A Lair So Primal (The Last Dragorai Book 3)

by Zoey Ellis

  Elora lifted her head in understanding. “Oh, I didn’t realize I was potentially causing such significant problems for you all.”

  “You wouldn’t have known,” she said. “But you should know now that it’s best that you not distract us—you could be causing problems for us later on.”

  Elora nodded. “I understand.” She thought for a moment. “But what about you, as servants? When do you get time to talk to each other and… enjoy your time here?”

  “We don’t usually get time to check in with each other,” she admitted. “But we do enjoy our work.”

  Elora tried not to let the horror show on her face. So Marahl had been frank with her—there was no fun in this lair for the servants. They were expected to work hard and that was it. How could they survive like that? “What’s your name?”

  “Sarai,” she said.

  “I’m Elora.”

  “I know. We’ve been told about you.”

  Elora made a face. “You have?”

  Sarai nodded. “The stewards told us you may be around.”

  “Oh.” Most likely the stewards told them to ignore her. “Marahl said you were ignoring me because I wasn’t a member of staff. Is that true?”

  “At first, yes,” the girl said sheepishly. “No one wishes to anger our lord. It is easier if we don’t involve ourselves with people he dislikes. But now that you are staying, that’s not a concern anymore. We just want to get on with our duties.”

  Elora nodded. “I am not trying to get in anyone’s way. I just want to be helpful.”

  Sarai glanced at the molds. “You have been.”

  “So what now?” Elora asked.

  “We have to wait for the wax to cool.” Sarai looked around the room and then back at Elora. “Do you want to have an early lunch?”

  Elora wasn’t particularly hungry since she had her breakfast late, but she was pleased at the invitation and grinned at Sarai. “I’d love to.”

  After collecting their plates from Boe, they made their way to the next corridor to a small hall that had a number of large tables and benches. Sarai led Elora to the nearest one and sat down, then gestured to the other bench. They were the only ones there.

  During lunch, she learned that Sarai had been in the lair for over fifteen years and had come from the North Cities as well. The stewards had recruited her and her brother when they were children to be runners when they needed supplies to get up to the top of the mountain quickly. She loved serving Zendyor and didn’t see him as anything but a dragorai, but she’d hardly spoken to him.

  They spent a few hours talking before returning to the candle-making room where the wax had cooled in the molds. Elora helped Sarai press them out and cut the wicks to the correct length. They filled the tables with the candles and Elora helped her carry them over to the nearby storage room and place them on the empty shelves. As they placed the last set of candles on the shelf, a sense of pride bloomed in Elora that she had helped.

  Sarai glanced at the window. “I can’t believe it’s still light out. I have the rest of the day free, and I’m not sure what to do with myself.”

  “Why don’t you go and visit your brother?” Elora suggested.

  “I don’t want to distract him from his work,” she said, shaking her head. “Just because I have some spare time, doesn’t mean I should interrupt him. And his work is too difficult for us to help.”

  Elora nodded. “How about a game of Dao?”

  “Dao?”

  “Have you never played it before?”

  Sarai shook her head.

  “Then you’ve got some fun heading your way for the rest of the day,” Elora grinned. She beckoned Sarai to follow and led her out of the room toward her private quarters. “It’s a very addictive game, you’ll love it.”

  It wasn’t until Sarai hurried out of the room to head to her own quarters late in the evening, that Elora realized that she hadn’t been summoned by Zendyor.

  Hours had flown by while she played Dao with Sarai and it had been so much fun, but the skies were already dark. Normally, Zendyor would have summoned her by now.

  She went to the washroom, a strange feeling kindling in her stomach, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She got herself ready for bed keeping her eye on the door in case Marahl entered, but as time wore on, it didn’t look like she was going to be summoned for the evening.

  Elora lay in bed trying to determine how she felt about Zendyor not summoning her. There was no doubt she had gotten used to her evenings with him—maybe it would be good to be separated for a while. But did that mean her debt was paid? She’d have to ask tomorrow.

  It had been at least a week of waking up in bed with her pillows propped up around her, creating a nest of sorts. She sighed and began the process herself so she could sleep comfortably.

  Unfortunately falling asleep in her own bed was proving more difficult than she thought. After a few hours of tossing and turning and craving a solid, heated weight on top of her, she got up, cursing in frustration. Wrapping robes around her, she headed to the only place she knew she’d be welcome.

  “Elora,” Boe greeted in surprise. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

  Elora rubbed her eyes and stared at the bubbling pots on the stove. “I thought the kitchen would be closed.”

  “I want to make sure that if our lord needs a meal, especially now, it is ready and prepared for him,” Boe explained.

  “What do you mean ‘especially now’?” Elora asked.

  Boe shrugged. “You know what the dragorai are like. They can be unpredictable and want what they want. I’ve learned that our lord doesn’t always like standard meal times. What can I get you?”

  “Nothing really.” Elora sighed. “I just came down to have something to do. I can’t sleep.”

  “I know the perfect thing.” Boe grinned. He got busy preparing something on the stove.

  “Is Marahl around?” Elora asked.

