Hidden Dragons (13 page)

Bear smiled brightly at her. Apparently she’d
said the right thing. He left the bedroom with one last look for
her and then she heard him opening the massive wooden doors and the
swish of sand as Lady Tildeth left her wallow. The big doors closed
behind them and Isabelle flopped down on the bed when she realized
she was alone.

Then she bounced right back up after realizing
she was sore. Really sore. The hot bath Tilly had promised sounded
really good right about now, and the water wasn’t going to get any
hotter. Isabelle crawled out of bed, only then realizing the white
linens had been smeared with blood. Her blood.

Hands on hips, Isabelle decided to deal with
one thing at a time. First order of business was the bath. Then she
would see about changing the sheets.

Lady Silla came to get her for breakfast a few
hours later, after she’d had that lovely bath in a sunken tub that
was more like a small pool. It had steps down into it and it was
lined with mosaic tiles in a beautiful pattern of twining dragons
in flight. It was more a work of art than a bathing tub.

It was as pretty as it was luxurious. And Tilly
had left the water nice and hot for Isabelle. That, plus the bath
salts Bear must have mixed into the water, went a long way toward
soothing her sore muscles, though the ache between her thighs
reminded her of what they had done only a few hours
before.

She had spent a long time in the bath, during
which the sun had risen and natural light filtered down into the
suite through dozens of small ventilation shafts. Having the
dragons in here meant there was a need to vent their scented smoke,
and the shafts seemed to do that while also allowing daylight to
enter the heart of almost every chamber in the suite.

Isabelle had gone exploring, finding a few
storage areas—one for what looked like spare bits of armor and tack
for the dragons, one that held cleaning supplies, including several
brooms, and one that had clothes in need of repair as well as a
stack of clean sheets and towels. She took a fresh set of sheets
and made up Bear’s bed, leaving the stained ones to soak in a small
tub she had found in the linen chamber and brought into the bathing
room. She filled it with cold water from the ingenious tap system
along the far wall, and dipped the stained parts of the sheet in to
soak.

She was just starting to search through the
small kitchen chamber for anything she could put together for
breakfast when a knock sounded on the massive doors. A moment
later, she found herself in Silla’s company, being whisked through
the massive corridors toward a great hall.

Silla told her how the great hall was used for
assembling the entire Lair when events were held, but otherwise it
served as a communal dining hall that served breakfast, lunch,
dinner and snacks for those on odd rotations. Silla told her—and
she could still hardly believe it—that Isabelle was welcome to
replenish the small kitchen in the suite with any of the many foods
found in the great hall. All she had to do was ask one of the
people running the buffet and a basket would be packed for her to
take back to her suite.

They were halfway through a delicious breakfast
of eggs and fresh fruit when Robert walked in. Seeing him, she rose
to her feet almost unconsciously and he started toward her. She
found herself moving too and they met in the aisle, coming together
in a huge hug of welcome.

“
I’m so relieved to see you,” she
blurted out. His leathers were still cold from the outdoors. He had
to have come directly here, looking for her, after he landed. She
stepped back, realizing everybody was looking at them. “Is Sir
Growloranth well?”

Robert let her go, a slight grin on his face.
“Growly’s fine. How are you settling in, sweetheart? Do you like it
here?”

He seemed truly concerned for her comfort,
which touched her deeply. “It’s amazing here,” she answered
candidly. “Lady Silla has been all that is kind.” She motioned back
to the table where she had been sitting with the other woman. Silla
was smiling at them and waved at Robert in greeting.

He escorted Isabelle back to the table. “Thank
you, Lady Silla, for helping Isabelle learn where things are,” he
said formally. Silla waived away his thanks with a
smile.

“
It is my pleasure. Your lady was
very helpful to me, helping prepare the medicines we may need for
the coming difficulties.”

Robert’s expression turned into a pensive
frown. “My apologies, ladies, I need to make my report, but I think
Isabelle should come with me. She needs to hear what I’ve learned
and she also needs to help explain her village to our leaders. Can
you do that, Isabelle?” He reached for her hand, looking deep into
her eyes.

