‘Splendid, splendid,’ Mr Nemo said warmly. ‘How nice to know that we can all get along. I’ve always thought individual gain was a much better motivator than racial prejudice, or personal morality. Now I know your price, Miss Winters, just as I do everyone else’s at this table – except for Prince Kai. I’ll be glad to discuss it with him later.’

Kai made a non-committal noise. He nibbled a fragment of meat and frowned. ‘Is this shark?’

Irene suddenly tasted bile. She put down her own fork, unable to stop herself from looking at the huge glass window. Memory replayed the view of Nadia’s twisting body, silently screaming as the sharks closed in.

‘Indeed, great white shark liver,’ Mr Nemo answered. ‘It’s a delicacy. Did you know that killer whales have a habit of knocking great white sharks unconscious, biting out their livers and leaving them to drown? Very directed, very specific. I do admire that in an orca.’

‘I didn’t realize that you found killer whales in the Caribbean,’ Irene ventured. Diplomacy told her that she needed to finish this meal or risk insulting the host. Common sense told her that if she didn’t have something to eat now she’d regret it later. But speculation, impossible to silence, whispered at the back of her mind. She’d been told Mr Nemo enjoyed feeding people to his sharks. Even if this particular shark hadn’t eaten Nadia, there was no way to prove that it hadn’t eaten other people.

You can do this, she told herself. You’ve eaten worse. And in worse company.

It would help if she could actually remember when, though.

‘So,’ Felix said, surprising everyone by joining the conversation, ‘what’s your target item and where is it?’

‘The item is a painting,’ Mr Nemo said. ‘It was created by the French painter Théodore Géricault – in 1819 in the world in question – and it’s titled The Raft of the Medusa.’

Silence fell around the table. Irene noted absently that Ernst, Kai and Indigo had gone back to eating their shark liver, that Jerome was following her own tactic of burying it under rice, and Felix had never taken any in the first place.

‘You do know about the painting, I hope?’ Mr Nemo finally said. ‘It’s moderately famous.’

‘Overblown, oversized early Romanticism,’ Indigo said. ‘It passes all understanding why different qualities in colour, on a two-hundred-year-old piece of canvas, should be worth going to such trouble to obtain. When you can obtain exactly the same patterns of colour and shading on a computer image . . .’

‘Because the original is the original!’ Kai retorted, stung by artistic criticism, whereas personal insults would have left him cold. ‘How can you compare a mere machine-read copy to the actual brushstrokes laid down by the painter?’

‘Well, what I want is the original,’ Mr Nemo cut in. ‘To be more specific, I want the canvas, whole and entire. You can leave the frame behind if absolutely necessary.’

‘Where is it currently located?’ Kai asked.

‘By our standards, the world is fourth-by-reticulation and seventh-by-response, with double marking,’ Mr Nemo said. ‘Tina here knows the world and she’ll be organizing transport. Specifically, it’s in Vienna, in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. I know from your dossiers that most of you speak German.’

‘That’s usually one of the biggest museums in Vienna, if not the biggest,’ Irene said thoughtfully. ‘What time period are we looking at?’

‘Early twenty-first century, where there’s some sort of united Europe,’ Mr Nemo answered. ‘If I may continue?’

‘I beg your pardon,’ Irene murmured, retreating back to her rice. She had to remember that this wasn’t a typical Library mission – and that she wasn’t in charge of this team.

Though, she wondered, who was?

Mr Nemo took another gulp of whiskey before continuing and Irene wondered at his stamina. ‘I’ve had a local agent arrange finance, accommodation, identity papers and anything else you may need, which will be handed over when you arrive.’

‘Technical equipment?’ Indigo demanded. ‘If you want me to do my job properly, I’m going to need suitable computers and tools.’

‘She’s been instructed to obtain local high-end technology. Everything which you could possibly ask for. You’re working for me now, Indigo, remember.’ His tone towards her was avuncular, but there was a vicious note beneath the pleasant surface. Irene wondered what had happened between them to merit it. ‘There are some things which you don’t need to worry about any longer.’

