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Chapter Ten
Part One

“Did Ema give you any idea where she was going?” Valeria asked later that evening. She was sitting next to the fire in Dariad’s study, watching the flames dance.

“Not really, but she’d been very frustrated by not being able to explain what had happened. She started studying in the library at all hours, especially the oldest legends about the making of the Core, and took several trips out with merchants to question storytellers about alternative versions.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Chapter Nine
Part Eight

The garden turned out to be a large, plant-filled courtyard. It was surrounded on all sides by high crystal walls, which had obviously been polished to make them impossible to climb. Wind chimes hung from the branches of some of the trees and filled the air with soft music. Salia didn’t want to relax, but there was something about the place that just drained the tension out of her.

“Isn’t this nice?” Lyrekka said. “You can come here whenever you wish in your free time.

Salia made a non-commital sound and stared upwards. It wouldn’t be possible to climb the walls, but perhaps one of the trees was tall enough? She sighed as she realised that they weren’t, and even if they were the patches of sky she could see looked odd. After a moment she realised that the entire courtyard was covered by a massive roof carved from a single transparent crystal. He shoulders slumped slightly and she couldn’t repress an unhappy squeak. Her captors seemed to have thought of everything.

Lyrekka reached out and patted her head again. “You can blame Foehn for the ceiling. He tried to escape twice in his first week here by flying out. Gerian-mirian wanted to declare it off limits to you, but I persuaded him to put a roof on it.”

Salia frowned at that. Foehn must be one of the others that Lyrrekka had mentioned earlier.

“He is indeed,” Lyrrekka said. “You’ll meet him and Yarara soon. They always come here after their lessons.” Salia came to an abrupt halt as the wind chimes stopped briefly and she realised something.

“Get out of my head!” Salia aimed a kick at Lyrrekka’s ankles. The dragon woman just stepped back out of her reach. Salia screamed in rage and tried to lunge at her but Lyrrekka held her at arm’s length easily. Salia struggled and tried to break free but the wind chimes tinkled again and her anger started to fade. Try as she might she couldn’t seem to hold on to it. “That’s not fair!” She sank to her knees as great, heaving sobs overcame her. “I want to go home! I want my mummy!”

“Oh, Salia!” Lyrrekka sounded sympathetic as she knelt down and pulled her into a hug. “I know! I do know. But you can’t, we need you too much.”

Salia continued sobbing as Lyrrekka picked her up again and carried her further into the courtyard along the winding path. When she put her down again they were in a small clearing amidst the trees. The sound of bubbling water made Salia look up only to find a damp cloth gently pushed into her face to wipe the tears away.

“I won’t help you,” Salia said between sobs.

“Oh, you will eventually,” Lyrrekka said softly. “One way or another. Gerian-mirian doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“No, I won’t! Why would I help kill my friends?” Salia closed her eyes and forced herself to think about Ignifer’s screams even though it made her feel sick. Lyrrekka might be pretending to be nice but she’d seen what dragons were really like with her own eyes and she wasn’t going to forget.

Lyrekka made a hissing sound and her arms left Salia’s shoulders. Salia peeked up at her and saw the dragon woman had one hand over her eyes. She was shaking her head and muttering angrily to herself the same way mummy did when someone did something stupid – except mummy didn’t swear in draconic. After a moment Lyrekka looked up at her and Salia flinched back from the fury in her eyes. The anger instantly drained from her face and she reached out to Salia who scooted back until her back met a tree. Lyrekka sighed and dropped her hand.

“Oh no, Salia. It’s not you. I’m irritated with my Mirian. His temper and lack of self-control really doesn’t make my job any easier.”

“That’s because he’s a bastard, Lyrekka-alra.”

Salia’s head shot up to stare at the speaker. A teenage harpy was sitting among the branches of one of the trees. Salia blinked as she realised he was a boy. Male harpies were rare and their flocks never let them far from their villages. That wasn’t the only thing that confused her, though.

