“We are not here for a social visit, although of course it is always a delight to see Aisling,” Gabriel said, turning the power of his dimples on her.

I nudged him with the tip of my toe, perhaps harder than was necessary, because he laughed and pulled a chair forward for me, taking another one just beyond my reach.

“And I thought Ash was jealous. Whew. Glad my Cecile isn’t like you two,” Jim muttered.

Both Aisling and I gave it a glare. It took the point and rolled over onto its back. “Belly rubbles, Ash? Pwetty pwease?”

“You are here on weyr business?” Drake asked as Aisling, with a little roll of her eyes, scratched Jim’s hairy belly.

“No. Our business involves Kostya. I could not reach him at his house, and thought you might be able to help us locate him.”

“He’s been away,” Drake said slowly, his expression unreadable. “But I expect him back at any time.”

“Assuming the sárkány he called is still scheduled for two days from now, I would expect that he would be in town making preparations for it. Where has he been?”

Drake’s gaze shifted an infinitesimal amount. “St. Petersburg, I believe.”

St. Petersburg . . . just a hop, skip, and a jump plane-wise from Riga, and Baltic’s ruined stronghold. I slid a glance toward Gabriel, but his face was as impassive as Drake’s. His emotions, however, weren’t quite so subdued. A sense of quickening excitement nudged at my awareness, prodding the dragon shard to wake up and take in the surroundings.

“We will speak with him later today, then, when he arrives back in England.”

“He should be back by now,” Aisling said, glancing at the clock.

Drake shot her a warning look.

“What?” she asked him.

He made an aborted gesture.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake . . . Gabriel and May are our friends. They know Kostya called the sárkány in order to get the black dragons recognized as a sept. It’s not going to be any shock to them to know he’s been trying to find Baltic’s lair so he can properly take over as wyvern.”

Drake sighed, the fingers of one hand stroking her knee. “This is a serious matter, kincsem. Circumspection should be uppermost in your mind at all times.”

“Circumspection, my aunt Fanny,” she snorted. “I’m not going to play games with our friends.”

“Mate, I insist—”

“And that’s another thing,” she said, rounding on him as best she could considering her bulk. “You’ve turned into Mr. Bossy Pants these last few weeks, and I’m really getting tired of it. I’m pregnant, Drake. I’m not made of glass, I’m not going to burst into labor if I do things for myself, and my mind is just as strong as it ever was. Jim, so help me god, if you say just one thing, I’ll have May banish you to the Akasha for the next two hundred years.”

“Hey, all I was going to say is that I wouldn’t be bragging about the state of your mi—”

“Silence,” I told Jim.

It shot me a glare, huffed to itself, and plopped down with a disgusted air.

Aisling and Drake were frowning at each other.

“If I correct you, it is because you are outside the bounds of weyr etiquette,” Drake told her.

“It’s just Gabriel and May!” she answered.

“A wyvern, and a wyvern’s mate.”

“They are our friends,” Aisling said, waving her hand toward us. “I feel perfectly within my right to say what I think in front of them, no matter what position they hold.”

“They are also opposed to my brother receiving the recognition he seeks,” Drake countered, his eyes flashing with annoyance.

“Your brother,” Aisling said, breathing heavily, “is almost as annoying as you are. Almost!”

Gabriel’s lips twitched. I was having a similar problem keeping a straight face, but knew it would just make things worse if I laughed outright.

“You are being emotional because of the impending birth. I would remind you again that such outbursts are not conducive to the calming environment you seek for the event itself,” Drake said with maddening serenity.

Aisling gasped. “Are you calling me unhinged?”

“No, of course not—”

“You are!” She struggled to her feet, slapping off his helping hands, clutching the lap blanket to herself as she squared her shoulders and leveled him a look that should have dropped him dead on the spot. “That’s it! I’m de-mating you! I’m filing for a divorce! I’m going to go back to Uncle Damian and have the baby there, where people think I’m sane and competent and don’t tell me what to do every minute of the day. Jim, heel! You can come home with me.”

She stormed out of the room without a look toward us, Jim, still bound by my command to silence, trailing behind her. Drake, a martyred expression on his face, paused in the act of following her, saying, “She’s a little emotional right now. You will no doubt forgive her.”

“The baby is only a few days overdue, I believe?” Gabriel asked.

Drake nodded. “The midwife has confirmed that all is well, but the strain of waiting is beginning to take its toll on Aisling.”

I kept the comment to myself that Aisling wasn’t the only one being affected.

“You will excuse me. I must see to soothing her ruffled feathers before she books another flight to the US.”

“Another one?” I couldn’t help but ask, trying not to smile.

Drake sighed again as he opened the door. “She threatens to return home daily now. It is becoming tiresome to explain to the airlines that the reservations must be canceled. If you wish to remain here for Kostya, you are welcome to do so. He is expected for dinner. I thought it would distract Aisling.”

I gave in at the expression of suffering on his face, although I waited for him to close the door before I laughed out loud. “Poor man,” I said.

Gabriel grinned. “It is unkind of me, I know, but I cannot help but think Drake has made his bed, and is finding it not quite so sweet to lie upon.”

I was about to agree with him when it struck me that perhaps he didn’t mean it in the way I thought. “Aisling is putting up with a lot from him, too, you know. That overprotective act can be wearing to the nerves, and I can only imagine how annoying it would be to be treated as if one was made of glass.”