by Bianca D'Arc
Heads turned to follow his progress as Gowan made his way to the front of the chamber. He knew he was the center of attention, and gossip, for the moment, but it couldn’t be avoided. He had to check in with his new commanders. It was protocol.
The two knights and lady at the head table were older than Gowan had expected, but then again, so were most of the knights he’d seen here so far. They were either very young or very old. Training or teaching…or just plain retiring from the field to a cozy Lair by the sea.
But as they caught sight of him, both knights rose to their feet. Not standing on ceremony, they both came over to meet him as he neared the table. Both were smiling, though to differing degrees. The gray-haired knight seemed the more skeptical of the two, while his brown-haired companion was more open and welcoming.
“Sir Gowan.” The brown-haired one took Gowan’s hand in a strong grip. “It is good of you to come and fill in for Tercel while he heals. I am Jiffrey, and this is Benrik and our lady, Ilyatha.”
Gowan made the proper responses and was offered a place at the table to join the leaders for dinner. He was surprised to find that Tercel was also seated at the large table, and they put Gowan right next to him. All through the meal that followed, Gowan was able to learn more about the duties he’d be expected to perform as wing leader for the first flight of the Southern Lair.
It was a few hours later that Gowan made his way out of the great hall. He’d learned a lot, and his mind was buzzing with all the aspects of his new assignment that he hadn’t known about. He had to admit his head was also a little fuzzed by the strong wine they’d been pouring by the flagon all through the meal. He’d have to remember to take it a little easier on the wine, in future, if he wanted to maintain combat readiness.
As for tonight, he was on the way to comfortably toasted as he wandered the halls of the strange Lair, trying to figure out where Genlitha was. Then he remembered she’d wanted to spend time with her old friend. Well, it was easy enough to contact her. He paused his steps outside a doorway and leaned one hand against the carved stone wall.
“Gen?” He sent out the call soundlessly, mind to mind.
“What’s wrong, Gowan?” she answered immediately.
“Don’t know where you are,” he managed. Stringing words together in his current state wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.
“Are you drunk?” The tone was only mildly accusatory. She sounded more amused than anything.
“Wine was strong,” he admitted.
“Where are you?”
“Don’t know.”
A dragonish rumble of amusement sounded through his mind. “I’ll send someone to help you. Just stay where you are for now.”
“No knights.” He was adamant. “Don’t want to be the laughingstock on my first night.”
“All right, we’ll save that for when they know you a little better. I’ll find someone suitable. Senneth will know. Hold on.”
Gowan wasn’t sure if he dozed, but when the door he was nearly leaning against opened, he nearly slid down the wall in surprise. A man stood in the open doorway, looking at him.
“Are you Gowan?” the man asked.
Gowan nodded, but it made his head spin. “I told her no knights,” he mumbled, a little upset that Gen had betrayed him by sending this fit young man of about his own age. Maybe a little younger. No doubt this man was a knight, and Gowan feared his drunken state would soon be the hot topic of the Lair’s gossip grapevine.
The other man cocked his head to the side, and his eyes took on that slightly dilated look Gowan knew meant he was probably communicating silently with a dragon. Yeah, he was definitely a knight.
“I’m not a knight,” the man said. “My name is Seth. I’m the healer’s apprentice. Lady Genlitha asked me to find you, but I think you found me instead. You’re on the doorstep of the apothecary chamber. Come inside, and let’s get you sorted out. Can you walk on your own?”
Gowan did his best to straighten up, but much to his shame, Seth had to help him stand and keep an arm around him to steady him as he walked into the small chamber. Assaulted by the scents of many dried herbs vying for precedence in the small space, Gowan had a moment of nostalgia. His mother had been a wise woman and had kept just such a room in her home, where she stored and prepared herbs for those in the keep who needed them.
He raised a finger to touch a bundle of herbs as they passed. “Feverfew,” he mumbled.
