“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.”

“Much lost?” I frowned. “I don’t see what would be lost, except Fiat. Now you have him as a member of the weyr, with the potential to make serious trouble for you.”

“You’ve met Chuan Ren,” he said with a little quirk of his eyebrows. “Do you believe she will allow Fiat to remain in control of her beloved sept?”

A light dawned in the dim recesses of my brain. “Oh, I think I understand the devious way your mind words.”

“Intricate, little bird. My mind is intricate, not devious.”