by Bianca D’Arc
The discussion then ranged from damage to each specific town and possible locations where, it was speculated, that the pirates were hiding out between raids. Genlitha was called upon to offer her skyborn perspective as soon as she arrived, a few minutes after Gowan. She’d had to pause for much-needed water on her way in, after the long flight. She stood behind him now, backing him up and providing her own testimony about what they’d observed.
They’d been in more than a few battles since leaving Gryphon Isle, and both were a bit worse for wear. Gowan had a bandage under his jerkin covering an arrow wound in the fleshy part of his arm. It hurt like the dickens, but it was nothing compared to some of the injuries his friends and fellow knights had received over the past few days.
And the dragons… Those pirates still had a few stashes of diamond-tipped weapons, and they used them to inflict terrible damage on the dragons. Several had been grounded with bad wing injuries that would take time to heal, and one had been hit very close to his heart. His life had been spared by mere inches, and he was grounded, as well, for the foreseeable future.
Genlitha had only a few bruises and one scratch where a metal blade had encountered a soft spot along one of her joints. She would heal in time and could still fly and fight, unlike others who hadn’t been so lucky.
When Gryffid was satisfied with their reports, he stood and gathered the scrolls to his chest. “You will stay the night, of course. There is a storm coming in from the West, and nobody will be flying tonight. Or sailing, for that matter. Take your rest and use this time to recover and rebuild, for I fear you will not have an easy road when you return to the mainland.”
With that troubling bit of advice, the wizard swept from the room, and Gowan was free to seek his friends. Or rather, have them seek him. Gryffid hadn’t been gone more than a few seconds when Livia launched herself into Gowan’s arms.
Gowan smiled at her uninhibited show of welcome. They were free here in ways that they would never be at home, and he vowed to enjoy it while he could.
He kissed her deeply, so glad to have her in his arms once more. He’d missed her greatly while they’d been away, but it couldn’t have been helped. Oddly, knowing Seth was here with her, looking after Livia, made Gowan feel better about the situation, not worse. With any other woman or any other situation, he probably would have been jealous of the other man, but in this particular case—something so different from anything Gowan had ever been part of before—it was reassuring to know she was safe and had Seth to look after her.
Still, it was good to see that her affection for Gowan hadn’t diminished in their time apart. Livia’s greeting and her response to his kiss was all he could have hoped for. Thinking of her had kept him going on the long journey here. They’d come straight from a battle, with no time to stop or rest or prepare. The matter had been too urgent and the orders immediate.
Sir Mace had apologized for the haste with which Gowan and Genlitha had been dispatched on this errand, but everyone knew the situation on the coast was becoming dire. They needed all the dragons and knights they could muster, and with the fighting intensifying up North, there were no forces to be spared to send South. The Southern Lair was on its own in defending the coast. They would have to find some way to stop the violence and threat from the sea, or if not stop it completely, then at least hold it at bay more successfully.
Livia drew back, away from Gowan, giving him a thorough inspection. Her lovely brows drew together in a frown.
“You’re hurt,” she observed, scowling in concern. Even her scowl was cute, Gowan thought. “And so is Genlitha. What happened to you two?”
“And is there anything I can do to ease your injuries?” Seth piped up from just behind Livia.
He’d approached without Gowan realizing it. Livia had wiped all sense of watchfulness from him. An enemy horde could have stomped through the great hall while she kissed him and he wouldn’t have noticed. Some warrior he was, to be distracted by a beautiful woman. Then again, Livia wasn’t just any woman.
She was the woman he’d obsessed over since they first met. She was the woman he hoped would be part of his life for many years to come. Forever, if at all possible.
“Gen has a scratch in her knee joint that I’d like you to look at,” Gowan answered at once. Getting skilled help for his dragon partner was high on his list of priorities, and nobody was more skilled in dragon care on this island than Seth.
“He should see to your arrow wound first,” came an exasperated female voice in all of their minds. Genlitha. Caring for her knight partner as he tried to care for her.
“Arrow wound?” Livia almost shouted, then started inspecting him much more closely, going so far as to pat his shoulders cautiously, possibly looking for bandages. “Where were you hit?”
She seemed so worried he answered just to console her. “Just a flesh wound in the arm. Nothing too serious. It is wrapped. But we didn’t have time to treat Gen before we had to leave. Check her first, Seth. Please?”
“Spoken like a true dragon knight. Always putting your partner first,” Seth muttered. “Tell you what. I’ll see to Genlitha, and we can get one of the fey healers to take a look at you.” Seth nodded over at one of the fair folk. “Have you met Master Lothar?” Seth asked as a young fey man came over.
The introductions were made while Livia helped peel off Gowan’s coat and jerkin. His shirt covered the blood-soaked bandage that had been hastily wrapped around the upper part of his arm. Master Lothar summoned a few of the very efficient servants that always seemed to be hovering in the background of the great hall and asked them to bring a basin of warm water.
Gowan didn’t pay much attention after that because Seth was working on Genlitha. Gowan watched as he examined her wounds. But then, a strange thing occurred.
