"Yeah, well. You guys weren't exactly forthcoming with that ident.i.ty, were you? Everyone a.s.sumes Greyson is just someone you picked up and ended up falling for. You did not make it any better by continuing to pretend Greyson is your boyfriend to ward of suitors."

That silenced them. It was a fact; no one except her friends and their grandparents were aware of Greyson's real ident.i.ty.

"Isn't that an easy fix, though? Just tell my grandparents to come out, and this could all be straightened out."

"They can't leave the mountain."

"What?!"

"Everyone right now is a suspect. It seems that the Snow Dragons especially are under of a lot of scrutiny because of the usual power dynamics between the Dragon King tribe and Snow Dragon tribe. The number one and number two tribes of the dragons have tons of bad blood between them that could warrant this kind of a.s.sa.s.sination. At the minimum, they have the most reason to try to a.s.sa.s.sinate Irumen relative to the other tribes. Therefore, your grandparents cannot leave presently as they are regarded as potential flight risks."

"That's absurd! How could my grandparents try killing Irumen? Plus, if they did, it would not merely be an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt. They would have succeeded with their power." Rosalie bristled with anger.

"Look, Rose. Everyone knows that Irumen wanted you as his umpteenth lover and that your grandparents would never allow that to happen. They have been blocking him for ages for you, but lately Irumen's father has also started to pressure them. Some of the dragons are gossiping that they wanted to get rid of the root of the problem. In the end, most do not believe this theory; however, it is the easiest to push the crime on someone else so that they can avoid suspicion."

"So, you're saying the dragons are accepting the easy answer by believing our grandparents are the suspects?" Greyson could not fathom why his grandparents were so hastily forced into the line of fire.

"This kind of infighting is extremely rare. Some dragons wish nothing but to quickly move on, while some dragons wish to see your clan brought down a notch. Especially those in the Dragon King tribe who do not take well to the Snow Dragons acting as if they are more powerful if one were to ignore the bloodline suppression ability."

"Someone is almost murdered, and it becomes a political power fight all of the sudden?"

"The power fight was always there, it just has reared its ugly head right at this moment. Irumen's almost a.s.sa.s.sination by a suspected dragon has exacerbated any and all conflict. At this moment, it would be best if you stayed out here Greyson. I will try getting you permission to enter again as soon as possible. Rosalie could probably make contact with Elder Brevre and Freizon so they can corroborate your bloodline legitimacy." Aeos rea.s.sured.

Shrugging, Greyson knew there was no better option. He jumped off of Cerul's back and watched as the rest of the group flew right into the mountains. Landing on the ground, Greyson did not go far. Sitting under a tree close by, he started to think about what he recalled about the Dragon Tribe inner workings and relations.h.i.+ps. Most obvious was the ever existing enmity between the Light Dragons and the Snow Dragons since only one could claim the spot of most powerful. The Fire Dragons tended to side with the Light Dragons while the Water Dragons sided with the Snow Dragons. The Dark Dragons hate the Light Dragons, but they did not really enjoy fighting for power so they stayed to the side. Earth and Wind Dragons were fairly neutral, but their allegiance could be potentially bought for a price. The rest of the Dragon tribes were not significant enough to really have an impact like the Time Dragons or the Lightning Dragons. Ma.s.saging his temples, Greyson knew that resolving this conflict would not be easy especially if the Light Dragons were seizing this moment to weaken their compet.i.tion. He wondered if he could get in to observe Irumen's condition. It is possible he could a.s.sist in healing his wounds. This thought swiftly pa.s.sed, though, since Greyson was completely aware that the Light Dragon tribe had any number of stronger light element users to heal Irumen. Trying to utilize his abilities was akin to adding useless decoration onto an already efficient machine; there was no point. Releasing a deep sigh, Greyson hoped things would become clearer after he can at least enter the mountains and see his grandparents. Hopefully, there was some way he could help.