When he looked at her like that, she could deny
him nothing. And truly, she wanted to help these knights. She
wanted to help, in whatever small way she could, to defend
Draconia, her adopted homeland. Even though she was nervous about
meeting important people, she would gather her courage and do what
she could. She nodded at Robert.

“
Whatever I can do to help, I
will.” Robert’s smile broadened and he squeezed her
hands.

“
Great. Let’s go before they send
the dragons after me. So far, Growloranth’s been holding them off,
but they’re going to be huffy that I made them wait.” He dipped his
head and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I just had to see my
lady first. The rest of the world can wait a few minutes, can’t
they?”

A dragon trumpeted near the door, drawing his
attention.

“
Hmm,” he muttered. “Apparently
not. Let’s go.”

He led her by the hand out of the great hall,
amused glances following their every move. They left the great hall
and ran straight into Growloranth and another dragon who was
tapping his foreleg in a clear show of impatience. Isabelle had to
fight not to grin. For such magnificent creatures, it was kind of
funny to see them imitating such an altogether human
action.

“
It is good to see you again, Sir
Growloranth,” Isabelle said, remembering her manners and bowing to
the male dragon she knew.

Growloranth nodded his massive head
and made the introductions.
“This
impatient youngster is Kelvan, partner to Sir Gareth, mate to
Princess Belora,”
he said into their
minds.

Princess? That word gave her pause. This dragon
was kin to powerful folk. Isabelle bowed, giving him all due
respect. “It is an honor to meet you, Sir Kelvan.”

The blue-green dragon cocked his head, as if he
was surprised to be addressed by name. Had she made a mistake? She
fidgeted as she straightened, nervous.

“
Then you do hear us when we
speak.”
Sir Kelvan asked, moving close to
peer into her eyes.

“
Yes, sir. I do,”
she answered in kind, since his objection seemed
to be over the extent of her abilities to hear and speak
mind-to-mind. His great head jerked back and a tendril of startled
smoke rose from his snout.

The younger dragon seemed to
backtrack.
“You are most welcome in the
Lair, Lady Isabelle. Sir Growloranth has spoken well of you. I hope
you will not mind speaking with our council. There is much to
discuss and little time to delay.”

The younger dragon was back to being impatient
again and Isabelle merely followed behind when he turned to walk
quickly in a direction she had not gone before. They were moving up
the mountain, if the slope of the corridor they were in was
anything to go by. Up they went, Robert and Growloranth at her side
while the impatient Kelvan led the way, until finally they arrived
at a massive chamber near the top of the mountain that already held
three other dragons and several sets of knights. And surprisingly,
at least two other women.

Robert walked with her to a central table
around which the humans stood. They began to take their seats when
Robert and Isabelle arrived and the dragons arranged themselves
around the sides of the big chamber.

“
Isabelle, this is General Jared,
his fighting partner, Lord Darian, their mate, Princess Adora and
their dragon partners, Lady Kelzy and Sir Sandor.” Isabelle
scrambled to keep the names and faces straight. Kelzy was the same
blue-green as the impatient male dragon who had escorted him, while
her mate was a dark bronze-brown. The two men were older, as was
their lady—the princess. Lord Darian was handsome in a rakish sort
of way, and the General had a long scar down one cheek. They would
be easy to remember.

She nodded politely, curtseying as her mother
had taught her, to all the humans, and bowing to the dragons.
Robert then turned her attention to the younger
grouping.

“
You’ve already met Sir Kelvan. He
partners Sir Gareth and is Lady Kelzy and Sir Sandor’s son, as you
probably can see from the resemblance. He is mated to the lovely
Lady Rohtina, who partners Sir Lars, and his mate is the Princess
Belora, who is Princess Adora’s youngest daughter.”

