‘‘Baltic will never again lead the black dragons,’’ Kostya said, his voice pitched low with warning. ‘‘The sept will be reborn, but I will lead it.’’

I bit back a retort about the wisdom of that little plan. ‘‘I begin to see Cyrene’s point. Assuming Baltic is alive, he’s been neutered by the loss of his sept, so why does it matter if he was the one who returned the phylactery?’’

‘‘It matters because of what Baltic is,’’ Gabriel answered.

‘‘A lunatic, you mean?’’ I asked.

Kostya shot me a nasty look and would have said something, but Aisling cleared her throat in a meaningful way.

‘‘Not just that—Baltic wielded great power,’’ Gabriel said with hesitation. ‘‘More power than was natural even for a wyvern. It was said he had learned the arcane arts.’’

‘‘Arcane? He was a mage?’’ Cyrene asked.

Kostya said nothing, which pretty much confirmed that guess.

‘‘I didn’t think dragons could be mages,’’ I said.

Gabriel and Drake exchanged glances. ‘‘None have ever been able to master the arcane skills a mage must control.’’

‘‘Except Baltic?’’ I asked.

‘‘That is what we believe.’’

‘‘Which means if he really is alive, he’s going to be one badass dragon,’’ Jim said.

‘‘All of this is moot. I killed Baltic three hundred years ago. What matters is the phylactery—and I want it returned immediately,’’ Kostya said.

‘‘How do you explain the theft of the phylactery in the first place if Baltic really was dead?’’ I asked.

He glowered. ‘‘You stole it from me.’’

‘‘How do you explain it assuming I didn’t steal it?’’

‘‘I would make no such assumption. You admitted you took it the night I caught you in my lair.’’

‘‘Oh, this is useless,’’ I said, getting off of Gabriel’s lap. ‘‘We’re just going round and round. Whether or not Baltic is alive, the important thing is to retrieve the phylactery, and find Maata and Tipene.’’

‘‘I thought you said you had the phylactery,’’ Aisling said.

‘‘I did have it—and then I was arrested, and my possessions taken from me, the phylactery included. So far as I know, it’s with my other things in the L’au-delà vault in Paris.’’

I was moving toward the door when Kostya shouldered me aside.

‘‘Where are you going, brother?’’ Drake asked him.

‘‘To reclaim what is mine,’’ he said with a dark look at Gabriel.

‘‘Like hell you are,’’ I said, dashing after him. ‘‘That phylactery belongs to Gabriel!’’

The room emptied out after us. For a moment, everyone stood looking at one another in the large entryway, then Kostya muttered something that had Gabriel lunging at him, Drake’s two men grabbed Gabriel, and Aisling started ordering her demon to stop her brother-in-law. But Kostya was gone before Jim could whip into action.

‘‘Agathos daimon,’’ I swore under my breath.

‘‘Should I follow him?’’ Pál asked Drake.