He shrugged. "I think so. Everything I read indicates that they grow quickly in the first year."

"Look at his wings! Do you think he'll be able to fly soon?"

"Meg, I'm not suddenly some kind of all-knowing dragon expert, you know."

She turned to look at him. "Well, you know more than I do. Can you try to find out? I want to know everything. Oh, I wish I could look through those books myself."

"All right. Give me a list of questions and I'll try to find the answers for you. I do know that he should be able to fly before he gets his fire."

Meg tapped on her chin, thinking. "Where can we put him where he won't be discovered? Especially if he does start trying out his wings. I can't have him swooping around the castle! My parents would have him killed." She didn't say what they were both thinking a" that her parents would be killing her as well.

"You'll definitely want to keep him far from the castle. And far from any outlying farms, too."

"Why farms?"

"Well, think, Meg. He's probably been surviving so far on small animals in and around the cave. As he grows, he's going to start needing larger, um, meals. You don't want angry farmers complaining to the king about missing sheep. Or, um, shepherds."

Meg's mouth opened in dismay. Calen was rather pleased to see that expression on someone else's face for once. "Oh, you don't think he'd really a"" She turned back to Jakl. The dragon licked his snout with a long, forked tongue.

Meg put her hands on her hips and bent toward him. "No," she said. "You are not to eat any people! Ever! Do you understand me?" She looked at Calen. "Does he understand me?"

Jakl looked at Calen, too. Calen swallowed. Those eyes were anything but tame. "I think he understands you. I don't know if he'll listen, though. He's not obligated to obey you, any more than you're obligated to obey him. But remember how you told me you didn't think he'd do anything to hurt you? I think that's probably true. I think he'll try not to upset you. But if he's starving, and he needs to eat . . ."

Meg nodded reluctantly. "He'll need a place deeper in the forest, then. Someplace with lots of wild game, and no farms. Or shepherds." She frowned. "It's going to make it harder to visit him."

A small sound came from a nearby pa.s.sage. Jakl's head snapped around, and his eyes narrowed to yellow slits. He began slinking across the cave floor, stalking whatever unfortunate creature waited there.

"You'll have to find a way, Meg. If he begins to miss you too much, he might come looking for you."

"That would not go over well, would it? Certainly not right now. The guards are ready to kill anything larger than a dog on sight." She sat down near a wall. "What could that creature have been, Calen? How could such a monster even exist?"

He had no answer for that. Even Serek seemed at a loss to explain where the creature had come from. It had taken more than thirty men to kill it, and at least four of those were killed themselves in the process. Five more lay with Roeg in the infirmary, struck with the same deadly poison. Calen had a.s.sisted Serek with their treatment, enduring again the terrible screams as the reagents they applied fought the poison in the men's wounds. Serek had hoped to devise a more effective treatment by studying the dead monster, but the soldiers had burned the corpse in their anger and fear, and nothing was left of it but a pile of blackened bones and ashes. Serek had been furious. By the time he had finished cursing the soldiers for their stupidity, Calen guessed that half of them were more afraid of him than they'd been of the creature.

Meg turned her eyes from the entrance of the pa.s.sage down which Jakl had disappeared (and in which, from the sound of it, he was now eating his recent catch) back to Calen. "Do you think the monster could have been the danger you saw in the spirit cards?"

Calen blinked at her, startled. Could it have been? The possibility had not occurred to him. But even as he considered it now, he realized he didn't believe it. "No," he told her. "I don't think so. Terrible as it was, it doesn't feel big enough to be the danger I saw." He fell silent, trying not to hear the messy crunching sounds coming from the other pa.s.sage. He felt certain he was right, and yet a" that would mean that something worse was going to happen. Meg met his eyes grimly, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. After a second, he added, "I wonder, though a" maybe it's related. Maybe these individual attacks are just the beginning of something larger."

"You mean, maybe someone is behind them? Maybe they're not just random terrible things?"

Calen shrugged. "It does seem possible, doesn't it? Did you ever ask your parents about their conversation with Serek? About the spirit cards? Did they say anything about what they thought the danger might be?"

"No," Meg said bitterly. "I mean, yes, I asked, but no, they didn't tell me anything. They won't talk about it at all. They keep telling us not to worry, they'll take every precaution, and so on. As though we can just stop thinking about it because they say so!"