“I-I didn’t sense you.” Salia eyed the harpy boy nervously. Most harpy clans refused to live in civilised areas, because they still hunted other Speakers for meat. No wonder he hadn’t cared about what the dragons fed him.

“It’s the chimes,” he said. “They interfere with our mental senses, isn’t that right, Lyrekka-alra?”

“It is indeed, Foehn. Among other things.” Lyrekka smiled at him. “Now get yourself down here and meet your new friend. Where’s Yarara?”

“Here!” A dark-haired naga girl who Salia guessed was a couple of years older than her slithered out from among the rocks. Her forked tongue flickered at Salia a couple of times, obviously taking in her taste. A moment later she‘d shifted her serpent‘s tail into legs with the  same diamond pattern scales and was sitting on the rocks next to Salia. “Hi! I’m Yarara!” she said brightly. “Let’s be friends. What’s your name?”

“S-Salia.”

“Salia?” Yarara stared at her. “I’ve heard of you. You’re the Storm Queen’s daughter!” She looked over at Lyrekka. “He’s gone mad, Lyr. He’s going to attract attention he doesn’t need yet.”

Lyrekka made an amused snorting sound but said nothing in response. Salia got the feeling she agreed with Yarara though.

Salia pulled her knees up to her chin and stared at the other two speakers with a frown. There was something about them and it took her a moment to place it. It was hard to tell with the hybrid sort of Speakers but then she realised that they were both using their resting forms and… oh!

“But you’re both like me!”

“Well that took you rather a long time to work out, new girl,” Foehn said. “I guess Haltia aren’t as bright as they say.”

“Leave her alone, Foehn,” Yarara said. “I think she’s had a bad day and she’s just a kid.” The naga girl grinned at Salia, revealing her sharp fangs. “You’re right, your highness. We’re both heart friends as well. That’s why we’re here.”

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Chapter Nine
Part Seven

Daniel really wanted to ask more questions but there was no denying the wisdom of his mother’s words. He was tired and sleep would help him assimilate their answers better, so he made his way back down the stairs towards his rooms. Rilletta was still loitering not far away from the door, but he was tired enough that he only gave her a token glare before he went into his room and shut the door.

At some point while he was out, Mela had climbed out of the bath and dressed herself in the clothes his father had given her. She was curled up fast asleep on the bracken with her head lying on Ebona’s side.

“She said she couldn’t get comfortable in the bath,” Ebona said. “But she was lying, even to herself I think.. She just didn’t feel safe and wanted some physical contact to make her feel better.”

“Ah,” he said. “I just had a most illuminating conversation with my parents.” He sat down on the bed and mentally replayed it for Ebona.

“That’s disturbing,” Ebona said. “I think I want to talk to this Jason, hear what he told you from his own lips.”

Daniel looked at her sharply. “You think he was lying?”

“No, almost certainly not. But I’d like to be sure. Accusing the Core of – um – malfunctioning is not a thing to be taken lightly-” She broke off at the sound of a light tap at the door.

“Wha-” Daniel opened the door to find Avellena and Weide standing there. “Councillors?”

“May we come in? We wish to talk with you privately.” Weide cast a meaningful glance at Rilletta who just nodded in return.

“Of course.” Daniel stood aside and let the two Dryads enter. “How may I help you?”

Weide took a breath. “The Council have been talking with your father and Sarah. We feel it’s necessary to inform the other communities of what is happening. Will you release us from our promise not to reveal your identity?”

“I…” Daniel stared at them. That was one request he hadn‘t been expecting. Though perhaps he should have been. “I don’t know… is it really necessary?”

“Well, we can work around that bit of the story if we need to, I guess.” Avellena sounded dubious. “But it’ll be obvious we’re omitting something, and I think your siblings need to know that you aren’t their enemy.”

“And if my father is right, Karen will work it out anyway.” He chewed thoughtfully on his lip. “But I’ve made enemies and they may decide to use the others against me.”

