“Has anyone seen Kaskin?” Aibek asked the group.
No one had, and none seemed concerned by that fact. Dread built in Aibek’s stomach, though he couldn’t say why. He only knew that he needed to find the missing mayor.
“Let’s spread out. Check his room. Check the taverns. He’s got to be here somewhere.”
“Why?” Bartel said, reclining in his chair. “Let him go. He’s been nothing but trouble and he hates us all. Why do we need him here?”
A chorus of “Yeah,” and “Let him go,” filled the room.
Aibek shook his head. “Let’s just make sure he’s all right. He’s not the kind of person that takes well to being overruled.”
More grumbles followed, but men and women stood and followed him from the meeting hall.
“Where’s he staying?” Vayna asked as they stepped into the hall.
“He’s just down the hall from me. Room eighteen, I think. I’ll check the tavern if you check his room.” Aibek turned toward the dining area and strode off in search of the petulant mayor.
After checking the taverns in both inns, the common areas, and the meeting room one more time, Aibek asked one of the women at the desk in the Lazy Shepherd.
The petite blonde woman nodded and smiled when Aibek described Kaskin. “Yes, he checked out about two hours ago. Said he was homesick for the forest and ready to leave the city behind.”
Aibek cursed under his breath, even though part of him hoped the man really had gone home. It just felt wrong. Kaskin wasn’t one to give up and slink off. Well, Aibek didn’t think so, anyway. He didn’t really know the man that well.
Hunched down into his cloak to ward off the bitter wind, Aibek scurried along the rain-slicked street until he reached the ferry. The ticket booth was closed, its shutters clacking in the howling wind. The ship itself looked deserted, so Aibek turned back to the inn. He ducked into the Bard Tavern, stomping to knock the mud off his boots before he continued on to the meeting room.
“I don’t know where he’s gone,” Aibek announced to the assembled mayors, “but the ferry’s not running due to the weather, and he’s checked out of his room. I guess there are more inns in town. He must have gotten a room somewhere else to wait out the storm.”
“Good riddance,” Vayna said, laughing. “I don’t know why you wasted your time chasing after him.”
Aibek wished he had a good answer. Instead, he said, “Let’s discuss a training schedule so we can wrap this up. Winter’s blowing in early this year, and I don’t want to be stuck traveling home in knee-deep snow.”
“Good point.” Vayna sat down and folded his hands in his lap.
“This will be an interesting winter. While we’re training, the Bokinna will be moving her Shadow Trees into clusters at the outer borders of the forest to hopefully form enough of a wall to keep Helak’s men out. That means the villages themselves may move, so make sure you check for new landmarks each day. Once I let the Bokinna know who’s training with the dragons and which villages you’re from, the dragons will land outside your villages twice a week to practice with you.”
“Whoa, slow down.” Iemes held his hands up. “What do you mean the villages might move? I don’t remember agreeing to a change in location.”
“Well, it’s sort of unavoidable,” Aibek said, trying to make his voice sound soothing. “The Bokinna thinks Helak’s men are trying to get to her directly, and the best way to keep her safe is to keep them out of the forest. A wall of trees will keep them from slipping behind our defenses.”
“All right.” Iemes dropped his hands to his knees. “I guess that makes sense. We’ll go back to our regular homes after this is all over though, right?”
“That’s the plan.” Aibek gazed out the window at the swirling mist. He dropped his voice and muttered, “Of course, that’s assuming we win and Helak doesn’t destroy us all.”
Turning back to the assembled mayors, he raised his voice again. “As I said, the dragons will come twice a week, or every three days. We’ll alternate between a day to train together as a group and a day to train one on one with our dragons. We need to get to know them and trust them, and they need to trust us, if we’re all going to fight together without getting in each other’s way.”
Aibek paused to allow time for questions or comments. When no one spoke, he continued, “I thought we’d wait a couple of weeks to let everyone get home and spend some time with their families, then we’ll start training. Is that all right with you all?”
