The Raven and the Dragon

Chapter Twenty-One

Lady Loretta Reardon was very, very tall.

Bo hadn't realized it until they were off Yancy and standing in front of her. She was even taller than Lady Byrne, and Lady Byrne was more or less as tall as Lord Byrne had been. The height difference did not make Bo feel any better about the conversation.

"I don't suppose this is the part where you insult my intelligence and tell me that you're here to negotiate the terms of my surrender?" Lady Reardon said.

"No, just to negotiate." Alicia didn't seem intimidated by her aunt's height; if she was, she was hiding it well. "You've heard the news about your brother, I assume?"

"I have. Is he being difficult?"

"He hasn't said much, not since we made it clear that his options were limited."

"Hmm. That sounds like an improvement." Lady Reardon gave Bo a curious glance. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get off the island and stay away from my brother's men?"

"It's an interesting story. I'd be happy to tell you all about it once our peace negotiations have concluded."

Lady Reardon raised an eyebrow. She seemed to be more expressive than her older sister, which was a relief. It gave Bo a greater idea of what was going on. For instance, in that moment, Lady Reardon looked impressed. "So, that's it, then. You bring your dragons and expect me to come with you to discuss a peace?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could arrange a neutral meeting ground. There are plenty of places."

"And how do I know you won't use that as an excuse to kidnap me the way you did my brother?"

The suggestion made Bo feel surprisingly indignant. "Do you really think us so dishonorable?" he blurted out. "What happened with your brother was a last resort. He would not negotiate with us. He wanted to kill us. He tried, several times."

Some embarrassment followed the outburst, though not necessarily because of the words themselves. He stood by what he said, but was less confident in how he'd spoken out of turn. The embarrassment faded, somewhat, when Alicia spoke: "He's right. We only took Lord Reardon as a last resort, to preserve our own lives and the lives of others." Her next words were spoken with surprising sternness: "Besides, how can we trust that you won't use this as an opportunity to kill or attack us? We both have things we could lose here. All we can do is trust each other."

Loretta considered Alicia's words. After a thoughtful pause, she asked, "How is my sister?"

It was a surprising question; Alicia looked caught off-guard by it as well as she glanced at Bo. It seemed genuine, at least to him, so he nodded at her. "She's well enough, all things considered," Alicia said. "She was hopeful that you would be able and willing to speak to us."

"Adrianna always was a peacekeeper." Lady Reardon's tone was strange then, somewhere between fondness and resentment. That would have alarmed Bo if he hadn't heard that same tone used by most younger siblings he knew. They always seemed to regard their older siblings with that mixture of familial love and the kind of annoyance you could only feel for someone you loved. "Well, I suppose, I shouldn't disappoint her, should I? What are our options for a meeting?"

Oh. Oh! He hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, but Bo supposed they had said all they needed to say. The only thing left would have been to see if Lady Reardon would agree.

Now she had. Now there was only one thing left to do.

"Well," Alicia said, "how do you feel about tradition?"