by Judith Post
Regnia reached to take Ignisia's hand. "Come. Help me settle in. We can talk."
Ignisia didn't look enthused, but she followed her and Lady Enid.
Christian went to pour himself a tankard of ale. Verbal dueling with Regnia had left him thirsty. He poured another for Brom. After their first sips, he said, "Dragon riders can't lie, right?"
Brom nodded.
"Regnia said she didn't come here to attack anyone. I can't think how she could distort those words, to make them seem true when they're not."
"Easy. This could be a reconnaissance mission, to check out our defences and strengths."
"That should work in our favor. We're not easy to defeat."
Cook shooed them away from the table and motioned for servants to begin clearing it. "I say send her away. She's nothing but trouble."
Christian ran a hand through his hair. "I can't fault Ignisia for wanting to help her people. I understand why she'd want to try." He frowned at Cook. "You wanted a private time with Ignisia. Why?"
Her grip on her wooden spoon tightened. At least, she wasn't holding a cast-iron pot. But he wasn't a child anymore. She couldn't frighten him with a whack on the hand. She took a deep breath. "I'm an earth witch. I know plants and herbs. I brew protection potions that might help her."
Brom went to her and hugged her.
Cook sputtered, but her eyes misted with emotion. "You boys never remember your places. You're lords. You should be off doing something." She waved her spoon threateningly.
"Boys! You still think of us that way." Brom laughed and bent to kiss the top of her head. "Yes, Cook."
"Out! I'm behind today. I have things to do."
Christian poured two more tankards of ale, and he and Brom hurried into the Great Room before Cook threw a tantrum.
When Lady Enid joined them, she told Brom, "Regnia's settled, and Lynet's readied a room for you and Ignisia on the floor above hers. I've assigned a guard at your door, in case Regnia decides to visit you unexpectedly."
"Thank you. I meant to sleep with a knife under my pillow." Brom drained the last of his drink.
Lady Enid settled in her favorite chair near the fireplace. She reached for her sewing. "And if you're finished here, Christian, you might want to visit your wife and new daughter."
He beamed. "I thank you, too, Mother." He couldn't wait. He trotted up the servants' staircase, Brom close behind him. They'd keep a close eye on Regnia and eventually, they'd figure her out. In the meantime, he had much to celebrate.
* * *
Someone pounded on his door. Christian jerked awake. Moonlight filtered through the shutters at their bedroom window, and embers glowed in the fireplace. Brina whispered, "Go, before they wake the baby." Elysia was tucked by her side, nursing.
His mother had protested that Brina should sleep in a separate room with Lynet close by to help, but Brina had insisted on sleeping with Christian. "We always have, always will," she said. "He'll help me with Elysia."
Another bang sounded on the thick wood. Christian pulled on his breeches and tugged his white tunic over his head. When he cracked the door, a hand yanked him out into the cool hallway.
"It's time!" Brom dragged him behind him.
The stone floors felt cold under Christian's bare feet. Torches sputtered in their metal holders. "So soon? I thought she wasn't due for two more weeks."
"Your mother thinks the journey here and the stress of her sister's arrival brought the baby early." Brom ran up the stone steps, and Christian sprinted to keep up.
When they reached the room, the door was closed. Brom began pacing. Christian joined him. If this labor was like Brina's, they might be at this a few hours. But before they knew it, they heard a cry.
Cook opened the door and motioned them into the room. Lady Enid sat beside Ignisia, who cradled a tiny infant in her arms. Ignisia handed their son to her.
Lady Enid gently poured healing magic into him. She smiled at Brom. "He's a little early and smaller than usual, but very healthy. My magic is only a precaution to help him along the way." She held the baby out for him, and Brom reverently took him.
Christian grinned at the red face and thatch of black hair. "He looks like you."
Brom couldn't tear his gaze away, but before he could respond, the baby puckered its face and let out a loud wail.
"He sounds like you, too," Christian teased.
Brom handed his new son to Ignisia, who held him to her breast. The baby immediately latched onto a nipple to feed. "Don't say it," he warned Christian.
