Sunset didn’t see any slowing of activity in the Manor House. Lanterns were lit and the bustle continued. Lord and Lady Merybourne worked alongside the servants, sweeping up broken crockery in the kitchens, scraping smooth the scored floors, and tending to the Carlyles’ broken doors. Papa trailed after Lord Merybourne, acting as scribe for all the damages. Along with Hilda and Madam Carlyle, Mama presided over the distribution of tea to any and all who wanted it. Sidetracked by the hunger of a fussy baby, Gwyn promised to meet me in my father’s study once her son had finished nursing. Eager as I was to hear what she had to tell me, I appreciated the interlude. There were other things I needed to attend to.
I found Leyda back in our family’s sitting room, still dressed in her muddy and blood-spattered trousers, eyes bright as she recounted the story of the battle for Mari, who was furiously transcribing in her journal. Every once in a while she’d pause and look up at Leyda, her mouth round.
“He didn’t.”
“Thell as my witness, he did!” Leyda said. “Ducked right under the direwolf and stabbed it through the heart. Hello, Aliza. Then Akarra . . .”
I smiled and left them to their work.
Fires still smoldered in the trench along the edge of the west pasture, its flickering light filtering in strange shadows through the border of trees and the gardens beyond. I snatched a lantern from the kitchens and slipped outside carefully, my dagger in easy reach at my hip, but as I’d promised the Manor-folk, it was no longer necessary. The Tekari were gone. The garden, however, was far from abandoned. I jumped as Tobble trotted into the lamplight.
“Aliza!”
“Goodness, you scared me!” I crouched down and looked him over, but besides some grass stains and streaks of mud, he looked no worse for wear. “You weren’t hurt at all, were you? Or any of your folk?”
“No, no, I’m fine. Corporal Thatch took a claw to the forehead, but Old Hedge is patching him up. Were you?”
“I’m all right.”
“Good.” He brightened and scrambled up into my lap, leaving muddy footprints. “Are you staying for Saint Ellia’s Day?”
“Oh, Tobble, I’m sorry. We’re heading to Edonarle tomorrow.”
His face fell.
“We’ll . . .” We’ll be back again soon, I wanted to say, but all that awaited us in Edonarle suddenly weighed down my tongue and left my promise unspoken. What did we know of what was coming or how long it would take to defeat? “I’m sorry we can’t stay longer.”
He looked up at me and wrinkled his nose. “Dragon business? More like”—he gestured around to the claw marks on the door—“this?”
“Aye.”
Tobble didn’t answer right away, only looked at me searchingly. A chill wind whistled through the garden, stirring cold, autumnal sounds in the dark. I shivered. “Are you scared?” he asked at last.
“Yes. I am.”
He rose to his tiptoes and planted a kiss on my cheek. “It’ll be all right. You won here; you’ll win there too. Whatever trouble your Rider’s gotten you into, you’re not in it alone.” He made a face. “Speaking of, you might want to go see him. Hobblehilt said he’s still out in the pasture.”
I thanked him and set him down, promising to say goodbye before we left, and he scurried off into the foliage.
The wind turned, carrying with it the smell of charred flesh and dragonfire. It grew stronger beyond the barrier of pines and I paused on the edge of the trench, staring for a moment at the burning shapes within before tearing my gaze away. A speck of light shone in the field beyond the trench.
“Alastair?”
He stood, his silhouette dark against the lantern light. I forgot the makeshift pyre before me, forgot the horror and the fear and the creeping chill, remembering instead his courage, his battle prowess, unhampered by fear or pain, the fluidity of his sword in that final stroke against the direwolf, and the distance between us was suddenly intolerable. The fire lit the path around the trench; I ran as fast as I dared. Then his hands were on my waist and my hands were in his hair and I pulled him close for a kiss as desperate as it was delicious, and ten thousand lifetimes weren’t long enough for us to get our fill of each other, so this moment would have to do.
“You were magnificent, Alastair,” I said. “Magnificent.”
“I want you, khera,” he growled in my ear. “Here and now, I want you.”
I closed my eyes as his kisses grew more insistent. The gods had a cruel sense of timing. There wasn’t much of me left that hadn’t handed sense over to something much more enjoyable, but the sliver that remained had a loud voice. “Later,” I tried.
“Hmm?”
“Alastair, later!”
“Now. Right now.”
“We still have—oh—we have work to do.”
“Thell take our work, Aliza, and Thell take the whole bloody kingdom. I need you.”
“I need you too.” I kissed him, long and deep, before gently pushing him away. “But later.”
For an instant he moved as if to kiss me again. Then he drew back, breathing hard, and touched my cheek. The firelight traced his features in glorious golden contour, and the shadows could not disguise the desire in his gaze. It was softer now: less wild, less dangerous, but no less beautiful. All at once he grinned. “Now we’re even, aren’t we?”
“What?”
“For that night in Castle Selwyn.”
I smiled. He’d certainly made amends for his denial in Lake Meera when we’d stopped at House Pendragon, but I was perfectly content to let the debt resurface. “Aye, we are.” I took his sword hand and pressed it to my lips. “Don’t worry, dearest. I’ll make it up to you.”
It took more willpower than I thought I possessed to bring myself back to the task at hand, but the new battle scars decorating the Manor House sobered me. I sat down with Gwyn in Papa’s study and poured her a cup of tea. She took it gratefully.
“I must say, this was a more exciting visit than I hoped for,” she said. “I can’t tell you how glad I am you came, and not just because you and Master Daired saved our lives.”
I raised a teasing eyebrow. “Your husband didn’t seem to need any help.”
“No, he didn’t.” She took a sip of tea and gave me a sidelong glance.
We burst out laughing.
“That was rather wonderful, wasn’t it?” she said when we’d recovered enough to speak. “Not something Wynce has ever done before, but then, there haven’t been any opportunities in Hunter’s Forge. I always suspected he kept a sword in that cane of his.”
“He did splendidly, Gwyn. You make sure to tell him that.” I grew serious. “But your letter. What was it you couldn’t write to me?”
Instead of answering, she fished in her pocket of her dressing gown and pulled out a crumpled envelope. “Tell me what you think of that.”
I unfolded the scrap of paper inside. There was no greeting, no name, simply a tally of figures.
Loan: 70 silver dragonbacks
Interest: 30 silver dragonbacks
Total required: 100 dragonbacks
Payment in heartstones only