A Court of Stars and Memories

55. A Sleeping Dragon

Sure enough, Lysander found Nyx and Rhysand in the office. They appeared faintly surprised by his arrival, but Rhys beckoned him in. Lysander claimed the seat beside Nyx's and Rhys leaned back against the front of his desk before them, bracing his weight on his palms.

"Ven said you planned on summoning me later," Lysander remarked as he removed his gloves and pocketed them. "Why? Was there an update from Kallias and Wynter?"

A calculating look lingered in Rhys' amethyst eyes as he shook his head. "Not exactly. At least, not the kind of update we were expecting." Lysander frowned, but waited for his uncle to explain. "Ebner and Julian have evaded their grasp again and Kallias has begun to think that in order to achieve results, he's going to have to lure them into the open somehow."

Lysander instantly caught on to where the conversation was headed. Protective instincts welled up in his gut, threatening to overwhelm his rational senses. Somehow, he managed to quell them, at least for now. "Kallias thinks the Rohese's should return home for the Winter Solstice and remain just long enough to draw Ebner and Julian out," Rhys finished.

"What?" Lysander scoffed. "No, absolutely not. That defeats the whole purpose of us bringing them here. He can't use them as bait."

"At the end of the day, Kallias is their High Lord. If this is what he commands, we're going to have to comply."

"Only if the Rohese's agree, and I doubt they will." Lysander faced Nyx. "What did Wynter say about it? I can't imagine he'd agree with something that would so blatantly put them in harm's way."

"Wynter doesn't want to resort to that," Nyx replied. "He's going to keep searching for Ebner and Julian on his own, but if he doesn't have a solid lead before the Solstice, Kallias is going to insist on his own plan."

"And what about their parents?"

"I don't know. Cyrus and Colette's opinions weren't mentioned."

Lysander fixed his gaze on the floor, jaw clenched against a multitude of other protests. There was no way he'd help with this. Let Kallias demand it all he wished. He was not going to take Mitsi back to the Winter Court just to be used as bait for the two males she feared most in the world. He'd hide her away somewhere in the mountains if that's what it took. She would not be put in danger like that.

"Nothing is decided," Rhys said cautiously. Lysander managed to lift his gaze and found both Rhys and Nyx watching him closely. "But I thought it best to warn you ahead of time. It gives you a while to acquaint yourself with the idea and think of how you might be able to help if it does come to that."

"Have you told Corbin? I can't imagine he'd be any happier about this than I am," Lysander growled.

They shook their heads. "I'll tell him when he returns from Ridgeback," Rhys promised. "Cassian won't know until then either. We all know he'd just tell him immediately, and Corbin should focus on recovering right now."

Lysander stood swiftly. "Was there anything else?"

Rhys crossed his arms, regarding him thoughtfully. "No."

"Then if you can spare Nyx, I'd like to speak to him." Lysander jerked his head towards the door and Nyx rose to follow.

"I know that look, Lysander," Rhys called just as he reached the door. Lysander begrudgingly faced him. "I've seen it on your mother's face too many times to disregard it, and I've witnessed Azriel's temper too often not to realize that you carry it as well."

"And?"

"You need to learn to control that stubborn, hot-headed temper now, before it causes problems for all of us in the future."