It was confusing to follow, but Isabelle sorted
out the knights by matching them to their dragons and the princess
was a younger version of her mother. Both women were very beautiful
and had kind expressions on their faces. Isabelle greeted them all
with due respect.

“
The other knights are Sir
Broderick and Sir Geoff, mated to your new friend, Lady Silla.
Their dragons are acting as go-betweens for the Dragon Council
which is being held above, on the summit of the mountain, which is
why they are not here with us. Everyone in this chamber and in the
Dragon Council will hear what transpires here this
morning.”

Isabelle nodded to the two knights and tried to
picture them with Silla. It seemed Silla had found two very
handsome men to be her life partners.

The idea that all the dragons above—however
many were part of their council—and everyone here would possibly be
asking her questions and listening to her words was daunting.
Isabelle had never had much interaction with large groups of
people, and certainly not people or dragons of this kind of
pedigree. She was nervous.

“
I’m right here,”
Robert sent directly to her mind, privately, as
he squeezed her hand.
“You have nothing to
fear.”

She prayed he was right. This gathering was
beyond intimidating.

“
Sir Robert, please start with your
observations,” General Jared commanded, sitting forward in his
chair as Robert seated Isabelle, then took the chair at her side.
“Sir Growloranth, please add your observations as well. We need to
know exactly what we’re up against.” The general spoke to
Growloranth in a way that made Isabelle respect the man. He treated
dragons as equals and partners, which she should have expected,
seeing as he was a knight.

But he was also in a position of power and she
always half-expected those in authority to abuse it in some way.
After all, that’s the behavior she had seen in her own village up
to this point. Maybe, just maybe, that was all about to
change.

“
The news is troubling, my lords,”
Robert began. “Growloranth and I prowled the village of Halley’s
Well last night and there is much amiss there. The village headman,
a miscreant named Cleef Mantell, is colluding with the enemy. There
is no doubt about it. Before my very eyes, he was given a sign to
put over his door by an enemy agent so that the invading troops
would know to leave his place—as well as any other home that
carried the sign—alone, when they arrived. The enemy agent stated
quite plainly that anyone who fought would be killed. By promising
not to fight, the headman is basically giving ground to the enemy.
He is a traitor of the worst kind.”

Isabelle wasn’t all that shocked, though she
couldn’t imagine the audacity of Cleef to turn traitor in such a
distinct way. He always liked to hedge his bets, timing things so
that he came out on top. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had some
way to deny his involvement ready, in case things went
wrong.

“
How did you procure this
information?” Lord Darian asked.

“
On the advice of Lady Isabelle, I
made contact with the cook in Mantell’s household. She is loyal to
the crown. She let me in the back door and arranged for me to hide
in an adjacent room while Mantell entertained his foreign visitor.
I saw it all with my own eyes.”

“
There can be no doubt then,”
Princess Adora said. “This Cleef Mantell must be dealt with and the
invasion stopped. If the enemy gets a foothold on this side of the
border—particularly in Halley’s Well—they could well take every
border village up and down the line, moving unseen under the forest
canopy. From there, they could attack this Lair and the larger
towns and cities. They could become deeply entrenched on this side
of the mountains and claim large swaths of Draconia for Skithdron.
That cannot be allowed to happen.” A grim silence met her words as
they all thought of such eventualities for a moment. Then the
younger princess turned to Isabelle.

“
What can you tell us of the
village itself, Isabelle?” Princess Belora asked gently.

“
It is a village like any other,”
Isabelle began, but she soon realized these people needed details
that could help their plans. She cleared her throat and tried
again. “Cleef Mantell is a snake. He has set up his mansion on the
edge of the village under careful cover of the trees. He does not
want his growing empire seen from above. He also keeps a low
profile when strangers come to the village, except when playing the
poor, ignorant farmer. In truth, he is anything but ignorant. He
has an extensive library and reads and writes. He also speaks other
tongues. My mother said he spoke the language of Talinor. She knew
it from her travels, and recognized it when he slipped into what
she thought was his mother tongue when he spoke with his
wife.”