“Did you know my father as a child?” Livia asked over the rim of her teacup.
Enid laughed. “Oh, no, dear. It’s not generally known, but when you share your life with dragons, they tend to impart some of their magic to their chosen families. I was born over three hundred years ago. Seth is our last child. We have two other sons, both of whom are knights in the Northern Lair. Gerard Junior is nearing two hundred and is mated with grown children of his own. Paton Junior has been a knight for about a hundred years, though he is still unmated. Seth was named for my father.” She smiled at Seth. “Our dragon children, Llallor and Mowbry, are also partnered. Mowbry chose Gerry as her knight almost from the time she hatched, which was a beautiful thing to witness. Llallor is partner to a nice young man named Karlac. They’re currently assigned to the Border Lair and doing quite well.”
To say Livia was shocked would be an understatement. She knew dragons had very long lives, but she had no idea they could also lengthen the lives of their chosen partners and their wives. Yet another perk—if it could be called that—to being a Lair wife.
“You must have seen so much in your time,” Livia offered, fascinated with the idea. “Have you always lived here?”
“Oh, gracious, no. We moved around to different Lairs, the way most knights do. Gerard and Paton were both stationed here when we met. I was a local girl, and those two just swept me off my feet.” Enid smiled softly in remembrance. “When my parents passed on, I felt free to move away, and the boys took a posting to the Northern Lair. I never saw so much ice in my life, I can tell you! And it’s cold up there. Colder than I had ever experienced before. It took some getting used to, but it was quite an adventure. Gerry Junior was born there, as was Llallor. Then we moved to the Castle Lair as my husbands moved up in rank. We lived in the capital for many years. Patty and Mowbry were born while we were there, and Mowbry was old enough to officially choose Gerry right before we left to help set up the Border Lair.”
“You were on the border? Have you seen a skith?” Livia asked, interested.
One of the rarest things her father had ever had in his warehouse was a skith skin. Most skiths who encroached on the border of Draconia from their native land of Skithdron were incinerated by dragon fire, but very occasionally, one would die in another way, and some brave soul would find the courage to skin it and remove all the venom. Skith leather was in high demand from those who worked with caustic chemicals, since it was impervious to almost everything. It would have to be, since skith venom was one of the most corrosive liquids known to man. That one skith skin had been enormous and had been parceled out and sold over years to specialty buyers from all over Draconia.
“I have seen skiths.” Enid shuddered. “It is a sight I will never forget. It’s one for nightmares, believe me. Those things are just nasty.”
Livia would have asked more questions, but the arrival of a large female dragon halted her words. She was red in color, every shade of red in the palette, with hints of golden shimmer and even silver sparkle here and there. She was lovely and fierce, and looking at Livia with a critical eye.
“Livia O’Dare, may I introduce Lady Alirya,” Seth said, standing to make the formal introductions. Livia stood, as well, then did her best curtsey to the imposing dragon.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Alirya,” Livia said politely, then her anxiety got the better of her. “Have you any word?”
Alirya nodded her great head. “It is why I have come. First, to meet you, Mistress Livia. I wanted to see for myself the young woman who has befriended my boy. And next, to relay the message that you are wanted in the war room.”
Livia exchanged looks with Seth. “That sounds very serious, indeed.” Livia turned to Seth’s mother and thanked her for the tea and conversation, then followed Seth out of the chamber, leaving the two mothers to gossip.
Livia had no doubt Lady Alyria would be well aware of all that transpired in the rather ominous-sounding
war room
, but she would probably also be comparing notes with Enid about Livia. She almost chuckled. She had often been the topic of gossip in the town, but to her best knowledge, she had never been gossiped about by a dragon. The idea gave her little thrill as she contemplated how her life had changed since meeting Hrardorr.
She thought about contacting him, but decided against it. He was blind. There was no escaping that fact. When and if it came time to fight, he would feel awful for not being able to fly alongside his brethren. Livia set one part of her mind to thinking up ways Hrardorr still might be able to help. He could see underwater—after a fashion. Maybe that could be useful in some way? She promised herself she would think more about it later, when she had time.
