by Bianca D’Arc
Hrardorr’s head jerked upward in surprise, and then, his mouth dropped open. He closed it again in short order, but his expression still seemed a bit stunned.
“It is something to consider, to be sure,” Hrardorr said at length.
“For now, let me help you prepare for your journey,” Seth said, gathering up some fruit, bread and cheese from the buffet table into a bundle. “Go get your packs from your room. I’ll make up a satchel of provisions.”
“And this…” came a new voice from the massive doorway. Lilith, one of the dual Captains of Gryffid’s Guard, entered, carrying a sealed scroll. “Gryffid wants you to deliver this into the hands of the king. It is his assessment of everything we know so far. He also asked if your king would station a dragon on the island in a permanent post. I believe he requested young Xanderanth.” Lillith smiled slyly when she said it, which meant she was probably speculating about Xander and Leo as much as they had been.
“I will deliver it gladly, Captain,” Gowan said formally, accepting the scroll and placing it carefully in the inner pocket of his jerkin. He would not lose it easily from that most secure spot.
The next hour was filled with comings and goings. Livia had gone to the beach to see her father off. She came back to the keep in a solemn mood, tears gathered in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. Seth wanted to comfort her, but he was kept busy helping prepare Gowan for departure.
He didn’t begrudge Gowan the five minutes he spent holding Livia close. She needed comforting, and Gowan was leaving. He wouldn’t be able to cuddle her for a while—and with the uncertainty surrounding them, maybe not ever again. They had to grab what moments they could, while they could.
Genlitha arrived back at the keep and spoke with Gryffid directly about what she had observed that morning and the day before. The wizard asked pointed questions but seemed to acknowledge her responses with increasing grimness. Finally, he stood back and spoke to the small assembly. His captains were there, along with several of the fey officers and a few of the gryphons, including General Falthith. They were all gathered in the courtyard.
“I blame myself for thinking my magic inviolable. It has been so long since I’ve been threatened by someone, or something, that was even close to my magical equal that I became over-confident in my protections.”
Captain Lilith stepped forward. “Sir, we were sequestered in the fog for so long, we did not realize all the potential threats either. This is not all on you, Master. I’m sorry to say, we have failed you.”
Gryffid put one hand on her shoulder in a fatherly gesture. “No, my dear, you cannot take the blame for this. Magic was the weapon used, and I am the one who should have answered it.” He moved back, took a deep breath and seemed to shake himself. “What’s done is done, and I have learned a hard lesson. Now, we must move forward with renewed intensity. I will be reinforcing the spells on our island for the next week, at least. I will also be scrying to see if I can locate our enemy and my stolen property.”
“We will send out spies into every land,” one of the fey officers said, stepping forward. He had to be the spymaster, though Seth had not realized it until now. “We will find the lost book and bring it back home.”
“Before it is used, hopefully,” Gryffid put in, his expression dark.
Seth saw Gowan off, then returned to the great hall, where a large group was gathering. It was made up of leaders from every part of Gryffid’s island. Fey warriors were there in force, but also leaders from other disciplines. Bards, troubadours, smiths and innkeepers, which surprised Seth until he realized that all contributed something to the war effort. The bards, most interestingly, were revealed to be working close with—or in many cases, actually were—spies.
Seth spent the rest of the day in the great hall, meeting with those very interesting fair folk. Gryffid left shortly after the meeting got underway to search his library again and reinforce the spells that protected it. He was the one who wanted Seth and Hrardorr to contribute what they knew about the pirate fleet from the battle of Dragonscove and the interrogation of the prisoners taken during that action. Gryffid thought perhaps that they could draw parallels and contrasts between the two battles, since they had been present for both.
Seth realized the value of Gryffid’s suggestion not long into the discussion. The prisoners from Dragonscove told a far different story than those from the more recent battle. The men aboard the ships that had attacked Dragonscove all said their captains were after plunder. A few even admitted to seeking slaves and pretty girls to kidnap.