“Karen does need to know that the traitor is still alive, Daniel,” Ebona said. “He seemed to have an interest in her, and I’ll bet that she thinks he’s dead. Even a momentary lapse from shock could prove fatal in a fight.”

Daniel winced. “That’s a very good point, Eb. Dad will probably warn her himself, but once he does they’ll know everything anyway.” He looked back at the dryads. “Very well, I release you from your promise. I just hope that no one tries to use them against me.”

“They’ll probably be too busy panicking over your father’s identity,” Avellena said. “Matthias was your predecessor and helped recreate the guardian system. If he really meant us any harm…”

“That is worrisome,” Ebona agreed. “But I don’t think he’d do that. It would help the dragons too much.”

“I’m sure you are right,” Avellena agreed. “I also think that you can safely trust him to look after Mela. If you really don’t want to trust him, have you considered asking Sarah?”

“That… that’s actually not a bad idea.” Daniel glanced out at the lightening sky. “I’ll talk to her after I’ve slept.”

Weide gave a soft laugh. “I think that’s a hint for us to get out and let him sleep, Av.”

***

Kyle and Darya were with Ystelyan when Rilletta’s imp flew into the throne room. It was doing acrobatic little flips which suggested that its creatrix was in a good mood when she made it.

“I guess things are going well,” Kyle said.

“Well, Rill certainly thinks they are,” Ystelyan agreed as he held out his hand to the imp and absorbed it. Then he chuckled. “Oh that’s clever, Rill, very clever.”

“What’s she done?”

“She introduced a water imp into the sap of the trees of Waldhafen and set it to watch Melusine when she can’t. It’s harmless so it doesn’t breach the truce. It just overheard an interesting conversation between the Dark Warrior and two of the councillors. Tell me, do you think the Life Warrior could protect Melusine?”

“Doctor Tyler?” Kyle frowned. “Well, she’s pretty strong and very skilled. It’s entirely possible she could, unless Gerian went after her himself. If she takes Melusine to Earth that’s unlikely. You and the others will dogpile him if he goes there himself.”

“Hmm… and he knows that. Rill’s right, this could work.”

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Chapter Nine
Part Six

“I really don’t want to,” his father said. “It messes up everything, but at this point I don’t think there’s much point in lying to you. You already know enough to throw your reactions totally off from what they should be. ” He rubbed at his forehead. “Hoist upon my own petard, I guess. I still can’t tell you everything, but this all started because some witch hunters tried to kill your mother.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Chapter Nine
Part Five

Daniel stopped outside the door and stared at Rilletta. The renegade Haltia was leaning casually against the wall, not far from his chamber. He probably shouldn’t be surprised – she’d made it clear that her delegation’s true purpose was to protect Mela from Gerian. He should have expected that they’d be keeping an eye on her, but he hadn’t expected it to be so blatant. Rilletta wasn’t even trying to conceal herself and seemed quite comfortable with the glares she was receiving from the occasional speaker still abroad at this time  of night.

He almost turned and went back into his room, but Ebona would look after Mela and Rilletta posed no threat to her at the moment. The truce she’d sworn to saw to that. And he really did need to clear his head, and check on his mother. So he contented himself with glaring at her as he passed. Rilletta just cocked her head at him and smiled softly.

He clenched his fists and ground his teeth. She was mocking him! And he couldn’t wipe the smile off her face without breaching the truce and allowing them to fight back. He had a distinct feeling that would be bad. Ystelyan would have sent capable fighters on such a mission, after all. So he nodded stiffly to her and carried on walking, quickening his step as he headed for the large ramp which lead up to the quarters the Council had assigned to his mother.

His mother’s chambers were particularly fine, encompassing an entire house which stood admidst the branches of one of the large trees that surrounded Waldhafen’s great hall. Daniel had suspected it was out of fear of his father, but they insisted that it was more to do with respect for her sister.  Which was stupid, because his mother had no siblings.

