Korinna’s head jerked up. She stared around at the other officers, but all she saw were grim faces. “That can’t be true,” she protested. “This company’s protected Kyratia for over a decade. You’ve fought gryphons many times before.”
“Not like this,” Itychia spoke up for the first time. “They’re stubborn when they fight to protect a territory, but our strategy has always been to take out the leader, which scatters the others. But there’s no obvious leader here. We killed the largest male yesterday, and today there were more to take his place. We’re flying blind through this.”
Korinna turned to look at the mage hopefully. “But you’re coming up with a new plan?”
Ameyron pursed his lips together and shuffled around some more papers. “I am trying.” He raised his eyes to meet her gaze. “Like any researcher, I formulate a hypothesis and then test it to see the results. So far, none of my hypotheses have proven useful, but I’m still gathering data and evaluating everything. At a much faster rate than I am used to working, I might add.” He looked down again. “However, the commander has lost patience with my methods.”
Navera let out a heavy sigh. “Varranor stormed out of here this morning to set up camp on the plains. He said he wanted to be closer to the fighting, but we all knew it’s because he didn’t want to listen to the mage anymore. Those of us left here are trying to come up with a new idea that will convince him.”
Korinna scanned the others in the room. The company’s senior officers were all gone with their commander. Those left behind held positions less crucial to the fighting force: Yoren trained new recruits, Navera trained new marewing riders and Itychia was her new assistant, Ameyron served as an occasional adviser on loan from the mage academy. Others that she didn’t know by name had insignia that identified them as secondary ranks like the quartermaster and a few captains from the infantry. Not much of a group to convince Warlord Varranor of anything.
Korinna leaned back and folded her arms, thinking over the situation. “Why doesn’t Varranor listen to you?” She knew her brother-in-law was stubborn, but taking over command of the company had tamed his recklessness, or so she had thought.
Ameyron rolled his eyes. “I’m an expert in monster behavior, not people. All I can do is offer my theories—I can’t make him accept my advice.”
Navera, who had been with the Storm Petrels since the two brothers first founded the company, gave him a thin smile. “He’s just proud,” she said with a shake of her head. “Galenos didn’t have a mage giving him advice for most of his career, so Varranor thinks he can do without, too. Don’t take it personally.” She looked sidelong at the duchess. “I don’t suppose you could help us convince him.”
Korinna cleared her throat. “He hasn’t exactly welcomed my help so far. Actually, both he and my husband have, ah, requested that I stay out of this situation.”
“What?” Navera leaned forward to stare at Korinna. “You mean the duke doesn’t know that you’re here?”
Itychia groaned. “No wonder you’re here in the middle of the night. Did you sneak out?” she asked knowingly. She’d been Korinna’s roommate when they were in training, and she’d seen her break the rules before. “You’re going to get all of us in trouble when he finds out.”
Korinna sat up straighter and lifted her chin. “I had to do something, but he wants me to spend all of my time resting in bed. I’m pregnant, not an invalid. When there is a threat to our home and our people, I have to fight to protect them.”
Everyone burst out protesting at once. Navera held up her hand for silence, then leveled her stern sergeant’s stare at Korinna. “You have more than your own safety to consider now. We’ve never allowed a pregnant soldier to fight on the ground, let alone in the air.” She pointed at Korinna. “You need to go back to the city and listen your physicians. Perhaps Galenos is a little overprotective, but that doesn’t mean you should sneak out and do whatever you want.”
Itychia nodded emphatically. “And you need to go back before he turns out half the city to search for you. He’d pull this place down around our ears to get you, and we can’t protect you.”
She felt the weight of their disapproval on her like she was being buried under a ton of rocks. For a moment, she began to doubt herself, when every single other person told her that what she was doing was wrong. But somewhere deep in Korinna’s gut, she had the nagging feeling that there was something she was supposed to do to stop the attacks, something that no one else could do. She knew that she’d never be able to rest at home so long as that sense kept driving her to act.
An idea of a compromise formed in her mind. Korinna cleared her throat. “Maybe I shouldn’t fight,” she said slowly, trying to appear convinced by their concerns. “But perhaps there’s something else I can do off of the front lines. What if I helped to fly patrols, say, over the roads to guard the refugees coming into the city? In return, I could ask Galenos to speak with his brother about reconsidering the mage’s advice.”
Navera shook her head. “Still too risky. Refugees have already been attacked on the road.”
“Over the city, then,” Korinna amended. It would get her in the air, at least, although in a useless position. If the gryphons were avoiding forts, then the city would never be targeted.
Navera knew that the city didn’t need a patrol, but she still hesitated. “You’re sure that the physicians have said you’re safe to fly? A fall from any height could be disastrous.”
Korinna hadn’t gotten explicit permission, so she worded her answer carefully. “I’ve already flown once and then had nearly every physician and midwife in the city prod at me. None of them could find anything wrong. Have you ever known a rider to fall on a routine patrol?”
Navera shook her head grudgingly. “I guess it’s no great risk.” She looked around at the other officers. “And maybe we could use your help.”
Ameyron pointed to his stack of papers. “But we haven’t come up with our new plan yet.”