Why did adults always seem to want to keep children in the dark about things? Did they really think they were better off not knowing? Or was it just too inconvenient to bother to explain? Of course, Calen reflected, it's not like he and Meg weren't keeping a few secrets of their own.

He blinked as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "You know, Meg, I have to say a" you're taking this linking thing much better than I would." It was true. She seemed to have just accepted it and moved on. "Are you really all right?"

She gave him one of her looks. "What did you expect me to do? Fall apart? How would that help? Besides, it's not like anything has really changed."

He stared at her.

She threw up her hands. "Oh, all right. Of course that's not true. Everything has changed. But I was already concerned about Jakl's safety before. Now I've just got more of a personal stake in it a" that's all. In a way, this might actually help me ensure his safety. If I eventually have to reveal his presence to my parents, they won't be able to have him destroyed without destroying me as well. And while I'm sure they'd be quite angry with me for letting something like this happen, they probably wouldn't be angry enough to kill me." She thought about this for a minute. "I'll just have to make sure no one discovers him by accident and tries to hurt him before I have a chance to explain."

She turned to look at Jakl, who was now sniffing around near the pa.s.sage where he had caught the whatever-it-was, apparently trying to discover whether it had brought along any friends.

"Jakl, come here," she said firmly.

The dragon glanced at her, then turned his attention back to his sniffing.

Meg chewed on her lip, thinking. "Jakl," she began again, then stopped. She closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating. One hand reached up to rest over her heart.

Jakl looked over at her again, then turned and came across the cavern to curl up at her feet. She opened her eyes and smiled down at him. Then she looked up at Calen. "I think he can understand me if I speak to him the right way. He won't obey me a" I believe you're right about that. But if I can make him understand, maybe I can keep him from straying too far or letting himself be seen."

Calen hoped she was right.

DAYS Pa.s.sED, AND MEG FOUND HER life settling into a kind of daily routine. A progressively strange and secretive routine, but a routine all the same.

Mornings, she woke and dressed and then had breakfast with her sisters and sometimes her parents as well. Wedding plans were discussed, and after the plates were cleared away there were always details to attend to a" fabrics to examine, dresses to try on, books to peruse for appropriate readings or blessings. The ceremony would take place at the end of the month, and suddenly that was only two weeks away, and then less, and then less a" and the amount to do seemed to be increasing as the time remaining disappeared. Only a small portion of the ceremony was standard; the rest fell upon the two families to plan and arrange.

The groom's family was responsible for the groom's court, and the bride's family was responsible for the bride's court, which was always complicated, and made more so in this case because the bride's family was hosting the wedding as well. Maerlie had her hands full, but Meg thought she was handling herself very well. She only occasionally lost her temper or seemed noticeably overwhelmed. Her sisters made some tasks easier and some harder. She had all of them to help her, plus Mother and Nan Vera, but also all of them to include in the ceremony with appropriate sisterly and motherly and nursemaidly functions. And all of their opinions to endure. Well, except Mattie, of course, who was too little to have opinions yet.

The group wedding sessions would invariably continue until luncheon was served, after which Meg would steal away to meet Calen and visit Jakl. Maerlie covered her afternoon absences with suitable excuses, never straying from her promise to respect Meg's need for secrecy. Meg knew she would never be able to express to her sister how deeply grateful she was for her help in this, so she did not try, trusting Maerlie to know how she felt.

Meg's success in escaping was bittersweet. She had to see Jakl a" it was hard for her to be away from him for very long, and she was afraid of what he might do if he started to miss her too much a" but she was all too aware of how quickly time was pa.s.sing in the other half of her life. Every afternoon she spent apart from Maerlie was an opportunity lost forever; soon her sister would be far away, and Meg might have to go months, maybe even years, without seeing her at all. That hurt to think about; Maerlie had always been there. Always.