Now he knocked on the door of the tree house and then pushed the door open. The main chamber was deserted, but it was the middle of the night. She was probably asleep, so he crept towards the bedroom in an attempt not to disturb her. Then jumped as her voice sounded in his mind.

We’re on the balcony, Dan. Come on up – quietly. His mother’s mental touch was as tired as she’d looked that afternoon, but it had a confidence behind it which told him that she knew how to use her mind.

He climbed up to the ramp to the upper floor of the tree house and walked quietly towards the doors to the terrace balcony that looked out of the city. He was about to push them open, but froze when he heard his father’s voice.

Yes, stay there. He’s being a stubborn pain again, she said.  But Sal and I think you need to hear this.

Okay, mum.

“I know you’re mad at me, Sal, but I do have reasons for what I’m doing,” his father was saying. “Just let me explain.”

“Oh, I’m mad at you all right.” That was Sarah Tyler’s voice. “But not over this Dragon Lord nonsense. I’m perfectly aware what happened two years ago as well. Jay was there too, remember. I’m not sure this is the wisest response, in fact I think you’re being bloody stupid, but I do understand your reasoning. You should have stuck to Dragons though. There were other ways to deal with that situation at Elapyron City.” There was a pause. “No, I’m mad that you let me, Lucas and Jay think our sister and our nieces and nephews were dead!”

Daniel barely managed not to squeak at that. What the hell?!

“Ah, yes, well…”

“For God’s sake, Matt, did you really think we’d tell the Lavernes she was alive?”

Matt? That wasn’t his father’s name… except hadn’t his mother nearly used that name for him earlier?

“No, I know you  detest them as much as I do,” his father replied. “But the more people there are in on a secret the more likely it is to leak out accidentally. Not even the kids know, well Karen does. I told her before I sent her to Brierthorne. She had to know not to mention she had siblings. Quadruplets are rare enough that it would have raised suspicions. Not only would that put Sonia back in danger. I have a feeling all four of them are resonant, like their mother.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Sarah said.  “Does Karen know you’re the Dragon Lord?”

“If she does, it’s not because I told her. She’s clever enough to work it out though, and who Dan-” He broke off with a sigh. “You… Come out, Daniel. I know you’re out there.”

Daniel pushed open the door and walked on to the balcony. Sarah Tyler, Birke, a white haired haltia he didn’t know and a human teen who looked to be about eighteen were there along with his parents.

“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that. I should know when a Keefe gets an idea they’ll find some way to make it happen. I really shouldn’t have married one.”

“Ah, but you love me anyway.” Sonia smirked at him. She was sitting in a chair with a blanket wrapped around her. She already looked better than she had that afternoon and her eyes were clearer than he’d ever seen them. “And this is growing to be a pointless secret, Matt. It’s clear the Lavernes are on to us.”

“Well someone is,” he sighed. “This isn’t really the Laverne’s style.” He looked at Daniel. “But I should probably introduce you. You know Sarah and Birke already; this is your Uncle Jason. He’s the Sound Warrior and this is his heart friend Caoilainn.” He gestured to the strange teen and the haltia who was perched on the edge of the balcony. “They’re also friends of Karen.”

“Call me Jason.” The boy offered his hand. “I’m what, two years older than you? Calling me Uncle would be just a bit stupid.”

Daniel shook Jason’s hand and nodded to Caoilainn, before looking back at his father. “Now do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

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Chapter Nine

Part Four

Dariad watched Valeria picking at the grilled fish his cooks had prepared for her and sighed.

“You need to eat, Val,” he said softly.

“I know. I just don’t have any appetite.” She blinked away tears.

“You won’t do Salia any good if you collapse.”

“I’m not sure I’ll do her any good if I don’t. I’m so helpless!”

Dariad tapped his tongue against his teeth. She wasn’t wrong, there wasn’t much that she could do about Salia’s situation. Having said that Salia wasn’t the only one at stake here. Perhaps she just need reminding of that.  “Then think about Alban. He doesn’t need you to collapse either.”

