Free The Flames of Dragons by Josh VanBrakle Page B

shame.
    “Come in,” Elyssa said, forcing down her emotions. No matter who he might look or act like, Balear was Balear.
    The one-armed man entered the chamber. Elyssa motioned for her guards to exit.
    The last time she’d asked them for privacy with Balear, they’d looked on the edge of defiance. Today none of them hesitated.
    “Shut the door,” Elyssa commanded when she and Balear were alone. She had to be in charge of him. Balear understood order, discipline, and rank. Elyssa needed to establish where each of them sat in relation to the other.
    Balear did as instructed. That was a good start.
    “I’ve heard a curious rumor,” Elyssa said. She leaned back in her throne. “I understand you broke the fountain on the third level.”
    The former general shrugged. If he had any regrets about his action, he kept them hidden. That was like Balio too. “The Auryozaki isn’t a delicate weapon,” he said, as though that were all the explanation warranted.
    “I trust you intend to pay for the damage.”
    The corners of Balear’s mouth tightened. “Not at all,” he replied.
    Of course he didn’t. There was no way a wandering traitor could replace a broken fountain. This just meant Elyssa could get more work out of him in retribution. He had walked right into her trap. She put a hand to her chest in mock surprise. “What?” she asked. “Are you suggesting the town should bear the cost for your irresponsible actions?”
    The general’s face grew stern. “No,” he said, “I’m saying it should be left as it is.”
    His seriousness took Elyssa aback. “But it cannot stay that way,” she countered. “We’re a tourist town. We survive by being clean and beautiful.”
    Balear’s expression did not relent. “All the more reason to leave it. It’ll be a good reminder. Far worse destruction will befall Kataile if another city attacks. If your people are so angered by that small blemish, then it should encourage them not to let any more happen.”
    Elyssa’s eyebrow twitched. She had no response to that.
    “If that’s all, Lady Orianna,” Balear said, “I’m missing a training session.”
    Elyssa chewed her lip. Balear was like Balio in several ways, but this sternness was different. Balio was always relaxed. He was the rare man who could cross lines, equally comfortable wining and dining with Kataile’s elite as he was belting out bawdy tunes in a portside tavern.
    Balear wasn’t that man. If people listened to him, it was through the sheer force of his presence. He could do what no man—not even Balio—had ever done to Elyssa.
    He could intimidate her.
    Those indomitable blue eyes were still on her. She couldn’t bear them, but neither could she let him have the advantage. There was only one way to take back the initiative.
    She smiled. “Actually, there is one more thing,” she said. “I thought you might want to hear more about how I knew Balio.”
    That got his attention. Balear’s shoulders slackened. His eyes lost their fire.
    Elyssa kept up her warm expression, but inside her grin was more devious. Every man had a weakness she could exploit. For some it was money. For others it was sex. For Balear it was knowledge of his father.
    “Tell me,” Balear said.
    “I trust you know your father served as a bodyguard aboard Lodian ships. Even though Ceere was closer to his home, Kataile was his port of choice. Do you know why?”
    Balear shook his head. Elyssa forced herself not to smirk. “It was because of me. If he boarded in Kataile, he would get to see me.”
    The soldier’s lone hand clenched. “Are you telling me my father had an affair?”
    The challenge in his voice made Elyssa flinch. “Nothing like that,” she stammered, off balance again despite herself. “We were friends. Much to my disappointment, that’s all we ever were.”
    Balear’s hand relaxed. “I should get back to the men. Farewell.”
    Elyssa frowned. So even knowledge of his father wasn’t an effective tool.
    It