Fiat smiled. He was still blue-eyed, which made me wonder about wyverns and their respective eye colors. I made a mental note to ask Gabriel about it later.

‘‘You cannot rid the weyr of us,’’ Fiat told everyone present.

I said nothing. Gabriel had told Drake he wanted to have a talk with him and Aisling later, so I assumed we would use that time to explain what had really happened in Fiat’s house.

‘‘If there is no other business, we will consider this sárkány ended,’’ Gabriel said after Fiat made his formal statement.

‘‘I have a question,’’ Cyrene said, raising her hand.

‘‘You are not a mate, nor a recognized member of a sept,’’ Fiat told her haughtily, blithely ignoring the fact that he had been willing to recognize Kostya earlier. ‘‘You do not have a right to speak at a sárkány.’’

‘‘I am too a mate. Well, possibly am a mate. I just haven’t been named such because Kostya isn’t formally recognized. And he’s on the list for that, so we get to be here and ask questions. Don’t we?’’

She asked the last bit of Gabriel.

He glanced around the table and, with a little shrug, said, ‘‘I don’t see any harm in your request. The weyr recognizes your right to speak at the sárkány .’’

‘‘Thank you. My question is how someone who is one color can become another color. I mean, I know Drake did it, but Kostya says their grandmother was some special dragon, and that’s how Drake did the change. But Fiat was blue and now he’s red. Shouldn’t that make purple?’’

Aisling giggled. ‘‘I thought the same thing, but it doesn’t quite work that way. As I understand it, dragons who are ouroboros are stripped of their septs, which means they’re . . . well, kind of colorless, so to speak. So they can join another sept without having to go through the rigmarole that Drake’s grandmother went through. Isn’t that right, sweetie?’’

Drake nodded. ‘‘Ouroboros dragons can be taken in by any sept.’’

‘‘Just as they can take over any sept,’’ Fiat added with a smirk.

‘‘Provided they actually challenge the wyvern for it,’’ Gabriel said softly.

Fiat shot him a startled look, but Gabriel evidently had a reason for keeping mum about the true happening with regard to Bao. He simply met Fiat’s gaze with a steady, knowing one of his own. I followed suit, saying nothing when the sárkány was declared closed, and the dragons rose to depart.

‘‘Something is wrong with you,’’ Cyrene told me in a quiet aside as coats were gathered and farewells were made. ‘‘You feel different. Are you all right? Is it something to do with Neptune?’’

I shook my head, giving her a little hug that I hoped reassured her in ways my words could not. ‘‘No, silly, I’m not a water elemental. He can’t really affect me.’’

‘‘I know, but you seem . . . off. Is there anything I can do to help?’’

‘‘No, but thank you for being concerned.’’

‘‘Now you’re the one being silly. You’re my twin; of course I’m concerned.’’ She bit her lip, her eyes troubled. ‘‘May, do you ever wish I’d never created you?’’

I frowned. ‘‘I told you decades ago that I forgave you for binding me to Magoth—’’

‘‘No, not that. I meant do you ever wish I’d never created you to begin with?’’ Her hands fluttered in movements of distress. ‘‘That comes out sounding so wrong, but you know what I mean. Do you wish I’d left you to be born normal. Human. Mortal.’’

Emotions generated by the dragon shard swamped me. Rage, love, lust, joy, and sorrow, all mixed up together in a big jumble that left me wanting to cry to the heavens with the confusion of it all.

‘‘May?’’ Cyrene’s eyes grew big. She reached out a finger and touched my cheek, examining the wetness on the tip of her finger. ‘‘You’re crying. You’ve never cried before.’’

‘‘Yes, I have,’’ I said, angrily scrubbing the tears from my eyes. ‘‘You’ve just never seen me. I cried when Pepper died.’’

‘‘Pepper? Oh, your dog. That was . . . what, seventy-some-odd years ago?’’

‘‘I’m just a little emotional right now,’’ I answered, taking a firm grip on myself. ‘‘And all philosophical debates about the existence of humankind aside, no, I’m not sorry you created me.’’

‘‘All right.’’ She watched me closely for a moment before giving a little shrug. ‘‘I just thought that maybe this whole thing with Gabriel was getting to be too much for you.’’

‘‘What do you mean?’’ I asked, startled. Had she put two and two together and figured out that I was slowly being turned into a dragon? Did she sense my conflicted emotions regarding Gabriel? Did she, too, mourn the loss of my being as the dragon shard took over?

‘‘Just that you’ve never had a romantic relationship with a man before, and sometimes it takes a few tries before you get the hang of it.’’

I smiled. Oh, it was a grim smile to be sure, but there was a certain satisfaction in being able to force my lips into a smile. ‘‘I have no complaints about the romantic portion of my life whatsoever, so you can put your mind to rest on that matter.’’

‘‘I’m glad to hear that,’’ Gabriel said from behind me. His dimples were in evidence as he held out his hand for me. ‘‘I am loath to interrupt you ladies, but we have an appointment we must keep.’’

Cyrene watched as we left, her blue eyes filled with concern that, despite my efforts, was not alleviated.

‘‘You are no doubt wondering why I did not speak up at the sárkány,’’ Gabriel said a few minutes later when we were in his car, zooming through the streets of Paris.

‘‘I assumed you had a reason for keeping mum about the fact that Fiat most decidedly did not challenge Bao for the right to rule the red dragons.’’

‘‘You are as smart as you are beautiful,’’ he said, his teeth flashing in a quick grin. ‘‘In fact, you are correct. I debated bringing the method of Fiat’s coup to the attention of the weyr, but upon consideration, I decided little would be gained by such an act, and quite possibly much lost.’’