“You…” She looked down. “You’re right, of course.” She picked up her fork again and took a bite. “It is good. My compliments to your cook.” She ate the fish slowly, but at least she was eating it. “I need to apologise to the Warriors, don’t I? I’ve been making things hard for them.”

“Only if you mean it,” he said. “An insincere apology means nothing.”

“I…” She looked down, apparently thinking about that. “I think that I do mean it. I’m still not sure about humans, but I want to know what the Core is hiding from us. There’s something about the Water Warrior’s betrayal that it doesn’t want us to know. I have a horrible feeling about it.”

“I do as well. Karen should be awake soon. We’ll ask her and Alban when she wakes up. Ema told me she’d have been able to talk about if her heart friend had been there.”

“Yes, Alban said the same thing. It’s a puzzling thing. Did your father ever mention being – um – freer when he was with his heart friend?”

“No, but he was never in such a situation. Shall we go up and see if Karen is awake yet?”

Valeria scooped up the final bite of her fish and chewed, then nodded. “Yes, let’s.”

Karen was indeed awake and was sitting up in bed with her siblings and their heart friends sitting around her. She looked up and gave a wan smile as Alaryia led him and Valeria into the room.

“Your majesties, we’ve been waiting for you before I tell my tale.”

***

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Valeria whispered when Karen finished. She reached out and grasped the girl’s hands. “I had no idea. That poor boy, no wonder he went crazy.”

“I know.” Karen looked down. “But he knew what would happen if he succeeded and he still tried to destroy the Core. There’s no excuse for that.”

“From what you say he probably wasn’t thinking about that,” Alaryia said. “He probably wasn’t thinking anything at all. Extreme anger can do that to a person.”

“This is…” Kimi looked totally dejected. “I don’t understand… why… Are you sure it was true?”

“I’m afraid so,” Karen replied. “I can show in his majesty’s mirror if you want. The Core has a complex about humans that makes Queen Valeria’s look positively tolerant. If it weren’t for the fact that it needs us. It’d probably have tried to destroy Earth by now, or at least get rid of those of us with powers.” She stared at the wall.

“Well, that would be stupid,” Alaryia said.

“You know about that?” Karen stared at the goblin ambassador.

“I do. Most goblins know all about it via their parents.”

“The dragons know about it?” Karen sounded even more incredulous about that. “Yeah, it would be stupid – if it knew about it. It doesn’t. That’s not its fault, of course. When they created it, the Speakers gave it an imperative to do whatever it needed to preserve them and the world, but they gave it insufficient information. It sees humans as a threat, well actually it sees humans with powers as a threat. It knows the majority are no risk.”

“What doesn’t it know?” Valeria asked.

“Earth and this world are inextricably linked, your majesty. Humans with powers call themselves Astrals, and not without reason. There seems to be a star in this world’s sky for every Astral on Earth. Killing off all the Astrals would at the very least put out all the stars. I’m fairly sure it would do worse.” She glanced at Andrew with a sly smile. “And you’ll notice that there are a lot less than seven billion stars. About 100,000 we think.”

Andrew just harrumphed at that. Karen gave him a wan smirk in reply. Lydia however was frowning.

“Kaz, how do you know all this?” she asked. “From the warriors you fought along side two years ago?”

Karen shook her head. “No… well not exactly.” She scowled at one of the tapestries on the wall. “I know it from school. Brierthorne exists to educate Astrals.”

Lydia made a soft choking noise, while Andrew just stared at Karen blankly.

“Dad let you go there? Did he know?” he asked finally.

“Why didn’t dad send all four of us?” Lydia said simultaneously. “Training would have been useful.”

“He didn’t dare, the fact we’re quads would have drawn unwelcome attention. Anyway you were getting training from somewhere and he wanted to know where, Dan’s predicted affinity spread would be ob-” She broke off and clapped her hand to her head. “Oh, oh dear. I haven’t been thinking this through.”