For now, she and Seth were walking swiftly through the halls on their way to the mysterious war room. She was glad he knew where it was. She was hopelessly lost in the maze of tunnels and corridors that was the Lair. She did notice an increase in activity from just over an hour ago. Before, the Lair had been almost a sleepy place, of slow-moving people and lazing dragons, basking in the heat of the sandpits she could see through open doorways as they passed.
Now, it was like an anthill kicked into wakefulness. People were scurrying here and there, and the knights were walking around in armor, with purpose to their strides. The dragons were moving around, too, walking through the largest of the hallways, where the humans had to stand back against the walls to give way to oncoming dragons.
Livia was glad to see they were taking her warnings seriously.
One of Seth’s fathers—Gerard—met them in the hallway and escorted them the rest of the way to their destination. He looked tense as they strode quickly through the halls.
“What news?” Seth asked.
“Grave news, I’m afraid.” Gerard frowned and looked at Seth. “Stanius was shot out of the sky. Tilden landed in the water and was able to swim to shore. Stanius crashed on a hilltop.”
“Send me out,” Seth demanded. “I can help them.”
“It is already taken care of. They are closer to the Border Lair, as the dragon flies, and the princess has already flown out to help them both. She is a true dragon healer, and based on the huge tear in Stanius’s wing, the enemy have at least a few diamond-tipped spears on their catapults.”
“Grave news, indeed,” Livia said, into the silence that followed.
There wasn’t time to talk more as they ushered her into an enormous chamber with a large round table in the center. Knights were standing around the table, looking at what had to be a map, and Livia was amazed to see an equal number of dragons arrayed behind the knights, around the perimeter of the round room. It looked as if they were all discussing battle plans together.
Well, what else? These were dragon-knight pairs. They would go into battle together and depend upon each other. They each had a stake in the outcome and should both be in on the planning. It made sense to her, once she thought about it.
Having never been so close to so many dragons or knights, Livia had never before considered how they must work so closely together. It was really kind of wonderful to see the way they treated each other, and respected each other’s opinions. This was a meeting of equals. No species was subservient to the other. They were true partners.
“Ah, Mistress O’Dare,” Sir Jiffrey greeted her as they walked to the center of the room to stand around the table with the other knights. He went on to introduce her to his fighting partner, the co-leader of the Lair, Sir Benrik, and the dragon leaders, their partners, Sir Tiluk and Lady Anira. Tiluk was a green dragon, and Anira was a lovely dark blue.
“I have spoken with Genlitha,”
a low voice rumbled in Livia’s mind. It was the female dragon, and apparently, she was including all the knights in her communication, as all eyes focused on Livia.
“She tells me you can hear us.”
“Yes, milady, I can,” Livia answered with proper respect given Anira’s position and age.
“Good. Then, if you are willing, we would like you to act as liaison with the council in the town below. We understand you are highly placed in the merchant guild and command sufficient authority and respect that the others would listen to what you have to say. We need such a person, who can also communicate without the use of couriers and written messages, which are far too slow, to act as our conduit to the leaders of Dragonscove.”
“I would be honored to fulfill such a duty,” Livia answered. Inside, she was hopping in excitement. She’d be able to help, which was what she had wanted. Livia wasn’t one to sit idly on the sidelines while others did the hard work of protecting her.
“We would also like to place a dragon with you. While I assume you’d rather have someone you know, Genlitha and Gowan cannot be spared. They are wing leaders and must lead in battle—”
“Hrardorr!” she burst out, interrupting the dragonness, which wasn’t entirely polite, but Livia didn’t want any other dragon the leader might suggest. She wanted her best friend.
When Anira merely blinked down at Livia in surprise, Livia went on.
“My apologies for interrupting, but Sir Hrardorr is already a favorite of the townsfolk for his part in clearing predators from the water since he has been here. The townsfolk respect him and—pardon my bluntness—he cannot fight in your wings of dragons the way he is, but he can be of enormous help in town. It would be good for him to feel useful, and it would allow those who can fight to do so and not be stuck in town with me.”