Livia washed Gowan’s arm, wiping off the blood. Gowan expected Lothar to apply some sort of medicine and rewrap the wound, but he didn’t. Instead, he bent close to examine the hole in Gowan’s arm, then simply reached out one finger and drew a circle around the circumference of the small hole where the arrow had entered.
A little zap of tingling energy, and Gowan was astounded to see the hole close as if it had never been. Just like that.
“You are a mage healer?” Gowan asked, looking at Lothar and really seeing him for the first time.
He was as handsome as all the fey and still had the playful glint in his eyes that Gowan took to be any indication of youth. It was hard to tell, with fey, exactly how old any of them were, but Gowan had begun to notice something in their eyes. The older ones had a different expression—one that indicated how much they had seen over the centuries. The younger ones had more human-like eyes. They saw the world differently than their elders. Probably because they hadn’t seen or experienced as much as the truly ancient fair folk.
Lothar was one of the ones Gowan thought of as younger, yet he had just displayed an amazing power. Mage healers were the stuff of legend. Gowan had heard about them. There were stories handed down in his family about the mage healers of old, but he never thought he would actually meet one, much less be treated by a being of such power.
And this Lothar seemed to take what he’d just done in stride. There was no sign of weakness. No display of symptoms that might require him to take a break or sit down after using his healing talent. The sheer magnitude of his abilities impressed Gowan greatly.
“I’m what we call a contact healer,” Lothar said quietly in response to Gowan’s question.
He kept working, putting both hands around Gowan’s arm where the hole had been and shutting his eyes. Gowan felt that little tingle again, but this time, it went deep into his arm, where the arrow had gone through.
“I have to touch someone in order to heal them. It is a drawback, at times, but such is the way of my particular talent,” Lothar went on, releasing Gowan’s arm. “There. All better.”
“And it does not weaken you?” Gowan blurted, his words unguarded, and perhaps a little
rude. “I apologize. I mean no insult. It’s just…” Gowan tried to think of how to explain his surprise and his borderline objectionable questioning of Lothar’s help. “There are stories in my family about mage healers. In them, it is said the expenditure of magic to heal even a small wound is very great and depletes the healer considerably. Yet, you seem fine. Is it because you are fey?”
Lothar met Gowan’s gaze and tilted his head, as if considering. “That is likely part of it, but you’re not far wrong in thinking that many of my contact healer brethren do not have the reserves available to me. I don’t know why.” Lothar shrugged his elegant shoulders. “I was just born this way. All of my family are overachievers, as you humans would call them.” Lothar smiled, as if sharing a joke.
“Lothar is an Eliadnae,” Livia said as if that would explain everything. Seeing Gowan’s continued confusion, she elaborated. “His sister is Captain Lilith. His brother is Liam, the diplomat. From what they have told me, the Eliadnae family is full of strength, skill, magic and ability stretching far back into history. They’re among the elite here on Gryphon Isle.”
Gowan regarded Lothar once again. “I can certainly see why. Thank you for expending your talent on me. I am very grateful.”
Lothar waved away Gowan’s thanks. “Think nothing of it. I am happy to help.” Lothar washed his hands in the basin of clean water offered by one of the servants. “But tell me, Sir Gowan, where are your people from that they have stories of my kind of healer? Contact healers are rare, even here.”
“My ancestral home is in the North of Draconia, bordered on one side by the River Arundelle, which as you know, marks the Northern border of our land. But I left home at a young age, just after the loss of my father. I am the youngest, and there was no room for me at the keep once my brother inherited.”
“Ah,” Lothar said, shaking his head. “A sad tale, and not an uncommon one, I’m very much afraid. When questions of inheritance come into play, I understand family fealty sometimes goes out the window.” Lothar had compassionate eyes, Gowan thought, surprised by his own observation. “Where did these mage healers come from in your stories?” Lothar asked, surprising Gowan.
“Always from the North, now that I think about it,” Gowan admitted. “From across the river and up into the ice fields, or so the stories claim.”
Lothar’s gaze sharpened. “There are tales among our folk of enclaves in the far North. It might be possible that your healers came from there. Perhaps they were fey.” Lothar tilted his head. “Or not. They might just as easily have come from one of the human healing schools. I hear the Temple healers are reputed to have advanced abilities. Some of them might have magic or innate healing energy within them. It has been known to crop up in humans from time to time.”
“The High Temple of the Lady of Light,” Livia said quietly, jumping back into the conversation. “One of their journeyman healers came through Dragonscove a few years ago. A woman named Silla, who came to town with only a horse, but left with a cart as well, in which she sheltered a growing collection of potted plants. She would give small plants of beneficial nature to those she treated. If they needed the herb, it was free. If others merely wanted a particular plant to have in their home, Silla would trade for it, or give it free, depending on the circumstances and the situation of the people involved. I traded her a traveling cloak for a small burn jelly plant which has since grown and multiplied. I brought most of the seedlings to the office and gave them to our employees, so almost everyone could have one of those healing plants in their kitchen, in case of minor burns.”
“That was very well done, milady,” Lothar nodded at her, smiling. “Such herbs, applied in time, can save a lot of suffering. Every household should have one.”