“Thinking what through?” Lydia asked.

“Why did he pick you over me?” Andrew asked.

Karen gave Andrew a sideways look and another smirk. “I believe his exact words were ‘because he’s a gullible idiot’ when I asked him that.”  She looked away from the speechless Andrew and back at Lydia, who was making choking repressed laughter noises. “The dark rider, I think he’s Dan.”

Lydia stopped laughing and her head jerked up to stare at Karen. “Based on what?”

“His predicted affinity spread and the fact that he hasn’t been around as much as usual, among other things.”

“But how would he have got dragged into helping this Dragon Lord person?” Lydia asked.

“I have my suspicions about that as well,” Karen said. “I’ve been nursing them for some time.” She looked over at Valeria and Dariad. “It must have occurred to your majesties as well.”

Valeria pulled a face. “That I only know of one human who could control dragons that way? It did, I dismissed it.”

Dariad nodded. “I didn’t dismiss it, but it would leave the question of why. Given his unusual position he’s already got us by the throat if he wants.”

“Who?” Lydia asked.

“Matthias Morgan,” Karen said. “King Indirian’s heart friend.”

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Chapter Nine

Part Three

Valeria still felt exhausted when one of the attendants Dariad had assigned her gently shook her awake.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, your majesty,” the young daoine said. “Ignifer has woken up and is asking for you. His majesty says that she’s distraught.”

“Hmm?” Valeria blinked the sleep from her eyes. “Yes, she would be. Give me a few minutes to get ready. Wait in the main room.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Chapter Nine

Part Two

Mela lay in a large bath of spring water in the chambers which the Council had prepared for them. She ducked under the water for a few moments and then surfaced and looked at Daniel. He had removed his boots and was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. It was still dark outside, which probably explained why he seemed in no hurry to sleep.

“What do you think?” he said after a moment.

Ebona raised her head from where she was lying on a bed of bracken and made a thoughtful sound. Read the rest of this entry »

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Chapter Nine

Part One

The smell of some kind of spicy stew tickled Salia’s nose and drew her out of her slumber. Her stomach responded to the scent with an alarmingly loud rumble. She stared at the red quilt beneath her for a moment, and then sat up and looked around for the source. A small table and chair, just the right height for her, sat in the corner by a window. A strange lidded pot sat on it and the smell was coming from it.  It was warm to the touch, and when she lifted the lid she saw a rich, brown stew made with some kind of meat. Her stomach rumbled again as she picked up the spoon and prodded the lumps of meat suspiciously.

“It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Salia jumped and looked up. Lyrekka was standing behind her. How had she not sensed her? She wanted to ask, but all that came out was a squeak. Lyrekka obviously understood though.

“My hunger tends to disturb my charges, so I mask it,” she said. “Now be a good girl and eat up and then I’ll show you around.” She patted Salia’s head.

Salia gulped fearfully and prodded the stew again. When she made no actual attempt to start eating she heard Lyrekka sigh.

“It really isn’t poisoned, Salia. Why would we waste all that effort to get you here just to poison you?”

Salia shook her head. “It’s not that,” she managed finally.

Lyrekka gave her a puzzled frown and then shook her head. “Oh, I see! No, it’s not made with Trystilri flesh. It’s just venison.”

“Tryst-what?” Salia asked blankly.

“Oh, sorry. It isn’t Speaker Flesh. It’s from a non-speaker deer. You know, you’re the first one to actually worry about that. I think I’m going to like you.” She took the spoon from Salia’s hand, scooped up some of the stew and held it to her lips. “Now, be a good girl and eat up.”

Something brushed Salia’s mind gently and then the stew was in her mouth and she was chewing on a tender lump of venison. She didn’t want to like it but it really was very good.

“There you are, it’s not so bad is it?” Lyrekka placed the spoon back in her hand and ruffled her hair again.

“That’s not fair,” Salia said between mouthfuls. Try as she might she couldn’t stop eating.

