Book 6: Chapter 9
Kay considered the pair for a moment. “I do think it would be too tyrannical of me to force you to stop trying to convince Murunel of your point of view by demanding that you leave Avalon, and I agree that allowing you to remain here indefinitely without any form of recompense would be a bit much…” He frowned as he considered the situation. After a moments thought, he turned his head slightly to stare at Azred. “I think the deciding factor in this case is you. Do you have a limit? Is there a point where you will accept Murunel’s decision to remain and give up, or will you continue to badger her forever? Because if you’re continuing until she returns with you permanently and does what you think she should without being willing to accept any other outcomes, then I will lean on my powers and get rid of you, for the sake of my friend.”
Azred’s deepening sneer as Kay spoke turned into a grimace under the power of his wife’s disproving stare. “I agreed to a time limit that Murunel came up with. I have until then to try and convince her that I’m right, if I fail in that time then I have to stop.”
“Permanently?”
“I’m not agreeing to forever silence myself, I have a right to keep and express my opinions about my family.” He firmed his posture, giving Kay a defiant glare. After a few seconds his grandstanding deflated. “But if I fail to convince her, if!, then I won’t make any campaigns of it like I’m doing now.”
“That is an acceptable compromise, but I will add one addendum.” Kay raised a finger, not flinching under Azred’s sudden glare or the two women’s questioning looks. “No bothering Murunel while she’s working. Her job is important and I don’t need her arguing with you when she’s supposed to be working.”
The red dragon in his humanoid form scoffed at the idea of Murunel’s duties as one of Kay’s Ministers, obviously thinking that whatever duties she would have as her mother’s heir were much more important, but he didn’t argue.
“As for payment or service to offset the costs of you staying here, I do have a thought.”
“How can we assist the Kingdom of Avalon?” Vivien asked.
“Your atonement for attacking us will be decided later, but the cost of staying with us will be assisting us with our current problem. Namely the vampyr incursions coming out of former Nelam.” The tense air in the room stemming from the arguing dragons took an entirely different air. “While the specifics haven’t been set in stone, and don’t spread any of this around, but we’re going to have to take direct action in the future to stem the tide. We’re not going to be able to sit back and let any vampyr that come close bash themselves on our defenses while we wait out the problem, so we’ll be dealing with it ourselves. I’ll have the two of you help us with the fighting, both defensively while we make plans and then on the offense when we push to the east.”