“We know what she’s doing here,” Drake said dryly. “She was robbing me blind.”

“The rest of the band was,” Ysolde insisted. “She wasn’t even at the house.”

“Actually, she was,” the First Dragon found himself saying.

Everyone in the room turned to him. With slow grace, he rose to his feet, and rubbed his face again. He disliked this new sensation of whiskers, a side effect of having agreed to live as a modern dragon. That and the disagreeable feeling in his gut. He realized with a start that it was hunger, and immediately wondered if the siren was hungry, too.

“She was in the house, sir?” Gabriel asked. “You saw her?”

“Yes. She was trying to save me when she thought her companions were harming me. She is not, however, a thief. I have discussed it with her, and she explained how she came to be with them. It was not by her own choice.” He turned to Aisling. “One of the needs you have bound upon me for a month is the desire to feed myself. You have food available?”

“You’re ... you eat?” she asked, looking incredulous. She must have realized how rude that was, and immediately added, “I’m so sorry, I should have thought of that. Of course you’re hungry—regular dragons get hungry, after all. We had dinner right before you got here, but I’m sure I can have something whipped up for you.”

“And the siren,” he said.

“Yes ... of course. She’s probably hungry, too.” Aisling glanced at Drake. “I’m sure Vicky won’t cause any trouble while she’s eating and bathing.”

“No,” Drake said, shaking his head. “Not in this house. Not with the children present.”

“But—”

“The subject is not open to further discussion, Aisling.” Drake was no longer standing alone—during the time he had spoken, the other two wyverns had moved in to flank him, just as the women tightened around Aisling.

The scene would have amused the First Dragon more, but the demand of his belly, and his desire to remove the siren from her imprisonment, preyed on his mind. Without addressing anyone in particular, he went to open the door, pausing to say, “The woman will dine and bathe with me.”

All six people turned to look at him, identical expressions of astonishment on their faces. The First Dragon had no idea what had triggered that reaction, but he didn’t particularly care. He had other concerns, one of which was to see the woman in more comfortable circumstances, while another was to feed his belly. And there was a pressure in his bladder that he remembered from his time living as a dragon with Maerwyn. He hoped his accommodations had a privy nearby.

“I ... you ... what?” Aisling finally stammered.

“She will remain with me in the gatehouse you have placed at my disposal. You said there were four bedchambers—she may have one. She will be confined to the domicile until such time as she decides what to do. You can have food sent to us?”

“Yes,” Aisling said, blinking. “Certainly.”

“What an excellent idea,” Ysolde said smoothly, moving over to him and taking his arm. “The poor woman must be miserable in the cellar like that—I speak as a woman who suffers greatly at such times—and it’s the perfect solution because she won’t be in this house at all, where she might sway people, and yet, will be held safe.”

“And she’ll be able to get to know the First Dragon,” Aisling said with a bright smile. “And vice versa. Boy, this couldn’t have worked out better if we arranged it!”

“But ... the First Dragon ... won’t she simply sing at him?” May asked, following along with the others into the hall.

“I am immune, child of shadows.”

“Oh, well, that’s handy. ...”

The black demon dog emerged from a passageway. “Hey, Ash, the siren is down there bitching up a storm. You going to let her wash or not? Also, she requested a morphine drip, or at least a bottle of ibuprofen. Heya, Big Daddy. She had some pretty colorful things to say about you, also.”

The First Dragon glanced at the demon, and set a ring of fire alight around its feet. He continued past in the direction the demon had come, ignoring the shouts of the dog.

“Sire of all dragons, I must caution you against taking the woman out from our control.” Drake was on his heels, clearly not happy. “I am aware that her abilities have no power over you, but she has too much over the rest of the dragonkin, and I have little hope she would not use it at the first opportunity. You must know that above all else, we must protect what we hold, including those dear to us, and we cannot do that with such a threat loose.”

“She will not be loose,” the First Dragon told him, starting down the wooden stairs to the cellar. At the end, he could see Drake’s bodyguard sitting on a chair with a book in hand. He rose hastily at the sight of the First Dragon, and stood awkwardly at attention at the door to the siren’s chamber. “She will be under my guard.”

“But you—” Drake stopped, evidently unable to find the words to continue.

“I’m having some things sent over to the guardhouse,” Aisling called down the passage to them. “Ysolde and May went over to make sure everything is nice for you both. Jim, leave them alone. The First Dragon will fire you up again, and this time I won’t put it out.”

“I’m just helpin’,” the dog told her, and nosed the First Dragon aside to bellow inside. “Help’s on the way, babe! Tell your uterus to take a chill pill. Big Daddy is here to wash your back, too, heh heh heh.”

The First Dragon leaned down to say softly, “Do you like being a dog?”

Jim glanced up, wary. “Yeah. Why?”

“I just wondered how you’d enjoy being a small dung beetle.”

Jim’s eyes widened, and it backed up, running immediately into Drake’s legs. “Dude. It was just a joke.”

“Not a very good one,” the First Dragon said, straightening up.

“Big Daddy isn’t going to wash your back after all,” Jim bellowed at the door. “That was a joke. Tell him you don’t like dung beetles, will ya?”

The First Dragon almost gave in to an eye roll.

There was silence from the cellar for a moment, and then the siren’s voice drifted out to ask, “Why?”