Calen would greet her daily with new information gleaned from his books. Meg was continually astounded by how much there was to know about dragons. They were so much more complex than she had ever imagined. Of course, she hadn't given much thought to the matter before finding Jakl. Everyone knew dragons existed, but they were so rarely seen that they often seemed more like imaginary creatures than real ones. Not anything people thought about in everyday life. Now she sometimes found it impossible to think of anything else. At the castle, or anywhere other than by his side, her feelings about the dragon and their connection were mixed beyond any hope of sorting out. Sometimes she loved the way she could always feel him and the way their bond seemed to get stronger and stronger with each pa.s.sing day. But other times . . . she thought about the way it was a chain from which she would never be free. And she would never be free a" it was that more than anything else that terrified her, the permanence of their link, the notion that whatever path the future held for her would necessarily have to accommodate him as well. Forever.

But once she was close enough to sense him strongly, to be immersed in the warm and gleaming force of him, it was hard to be anything other than exhilarated. He was so full of life. She had tried explaining it to Calen on more than one occasion but could never find the words. Jakl was alive in a way Meg had never felt before. He radiated energy like a ball of fire, experiencing sensations more fully than Meg had thought possible a" and she experienced them that way, too, now, while they were together. In fact there was always a period of readjustment after she left him, during which the world felt dim and gray and pointless. And he loved her, loved her completely and unquestionably, and she could feel that, too.

All these feelings grew as the strength of their link increased. Meg couldn't help fearing that it would become harder and harder to leave his side. Would a day come when she would finally be unable to tear herself away? She tried to convince herself that that could never happen, and yet a" she could see how it might be possible. What if she stopped wanting to do anything other than be with him?

They had found him a new cave farther away from the castle, one with an entrance pa.s.sage that seemed large enough that he wouldn't outgrow it. It was in a small valley deep in the Hunterheart, hidden from casual view and well beyond the borders of any outlying farms. It turned out to be a good thing they didn't wait any longer; shortly after they moved him, Jakl started flying. Just little fluttering attempts at first, but Meg was thrilled to see how quickly he gained strength and confidence. Well, thrilled and anxious. She hoped he truly understood how important it was not to let himself be seen.

Calen almost always came with her to visit the dragon, and Meg was especially grateful for his company on those walks through the forest. She was grateful for him anyway a" it meant so much to her to be able to talk to him about Jakl and have his help in figuring everything out a" but everyone knew the woods were no longer safe for wandering around in, and she would have been very nervous making the trips to Jakl's cave alone. Calen didn't even seem to think twice about putting himself at risk for her. She hoped she got the chance to repay him someday.

They always returned by early evening, with enough time for Meg to wash and change before dinner. Sometimes she would walk to dinner with some or all of her sisters, depending on where the meal was being served that evening and who else would be in attendance. And sometimes she would walk with Wilem.

He didn't escort her every night, but often enough that people were beginning to notice. Meg worried about the comments that might reach his ear, and how he might react, but if he was bothered by anything he heard, he gave no sign. He was ever kind and courteous, and although at first he had held to a rather stiff formality of speech that made many of their conversations feel like selections from a book of approved statements and responses for respectable young men and young ladies, lately he had begun to open up to her, speaking more freely of his life and friends and experiences in Kragnir, as well as his hopes and dreams for the future.

Meg was smitten. Part of her rebelled against the idea, wanting to insist that she was not some silly girl who would let herself fall so fully under the spell of any boy, even as fine an example as this one. But she was not so thickheaded that she failed to see the truth of things. Wilem made her feel newly alive just as Jakl did, but in a completely different way. Being with him was one of the few things that did take her mind off the dragon, and when it was time to part company, she had a similar sense of forcing herself to readjust to a dull and lackl.u.s.ter world. Sometimes she worried about that as well. She didn't want to live her life entirely for Wilem any more than she wanted to live it solely for Jakl. She just wanted to be herself. Was that so much to ask These thoughts always ran through her mind during the times when Wilem, too, seemed reflective and quiet. Tonight they were sitting near the fountain, keeping close to the castle (as most people did since the night of the creature in the garden) but with the tall and graceful trees to provide a measure of privacy and the soothing sound of the water to mask their words should anyone venture close enough to overhear. Not that there was anything to hear at the moment; they were just sitting, Wilem's hand resting mere inches from her own as he gazed off into the night, Meg staring dreamily at his profile. Her current favorite fantasy was of the day of Maerlie's swiftly approaching wedding. She pictured herself dancing with Wilem in the crowded hall, everyone's eyes upon them but their own eyes only on each other. She imagined he was a fine dancer. In real life she knew she would never astound anyone with her gracefulness, but when she danced with Wilem in her mind, she was as light on her feet as a feather, twirling with perfect timing and basking in the glow of his attention and the heated envy of every other girl in the castle.

