Guantes stepped back, rising to his feet. ‘I take it that means you don’t want any more brandy,’ he said, wiping the neck of the flask with his sleeve. He was in grey silks and velvets now, with a draping mantle over doublet and breeches. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘How dare you ask me that, after laying your hands on me in this way!’ In another place and time Kai’s words would have woken storms, brought rivers and seas rising to his command. But here and now they were only words, and they echoed flatly inside the small grey stone room.

‘Oh, please.’ Guantes tucked the flask into his mantle. ‘You were a pitifully easy target. I’d have thought your father or your uncles would have taught you more caution. A shame for you that they didn’t.’

The insult to his sire and his uncles made Kai bite his lip, rage clouding his vision. He strained at the manacles that held him to the wall, until the blood ran down his wrists. ‘You are going to die for this,’ he snarled.

‘Words, words, words. If I’d known that you dragons were so weak, I’d have acted sooner. So tell me, would you like to sue for ransom? I imagine that we could send a letter to your uncle. In fact, hmm.’ Guantes began to pace thoughtfully, distracted by his train of thought. ‘It could be quite interesting to sow suspicion among your uncle’s servants. We’d have to leave a trail suggesting that one of them compromised you, of course, and then I could even incriminate one of your older brothers, or possibly suggest the Library was behind it all, while at the same time selling information to …’

A man who was standing by the door coughed politely. He was wearing the same sort of clothing as Guantes, but cheaper, and in unobtrusive faded black. ‘My lord, the test?’

‘Oh, yes, I quite forgot. You may report to your lords that the dragon shows no sign of breaking free from his chains under severe provocation.’ He turned back to Kai. ‘You must excuse me. I do get distracted so easily. Tell me, who do you think would make the most plausible suspect?’

‘For what?’ Kai demanded, confused. He sank back against the wall. There was no point trying to reach Guantes. He could only hope the Fae would come closer again.

‘Kidnapping you, of course. Oh, I know that you know I did it, but who else would? There’s so much scope here, I wouldn’t want to confine myself unduly. Perhaps the best option would be to wait until word gets out about your capture and then suggest that someone was impersonating me. Or maybe that I was an agent for your mother, and the whole thing was the first strike in a civil war against your father. Of course there isn’t actually a civil war yet, but we can work on that.’ He shook his head. ‘No, I must control myself. Stick with the current plan until it’s fully carried through, as my dear wife keeps on saying.’

Kai tried to laugh, his throat still burning from the brandy. He gathered his pride, squaring his shoulders and rising to his feet. ‘If you go so far as to offend my mother, the fate that I have in mind for you now will pale by comparison. You are a fool, and you are meddling in matters beyond your understanding.’

‘A very pretty speech,’ Guantes said. ‘I’d be proud of it myself. But allow me to point out that you are currently in chains, in prison, and far away from anyone who could possibly help you. Also, nobody knows where you are.’

‘A temporary situation,’ Kai retorted as he tried to ignore the hollow uncertainty in his belly. ‘My friends will come for me. My uncle will find me.’

‘Not here,’ Guantes said, with a certainty that conveyed absolute truth. ‘This sphere is deep in the chaos zones. Even if your uncle could find you, he neither could nor would come here, even to save your life. It would be an act of open war. Actually, the fact that you are here yourself could be construed as a provocation. The King of the Eastern Ocean’s youngest son, deep in the heart of our territory.’

Anger and fear fought with Kai’s urge to roll his eyes. ‘You kidnapped me.’

‘Yes, that’s true. I’d just have to make sure you were incapable of incriminating me …’ Again he shook his head. ‘I suppose I can always save it as a last resort, if the auction doesn’t go ahead on schedule.’

‘Auction?’ Kai asked. Part of him still didn’t accept that this could be happening.

‘Yes, at midnight tomorrow.’ Guantes glanced up at the window-openings in the wall high above. Thin, pale light shone through them, and it was impossible to determine the time of day. ‘You’re to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Very elegant, don’t you think?’

‘I’m going to kill you,’ Kai swore again. Anger and pride were the only things he had left to give him strength. ‘And if I don’t, my friends will.’

‘But I’ve already told you,’ Guantes said mildly. ‘Dragons can’t reach you here. Even the Library won’t help you.’

‘You know about the Library?’

‘I know all the players in the game.’ Guantes turned and strolled towards the door. ‘And you, young prince, are in checkmate. Sleep well.’

The door closed behind him with a hollow boom, cutting off Kai’s last shouted defiance and leaving him alone in the cell.

Was it checkmate? Perhaps not. He had to believe there was still a chance, or he would despair. And if Guantes thought that the Library wouldn’t help, then he didn’t know Irene. She would still be in the game.