  “She can be up late, too, but she’ll probably be sleeping by now,” Boe said. “But one of the other stewards should be available.” He glanced at her. “Do you want me to get one of them for you?”

  Elora shook her head. “No need. I just have questions.”

  “For difficult questions, Marahl is the one to ask.” Boe handed her a mug. “Here.”

  The mug was filled with a warm frothy drink, creamy with an earthy spice and a hint of sweetness.

  “This is delicious.” Elora moaned.

  Boe winked. “I know. Take it back to your room and it will get you right asleep.”

  The next morning, Elora woke early, rested but a little disturbed. She sat up in bed wondering if something had happened. Boe suggested that Zendyor was changeable. Did that mean he changed his mind about having her pay off her debt too?

  A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in.”

  Marahl stepped in and closed the door behind her. “You’re awake.” She approached Elora’s bed “Boe said you were looking for me. Is everything all right?”

  “I just wanted to ask why… I wasn’t summoned yesterday,” Elora said. “I wondered, um, if something was wrong, or if… if my debt has been paid now.”

  Marahl shook her head. “Our lord’s schedule has changed. He will be here different times over the next few weeks, and it will be unpredictable.”

  “What does that mean for me?” Elora asked. “Did he give you a role for me to do?”

  “No,” Marahl said. “Unfortunately he did not. I assume he will continue to have you pay off your debt whenever he is here.”

  Elora exhaled annoyance. “Can you not give me duties anyway?”

  “No,” she said. “I do not do things without the permission of our lord.”

  Elora thought for a moment. “Does he have any kon’aya here?”

  “Of course.”

  Elora’s breath caught in her throat. She’d asked before, but didn’t remember Marahl’s answer. If he had other women whom he bedded
, or even others to draw his attention, then it might take her longer to pay off her debt, but that wasn’t her only concern.… A strange feeling twisted in her stomach. “How many?”

  “One.”

  Elora frowned. “One?”

  Marahl smiled. “It’s very different from what I saw of Nyro’s lair at the ordination of his mate.”

  Elora nodded glumly. “There were lots of us.” She thought for a moment. “Surely the brothers would have the same… appetite? Why would our lord not have more than one kon’aya?”

  “They do all have similar appetites,” Marahl said. “But it manifests in different ways.” She headed to the door. “You should get up before it gets too late.”

  The next few days followed a similar pattern. Elora went to the candle room to help Sarai make the candles. Once they’d used up all the allocated wax for that day and filled the shelves in the storage room, they headed for lunch. Elora spent her evenings playing Dao with Sarai and reading her book until one morning, as she and Sarai turned a corner on the way to her quarters, they saw a man dragging a huge barrel into one of the rooms.

  Heaving and pushing, Elora and Sarai, helped him to push the barrel into the room, then he gestured to them to help him put it in the corner.

  Afterward, he stood back and observed them. Elora couldn’t guess his age, but his toned arms suggested his work was mostly physical. “Sarai,” he said nodding at her in thanks and then gave Elora a similar nod of thanks.

  “Pelles,” Sarai replied.

  Pelles moved over to the other side of the room and began busying himself with his duties. Elora watched him for a long moment, trying to figure out what his task was. It didn’t take her long. Before him were racks, paddles, a barrel of water, soaps and a huge pile of clothing and fabrics.

  Elora and Sarai looked at each other and then both went over to join him.

  They worked steadily for a few hours until the pile of clothing had diminished. Then they carried the wet clothing to an adjoining room that was warmed with dry heat. Squeezing as much water out of the fabric as they could, they laid them out to dry on the various racks and shelves in the room.

  “Pelles,” the man said to Elora, as they headed back to the first room.

  “Elora,” Elora said, dipping her head.

  “I know,” he said. “Thank you for helping. That would have taken me all day.”

  Elora smiled at him. “Is there anything else we can do?”

  Pelles glanced at the remaining clothes. “I’d need to get fresh water to continue, so normally I would have had to do these tomorrow.”

  “Let’s see if there’s anyone else we can help instead,” Sarai suggested.

  They traveled to the other station rooms, as Pelles and Sarai referred to them, where other servants were carrying out their duties and they found new people to assist. By lunchtime, eight of the servants had finished their work for the day, and they all sat down in the hall to have their lunch together.

  A hum of contentment nestled in Elora’s stomach as she watched the servants socializing, talking, laughing, and teasing each other as they shared their meal. Excitement sparkled in their eyes, something she hadn’t seen when she was walking around the lair before. For the first time, true hope filled her that a special community could develop here which she could be part of.

  Sarai caught her eye and grinned. “This is really nice,” she said smiling. “Thank you.”

  “Yes,” another woman called Cyndra added. “I didn’t think I’d ever have the chance to have a meal with everyone anytime soon. It’s so nice to finish my duties early.”

  “It is a relief,” Pelles admitted. “Usually I’m so worried about not finishing my work on time.”

  The others nodded.

  “You all have such significant duties,” Elora said. “And you work so hard. Is there no time when you can just relax and have fun?”