Christian clapped his friend on the back. "Congratulations. Now, we can celebrate two births at our feast." He yawned, nodding at his mother and Cook. "It looks like all's well. I'm going back to my wife and my bed." He opened the door, but stopped when he saw Regnia rushing toward him.
"Is it true?" she asked. "Did my sister have a son? Can she travel now?" She pushed into the room.
Ignisia's expression grew guarded.
"I heard footsteps on the stairs and thought I heard a baby's cry." She glanced at the newborn. "Good, it's done. Can you leave soon?"
"He came early," Lady Enid explained. "He's smaller than expected, but the way he eats, he'll make up for that soon. He needs his mother."
Regnia's dark eyes flared with passion. "You can bring him with you. Dragons are steady. You can feed him as often as he wants." At Brom's raised brow, she hurried to add, "Congratulations. You can come, too." Her gaze never left the baby.
Ignisia cradled her son in one arm and reached for Brom with the other. "His birth was easy, but I'm tired. I need rest."
Brom turned to Christian and Regnia. "Thank you for sharing in this, but…."
Christian nodded. "We'll go. Enjoy your wife and son." He looked pointedly at Regnia and followed her from the room. Unease nipped at his thoughts. How had Regnia known Ignisia's baby was a boy before she ever entered the room? No servant would have told her.
Lady Enid joined them in the hallway, rubbing her eyes. "I'm going to my room. Two babies in two nights is excitement enough for me. I'll sleep late tomorrow."
Regnia hesitated. "What's tradition here? Will Ignisia have to stay for a celebration of some sort?"
Christian nodded. "There'll be a feast in two nights. My people will come to see both babies. They still think of Brom as partly theirs."
Regnia glanced down at her snug, black pants and form-fitting undershirt. "I didn't bring much finery. I won't fit in."
A torch flared briefly. No one could rid castles of drafts. "Your attire doesn't matter," Christian said. "This is about the mothers and their new babies."
"Then I'll prepare." Again, a shiver raced down Christian's spine. Her words sounded menacing somehow. He frowned at her, but she smiled up at him. "Good night for now."
When they parted, he walked more slowly back to his and Brina's room. His worries fled when he opened the door and saw Brina, asleep, with Elysia cradled by her side. In the pale light, Brina's honey-gold hair gleamed softly. Elysia's hair was pure white, but thick and plentiful like her mother's. His heart felt too full, as though clogged with joy. He tugged off his breeches, pulled his tunic over his head, and gently crawled into bed beside his wife.
He dreamed of two cradles, side by side. One held a little girl, the other, a boy. A golden dragon slept under the girl's cradle with one, red eye open at all times. A serpent curled under the boy's, and when the baby slept, it slithered from its hiding spot and wrapped him in its coils. Christian woke, sweating, his heart hammering. Sun seeped through the shutters. He slipped out of bed and went to their private chamber to relieve himself and wash the sweat from his body. Then he quickly dressed.
He took a quick breath. His worries about Regnia had seeped into his dreams. Brina and Elysia still slept when he opened the door to start his day. He jumped, startled, when he almost ran into Lynet, waiting in the hallway.
"I thought you'd get busy soon," she said. "I came to sit with Brina and the baby."
Grateful, he nodded. Lynet took her nanny duties seriously. The girl was devoted to Brina. "I thank you," he whispered and motioned for her to enter the room.
She stopped when she noticed something on the floor. She walked to scoop it up. A long hairpin glittered in her palm. It must have fallen from Regnia's hair as she hurried to Ignisia's room last night.
At its touch, Lynet's eyes went wide and she bit her bottom lip. Tears misted her eyes.
"What is it?" Christian asked, concerned.
Lynet gazed at him, unseeing. He knew that look. The girl had visions. It took her a minute to readjust when she was coming out of one. She blinked at him and reached for his arm to steady herself. "I saw a young woman with long, black hair locked in a dungeon. She was nursing a baby boy and begging a guard to take the child somewhere safe."
Christian frowned. Was that the baby he'd seen in his dream? "Do you have any idea what it meant?"
Lynet shook her head.