“Yes, that’s right,” Seth said with surprise in his tone. “I have a cot over in the corner. You can rest there for a bit.” Seth helped Gowan over to the small cot and held onto his arm to steady him as he sat. Once he let go, Gowan quickly fell over, landing on his side, his head just making the thin pillow. “Or you can stay there all night, if you want. I think you fell victim to one of Tercel’s little hazing jokes.”
“Tercel. Yeah, he kept refilling the wine,” Gowan agreed from his sideways position on the cot. His words were slurred pretty badly, and he kept wanting to close his eyes.
Seth sighed and lifted Gowan’s legs up onto the cot, then turned to collect a blanket from a closet. He came back and spread the blanket over Gowan, and that was it. Gowan couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.
“I’ll leave a pitcher of water on the table and something for the headache. Drink it down when you wake. I’ll be working for a while in the next room and will check on you. You’re safe here. If Tercel comes looking, I haven’t seen you.”
“Damn decent of you,” Gowan mumbled as he felt unconsciousness approaching. And then, he knew no more until morning.
Seth didn’t know what to make of the new knight, but his dragon was a sweetheart. He’d had a long conversation with Lady Genlitha after Senneth had made the introductions and was utterly charmed by the lovely blue dragon. To call her blue was a bit of an understatement, of course. She was an incredibly pale sky blue with many shades of sparkling gray and violet, like no other dragon he’d ever seen.
And she had a good heart. Her care for her knight partner was evident in every word she spoke, and she checked in with Seth several times to make sure Gowan was sleeping peacefully.
For his part, Seth worked a little later into the night than he normally would have, just to keep an eye on his patient. It wasn’t often that Tercel had fresh blood to torment, and he hadn’t pulled one of his tricks in a long time. As a result, Seth couldn’t be sure Tercel hadn’t gone too far and overdosed Gowan on whatever he’d most likely put in the younger knight’s cup.
Seth would have words with Sir Jiffrey, though he knew it wouldn’t do much good. They had long ago gotten used to Tercel’s mildly sadistic ways. They overlooked a lot because he was such a good fighter and had done so much in service to the country, but even his dragon had chastised Tercel on occasion when his pranks had gone just a tad too far.
If Gowan woke none the worse for wear, Seth would see what the knight wanted to do in the morning. If he took a turn for the worse, Seth would be on hand to try to help—and to summon Bronwyn, if needed. But Seth didn’t see any truly worrisome signs as the night wore on. Gowan seemed to be resting easily, breathing well and in no distress.
Seth bedded down in the next room—a glorified closet, really—so he could stay near enough to the sleeping knight to be able to hear signs of distress. Thankfully, both slept through the night.
When Seth woke the next morning, it was to the sound of a heartfelt groan from the next room. Splashing water indicated to Seth that the knight had found the water pitcher and was partaking of the headache cure Seth had left waiting the night before.
“There’s a privy chamber in the corner, Sir Gowan,” Seth called as he levered his feet over the side of the cot he kept in the closet for emergencies.
“Thanks,” Gowan grunted from the other room while Seth scrubbed his hands through his messy hair.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been called on to sleep in the tiny cot, but that didn’t mean he didn’t always wake with a kink
in his neck from the too-small accommodations. Seth pulled on his tunic, stretching his protesting muscles as he struggled to wake fully. Seth wandered into the larger outer chamber just as Gowan emerged from the small toilet room.
“How are you feeling?” Seth was sure to pitch his voice in low tones, well familiar with the symptoms of hangover.
“Like Gen sat on me. Twice.” Gowan walked closer until he was standing in front of Seth. He held out his hand, and Seth took it in a warrior’s handclasp. “Thank you for helping out last night. I would not enjoy being the butt of all jokes my first full day in the Lair.”
“No problem. I’ve run afoul of Tercel’s pranks a time or two myself.” The handclasp ended, and each moved to lean casually against the countertops, facing each other. “Most of us who grew up here know his tricks and are smart enough to steer clear. When youngsters come in with fast flyers, they get warned, but a few of them usually end up embarrassed before Tercel subsides.”