“Fair would be letting you starve yourself?” Lyrekka said. “Gerian-mirian has given me responsibility for your welfare. If I let you starve yourself I’d be failing at my charge, and I think you’d appreciate being force-fed by me even less.”

Salia scowled at her gaoler but finished the stew in silence before finally looking around at her prison properly.

It didn’t really look much like a dungeon at all. In fact, it reminded her of her bedroom at home. Except it was furnished in red goblin silk and glossy dark wood rather than the light colours of home. There was even a collection of toys similar to hers.

A few things gave its true nature away, however. The thick bars on the windows and the fact there was no way to open them, for one. The heavy wooden door had no bolt on the inside and the lock looked like it would only work from the outside.

“Come on.” Lyrekka took Salia’s hand and drew her to her feet. “Let me give you a tour of your new home.” She pushed open one of the doors to reveal a bubbling, scented pool. “This is your bathroom. The water’s always warm and refreshes itself regularly.” She led her to a small alcove. “And this is the toilet.”

Salia peeked down the toilet hole and was disappointed to see that it led into a dark pit rather than outside and there were bars about two foot down it anyway. But then the hole looked too small for her to climb down anyway. Lyrekka gave a soft chuckle.

“Even if you could, you’d just land in a pile of stinking waste in the cellar,” she said. “Not very pleasant. Come on.” She ushered Salia out of the bathroom and opened the door to a huge walk-in wardrobe. It was full of goblin silk clothing in various styles, but all the same deep red colour as the furnishings and Lyrekka’s own gown. “As you can see, we have plenty of clothes for you.” She pulled a tunic and skirt from one of the hangers. “Yours are all torn up. You should change before I show you the rest of the wing.” She handed the clothing to Salia and clapped her hands. A red-eyed goblin whose ears and angular cheekbones suggested that she might be half-haltia appeared. “This is Makina; she’ll be your personal maid. Makina, help Salia get changed.”

Salia considered fighting but what would be the point? She let the goblin woman help her out of her ruined dress and into the clothing Lyrekka had picked for her. They were soft against her skin and fitted perfectly.

Once she was changed, Lyrekka took her hand again and led her out into the corridor.

“You’ll have the run of this wing during the day. At least when you aren’t having lessons.” she said. “Though the doors to the rest of the palace will remain locked unless you’re summoned. The others live in this wing as well, but they’ll both be busy at the moment, so I’ll introduce you later.”

Lessons sounded ominous when a dragon talked about them, Salia decided. Then she registered that Lyrekka kept talking about others.

“What others?” she asked.

“You aren’t the only one important to Gerian-mirian’s plan, you know?” Lyrekka said. “You’re the third Trys… third speaker child he’s placed in my care in the last few months. The other two should finish their lessons soon. Let me show you the garden next.”

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Chapter Eight

Part Ten

The door was opened by a slim, athletic, red-haired woman in the livery of a guard. She couldn’t be more than three and half foot tall. When she saw them she stepped back to admit them and bowed politely.

“Welcome back, warriors,” she said as she closed the door. She walked back towards her chair on one side of the door. “I-I wanted to apologise for my uncle’s action, and so will he once he is himself again. Thank you for trying to save my father.” She bowed a second time and sat down.

“Korrig was your father?” Lydia asked.

“Yes.” The dwarf woman nodded sadly.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Lydia said.

“Thank you. Uncle wouldn’t let me go to the trial because I didn’t believe you’d done it. The whole story seemed off somehow. But my uncle was utterly convinced they were true. The healers are still trying to unpick the inserted thoughts from his mind. He was more thoroughly worked over than most.”

“Most people recovered as soon as the perpetrators were banished,” Hreid said. “But Hardmar’s mind is a mess. They didn’t just push him or control him, they rewrote whole sections.”

“Which means they had more plans for him,” Lydia mused.

“Ye-” Hreid began then broke off as one of the doors creaked open and Alaryia emerged into the room.

