Onyxia spat out the cup she had kept in her stomach pouch. Annan picked it up and handed it to Shadow Song.
"Take it and have it examined."
"Yes, my lord."
Shadow Song left. Annan said to the Saintess and the Silver Dragon, "See you later."
"See you later," the Saintess replied.
The Silver Dragon watched Annan leave with obvious reluctance.
As they headed toward the City Lord's Mansion, Peterson followed close behind Annan and asked curiously, "Master, how did you know the Silver Dragon was hiding?"
"I don't know the details of the case, but I know dragons."
Chromatic or Metal, every last dragon might betray its kind, embrace chaos, or fall in love with a human. But a dragon that wasn't greedy? Never.
Some Spellcasters, coveting dragons' immense power and long lives, had tried to transfer their souls into unformed Dragon Eggs or Young Dragons through evil rituals. They succeeded, but were invariably exposed afterward by saying things like "I'm not greedy" or "Money doesn't interest me."
A dragon needed treasure like Free City needed Annan.
Greed was etched deep in dragons' souls alongside Dragon Language Magic. As for why, Annan had no idea... Perhaps the Father of Dragons had fallen on hard times in his youth.
But he could never let the Dragon Clan hear that theory.
"Master Annan, you know so much!" Peterson had asked the question just so he could say that.
"It's nothing."
After all, Annan had read the Warlock's Handbook more than a dozen times. He could tell whether a dragon lifting its leg was marking territory or in heat.
They had just reached the City Lord's Mansion when the sound of children shouting reached them.
Annan was the symbol of the City Lord's Mansion, and the City Lord's Mansion was the symbol