Heads nodded and several people murmured, “Sounds good,” and “That’ll work.”
“All right, then. We’ll have our first group practice two weeks from tomorrow. I can’t wait to get started. In the meantime, we should get ready to head home tomorrow, but I’d love to have one more night of food, music, and dancing before we all go our separate ways.”
A cheer went up in the group, and everyone stood and filed out of the room, their voices raised in excitement.
6
Home
“Are you all right?”
Aibek jumped and pulled his attention back to his table mates. He smiled at the woman beside him — the one he thought had spoken. “Of course. I’m just reflecting on the weeks we’ve spent here. It’s been…interesting.”
He hoped the woman — he couldn’t think of her name — hadn’t followed his gaze to where Marah sat, smiling at her brothers and laughing with her table mates. He shot one last glance in Marah’s direction before he shifted in his seat, putting his back to the beautiful blonde.
Vayna laughed as if Aibek had made the funniest joke of the night. “It has been interesting; I’ll give you that. I can’t believe you managed it. You got everyone to agree to work together. Well done.”
Lifting his glass, he shouted, “A toast!”
The room went quiet.
“A toast to Aibek, for risking everything to bring us all together, even when we hated him for it.” Vayna winked at Aibek, clinked his glass together with everyone else’s, and guzzled his wine.
A cheer rose as mayors and guests tapped their glasses together and drank to the successful council.
Aibek stuffed his embarrassment down and laughed along with his tablemates as others in the room stood to toast the Grand Council’s efforts, singling out Aibek’s leadership more often than not.
After about the tenth toast, the cheer began to wear thin, and Aibek stood. “How about some dancing?” Another cheer. People stood and moved tables and chairs, creating a wide circle in the center of the room.
The musicians struck a chord, and dancers paired up and pushed onto the dance floor.
Satisfied with the evening’s progress, Aibek stood and stepped toward the door. His head ached from the noise and he longed for the quiet and solitude of his room. Before he made it past his table, someone clamped a hand on his shoulder.
“Well done, Aibek. Well done,” Vayna said.
Aibek met his friend’s gaze, then dropped his eyes to the floor. “Thank you, my friend, but I don’t deserve all the credit. You and Marah saved me more than once this week.”
“True enough. I’m happy to share the credit, then.” Vayna laughed again and pressed a full wineglass into Aibek’s hand. “Let’s celebrate. You’re not sneaking off early tonight.”
Desperate to escape the clamor and heat of the party, Aibek pressed a hand to his head. “Really, I—”
“I don’t know how you managed this, Aibek.” Bartel stepped up beside Vayna. “But I’m glad you did. I still don’t love the idea of battle, but our new friends will change things quite a lot.”
“I certainly didn’t do it alone, but you’re right about our forest friends.” Aibek set the still-full wineglass on the table. “They should tip the scales in our favor. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
“Hey! There’s the man of the hour!” Several more mayors strolled up and surrounded Aibek.
Defeated, Aibek pasted on a smile and forced himself to interact with the others.
He allowed Vayna to hand him his wineglass once more and settled into an empty chair nearby. The rest of the group scooted chairs in close and chattered on about the Grand Council’s success.
It didn’t take long for his attention to wander to the dancers moving gracefully around the room. He watched closely, hoping for a glimpse of Marah before they said their goodbyes the next morning.
“What’re you staring so hard at?”
Startled, Aibek jumped back, his hand gripped the table and knocked his wineglass to the side. It tipped and before he could grab it, it spilled its contents onto the table. He watched, helpless, as the brilliant red liquid raced toward him and dripped over the edge and onto his pale blue pants.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!” Marah produced a rag and mopped at the mess on the table.
Cold, sticky wine oozed down his leg and settled in his boot, but Aibek kept his face neutral. “Do you have another one of those?” He pointed at the rag in Marah’s hand.
“Oh… umm… yes. There’s one here.” She grabbed one off a nearby table and handed it to Aibek.