But the prisoners being interrogated even now from the latest conflict told a different tale. Their captains had been hinting at greater rewards to come in the future, if they managed to pull off this mission. There was no promise of easy money and pillaging. This battle had been about some other objective that only the captains of some of the ships seemed to know. And they weren’t talking.
The fey warriors who were in charge of those who were doing the many interrogations reported that the captains of the sunken ships—those who had survived to be taken prisoner—were somehow immune to the fair folk’s normal methods of eliciting information. Whatever they were. Seth didn’t know, and he knew better than to ask. The fey had many secrets. They lived apart from humans and didn’t often show themselves. Seth felt privileged to be part of this discussion at all. He wouldn’t jeopardize his position by asking a question that was really none of his business.
After the meeting adjourned, a young healer approached Seth, introducing himself as Lothar, brother of Captain Lilith and the healer, Lizbet, as well. He explained that he was interested in the medical instruments Lizbet had seen Seth use to treat the sea dragon, and Seth was happy to spend a few minutes showing Lothar his set of diamond-tipped instruments, explaining the use of each and why each instrument had been designed the way it was.
They stayed behind in the great hall, commandeering a table off to one side. Lothar called over another man, who he introduced as Jarel. This man, it turned out, was the craftsman who would try to replicate the tools. He brought paper and stylus to make detailed sketches.
Seth let Jarel sit there, in the great hall, with Seth’s most prized healing instruments, while he sought a more intimate supper with Livia, in an empty corner of the giant gathering place. Seth trusted in the integrity of the fair folk, and he knew Livia had to be craving some quiet time after everything that had happened. He sought her out, and they dined together, speaking softly, as if to speak too loud would shatter the momentary calm.
The others who came and went from the great hall left them in peace. Hrardorr was nearby, providing his natural warmth. Seth noticed that the servants left a few melons near his head, as if they were used to leaving treats for the gryphons who probably frequented the place. Hrardorr was able to sniff them out and nibble at his ease, which made Seth glad for his scaly friend.
“My father left a boat, in case I needed it. It’s nothing big, and he couldn’t leave a crew to man it since he’s probably going into a fight, but he had a supply craft he could leave, and did so with the fey’s agreement. The idea is to load it with some of the diamond blades to bring back to Dragonscove as payment for his intervention.” Livia talked quietly as she ate. “I’m not sure how, or even if, we can do that, but it’s available if we need it.”
“So we could sail back to the mainland if we had to?” Seth asked, realizing that the captain had left his daughter a way off the island, if she needed it. Smart man.
“Yes, absolutely. The boat is even packed with some provisions already, so it’s ready to sail whenever needed.” Livia took a sip of her wine. “Of course, we can leave it here if we find another way back. It’s just an option, Father said.”
“It’s a good option,” Seth replied. “He’s provided a way home for you, which was very thoughtful of him. He loves you in his way, Livia. Even though I could wish he hadn’t come back to interfere with our…friendship…” He stumbled, not knowing the right wor
d to use. Were they merely friends? Or did they truly have a relationship? And what about Gowan? Where did he fit in? What was the right word to use here? He watched Livia’s face carefully, but she didn’t seem to react to his hesitancy. “Well, even though I could wish he wasn’t around sometimes, Captain O’Dare showed incredible loyalty to you in sailing here to make sure you were all right.”
She seemed to ponder that for a moment, a wistful look entering her gaze. “Yeah, he did, didn’t he?” She smiled, that soft look still on her face.
“He does love you, Livia,” Seth said quietly, hoping to reassure her. “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have come. And he wouldn’t have tried to protect you from Gowan and me.” Seth went one step further. “He must be a noble and brave man at heart to have gathered a fleet of ships and their captains and crews around himself. To even think to do so, to actively resist the threat Fisk and his band of pirates represented… That’s quite an undertaking.”