“The man is a menace,” Gowan said with some feeling.
“I think he had it in for you especially, since you’re—in essence—taking his job,” Seth said. “There’s been talk of retiring him after his leg heals, but he wants no part of it. He’s cornered right now and feeling especially defensive, so just watch out for him. He’s predisposed to not like you, simply because of your position. You’re a direct threat to him.”
“Great. And here I thought a sojourn at the Southern Lair was going to be easy duty.”
Seth laughed outright at that. “We may be the Lair with the best scenery and the oldest knights, but it’s still a Lair—with all the personalities and intrigue that implies.”
“You grew up here?” Gowan asked.
“Yeah. My parents command second flight, so you’ll be working with them.”
“Have you a healing talent?” Gowan probed, and Seth’s heart fell. He knew what was coming. He decided to head it off at the pass.
“No. I’m not even much of an apothecary. I apprenticed myself to Bronwyn, who is the real healer in this Lair, and like a grandmother to me. She was getting older and needed help, so I chose to fill that role rather than pursue fighting practice. As a result, I’m not really fit to be chosen as a knight. I’m not much of a fighter.”
Gowan looked him up and down, appraisingly. “You could be. You’ve got the muscles for it, and the build. I could teach you. It’s what I did before Gen came barreling into my life.”
Seth shook his head. “Much like you, I do not wish to be the laughingstock of this Lair any more than I already have. They’ve all given up on me, and I prefer to leave it that way.”
“I respect that, but I’m sure to have some free time once I learn my new duties, and you’ve done me a good turn here. I owe you. I would gladly train you in at least the basics—in secret, if you wish—so that you might have more options than you do at the moment.”
“That was well done,” Genlitha’s voice sounded in Gowan’s mind for the first time that morning. It was clear she’d been eavesdropping on him, which he didn’t mind. He liked having her in his thoughts. It gave him an odd sort of comfort. “I’ve been learning a great deal about Seth from Senneth and the other dragons. He is a good lad, but will never be the Lair’s healer. He hasn’t the gift for it, though he tries hard to help Bronwyn and does a credible job under her guidance. He should be a knight, but he holds himself back with his kind heart and compassion.”
It was good to have Genlitha’s intel backing up Gowan’s own observations. Seth’s situation was something Gowan could do something about, given the opportunity.
“He has the look of a born fighter,” Gowan told his dragon partner. “It would be a waste for him to never learn how to use his true abilities.”
“Agreed. All the dragons I’ve spoken to think so too.”
“Then we’ll find a way,” Gowan decided.
“It’s very kind of you to offer, Sir Gowan,” Seth said, unaware of the silent conversation Gowan had been having with his dragon partner.
“Don’t say no. Not now. I probably won’t have time to make good on my offer until I figure out my own duties, and by then, you might change your mind.” Gowan could see his logic made the other man pause.
“Fair enough,” Seth finally answered. “And thanks again for the offer. Now, I’m going to finish waking up, and then, I’ll be happy to show you to the quarters you and Lady Genlitha have been assigned. I can give you the nickel tour along the way.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Gowan and Genlitha settled into the routine of the Southern Lair over the next week, learning their new roles as wing leaders to the first flight—the Lair’s main fighting force. Gowan managed to steer clear of Tercel as much as possible, and he found a steady friend in Seth, when the apprentice healer’s duties allowed him a little time off.
Speaking of which, Gowan had decided to go fishing on his first day off. He had walked down into Dragonscove, pausing in the marketplace to purchase some bait and new tackle. He also had bargained with one of the fishing boat owners to take him out past the breakers and let him cast his line alongside the professionals.
He’d been out on the water for a couple of hours, having a great time drowning bait and catching a few fish for tonight’s pot when he saw something he never expected. A dragon. Emerging from the deep with a thrashing shark in his jaws.
A cheer went up from all the small fishing boats in the area as the dark-colored dragon chomped on the giant predator of the sea. Gowan had never seen the like.