"We'll think on it." He let her inside the bedroom and walked slowly away. The vision unnerved him. He didn't get to dwell on it, though. He had preparations to make. Feasts proved to be no small undertakings. A small army of servants gathered to help Cook bake rounds of bread. His soldiers were readying for a hunt to provide enough game to roast on dozens of spits. He walked into the courtyard to see them off.
Regnia crossed the cobblestones toward him as he sent his soldiers from the castle. "You don't keep a small group of them here?"
"No need." He wasn't worried about disturbances. Every serfdom had its share of troublemakers. People were people, after all. But his had fewer than most.
"You don't worry about an uprising?" she asked.
He stared. "Where would my serfs find better lives?"
She made a choking sound. "You mother them. Good rulers make hard choices. We aren't peoples' friends. We dominate them."
He shrugged. He wasn't worried. He could set any enemies on fire, if he had to.
Regnia gave him a withering glare and stomped off. "I'll leave you to your preparations and go visit my sister."
By midday, things were fairly organized, and Brom came to join him. "Regnia visited a short while with Ignisia, but left in a temper when Ignisia showed no interest in returning home with her. She returned to her room. What can I do to help?"
Christian sighed. "Don't let me antagonize Cook. She's determined this celebration will outdo any we've ever seen."
"She's issuing orders left and right?"
"She's wielding her wooden spoon, and she's ready to use it."
Brom grinned. "I've been warned."
Christian gripped Brom's arm and told him about his dream and Lynet's vision. "I'm no seer. I don't have the gift, like Mother, but I think Regnia means to steal that woman's baby and raise it as her own." He glanced up as Regnia came down the staircase to join them. Quietly, he said, "You should entertain Ignisia's sister. Give her a tour of our serfdoms. Anything. Just keep her from being underfoot."
Watching her sweep toward them, Brom squared his shoulders. "Only if you come, too. I'm not clever enough to deflect her questions, like you do."
With a nod, Christian sighed. "We'll keep her busy. If she crosses swords with Cook, God help us."
Brom grimaced, but went to greet Ignisia's sister. "My wife's still resting." His smile dazzled. Brom could be charming if he chose to. He motioned toward Christian. "We'd like to give you a tour of our lands, to show you your sister's new home."
Regnia raised a brow at them, clearly unenthused. But what could she say? It would be too churlish to turn them down. She forced a smile. "How lovely."
"Let's eat a late lunch before we leave. I've had food and drink brought to the Great Room for us." There was no way Christian would let her enter Cook's kitchens. Not today.
Brom raised his eyebrows, surprised, when Daralys and Vorare carried trays of sausages, cheese, and bread to the long table in the center of the room. Cook must have pressed them into duty. Over their meal, Christian introduced them. "Daralys is training to be a healer with my mother, and her husband's often called away from our serfdom on business."
Brom's lips quirked. Christian shrugged in reply. He'd omitted more than he'd told, but how could he explain that Vorare was a Sin Eater? Even if he did, Regnia wouldn't believe him. Or understand.
Christian motioned toward her. "This is Ignisia's sister."
Vorare's brows pulled into a heavy scowl. "The current ruler of Ignisia's kingdom? I visited there recently."
She narrowed her eyes at him. With his fire-red hair pulled into a braid and his confident air, he didn't look like a typical serf or lord. "For what purpose?"
"To see a young man. I've visited a few of them lately. They had need of my services." His voice had an edge to it. Was it disdain?
Christian stared. A dead, young man? Vorare went to many lands to relieve spirits of their burdens so they could journey on.
Regnia spread honey on her bread, but her voice was brittle. "I keep close track of the people who come and go in my lands."
"Yes, I know." That tone again—barely civil. "You're assuming I travel as a person. Christian's serfdom is full of many magicks. That's why I settled here."
She frowned. Anger glinted in her eyes. "I don’t welcome visitors of any kind."
"And yet you came here, unannounced?"
Vorare's challenge disquieted her. She pinched her lips together in a tight line. She pushed her plate away, directing her gaze to Christian and Brom. "You promised me a tour of your lands."