He dabbed at the bright stain, trying to dry it without spreading the wine.
“Those may be ruined.” Marah leaned over to watch his efforts. When he’d cleaned as much as possible, she touched him on the shoulder. “Dance with me?”
Panicked, he glanced around, searching for her brothers.
She laughed, leaned close, and murmured, “Don’t worry. They’re busy with a couple of tavern wenches for the night. They’ll never know.”
“Just dance with her,” Vayna said, laughing. “What’s the worst that could happen? You’ve already spilled your drink.”
Laughter erupted from everyone at their table, along with a few others within earshot. Aibek’s ears burned, but he pushed himself out of the chair. Struggling to ignore the cold, wet spot on the front of his pants, he held out an arm for Marah and led her to the dance floor.
They moved together through the steps of the dance, though he couldn’t help plucking at the place where his pants stuck to his legs from time to time. As they moved, he reveled in the soft skin at her wrist beneath his thumb, the pulse at the base of her neck, the sweat beading on her upper lip. After the second song, Marah grabbed his hand and led him out into the darkened corridor.
Before he could object, she pressed her finger to his lips. “I know. I won’t do anything to risk bringing my brothers down on you again. I just wanted a minute alone with you before we all leave here tomorrow.”
Aibek managed a weak smile but couldn’t resist the urge to glance into the shadows down the hall.
“Don’t worry, they’re not here.” Her face flushed, and Aibek wondered at the reason. “Look, I just wanted to ask…” She licked her lips and started again. “I wanted to ask if I can stay near you when we’re training with the dragons… and afterward. I’m a bit nervous about where all this is going, but you were so relaxed with them. It would make me feel better to have you nearby.”
A wave of relief and embarrassment rolled over him, and Aibek fought back an uncomfortable laugh. “We can try to stick close together on the group days, if you want. I could probably arrange to be there for the first couple of one-on-one practices, too, but you’ll need to spend some time alone with your dragon.”
“That would help so much.” She grabbed his arm, and his heart skipped a beat. “I know I’ll have to be alone with the dragons eventually, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”
“All right. Consider it done.” Aibek grinned and nodded, as he’d seen his uncle do hundreds of times at the end of complicated negotiations.
Without warning, Marah leaned in and kissed him. Her soft, warm lips moved over his, and his heart skipped, then raced frantically. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close for a moment. He swept a stray curl away from her cheek, kissed her once, quickly, and stepped to the side.
“Anyone could follow us out here,” he whispered.
Her nervous titter echoed down the hall. “I know, but I needed one more kiss. I’m going to miss you when we all go home.”
“I’ll miss you, too, but we’ll see each other twice a week for a bit, right?” He brushed a hand along her delicate cheek.
“I guess. It won’t be enough, though.”
The door flung open and Aibek dropped his hand.
“What’s this all about?” Vayna stood in the doorway, the light spilling past him and filling the hall.
Aibek blinked against the sudden light. “Nothing. She just had a few more questions about our forest friends, that’s all.”
Vayna bellowed a laugh. “Of course she did. Now, come back in here before people start to talk. Iriz has been looking for you. She wants a dance before this party ends.”
“Of course.” Aibek shot one final glance at Marah and hurried back into the brightly lit ballroom.
The throbbing in his head returned full-force, and he stumbled through a couple more dances before he made his excuses and strolled across the pitch-dark boulevard and into his room.
Welcome silence enveloped him, and he fell asleep without changing from his wine-stained clothes.
The wind howling outside his window woke Aibek before the sun. Stabbing pain shot through his head. He eased himself upright, poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the washstand, and gulped it down. When the headache lifted a bit, he quickly washed and dressed. He tossed his belongings into his pack, flung it over his shoulder, and headed down to the tavern for breakfast and famanc.
The clinking of dishes filled the empty dining room, and Aibek seated himself at the table closest to the door.