“Gen?” he sent silently to his dragon partner. She’d decided to take some of the younger dragons with good wings out for a lesson in riding the strong air currents.
“Yes, Gowan?” she answered immediately.
“Do dragons like to…uh…fish?” He hadn’t even considered that Gen might want to come along on his fishing trip. Had he been wrong not to invite her? There was still so much he didn’t know about dragons.
“Not generally. Or, at least, not in the ocean. Give us a river or stream, and we can do pretty well spearing fish with our talons, but the sea is something different. Most of us aren’t great swimmers. Why do you ask?”
He told her what he’d just seen, describing the scene in detail. She asked him to describe the color and look of the dragon and he answered all of her questions.
“That sounds like Hrardorr, a dragon I knew in my youth. They always said he had sea dragon in his lineage somewhere, but I never saw him swim, so I couldn’t say for certain. But I know he’s here, in this Lair, though he’s been hiding from me for the past week.”
“Hiding? Have you been stalking him?” Gowan asked with some amusement.
“A bit,” Gen admitted. “He was always a bit conceited, to be honest, but I had a crush on him when we were fledglings. His colors are striking, and he’s a fierce fighter. Or, at least he was.” Her tone grew somewhat wistful. “He was blinded fighting skiths on the border a while ago. He lost his knight, and they sent him here to recover. Seth’s been looking after him, the dear boy.”
“I’m sorry, Gen.” Gowan felt the sadness in his dragon partner’s heart as if it was his own. “If it’s any consolation, he doesn’t look blind to me. If this is your friend, Hrardorr, he’s very able in the water, and the fishing fleet seems to adore him. They cheer him as a hero.”
“He is a hero,” Gen insisted, her voice passionate in Gowan’s mind.
Gowan followed the dragon’s progress as he seemed to seek out one fishing boat in particular. It was a small sailboat with only one occupant. Gowan strained to see, realizing belatedly that the fisherman on that little boat was really a fisherwoman. And she seemed to be having a conversation with the dragon as he floated near her little vessel.
They stayed that way for some time, the dragon keeping company with the woman on the sailboat. Her mouth moved as she spoke to him, and from the animation in her gestures, it looked for all the world as if she were holding a con
versation with the dragon. Which could only mean…she could hear him.
Gowan might not know everything there was to know about dragons, but he did know that being able to hear their silent speech was a rare gift. It was even rarer among women, for some reason. Which made the sight he was witnessing something to take note of. Especially as it looked like the woman was not from the Lair and all by herself in the little boat, and therefore, might possibly be single.
She was also beautiful, from what Gowan could see from this distance. But being able to hear dragons meant she was uniquely qualified to possibly…just possibly…be a candidate for becoming mate to a pair of knights. From all accounts, it made it easier for the woman to understand the unique relationship required if she could bespeak the dragons involved.
It was yet another thing Gowan didn’t fully understand about his new status as a knight and partner to a dragon. But Gowan was of an age to want to find a wife and had queried Gen at length about the particular traits—if any—that he should look for while he was questing for a mate. He also knew that Gen could not take a mate until Gowan had found one.
Gowan asked the fishermen on the boat he was on about the fisherwoman and found out quite a bit. That she was a woman of means bothered him. Gowan had given up much in his life. His comfortable home as the son of a keep lord had been taken from him when his father died suddenly during a hunt and his eldest brother, Lorcan, became the new lord.
One of Lorcan’s first acts as lord had been to kick Gowan out with nothing but a horse and a few pieces of silver in his pocket. Gowan had gone quietly for the sake of their mother, who had been torn between her two sons for a very long time.
Though he would have liked to have seen his mother, Gowan had never been back. He’d chosen his trade as a soldier, eventually working his way up into a leadership position where he led men into battle and trained them.
And then Genlitha had come along. She’d seen him teaching a class one day on the plain outside Castleton and had begun shadowing his movements. When she had started talking to him, Gowan had been startled, to say the least. He’d had no idea how dragons communicated, or that he had the special gift required to hear them.