"Yes, we did." Christian pushed to his feet. Obviously, it was better to keep Regnia and Vorare apart from each other, too. "Would you rather travel by horse or by dragon?"
"You ride dragons?" Her hands went to her hips.
What had he done now? "Is that a sin?"
She glared at him. "The dragons let you?"
"Only as a courtesy, I'm no dragon rider like Brom. I have fire, like they do. That amuses them."
Her eyes narrowed and she leaned close, looking him up and down. "How can you have fire? That's a dragon's gift."
Christian raised a finger, and a flame burst from its end. "It's one of my magicks."
"One of them?" She stared.
"My father was a wizard. My mother's a healer. The magicks mingled."
She took her time to assess him. "I can see how you'd be a formidable opponent."
"I'm just one of many. Combine our witches' gifts, and our serdoms are deadly."
She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Since I've come here, I've received one warning after another. Do you treat every guest this way?"
"No." It was his turn to try for a full-watt smile. Brom had nothing on him. "I meant to reassure you. Your sister's safe with us. We'd defend her to our deaths."
Her anger shifted to amusement. "You're glib with words, aren't you? But you don't trust me. What do you fear?"
"That you'd harm Ignisia or her baby." He remembered his dream, how the serpent wrapped the baby boy in its coils.
She laughed. "Ignisia can take care of herself. And I'd never harm Ignisia's child. He's no threat to my rule."
Frustrated, Christian ran a hand through his hair.
Regnia waved away any more questions. "You promised to show me your lands. I'm curious to see them."
When she passed Vorare, the sin eater bristled. His dislike of her was palpable. Later, Christian would have to pull him aside and ask him about it. For now, with a glance at Brom, Christian started outside and headed toward the stables. The last two rows of stone buildings held horses, but the first stable had been fortified for dragons. Regnia went to her sleek, brown male and rubbed his snout. She studied the extra thick, stone walls and the heavy iron doors at both ends.
"You take your care of dragons seriously."
Christian motioned toward the weapons hanging on the inside wall. "This used to serve as an armory. It housed some of my soldiers. And yes, I go to extra lengths to protect what is mine."
&nbs
p; Once they mounted, Christian nodded for Brom to lead them. Lothar took flight. Christian, astride Scarlet, nodded to Regnia. She followed, and Christian took the rear.
Scarlet twisted her long neck to nuzzle Christian's cheek before she soared after the others. The dragon would die for Ignisia, but she had a soft spot for Christian. Truth was, he returned her fondness and leaned forward to stroke her sleek scales. Scarlet's egg was incubating in Ignisia's hatchery, and the young dragon was promised to him. Scarlet knew he'd treat her offspring well.
Brom gave Regnia the grand tour, showing her anything and everything that he could possibly think of. They meant to keep her away from Christian's castle as long as possible. They flew over Christian's lands, then his, and finally, they flew over Aelio's serfdom. Aelio noticed them soaring overhead and stopped to wave at them.
Regnia gave a disgusted sigh. "Is everyone happy here?"
Brom chuckled. "Pretty much. If you want unrest, you need to look at other serfdoms."
She gave him a withering look, and Christian tamped down inner glee. By the time they returned to the castle, the sun was setting, and Christian's leg muscles ached. He wasn't used to straddling a dragon. He led Scarlet to the stable and rubbed her long snout.
Regnia scowled when the dragon rested her chin on Christian's shoulder. "That's just wrong!" she snapped. "A dragon has one rider. Mine would never allow anyone else on her back."
"Maybe your dragon's as prickly as you are." The words popped out before he could stop them.
Regnia hissed in a breath, then burst out laughing. "It's too bad you're so dedicated to your people, lord of the English. I find you rather intriguing."
That was all he needed. It would probably mean a shortened lifespan. Christian side-stepped the compliment. "Supper will be ready. Friends are coming to celebrate with us tonight, since they can't join us at the feast tomorrow. I'll introduce you."
Regnia's walk turned sensual. She obviously thought she was about to meet the lords and ladies of the court, and she hoped to shock. Instead, Brom led them down the stone stairs that led to the kitchen and Christian motioned toward Jarman and a few other vampires.