“You sound like you admire him,” Livia observed.
“You know, I believe I do. I mean, he’s always been known as one of the most successful men in town, but to find that he’s created a defense force all by himself because he saw a threat and wanted to combat it—that takes a special kind of courage and gumption. I’ll be interested to hear what the crown thinks of your father’s initiative when word reaches the capital.”
Livia frowned. “Do you think he’s going to get in trouble?”
“On the contrary,” Seth was quick to reassure her. “I think he’s going to get a medal.” Seth emptied the last of his tankard of ale and set it down again. “So many of us have been conditioned to always look to the Lairs when an enemy threat is detected—and rightly so. The dragons and knights exist to serve and protect the land. But this threat from the sea is something new. Something we’re not equipped to combat. Or, at least, the present leadership of the Southern Lair has proven unwilling to even try to combat. But where everyone else looked to the dragons for rescue, your father went out and did something about it all on his own. That shows remarkable initiative and forward thinking. After all, the dragons don’t seem well equipped to deal with a threat from the sea, but in this case, fighting fire with fire—or ships with other ships—seems to be a good solution.”
“If not for Hrardorr and his abilities, Dragonscove would have been lost,” Livia mused.
“So might this island,” Seth agreed.
“But I thought Fisk only came for the spell book.”
“Perhaps, but what about all those other ships? What were they going to do once they fought through and all those miscreants had made it onto shore?” Seth frowned, thinking of the reports from the interrogators. “They were promised plunder and pillaging. Rape and mayhem visited on any vulnerable fey they could find. Perhaps gryphons, as well. There were a lot of men on those ships, Livia. Only the fact that the gryphons are acting as guards to the prisoners on shore right now keeps them from running amok.” Seth sat back, done with his meal. “Many were killed in the fighting. Some went down with their ships. But several hundred came onto shore, waterlogged and half-drowned by Hrardorr and the sea dragons’ actions, even bedraggled as they were, ready to fight. The day could have ended very differently, and not in our favor.”
Livia had a pensive look on her face as she, too, finished with her plate and pushed it away. She sat back in her chair, as well, staring for a moment as if thinking hard.
“Many things conspired to give us a good day,” she finally said. “I’m glad my father was a part of the solution, as much as I’m happy that Hrardorr showed once again that he is well able to fight. I’m also glad he made some new friends. I had no idea there was a population of sea dragons here.” She blinked and looked up at Seth. “It makes this island even more mysterious and magical, doesn’t it?” There was a lovely twinkle in her eyes as she smiled at him.
“You mean, more than it was already?” he said, smiling back at her. “As if having an actual wizard in residence wasn’t mysterious enough.”
Livia shrugged playfully. “You may have noticed…I’m partial to dragons.”
On their way out of the great hall, they stopped by the table Jarel had commandeered. Several other artisans were sitting with him as they went over the designs he had made from examining Seth’s tools. The precious tools were returned to Seth with only a few more questions, and Livia was able to tell them what her gem cutters had told her when they were asked to create this set of instruments and several others like it.
Livia was glad to see that Jarel and his friends were eager to get started turning the weapons of war into something much more useful. The artisans didn’t waylay Seth and Livia long, but their conversation left her with a good feeling about the people who would be working with the rescued diamonds. Jarel and his folk seemed to see the process of turning blades into surgical instruments as a challenge, just as her own people had done.
As Seth walked her to her room, Livia mused that artisans were the same regardless of age or race. They saw each new project as a puzzle just waiting to be solved. She liked that idea and wondered if there might be some way in the future of getting her people in contact with Jarel and his folk. They could compare notes and share ideas. She mentioned the thought to Seth as they walked quietly through the old stone keep.
“Of course,” she added, “the fey probably know more about gem working than our people do. They live forever, don’t they?”
“If not forever, then at least for many human lifetimes. I think they’re more like our dragon friends than truly immortal, but our knowledge of them is limited because they don’t often interact with humans anymore,” Seth answered.