“That was the idea. They don’t grow wild in our climate, but inside a home, especially in a room like a kitchen where the temperature never falls below freezing, they can be cultivated and even thrive. My original plant is still doing very well and is quite large now. I take the offshoots every spring and put them in small pots to hand out to anyone who wants one. They usually go fast.”
While Gowan was interested in Livia’s charitable works, she was chattering on in a way that was unlike her normal calm. Gowan wondered if something was wrong. He tried to catch her eye, but she avoided meeting his gaze, which troubled him.
“I will take my leave of you now,” Lothar said, bowing slightly.
“Thank you again for your assistance,” Gowan said, feeling very grateful that such a powerful healer had taken time and energy to help him. This was an encounter he would remember for the rest of his life. It was a rare thing to have your childhood stories come to life.
Lothar smiled. “I was happy to help. Perhaps we shall meet again under more pleasant circumstances while you are on the island.”
“I hope so,” Gowan agreed amiably.
Lothar took his leave and left Gowan standing with Livia. She made to move closer to where Seth was still treating Genlitha, but Gowan caught her arm gently, turning her to face him.
“Sweet Livia, what’s wrong?” he whispered, hoping she would just tell him.
Livia finally raised her face to his and he saw the raw emotion in her eyes. Tears pooled, just behind her bright gaze, held back by force of will. Gowan didn’t care who was looking or where they were, he tugged her gently into his arms and just held her, rubbing his hands up and down her back.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. Whatever has you upset will be all right. I promise.”
Livia shook in his arms, and he felt the wetness of her tears against the shirt he’d put back on after Lothar was done. The rest of his upper clothing still lay in a heap on the floor.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t like seeing you hurt. Both of you. Genlitha too.” Livia hiccupped as she whispered against his chest.
“Oh, sweetheart, is that was has you upset? We’re all right. Both of us were only scratched. We’ll be fine,” he tried to reassure her, but she drew back and pounded one of her little fists against his uninjured shoulder.
“But you could have been killed! I might never have seen you again!” Her anger was a mask for fear, he knew. He could do nothing other than take her back into his arms, holding her tight.
“I’m sorry, Livia,” he crooned softly near her ear. “We didn’t mean to worry you so. And I promise you, Genlitha and I never take unnecessary chances. We don’t want to be hurt either, so we try to avoid that sort of thing as a general rule.” He hoped to get a chuckle from her, or at least a smile, but she was still too upset.
Livia clung to him, and he only then realized that quite a few of those left in the great hall were watching them. Gowan realized their embrace might be considered inappropriate for such a public place, but surely, these people understood the situation. Or perhaps…
Gowan realized many of those watching were splitting their attention between him and Seth. Maybe the inhabitants of Gryphon Isle were unfamiliar with, or maybe fascinated by, the somewhat unconventional triad relationship that had become surprisingly comfortable between the three of them.
Whatever the cause of their curiosity, Gowan didn’t mind for himself, but he didn’t appreciate what such scrutiny might mean to Livia. Would she be uncomfortable? Would she be scandalized? Or even embarrassed? He didn’t want her to feel any of those things. Not because of him, or Seth.
Gowan turned her in his arms and steadied her for a moment before heading over to check on Genlitha. The last time they spent as the center of attention, the better. Luckily, Livia seemed to be gathering her emotions and getting them back under control. By the time they stood next to Seth, she was much better.
“How is she?” Gowan asked Seth quietly when they were close enough.
Seth looked up from where he was applying salve to Genlitha’s wounds. He looked confidant and calm, which reassured Gowan.
“She’ll be good as new in a trice,” Seth said, aiming his words both at Gowan and Livia, as well as upward toward G
enlitha’s head, positioned above them. “We’ll just put a little balm here and there to help speed the healing. Most of this is shallow, praise the Lady,” Seth went on, pointing to the initial spot where the diamond blade had glanced off Gen’s hide. “This spot here is a little deeper, but it should respond well to treatment. In a day or two, it shouldn’t hurt at all. But even now, positioned as it is, this should not interfere with Lady Genlitha’s flying. You didn’t notice it on the way over, isn’t that right, milady?” Seth directed his question upward.
“No, I did not,” Genlitha answered in their minds. “As you say, it doesn’t interfere with flying at all.”
“That’s great news,” Livia offered, giving Genlitha a shaky smile that got steadier the longer it held.
“I will be ready to fly back tomorrow,” Genlitha assured them, and Gowan noticed Livia’s expression fall.
CHAPTER SIX
“You have to go back so soon?” she asked quietly, turning to him.
“You know we do,” Gowan answered softly. “There’s chaos up and down the coast. Every dragon-knight pair is needed now that we’re actually fighting in support of the coastal communities.”
“What happened to the former leaders?” Seth asked, coming closer while wiping his hands on a rag.
“Recovered from their ordeal, but in disgrace,” Gowan told them on a sigh. “They’re still very weak from the evil magic that was done to them. The dragons can’t fly for any great distance, and they definitely cannot participate in the fighting. They and their knights had been walking around the town on a sort of foot patrol recommended by Healer Bronwyn. It strengthens them, and they get a little better each day. Their presence also helps reassure the townsfolk that we from the Lair are actually doing something now to protect the village.”