She sighed inwardly and forced herself back to reality. Not that being in the courtyard with Wilem was such a dreadful reality to return to. Still, she hated when he caught her looking at him that way, certain that he was able to see inside her mind and know what she'd been dreaming. Better to wait until later, when she could play out the entire evening in her mind uninterrupted.

Wilem was still staring out at the surrounding darkness, his eyes focused on something only he could see. She wished she could read his mind as easily as she imagined he could read hers. Instead she had to resort to clumsy questions.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly.

He started slightly, and Meg let herself fancy he might have been entertaining his own romantic fantasy about the two of them. He looked at her and smiled.

"I was thinking about Ryant getting married. In less than a week, he and Princess Maerlie will be wed and everything will change."

She nodded. "They'll be starting a whole new life together, a different life."

His smile twisted slightly. "Actually, I was thinking more about myself, I'm afraid. I've grown so accustomed to spending my time at Ryant's side, but now . . ."

Meg thought she understood. "He'll need to spend that time with Maerlie. Or much of it, anyway. And then with their children, if they are so blessed." She made the sign of the Lady without thinking, touching her fist to her heart and then holding her palm out in front of her, fingers extended like the rays of the life-giving sun.

"It's selfish, I know," he said. "And I am happy for them both, of course. I will just need to a" readjust a" to the new order of things." He shook his head ruefully. "How the prince would mock me if he heard me talk like this. But even the little changes will be hard to get used to. I won't be able to drop by his quarters for a drink at night, once his rooms become hers as well."

"I'm sure Maerlie would never object to . . ." She trailed off. "No, you're right. Although, surely they'll have chambers large enough in Kragnir for each of them to have their own s.p.a.ce?"

Wilem nodded. "Of course. And I know I will still see plenty of my dear friend. But I believe the evenings will belong to his new wife, especially in the beginning."

Meg opened her mouth to rea.s.sure him, and then closed it, realizing what he was referring to. I will not blush, she thought fiercely, even as she felt the slow fire begin creeping up from her neck. He will think me an innocent child now. She glanced away, unable to meet his eyes.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Meglynne. I didn't mean to embarra.s.s you."

She forced herself to look up. "Oh, you didn't. Not really. I just a" I just hadn't been thinking . . ."

"No, of course not. I think men tend to speak more frankly of these things." He was clearly uncomfortable now, which made her feel even worse. "I shouldn't have made such a comment in your presence."

She could see him folding in on himself, reaching back for the formality of their earlier conversations. No, she thought. No, you don't. I don't want to lose what closeness we've gained. She swallowed and made herself speak far more casually than she felt. "It's not as though women never speak of such things," she said quietly. "The wedding night is not just an afterthought to the wedding itself, after all."

"I'm not even certain what the custom is here, in that regard," he said.

Meg stared at him.

"No a" I didn't mean a" I meant where the couple will stay until they leave for Kragnir. At home, the bride would move into the groom's chambers, but here, since the groom is not the host . . ."

"They're preparing a special wedding suite," Meg said, relieved to actually have something to say to help guide the conversation to somewhat firmer ground a" where the bride and groom would retire after the wedding, instead of what they might be doing once they got there. "It's the largest of the guest suites, at the end of the east wing near the tower, and this way it will be a new s.p.a.ce for both of them, as seems fitting for the first night of their new lives. She's been keeping the location a secret from the prince, wanting to surprise him a" you won't say anything, will you? She doesn't want him to see it before the wedding night. No one knows which room it will be except for us and the servants she trusts most." She bit her lip and added, "Well, and now you, of course."

"Your secret is safe with me, Princess." He gave her one of his small, sad smiles. Perhaps he was thinking more about missing his friend once he was wed; his smile seemed a bit smaller and sadder than usual.

