, but it had been the dragons that she’d wanted to observe, and they weren’t in the front room, nor did she hear voices in the kitchen. Was there a back entrance that they might have gone out?
Rylana ventured into the alley she’d visited—fled into—earlier, then circled around to the block behind the diner. Lined with warehouses and stables, the street wasn’t as busy as the shopping and dining thoroughfare out front. She spotted a wide drive that led to large carriage doors and the storage room in the back half of the diner. She almost called it a warehouse. If Jildarin hadto pay rent for all that space, no wonder he was behind on his payments.
One of the carriage doors stood ajar, a sign on the wall next to it a copy of the one posted out front.The Dragon Diner: Bookkeeper Wanted.
Though certain Jildarin had no more interest in hiring her now than he had an hour earlier, Rylana walked closer to the doors. The only windows were high on the walls, so she doubted anyone would see her coming, but she stepped carefully. Dragons had a lot of innate magic, and she’d learned from personal experience that they had sublime senses when they were in their native forms. It was possible their senses remained nearly as strong when they shifted into other forms.
As she drew closer to the door, the hair on the back of her neck rose. Even though she couldn’t see or hear the dragons, her instincts told her they were inside the storeroom. She stepped off the drive and crept closer, then pressed her back to the wall beside the open door.
“Do you actuallysleepin here?” a man with a rich baritone asked. That had to be the brother. Zilek. “In your true form? Isn’t it claustrophobic?”
“During the war, I slept in caves that were smaller than this.” That was Jildarin's voice. Also rich in tenor, it was almost pleasant when it wasn’t raised to swear at Rylana. “Caves filled with stalactites that jabbed me in the back every time I twitched my tail.”
“That doesn’t happenhere? There are crates and barrels everywhere. Where do you lie down? And what in the two hells are all those metal boxes with legs lined up along that wall? Do I sense magic emanating from them?”
“They’re gnomish commercial ovens. I’m attempting to make an arrangement with the dwarf baker across the street to make bread, since so many of the patrons seem to think meat should be accompanied by that. I’m still wrapping my head aroundvegetablesas a desirable thing to eat. But she’s thus far been unwilling to give me a reasonable discount for ordering in bulk. And for being a dragon.”
Rylana raised her eyebrows at the comment—at the entire conversation. Spying on dragons wasn’t a good idea, even when fully armed. Why was she doing this?
“Because of her recalcitrance, I had to learn to bake bread,” Jildarin finished. “And purchase my own oven.”
“Yes, but why are there somanyof them?”
“There was a small mistake during the ordering process.Processes. I didn’t realize the ovens were custom made and took weeks to craft, so, when the first didn’t arrive in a timely manner, I sent my goblin server, Rolf, to order another. I didn’t realize he had execrable handwriting that would be misinterpreted. Or that a crafts-gnome wouldn’tcheckbefore filling what should have seemed like a ridiculous order.”
“I’m shocked you expected a goblin to be able to write at all. Their specialty is stealing books, not reading them.”
“He grew up in the city and said he went to a human school.”
“More likely athievingschool. I’ll wager at least two of those ovens ended up stashed behind a log in a park.”
“Yes, yes, my ability to hire minions is questionable, but I have a deadline coming up—the competition is only a week away—and I’m busy perfecting my recipes. I don’t have time to deal with goblins, peacekeepers, landlords, or suspicious mercenaries interrupting my day.”
Rylana shifted her weight, tempted to leave before the dragons realized that one of thesuspicious mercenarieswas spying on them.
“This is an odd life that you’ve chosen for yourself, Jildarin-grozanarav.”
“Said by the dragon going regularly to operas and theaters.”
“I enjoy being entertained by the lesser species. Listen, my brother, the war is over, and it was draining. We all need to recoverand decompress, so I can understand taking the time to explore a new hobby or passion—even a strange obsession with cooking, as if meat devoured raw after being torn from the bones of one’s prey isn’t perfectly delicious. What I can’t believe is that you want toservethe lesser species. I am here so that they might serveme. That is the correct order of the world, and they are most honored to attend to my every desire.”
“It helps that you brought gold from Mother’s hoard and pay them handsomely to do so.”
“That does add to their feeling of honor,” Zilek said.
“You spend lavishly on frills like wine and entertainment and thatcastleyou’ve leased, but you won’t give any coin to me for my endeavor.”
“The wine I purchase is serious and sophisticated. I will admit the box tickets to the dwarven opera might have been a touch frilly, but those bearded ladies can sing. It’s brilliant and so relaxing. As to the rest, you know Mother forbade me from giving you gold.”