While he waited for the rest of the guests to awaken and the breakfast service to begin, he thought back over the past few weeks. So much had happened since he’d left Faruz in Nivaka. He couldn’t wait to get home and tell his friends about the successes he’d had, though he wasn’t sure whether he’d tell Faruz about Marah. Somehow, that felt private, like he should keep it between himself and the lovely blonde.
A crash shocked Aibek out of his thought, and he sat up straighter in his chair. A heartbeat later, the wide door leading to the kitchen swung open and the dumpy innkeeper stepped into the dining area. Something yellow streaked across his reddened forehead, and Aibek wondered what mishap the innkeeper had dealt with in the kitchen.
The older man bustled through the room, lighting lamps and wiping tables, apparently oblivious to Aibek’s presence. Aibek watched until he’d lit all the lamps, leaned back, and cleared his throat. He stifled a smile when the innkeeper startled.
“Oh! I’m so sorry.” The man’s thick hand pressed against his wide belly. “I didn’t realize anyone was up yet. Good morning, good sir. Can I get you some famanc to start your day?”
Aibek smiled and stood. “That would be wonderful. Thank you so much for your hospitality these past two weeks. I’m afraid you’ll be happy to be rid of all of us.” He pressed a small pouch of coins into the man’s palm.
“Not at all! I hope you don’t think it’s been anything but a pleasure to have you here.” He eyed the pouch and his ears turned red. “I can’t accept this, sir. You’ve kept my inn filled when it would have been empty. The merchants won’t be back until spring, and the farmers are done now that it’s frozen.” He tried to pass the coins back to Aibek, but Aibek shook his head.
“Keep it anyway. You’ve done more for us than we expected.” When the innkeeper looked ready to object again, Aibek cut him off, saying, “And besides, I never thanked you properly for all your help after my… er… mishap.”
The innkeeper laughed, and some of the ruddy color drained from his face. “I guess I could use it to replace that lamp. Thank you, sir. Now, let me see to that famanc.” He scurried through the door to the kitchen, and Aibek returned to his seat.
One of the twins brought out his famanc a few minutes later, and before he’d finished the first cup, Wayra, Zyana, and Ahren joined him at the table.
Aibek did a double take when Ahren sat beside him.
How did I forget she was here? I haven’t seen her all week. I wonder what she’s been up to.
He worked to keep his shock off his face, though, and gave what he hoped was a welcoming smile.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Ahren beamed up at him. “I haven’t been socializing with your enemies, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
His smile twisted a little, though he tried not to display his suspicion. She did have a history of befriending the wrong people.
“Are you actually going home today?” Wayra plopped down on Aibek’s other side, leaving Zyana to manage her own chair. “I figured you’d stay until all the others had gone.”
Aibek grinned, grateful for the interruption. “I’m ready to get home. It’s been a long two weeks. Besides, I need to let the council know what we decided and start working on organizing the group practices with our new friends.”
“Sounds good to me.” Wayra waved the innkeeper over and ordered his usual breakfast of famanc and venison. He ordered the same for Zyana and continued, “I’m ready for some of Aunt Breda’s cooking. The food here hasn’t been bad, but nothing beats my aunt’s food.”
Zyana smiled her agreement and the meal progressed with a great deal of happy chatter. The women in the group had made dozens of purchases during their stay in the city and getting it all home would take some coordinated effort, especially since Zyana’s rounded belly meant she couldn’t carry much.
After breakfast, the group met in the hallway and divvied up the packages. Aibek’s shoulders slumped under the excessive weight and he wondered how he would carry it all the way home.
While they walked to the ferry, Aibek toyed with the idea of calling the dragons to meet them at the forest’s edge and carry them home.
No, I shouldn’t abuse their charity like that, Aibek thought, shaking his head. He glanced around at the other mayors strolling down the street along with his group. Besides, we’re not the only ones with heavy packs. It wouldn’t be right to accept a ride and leave everyone else to walk.
The Nivaka Chronicles Boxed Set Page 62