He looked at her a moment more, then rose and suggested that the hour was growing late. Meg supposed it was, at that. She felt the familiar tug-of-war inside her of disappointment and excitement: disappointment that her time with him was ending for the evening, excitement at the thought that maybe, this time, he might attempt to kiss her before they said good night. It didn't seem so very inappropriate to wish for that; they'd been spending a lot of time together, and none of the parents seemed to have any objection. And wasn't that how these things worked? A boy and a girl started spending time together, they talked, they held hands, and then, eventually, he kissed her. She'd read enough romance stories to know how it was supposed to go, she thought. And if he didn't kiss her soon . . . did that mean he didn't want to? Or that the notions of appropriate behavior were just different where he came from? She wished he'd hurry up so she could stop wondering!

They walked together back into the castle. He was holding her hand, as he so often did now when they walked together, and Meg tried to communicate silently through that tenuous connection, sending him clear and explicit permission to kiss her. Sadly, it didn't seem to function as well as her link with Jakl did. At the thought of the dragon, she felt him shift his distant awareness to her, questing toward her through the link. Their bond was strong enough now that she could feel him everywhere in the castle. Sometimes that was nice, but at this moment . . . No, not now, you stupid dragon. She was with Wilem now; she didn't want to have to share this moment with Jakl, too. She didn't know how to make him understand that, though, so she just pushed him a" gently but firmly a" away and strengthened the wall between them that Calen had taught her to create.

"Meg?" Wilem was talking to her; how long had he been talking to her? Meg wrenched her focus back outward again.

"I'm sorry, Wilem a" I was lost in thought for a moment. What were you saying?"

They had stopped walking, and he was looking down at her, smiling one of those heart-twisting smiles.

"Your hand, Meg. You were, um . . ."

With horror she realized she was gripping his hand tightly enough to make his flesh white. "Oh, G.o.ds, I'm sorry a"" She tried to let go, but he didn't let her. She stared at their joined hands in confusion, and then he took his other hand and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. His lovely, sad, warm, dark, impossibly deep eyes. Their color seemed to swirl and change; she couldn't tell if they were brown or hazel or black or some new shade of dark that had no name and existed only there a" here a" in Wilem's eyes and no place else. She felt as if she could quite literally drown in those eyes. Drown and be happily, truly, wonderfully lost forever. She knew she should look away, but she couldn't, and besides, his hand was still gently holding her chin, and those eyes, his eyes, his face, drew closer, she could see his mouth parting, and she felt her own mouth mirror his, and her eyes closed almost before she could tell them to and then suddenly, shockingly, his lips were pressed against her own and she thought she had never felt anything so soft and perfect and warm and then she didn't seem to have any thoughts at all except the one dreamy refrain, He's kissing me, kissing me, Wilem is kissing me. . . .

At some point he must have taken his leave, because Meg realized she was somehow standing inside the door of her room, standing even though she could feel that really she was floating and her feet couldn't possibly truly be touching the floor. Her heart was beating very fast. So this is what it feels like, she marveled. Did Maerlie feel like this when Ryant kissed her? Was it going to feel like this every time? She wanted to tear open the door and run back down the hall after him and kiss him again and again to find out.

She managed to resist that urge. Barely.

It took her a long while to regain some semblance of normal thought and function. She took several moments to replay the kiss in her mind a few times, then forced herself to stop thinking about it because otherwise she didn't believe she could move from where she was leaning against the closed door. Finally, her heartbeat as close to back to normal as it was likely to get anytime soon, she smoothed out her dress and touched her hair to make sure it was still in place and then crossed to the inner door and the short back hallway that led to the private entrances to her sisters' rooms. She poked her head in Maurel's door to say a quick good night, then continued on toward Maerlie's room, praying she'd find her sister there.

Meg knocked and stood bouncing on her toes until she heard Maerlie answering, "Come in!" She practically bounded inside. Maerlie was seated at her desk. When she saw Meg's face, she put down the letter she'd been reading and stood up. She took Meg's hand and led her to the bed, where they sat facing each other. Maerlie was still holding Meg's hand in hers.

"Tell me what happened," Maerlie said.

"He kissed me," Meg whispered. She felt herself grinning like an idiot, but she didn't care. It felt good to feel so happy. Maerlie grinned back, and that made it even better.