Tiluk, the male dragon, craned his head forward.
“An elegant solution, and one that honors our sightless brother. Your heart is true and your wits sharp, Mistress O’Dare.”
Tiluk actually winked at her, and Livia felt a blush coming on at his praise.
“Then Hrardorr it shall be,”
Anira agreed.
“But he has no knight. Whom shall we send to accompany him?”
“Send me,” Seth declared, stepping forward. “I can help Hrardorr if he needs it, and I know everyone in the Lair and can communicate with every dragon.” Seth stood at Livia’s side, looking up at the leader dragons. “I’m not a knight, but if what we’ve heard is true, you’ll need every knight to fight. Send me to Dragonscove, so I can do my part and allow the knights to do theirs.”
“We cannot guarantee the town will be safe. You will be in danger there,”
Anira said to him, as if testing his resolve.
“I may not be a knight, but I will fight to defend my land, its people and its dragons. I would rather be where I might do some good than hide here in the Lair with the elders and children.”
Livia could see Seth’s ire was up. He didn’t like his courage being questioned.
Then she noticed smoke curling up to the domed ceiling from the dragons’ nostrils. They were chuckling. It
had
been a test.
“Be at ease, young one,”
Tiluk said.
“You may not be a knight, but you have the heart of one. You do your family proud.”
Tiluk seemed to look around at the other dragons before he said.
“You will go with Hrardorr and tell us what goes on in Dragonscove while we fight from aloft. With three of you there who can speak with us, we will be well informed of the enemy’s movements, and so will you, on the ground.”
“Now all we have to do is get Hrardorr to agree,”
Anira muttered.
The war council went on for an hour more. They discussed what had happened to Gowan and Genlitha’s patrol. Apparently, the enemy fleet was closer than they’d thought and definitely heading this way. When one of the younger dragons flew too close, he’d been shot down, so the intent of the pirate fleet was clear. They were hostile, in the extreme.
Eventually, orders were drawn up and communications written to the town council, naming Livia, Hrardorr and Seth the official liaisons between town and Lair. Hrardorr grudgingly agreed to do as the dragons asked and accompanied Seth and Livia down to Dragonscove.
Livia and Seth walked back down the hill toward town, while Hrardorr flew. He landed in the water and then swam to Livia’s boat house to await them. From there, Seth had to guide him with many hasty words, into a little harder landing in the courtyard in front of Livia’s home.
Hrardorr was pretty good at following someone’s commands now. He had to get the dragons on watch to guide him into the Lair each time he flew back there, but the landing ledges were wide and clear. Landing in a tiny courtyard without the use of his eyes was a lot trickier, but he managed it with Seth’s help.
The meeting hall wasn’t far from Livia’s home, and it turned out to be a good location from which to coordinate the action. The town’s business leaders were already gathered, trying to find ways to protect not only their business interests, but also the town itself. On the whole, they were good people who just wanted to keep the really bad things that were possible from happening.
The town council had mostly deployed to help the weaker and more vulnerable people in Dragonscove either shelter in place, if they chose, or to evacuate. The Lair was taking in as many people as they could, hiding them deep in the mountain chambers, away from possible trouble.
The Lair would be a last line of defense if the town was overrun. Its massive doors could be shut, and even if only a few dragons survived, they could prevent any enemies from entering with their flame. There were also vast storerooms underground where food was kept, as well as a water source that would be impossible to contaminate or stop from outside.
Then there were the dragons, of course, and the fact that they could carry more than one person to safety, if they had to. They could also summon help from other parts of Draconia.
In fact, the first news that came down from the Lair that Livia was asked to relate to the town’s leadership had to do with what they could expect in the way of reinforcements. And the news wasn’t good.
“Hostilities in the north and east are at a peak,” she told the assembled merchant leaders and the few representatives of the town council that weren’t busy elsewhere.