Indigo visibly bristled but forced a nod, and Irene marked off another probable role on this team of theirs. Indigo, apparently, was technology and computer systems. Which was interesting. Kai had spent time on a world with a high level of technology and had experience in the area. But not all dragons were interested – or even enthusiastic – about that sort of thing. Ernst was obviously muscle. (Too obviously?) Tina was transport. However, what were Jerome and Felix meant to be doing? Or Irene herself?

‘Are you going to want reports?’ Jerome asked.

Mr Nemo shook his head. ‘You’re all experts in your fields. I intend to sit here in comfort till you return with the painting. Besides, frequent couriers might be . . . noticed.’

Something that had been puzzling her resurfaced. ‘Mr Nemo,’ Irene said, ‘when Kai and I came through the airport, at Paradise Island, there were a lot of your . . . fans there.’

‘Fans, my dear?’

‘Enthusiasts with weapons, who turned the place into a war zone. They were desperate to find you. The moment they discovered Kai and I were visiting, they targeted us. So I have to ask – just how secret is this job of yours? Is this public interest in you going to be a problem?’

Mr Nemo leaned forward confidingly. His face was damp with sweat and pink from the heat, but it didn’t make him look vulnerable. Metaphors flickered through Irene’s mind: a poisonous toad squatting in its lair, a great wyrm curled up in its place of power, an octopus extending its tentacles. ‘Miss Winters, I assure you that nothing’s known about what I’m after. However, while I was recruiting, it did become known that I was looking for people with very specific skills. You saw the results.’

‘Indeed,’ Jerome said, putting down his chopsticks. ‘You ended up with a mob on your doorstep, after the job and the reward. Perhaps you showed your cards too early?’

‘They’ll never find me. But if they did, they’d get more than they bargained for.’ Irene didn’t like the look of Nemo’s smile as he clapped his hands together. ‘And now for the next course. I do hope you all enjoy fugu sashimi.’

The moon laid a trail of silver across the surface of the sea. Kai stood by the closed windows, sensing the deep pulse of the tides and the movement of the ocean. It was familiar to him in any world and any place, as much a part of him as the blood in his veins. He could always call on the waters to protect himself – and Irene.

She slept, but restlessly. He knew how concerned she was for the world where she’d grown up.

But as he was the one awake, apparently he was doing the worrying for her. He wondered if this was one of those things that nobody ever told you about relationships – or, at least, the sort that went beyond a single night’s pleasure or a brief but passionate affair.

A year ago, he hadn’t met Irene. He hadn’t known that there could be someone – outside other dragons – who would be prepared to risk their own life for him.

Irene had said, truthfully and sincerely, I am responsible for you, and you are under my protection. At first he’d had to suppress a laugh – after all, how could a human possibly have that sort of a relationship with a dragon? But then he’d realized she’d meant it. And she’d proved it, time and time again. Vale was a human too, but also a stalwart friend. There were even a few Fae who might not be utterly worthless.

Kai reflected gloomily that it would be a relief to shed all these thoughts, thoughts that challenged his traditional upbringing at court. However, if he wanted to deserve his father’s respect, he had to be an adult, rather than be trapped inside a cage of his own prejudices. But it seemed unfair that such a virtuous, noble resolution should be so hard to keep.

Light flickered in the room behind him and Kai turned to see that the television had switched itself on. Mr Nemo was perched in the same chair, heavy-lidded eyes fixed on him. The glass window in the background revealed an octopus spreading its tentacles across the ocean floor, graceful in its delicate movements. In her bed Irene slept on, unmoving, peaceful at last.

Mr Nemo put his finger to his lips, then gestured towards the suite door. A clear invitation for a private discussion. After a moment’s hesitation, Kai accepted the challenge and noiselessly left the room.

A screen on the wall opposite flickered on, resolving into yet another image of Mr Nemo. It was as if the man was crawling round behind the walls of his lair, scrambling from screen to screen to keep pace with his guests. ‘Prince Kai,’ he said, ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you.’

‘Not at all,’ Kai replied warily.

