The protections around the Courts his uncles complained about had been put in place to keep the Dragon Lords out—there having been extended disagreements in the past on who the apex predators were. The Dragon Lords had been willing to fight it out, but to their surprise, the Courts had a well-honed sense of self-preservation tucked under their silken arrogance. Contact between the two races had been minimal for centuries. Minimal, and usually violent. “I don’t know,” Jack admitted reluctantly. “They don’t like us much. Dragons,” he added to be clear. “They don’t like the Dragon Lords much.”

“They don’t like Gales much either,” Charlie reminded him. “So, that’s a last resort. There’s plenty of the Court here, though. Wouldn’t hurt to check with them and see if they can stop it.”

Jack shook his head. “They won’t care. They can go home.”

“The full-bloods, sure, but would they be willing to open their lands to their descendants?”

“No.”

“So would they be willing to let their children and grandchildren die?”

“Yes.” When she looked startled, he shrugged. “They’re assholes, you know that. But there’s stuff about the MidRealm they like, a lot, that they won’t want to give up. Maybe that’ll be enough. If they do anything, if they can do anything,” he amended, “it’ll cost.”

“Doesn’t it always.” While they’d been talking, the air had warmed enough he could no longer see her breath when she sighed before saying, “We should at least check the price.”

“I’ll do it.”

Her eyes narrowed and for a minute he thought she was going to try and tell him he couldn’t, then she smiled without much humor. “You’ve definitely got a better chance of actually getting the twisty buggers to listen. But again, last resort. Well, second last resort. I want to talk to Auntie Catherine again before we widen our circle. She might’ve seen something else.”

“Wouldn’t she have told you?”

“Giving her the benefit of the doubt, she might have Seen something and not have realized it was connected.”

That was possible, Jack acknowledged, although Charlie sounded like she didn’t entirely believe it. “And without the benefit of the doubt?”

“She’s an auntie. Aunties are . . .”

“Are you two coming in for breakfast?”

Jack sucked in a lungful of his own smoke and began to cough. He could feel Auntie Gwen’s regard from where she stood in the doorway of the roof access and he wondered how much she’d heard. Then Charlie was beside him, pounding on his back. “We’re on our way.”

“Alysha thinks you’re hiding something.”

“And what do you think?”

“I don’t think you’re hiding anything, Charlotte.”

Wiping the snot off his upper lip on the sleeve of his jacket, Jack looked up in time to see Auntie Gwen roll her eyes.