"And?" Maerlie asked.

"And? And what? It was . . . oh, Maer, it was wonderful." She laughed and reached up to touch her face. "Look, I can't stop smiling."

Maerlie giggled. "I noticed."

"It was like time stopped, and there was nothing else but the two of us. That must sound so silly. . . ."

"No, Meg, it doesn't. I know just what you mean."

Meg flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Why can't it stay like this, Maer? Why can't you and Prince Ryant stay here, and Wilem too, and it can always be like this and we can all be happy and stay together. . . ."

And then without warning, Meg burst into tears.

In an instant, Maerlie's arms were around her, gathering her up into a fierce hug. "Shh," Maerlie murmured, holding her close. "Meg, shh, it's okay."

"Don't go," Meg whispered. "Please don't go, Maerlie. How can I get by without you here? I won't be able to stand it. Please."

"Oh, Meg." Maerlie pulled away slightly and reached up to smooth Meg's hair back from her face. "You know I have to go. But we'll see each other again before too long, you know that. And you'll be fine. You will a" you'll see. And besides, I'm not leaving tomorrow. The wedding's still six days away a" that's plenty of time for you to get sick of me."

Meg shook her head but couldn't help smiling a little.

Maerlie smiled back. "And plenty of time for more kisses with your Wilem," she added.

Meg was grinning again before she could help it, and Maerlie laughed.

And then Meg was laughing, too, even with the tears still leaking at the corners of her eyes. "Argh!" she said. "This is crazy. How can I be so happy and so sad at the same time?"

"That's love, my dear sister," Maerlie said softly. She took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped gently at Meg's face. "That's love."

Meg's sleep was long in coming that night. She lay awake, certain she could feel the dragon reaching for her through the link, probing at her mind and emotions. He was definitely getting stronger, better able to touch her in that way. Meg kept the barrier up, blocking Jakl's presence from flooding in unchecked, but she worried that eventually he'd find a way around it. And then what? Calen seemed sure that he wouldn't actually take over her mind, but Meg didn't have the same confidence. It seemed to her that Jakl was always trying to push their connection as far as it would go, and she always had to keep holding him back.

Sleep! she thought at him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her words that way.

She wondered suddenly what Calen was doing right then. Was he sleeping? Catching up on his studies for Serek? Or sneaking into the library to steal more information for her? She wished she didn't have to ask him to risk getting in trouble on her account. He really didn't seem to mind, though. She suspected he was almost as eager to learn about dragons as she was a" he always seemed so excited about the latest details he was able to discover. Plus, she knew, he was just glad to help her. That's just how he was. She smiled in the darkness. Somehow she'd been able to tell right away how nice he would be, despite the fact that their first meeting began with him almost falling out the window and then that silly argument. She'd known she could trust him. And of course she'd been right. She felt she could tell him anything.

Her smile faded. Well, almost anything. For some reason, she hadn't told him about Wilem. She didn't know why. She and Calen certainly didn't have those kinds of feelings for each other, but still she worried that he wouldn't understand. But surely it didn't matter. By necessity, her life was divided now between castle and dragon, and Wilem was part of one world and Calen the other. It had to be that way, didn't it? She tried to imagine telling Wilem about Jakl and could not. She knew he'd be leaving with the prince after the wedding, anyway; she knew her fantasies about having a future with him were only daydreams, but . . . what if they weren't? What if somehow they could end up together? Would he still want her if he knew? Would anyone ever want her? A girl whose mind and heart were already half spoken for . . . by a dragon?

She didn't want to think about that now. She would keep her two lives separate, as she had been, for as long as she could. And then, when Jakl got too big to stay hidden, or when she could no longer find enough excuses to steal away to visit him in secret . . . well, she would just have to find a way to make everyone accept it. Telling her parents would be awful; she knew they wouldn't understand, but eventually they would have to come to terms with it, wouldn't they? And then so many things would be so much better. No more secrets from her family or anyone else. No more sneaking off into the woods, where who knew what kind of monsters could still be lurking. No more dividing her life into parts, as if she were several people instead of only one. She would just be herself again, with nothing to hide and no reason to fear discovery. If her family loved her, they would accept who she was. And anyone else who loved her, really loved her, would do the same.