She hadn’t thought of that, but it made sense. The only truly immortal beings she knew of were the great wizards of old, like Gryffid. But they could be killed. Many had been, of course, during the ancient wars. Only Gryffid remained, though he’d been hidden under a magical veil, now lifted, on this island for centuries.
Only since coming here had she learned that more of his brethren were imprisoned in ice in the far North of the world, in a place called the Citadel. A prison for evil wizards.
And her father’s greatest enemy, Captain Fisk, had just stolen the key.
She hadn’t even known her father had a greatest enemy, much less a pirate who would do something so audacious as raid the stronghold of the last of the great wizards with impunity. She wondered if she ever really knew her father at all. Her memories of him from her youth were of a much different man. He’d smiled more before her mother died. He’d been almost jolly.
But after her mother’s death, he’d been…different. Cold. Quiet. And so, so sad.
As she’d been.
Only, he hadn’t turned to her to share their grief. If anything, he’d turned his back on her. Or so she’d thought. Her father had said some things that made her question his motives. He’d told her a little bit more about Fisk and had made the startling statement that it had been Fisk who had murdered her mother.
If, all these years, her father had been actively hunting Fisk… It made a sad sort of sense that he’d left her alone, safe, in Dragonscove. If Fisk thought his daughter meant little to Captain O’Dare, she would be safer, so her father had all but ignored her. For her own safety.
It still hurt, but she thought she understood his neglect better now. He’d done it out of love, oddly enough.
They arrived at the door to her room, and Seth paused outside it. Livia shook herself out of her reverie and smiled at him.
“Father is gone,” she whispered, moving closer to Seth and reaching out to finger one of the ties on his jerkin.
Seth smiled back at her. “Are you sure—”
She cut off his words by placing a finger over his lips. Opening the door behind her, she tugged him into her room.
“Never doubt that I want to be with you, Seth.” She closed the door behind them and faced him, leaning back against the wood panel of the door.
She was feeling
daring and free. The events of the past few days had liberated her in some indefinable way, and the newfound independence was coming out in all sorts of unexpected ways. Without Gowan and his dominant ways to subdue her, she was feeling friskier than usual at the idea that Seth was completely hers for the rest of the night.
Caressing his shoulders, she moved him toward the large bed. She freed him from his vest and began untying his jerkin even as his nimble fingers went to the closures on her bodice. They were undressing each other with smiles on their faces, each reveling in the idea that they would not be disturbed and could spend the rest of the night exploring each other.
“Do you miss Gowan?” Seth said, breaking her concentration for a moment. She looked up to meet his gaze.
“A little. But I had time alone with him last night. Tonight, it’s only fair that I spend time with you, don’t you think?” It shouldn’t feel so natural to think of herself with both men, but somehow…
“You talk as if we’re a bonded trio,” Seth said, his gaze clouding over with regret. She hadn’t meant to make him feel that way. She wanted tonight to only bring him pleasure.
Livia placed her finger over his lips once more. “Don’t think about that now,” she counseled. “I don’t understand what’s really going on here or how this is all going to work out in the end, but I feel drawn equally to both of you.” She shook her head, unsure how to make him understand. “I don’t understand it either, Seth. I just… It feels right. Can’t we just enjoy our time together now and worry about tomorrow when it comes?”
Seth’s frown was still firmly in place, but he nodded. “I guess that’s really all we can do for now, but if I could commit to you, I would in a heartbeat. I hope you realize that, Livia. If I had a dragon partner, and he was Genlitha’s mate, all would be perfect. As it is…”
“As it is, we’re alone in my bedchamber, unlikely to be disturbed until morning, and we’re wasting time talking about things we cannot change.” She smiled to soften her words. “But that doesn’t mean things won’t change. I have faith that the Mother of All would not be so cruel to us. I have to believe that somehow things will work out, in time. We just have to be patient and have faith.”