Navera waved away his concern. “We’ll think of something.” She nodded to Korinna. “You should go home for now. We’ll contact you when we need your help, and I’ll assign some of the rookie riders to fly the city patrol with you.”
Korinna realized that she wasn’t going to get anymore out of them tonight. She pushed herself to her feet and saluted the officers. “Thank you for your time, sirs. Good luck.”
She glanced down at the table a final time, hoping for a flash of inspiration that she could offer to help with their strategy, but she didn’t have personal experience with gryphons. She said a final farewell and went to find Sungold.
Galenos V
“M’lord?”
The voice was barely above a whisper, but Galenos sat bolt upright, muscles tensed at the ready. He looked into the darkness and saw no one. “Who’s there?”
Someone slipped in through the door and crept over to the bed. The moonlight through the window was just enough for him to recognize Aristia standing beside him. “I’m sorry to wake you, m’lord, but I was really worried.”
He lit the candle on his bedside table and blinked to let his eyes adjust to the light. “You can come to me at any time,” he said with a smile. “Why are you worried?”
She shifted from one foot to another nervously. “Don’t be mad,” she said. “I woke up because I heard the lady’s marewing outside. I went to go check on the lady, but she’s gone.”
“Korinna?” He threw the blanket back and leaped to his feet. If she had done something reckless—his heart almost stopped at the thought. He should have known better than to leave her alone.
He picked up the candle and nodded to Aristia. “Show me.”
The girl darted down the hall as quick as a shadow, but his long strides kept him right on her heels. Korinna’s bedroom door was already open, and the candlelight showed the bed empty and untouched. A glance at her wardrobe confirmed that her riding tack were missing, along with her leather uniform.
He bit back a
curse. “You were right to wake me,” he said to the girl, masking his anger. “I know it’s the middle of the night, but do you think you could go to the military compound and ask if anyone there has seen her? You run faster than me.”
Aristia bobbed her head eagerly. “I’ll ask, but I don’t hear Sungold anymore. I think they’re already out of the city,” she said sadly.
He frowned. “Just ask, and tell them to hold her if they can. Follow me.” He went back to his bedroom and found the ring marked with his personal seal, then gave it to her. “Show this to the soldiers so they know you’re following my orders. Go as quick as you can, but be careful.”
She winked. “Oh, I know a few shortcuts. I’ll be back soon, m’lord.” She slipped down the stairs silently and disappeared out a side door.
He knew the girl had lived on the streets for many years before he rescued her during the crystalbell bug epidemic, so he trusted that she could make her way safely across the city despite the late hour. Korinna, on the other hand, worried him more. How had she gotten her marewing to come to the house in the middle of the night? What was she trying to do? Nothing good, he knew that much. Gryphons couldn’t see well in the dark so they weren’t likely to attack her at night, but she could try to fight them in the morning.
He looked to his wardrobe, where his own flying gear was stored, and thought about chasing after her. But like when she’d fled City Hall the other day, she had a head start on him. It would take him nearly an hour to walk across the city to where Nightshade was sleeping and get into the air, and by then, she would be miles away. He should at least wait and see if he could learn which direction she headed in.
But there was no way he could sleep while he waited. He dressed in a plain robe and went downstairs to a small sitting room. It was just off the foyer, so he could see the front door in case she returned. He sat alone by the light of the single candle and tried not to imagine all of the horrible things that could be happening to his wife at that moment.
It wasn’t until then that Galenos stopped to consider Aristia’s words. She’d told him that she heard a marewing and knew it was Sungold, but on reflection, that seemed highly unlikely. Marewings could fly very quietly, and Aristia couldn’t hear anything out of one ear where she’d been infested with a crystalbell bug. And how would she know that Sungold had left the city? Had she merely overheard Korinna sneaking out, and the rest was due to a child’s fanciful imagination?
He didn’t have long to wonder over it, because Aristia came back only half an hour later. She ran into the sitting room and bowed to him, gasping for breath.
“It’s alright, catch your breath,” he said with another smile. She was skittish even compared to her brothers and sister, so he tried to give her lots of encouragement.
She swallowed huge gulps of air and finally straightened up. “She’s not at the compound,” she said with a shake of her head. “One of the guards saw her fly over, but they couldn’t stop her. She was heading toward the fort.”
Galenos sighed. “She must be going to meet with my brother again. If she goes there, she’ll be safe—they won’t let her do anything dangerous.”
Aristia dropped her head. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t stop her, m’lord. Sungold was down the street, so the lady was already out of the house when I realized what was happening.”
“I know that you did everything you could.” He tilted his head to one side. “But tell me, how did you know Sungold was all the way down the street?”
Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Um, I just know what she sounds like.”
He held up a hand to stop her from sneaking away. “No, I’m not angry, I just need to know the truth. You know what she sounds like because Korinna has brought her to the house before?”
She bit her lower lip and nodded.
He’d told Korinna not to bring her marewing into the city because of the danger, so Aristia must be protecting her mistress. That didn’t explain everything, but he could see that the girl was reluctant to say more. He’d let the matter go for now.