  “We don’t see it like that,” an older man named Askel said to her. “We came here with the expectation that we were going to work for the dragorai, and that we would be kept safe and well fed, and he and the stewards have upheld their promises. We were never promised fun or time to relax.”

  “I’m sure your other lair was different,” Pelles commented, “but it is not surprising that the lair reflects the dragorai to whom it belongs. Our lord is very serious, dedicated, and hard-working. I admire that about him.”

  The others nodded in agreement. “I never fear that we will be in danger here,” one of the other women said. “And even if we ever were, I know our lord would do everything he could to protect us.”

  The others nodded as Elora reflected on what they said. “So do you think that Master Nyro is less serious?”

  Cyndra twisted her mouth to one side as she thought. “I’m not sure that is completely accurate,” she said. “But when I look at Zendyor’s history, and the things that he tried to do for his clan and his kind, there isn’t any other dragorai brother who was as impactful or as passionate as he was. That’s not to say they didn’t all contribute in their own way, but our lord would have died for what he believed in. And I think I prefer being in his lair, no matter how much hard work it involves.”

  The other servants nodded and murmured their agreement.

  Elora spooned her soup into her mouth, falling into deep thought as the conversation moved on. The book she’d been reading about Zendyor’s history contained different kinds of stories. Some of them were humorous, others framed to teach a lesson, while others were more serious. But now that she thought about it, there was a lot of focus about his attempts to uphold the status of his clan. She sat back in her chair and recalled the stories she’d read so far. In fact, every single one was about him trying to hold to account anyone who interfered with the rules of his clan and protecting his kind. There were no accounts of deeds that were solely about his desires or needs, like some of the other dragorai brothers. All of his stories were based upon upholding or protecting the Vattoro clan and the dragorai race.

  “How are you finding the differences between the lairs,” Cyndra asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  Elora lifted a shoulder. “It is different,” she admitted. “It was hard here at first. I didn’t realize how strict our lord was. And I was very upset to learn that I wouldn’t be treated like a member of the lair by the rest of you unless I was given a role. It felt cold and unfriendly.” She glanced at Sarai. “But I’ve since realized that the culture is just different here and the way in which you work is different as are the things you believe. I now realize that your response to me wasn’t intentional.”

  Pelles leaned forward. “It absolutely wasn’t intentional,” he insisted. “But it does help that you are still here. The longer you are here, the more likely it is that you will get a role, and the fact that you’ve helped us with our duties means you’re already part of the staff, really.”

  “I’m definitely grateful that you are here,” Askel chimed in.

  Elora smiled at them both.

  “What do you mean that we believe in different things?” Askel asked her.

  Elora shrugged. “You all focus exclusively on work here. It is more important to you than anything else. And that’s perfectly fine. But… it’s lonely.”

  The table fell silent.

  “In the other lair we spent more time together,” she continued. “And we learned about each other the more we did. We created close friendships, and that made it special, that’s all.”

  A quieter woman whose name Elora couldn’t remember, spoke up. “Where are you from, Elora?”

  “The North Cities.”

  “And you were with a faction you could trust?”

  Elora nodded.

  “Many of us weren’t,” the woman pointed out. “It’s not natural for us to lean toward a community. If nothing, the factions of the North have taught me that a mix of the wrong people can be worse than isolation. It’s the stewards in each lair who would decide what is best for the staff in it, a
nd this has been best for us.” She paused. “I’m sure Nyro’s lair had a method of getting rid of people who upset your community?”

  “Yes,” Elora admitted. Though she didn’t add that the method wasn’t particularly nice.

  “That is more frightful to me,” the woman said. “That if I don’t fit in, they will get rid of me.”

  Elora chewed her lip in thought. She hadn’t thought about it like that.

  “But we can create a community of sorts, on our own terms,” Sarai pointed out. “Like helping each other the way we did today.”

  “Yes, but when Elora does get a role, she won’t be free to assist us with our duties,” Cyndra said.

  “No,” Sarai agreed. “But until then we can all benefit, can’t we?”

  Everyone around the table smiled at each other in silent agreement, and relief and gratitude beamed through Elora.

  “We have to play Dao this afternoon,” Sarai said excitedly. “Elora will teach you how. It’s so good! I’ve only managed to come close to beating her once.”

  Pelles’s face lit up. “I’ve heard of it. Let’s play. I’ll bring those chairs over and we can make a space.”

  Elora grinned and got up to fetch her Dao table and set.

  They were in the middle of a game when the thuds and trembles started again. The mountain shook, pounding thumps echoing throughout the entire lair.

  The figurines on the Dao board toppled and rolled off. Several servants walking through the hall staggered and gripped onto the nearest table. A couple of the servants, who were standing around the Dao board table, fell—Askel cried out as his knee struck the hard floor. Elora tried to find anything she could hold onto so she could remain as stable as possible.

  After a long moment, the shuddering stopped and Elora exhaled heavily as she surveyed the hall. Plates had been broken, tables had shifted, and some people were still on the floor, but there didn’t seem to be any serious injuries.