The light from Mr Nemo’s desk lamp carved deep shadows into his face, bringing out the skull beneath the skin. ‘Don’t worry, this doesn’t concern Miss Winters – or the new truce. I haven’t formally signed up to it yet, though I see its possibilities. But it’s late, and I’d said we could . . . chat. Do you have any questions?’

Kai had been pondering dozens earlier, but could only think of one now, under Mr Nemo’s hooded gaze. ‘You’ve made it clear this job is urgent. But you’ve insisted we stay overnight, rather than beginning immediately. Why?’

‘It’s the nature of the transport Tina’s arranging. She’ll be your driver throughout,’ Mr Nemo answered.

‘Why couldn’t you have had it ready for earlier this evening?’

‘I couldn’t be sure that you’d all agree to the job: I might have needed to bring someone else in – and I couldn’t have the transport sitting around waiting. Trying to keep Tina in one place is an achievement in itself. Logistics, Prince Kai.’

For some reason, Kai wasn’t entirely convinced, but Mr Nemo had moved on. He leaned forward in his chair, unclasping his fingers. ‘You don’t have any other questions?’

‘Oh?’

‘Concerning the other dragon who is my . . . guest? I thought you might want to air them, while we’re in private.’

Kai felt the heat of anger in his belly, the prickle of nascent claws at his fingertips. He controlled himself. ‘That person is not my concern.’

‘Really? I would have thought that Princess Qing Qing is—’

Kai cut him off with a single furious gesture. ‘Do not refer to her by her original name! She has disobeyed her parents and broken with her family. She does not deserve the name her parents gave her.’

‘Dear me.’ Mr Nemo chuckled again, his whole body shivering with morbid amusement. ‘I must apologize. I know that the lady – let’s call her Indigo, shall we? – is on the outs with her family, but I hadn’t realized it was that bad. It sounds positively criminal.’

‘It is,’ Kai said curtly. ‘And she fled the consequences of her actions.’

He had never met Qing Qing, but he’d seen pictures of her in his father’s palace, before they’d been taken down. She had shamed both her parents – Kai’s father and her mother, the Queen of the Western Lands – by trying to raise open rebellion against their rule. Now her name was no longer spoken.

Mr Nemo nodded understandingly. ‘I can imagine that her family might want her back under their control. She might be a danger to them . . .’

Kai had no intention of discussing his family any further with this Fae. He shrugged.

Mr Nemo chuckled again at his stubborn silence. ‘You should remember, if you help in this retrieval, I will owe you a favour. There might be quite a large favour I could do you – and your family. One you’ll have already paid for.’

Kai felt the heat of anger again, and his eyes glinted red. ‘We have no need of your services.’

‘Then think of yourself,’ Mr Nemo said, meeting Kai’s furious gaze through the camera. ‘Wouldn’t your father be pleased if you could place Indigo back in his care? I can help you with that.’

The offer hung in the air like the shadow of an incoming tide: not yet fully present, but impossible to turn back. ‘What is she doing here in the first place?’ Kai demanded, hoping for some answer that would allow him to say no.

Or did he really want a reason to say yes?

‘The lady was imprisoned by a powerful Fae,’ Mr Nemo said. ‘I knew of her talents – her technological talents – and I took steps to obtain custody. I have assured her that if she carries out my request, I will grant her her freedom. Freedom from me, at least. Freedom from her family . . . well, that’s another question entirely.’

Kai bit his lip and tasted blood. He couldn’t possibly accept an offer like this from a Fae. It was unthinkable. There was certainly some sort of trick involved. There had to be. Finally he said, ‘I have already agreed to cooperate in this theft. This late-night bargaining . . .’

Caution cut off his last few words before he could definitely say no. What if there was a way to make this happen? If he turned it down here and now, would Mr Nemo hold him to that later? Was it so wrong to make a bargain like this, when everybody stood to gain from it?

‘There’s no hurry,’ Mr Nemo replied. His lips curled in a smile that bared sharp teeth all the way to the gums. ‘You can give me your answer when you return.’