“Welcome back.” She smiled warmly at them. “The Light Warrior is in here, but she’s finally sleeping. Please don’t disturb her.” Her smile turned to a frown as she looked at Lydia. “What have you been doing? You look exhausted.”

“I had to help someone out,” Lydia said. She walked slowly towards the chairs by the fireplace. “I need to sit down.”

“Here, let me help.” Alaryia put an arm around her waist and helped her to the nearest chair. As she sat her down she touched the bracelet Felaria had left Lydia with a fleeting fingertip. “How interesting,” she said so softly that Lydia was sure she was the only one who heard. Then she continued in her more normal voice. “Now what happened?”

Lydia sank back into the chair gratefully and told her about Ignifer.

“Good job,” Alaryia said when she finished. Then she tutted to herself and turned to Hreid. “But really Dariad should have told me about this. Several of my people could have helped.”

“What’s this ?” A golden skinned Haltia woman appeared in the same doorway Alaryia had entered from. Her yellow eyes were rimmed red as if she’d been weeping. She took in Lydia and Andrew and a strained smile appeared on her face. “Ah, you must be Karen’s brother and sister.”
“Your majesty.” Hreid bowed. “They are indeed. This is the Ice Warrior Andrew and the Flame Warrior Lydia.” He turned to them. “This is the Storm Queen Valeria.” He looked back at Valeria and added in a sly tone. “Lydia just saved Ignifer’s life.”

“She did?” Queen Valeria stared at Lydia for a moment before nodding to her. “You have my thanks, flame warrior.”

“You’re welcome.” Lydia looked back Alaryia. “Is Karen really okay?”

“Well, right now she’s very sick and I only just got through pulling the fragments of metal from her wound, but she will be. It was a close thing but they got her here in time.”

“Can we see her?” Andrew asked. He was studiously looking anywhere but at Valeria.

“Of course,” Alaryia said. “But as I said, she’s sleeping. Please don’t disturb her, she needs it to recover.”

“Of course we won’t.” Lydia started to rise but her legs still felt weak. Alaryia helped her to her feet.

“You need to sleep yourself,” Alaryia said. “Eating would help as well.”

“I’ll organise some food for them,” Hreid said.

“Ask my cook to prepare it for her,” Alaryia said. “She’s needs more than just meat.”

“That’s a good idea,” he agreed as he he left the room.

“Come on then.” Alaryia led them into the large bedchamber.

Karen lay in the bed with her eyes closed. She was deathly pale except for her cheeks which were flushed.

A haltia boy with pale skin, long gold hair and clear blue eyes sat by her holding her hand. He looked up when they entered.

“Hello,” he whispered. “You must be Karen’s siblings.”

“Yeah.” Lydia nodded to him as Alaryia helped her into another chair. “You must be Alban.”

“I am.” His eyes returned to Karen’s face for a moment, before he looked over at Valeria. “Are you okay, mother?” Valeria shook her head and he made a sympathetic sound. “I’m worried too , but I’m sure Sal’s alive. That dragon didn’t go to all this trouble in order to kill her.” He looked back that Karen. “I’m afraid it may be rather more serious than that.”

“I know.” She sank into a nearby chair. “That just makes it worse. My poor little moppet. She’ll be so scared.”

Lydia blinked at that. Moppet was such a human word and sounded different from the rest of the statement.

“What in the world is a moppet?” Hreid asked.

Valeria gave him a sad smile. “I have no idea, but it’s what Uncle Indirian’s heart friend used to call me and I like the way it sounds. I think it’s an endearment.”

“It is.” Lydia stopped as Karen murmered something and turned over in her sleep. “We’d better be quiet though. She needs her sleep.”

“Yes, and so do you.” Alaryia hauled Lydia to her feet. “You should have a nap yourself until your food is ready. Karen will be fine and I’ll wake you myself if there’s any change.” She looked over at Valeria. “You too, your majesty. You’ve had a very rough day, but pushing yourself this way won’t help.”

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