“Never mind,” he said with a shake of his head. “We can talk about it later. Thank you for your help tonight. You should go back to sleep if you can.”
She bowed a final time and sidled out of the room.
He snuffed out the candle and tried to get comfortable in his chair, thinking that he could doze while he was waiting for her to return. Varranor might keep Korinna until the morning.
But hours passed without further word, and he sat awake in the darkness. His thoughts kept going back to his wife. Perhaps not a gryphon, but there were other monsters that hunted at night, and one of them could have been bold enough to attack a lone marewing. Or what if Sungold jarred her too hard on the landing and hurt the baby? He resolved that if he heard nothing by morning, he would go to Nightshade and track Korinna down.
At last, maybe two hours before dawn, the front door creaked open and footsteps echoed through the front hall. He waited until she entered the room before striking a flint to light the candle.
Korinna whirled at the sound, then froze, staring at him across the room. As he’d expected, she was dressed in her flying leathers and carrying her saddle on one shoulder, but he saw no sign of any injuries on her.
Galenos stared back. Relief and anger warred inside him, but he clamped down hard on his feelings. “Couldn’t sleep?” he said flatly.
She lowered the heavy saddle to the floor and nodded. “Just a little nighttime exercise,” she said, but he heard the slight quaver in her voice. “Flew a few laps around the city.”
He raised his eyebrows at her. He couldn’t believe that she was trying to hide the whole truth from him. “You’re lying. You’ve been gone for hours. Where did you go? Were you looking for a fight?”
She licked her lips, her eyes darting away from him. “Um, actually, I just flew out to the fort. I met with Sergeant Navera and the mage. There’s something that I need to talk to you about.”
His eyes narrowed. “We need to talk about the fact that I woke up in the middle of the night and found you gone.” He folded his arms. “Do you know how worried I’ve been? If one of the guards hadn’t reported that she saw you flying toward the fort, I would’ve had no idea where you were.”
Korinna looked down at the floor. She seemed to have more guilt about the fact that she’d been caught than her actual transgression. “I’m sorry. I know you want me to stay and help with the people here, but it’s not enough for me just to sit at a table with a bunch of old men and women and give orders that will send other people to their death.” Her voice rose as she spoke, approaching a hysterical pitch. “Just because you’re my husband doesn’t mean that you can lock me up or tell me what to do. I told you that if we got married, I wasn’t going to give up my freedom. You can’t keep me prisoner!”
She looked up at the last, her eyes flashing angrily at him. She was swaying on her feet now, flat-out exhausted, but refusing to back down.
Fighting back wasn’t the way to get through to her. Galenos stood up and went to her. She dropped the last of the tack and raised her hands defensively, but he only reached out and gently took her by the shoulders. “Calm down,” he murmured. “Let’s just sit down for a moment and catch our breaths. I haven’t locked you up, and I’m not going to. Will you sit?”
She looked up into his eyes and the rage drained out of her. She sank into the couch. “So you’re not mad?”
He sat next to her and took her hand. “I’m worried about you. If something happened to you or the baby, I would be devastated.” He looked off into the darkness. “And I’m disappointed that you keep acting like this. This marriage is supposed to be a partnership, and for that we need trust. But how can I trust you when you lie and sneak off like that? What’s the point of you asking me how we should handle this crisis, when you’re going to ignore my advice and do what you want anyways?”
She shrank into herself. “I won’t do it again,” she promised. “You�
��re right, I wasn’t thinking about you, and I should have.” She gripped his hand. “That’s why I need to talk to you now. We have to come to a compromise, one that we can both live with. Just hear me out.”
Galenos frowned. “I know my brother already told you that you can’t fight with the Storm Petrels,” he said sternly. “I’m sure Sergeant Navera and the others said the same thing. Do you plan on flying out to take the gryphons on single-handedly?”
Korinna shook her head. “No, I realize how foolish that would be,” she reassured him. “I won’t go anywhere near the fighting. The sergeant did agree that it might be safe enough for me to fly a patrol around the city perimeter.” She held up her free hand to stop him from protesting. “It would make me feel like I was doing something, however small.”
“The work you’re doing with the refugees is not enough?” he said pointedly.
She stiffened. “I’m a marewing rider. I belong on Sungold’s back. You know that I can’t feel complete without her.”
He was silent for a moment, thinking about his own marewing, Nightshade. He couldn’t deny that he felt her absence. At last he nodded. “I suppose you and I could take turns on patrol. I don’t want you straining yourself by flying too long.”
She smiled up at him. “Navera said that she could send a few other riders out to help us,” she added quickly. “Then we’ll still have time to take care of government business, too. So you’ll let me fly?”
He held up a finger. “So long as you continue to get checked by your physician and you listen to everything he says. If he says it’s too much, then you’re on the ground, understood?”
She nodded. “I will.” She covered a yawn with her hand. “But can it wait a few hours? I think I need some sleep.”
“You can sleep as long as you want to.” He bent down and kissed her on the forehead. “Why don’t you head up to bed now? I’ll take care of your gear.” He nodded to the saddle and tack in a pile on the floor.
A Pride of Gryphons Page 20