The faintest of visible tremors ran through Demeti, but he didn’t crumble. “I’m afraid even these crystals wouldn’t hide ourdiscussion. It would then draw the very attention you wish to avoid. A pointless exercise when I can offer much to this alliance.”
Galeran waved a hand. “You are here because you have assets. Only time will tell if I actually require them.”
Demeti’s eyes flashed and Nikolai shuddered at the hate radiating off him. “You know they will send the Dragons after you.”
Galeran smirked. “Yes. It is their only recourse.”
The Torshin frowned and persisted. “They are partially immune to life-energy power. I have used a focused beam on them with some success.”
Galeran gestured to where Nikolai stood between his Bellatis supports. “The Dragons have never come up against Nikolai. And you are not here for your paltry powers. I want the parasites.”
Parasites? Nikolai attempted to get his feet under him. What was his father up to with Demeti?
The Torshin’s eyes flared crimson with the dismissal of his energy bursts. Having been on the receiving end, Nikolai wasn’t as cavalier as his father. But Demeti must want this alliance badly, because he shifted into full salesman mode. “My weapon is far less clumsy and leaves your son free to do the task you require of him. The Legion has been rebuilt since my father decimated its members. It is not as strong as before, but still formidable, and it has recruited to expand their numbers. Are you so sure you can take on the Legion Dragons?”
Galeran ’s face remained impassive. “I have to decide if your little parasites are worth putting up with you.”
Demeti’s face spasmed as he pushed onward. “I spent the last few months improving them. They multiply faster now, and the darts have been perfected. I have trained a large Dire group. They are excellent marksmen.”
Nikolai stared at the Torshin. He’d used parasites against the Dragons?
Galeran’s gaze grew more intense. “From all reports, your parasites performed well against the Legion Dragons. What is the cost of making them available to me?”
“I want to finish what my father started,” Demeti hissed. “The Dragons have long held the realms beneath their talons. It is time to break their stranglehold.”
Galeran snorted. “I have no interest in a war against the Dragons. If they leave me alone, I will not seek them out.”
The crimson eyes had altered to the color of fresh blood. “They will not leave you alone. You know it. And so do I.”
“What I do is for the good of the realms,” Galeran insisted.
“You know that not all will see it that way. And the Dragons are eyeball deep in the commerce of the realms. They will see what you are doing as a threat.” Demeti gestured to the Bellatis standing so silently around them. “Your Bellatis are brave warriors, but how long will they stand against the Legion?”
Galeran’s eyes flashed. “They do not stand alone.”
“So sure are you, that your son’s power will conquer them? I thought you wanted to save the realms, not obliterate them. I am Torshin. I know that no power comes without a cost.”
“It is a cost your people have cared little for.”
Demeti acknowledged that with a nod. “Our concept of collateral damage is broader than most. But from what I have glimpsed, it is a grain of sand compared to the mountain that is your son.”
A ripple passed through the Bellatis in the room.
“The Dragons and the Bellatis went to war over the Torshins’ idea of acceptable collateral damage,” Sebastian growled.
Galeran, however, merely regarded Demeti through narrowed eyes.
Demeti ignored Sebastian, keeping his focus on Galeran. “You have been fortunate so far,” he pressed. “But that will not last. Once they have a plan in place, they will be ready to pounce as soon as you tap into the core. I can offer you the means to hold them at bay. The Dragons have no answer for my parasites.”
“So you are willing to give me them, in exchange for killing Dragons?”
“Yes.”
“I am not at war with the Dragons,” Galeran clarified. “I will only retaliate if they try to interfere.”
Demeti hesitated, but then nodded. “Any dead Dragon is a good thing.”
Nikolai thought of Aria, and his blood ran cold.
