“The blink of an eye, it seemed,” Luc replied, brushing the hair back off his head. “My people are very familiar with magic, and I have never seen the like of what hit us. It was as if a whirlwind opened in the middle of the sky and sucked us in, dumping us out here.” He shook his head.
Lilly sympathized. Hers was still spinning a bit from the tumbling trip through whatever that had been. Thankfully, Shilayla had recovered quickly, navigating the turbulent air and bringing them out alive on the other side.
“I believe that whoever has been trying to hamper my quest was responsible for our delay in returning to my King’s court,” Lilly spoke for the first time, opening her cloak and allowing the men to see her warrior’s garb. It was time to find out if they would help or hinder her quest.
The blond man’s eyes narrowed. “I see,” Jures said, speaking for the first time, “that you dress as a warrior, milady. While female warriors are not unknown in Draconia, it is unusual to find one flying dragonback. And you, sir, are of the fair folk, are you not?”
Luc nodded. “Yes, Sir Jures.” Luc gave the man his full formal title. “I am the Scout Captain of an enclave of my folk. I was sent with Lilly as envoy to King Alric’s Court in response to his inquiry.”
“We don’t know much about King Alric, to be honest,” Hal said, sighing as he looked over at the dragons. “Frankly, we’ve never seen a dragon such as yours, though we have all heard legends of snow dragons. For her sake, you will be welcome in the Lair to see if we can help sort out what happened to you and how best to get you back on track. I suspect my King will want to know about this, as well.”
“Our mission is vitally important, Sir Hal,” Lilly said quickly. “I would rather not be delayed here any longer than is necessary. My liege foresaw war, and Luc’s people saw visions of the burning of my King’s city. I would prevent that, if I could. All these delays feel like enemy action working to stop me from completing my quest.”
“We are not your enemy,” Hal replied. “Our kingdom has never had dealings with Alric the Blind, to my knowledge.”
“What about the Alchemists of Elderland and beyond? Have you alliances with them?” she challenged, wondering if she could trick him into revealing any pacts his people may have made.
But Hal shook his head. “We have no dealings with Elderland either. Those places are very distant from here. There is trade by ship, of course, but the ports are in the south of our land. I don’t believe Roland has ever received a delegation from Elderland or any land east of the great sea.”
This man called his King by name without any sort of title attached? That said something to Lilly. It sounded as if Hal was actually friendly with his King, unless he misspoke. Lilly tucked that thought away for later consideration as Shilayla came back to them, leaning her head over the tops of their heads to gain attention.
“We will go back to the Lair with these dragons,” she announced. “We need to regroup and plan our return to our lands. They have promised to help and will not hinder our departure, even if you two get into a fight with their people. They have given me their word. They claim there is a Jinn envoy coming there to speak with us. I don’t know why, but the Jinn roam far and wide through many lands. Perhaps, this one has information that can help us.”
Luc turned reluctantly to the knights. “It seems our dragon friends have decided our next moves for us,” he said graciously. “We are returning to your Lair and will confer there with a representative of the wandering Jinn.”
Hal and Jures looked at each other in subtle surprise but agreed readily enough. Lilly just hoped they weren’t flying into another trap.
“Technically, we’re across the border right now. Once we pass over the river, the Lair is not far,” Hal told them. “We will likely have a larger escort. Do not be alarmed. Everyone will be curious to see a snow dragon.”
They all mounted up and flew toward the distant river. Lilly was glad of the knight’s warning when other dragons flew out to meet them with their knights atop. The dragons were all sorts of colors, from sparkly gold to deepest blue, red or brown. Lilly had never imagined such colorful dragons. To her, glittering white was the right color for such intensely magical creatures. These others seemed very foreign.
They landed on a ledge that led inside a mountaintop, and Lilly was astounded to find that the Lair these people and dragons lived in was built into the stone of the mountain, itself. The ledge opened into a large space with tall ceilings held up by stanchions of rock left like pillars every few yards that seemed to support the open spaces. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.
The archways leading deeper into the mountain were carved with elaborate scenes of dragons in flight and were wide enough for two full-sized dragons to walk side-by-side. The place was enormous and full of life.
As Luc and Lilly dismounted, Shilayla was clearly the center of dragonish attention. All eyes were on her gleaming white presence, and she seemed to stand a bit taller under the scrutiny. Hal and Jures came over as soon as they were dismounted, their dragons walking behind them.
“Welcome to the Northern Lair,” Hal said, his tone official, his words reaching out to all those who were loitering around, clearly intrigued by the newcomers. “If you would care to refresh yourselves after your long journey, we have food and drink, as well as comfort chambers within. My dragon partner, Sir Tilden, and his mate, Lady Rue, will help see to the needs of your companion, Lady Shilayla. The dragons are most curious to learn more about her and what has brought you all so far south, as are we.”
Luc answered for them all. “We are grateful for your hospitality. Thank you.”
Without further ado, the two-legged members of the party headed for the carved archway that led farther into the mountain while the dragons closed around Shilayla. Lilly looked back, concerned, but didn’t see anything that looked hostile, just really curious.
Lilly and Luc were shown to small rooms where they could wash up after their long journey, and Lilly was amazed at the accomodations. The little room she was in had all the modern conveniences, including both hot and cold water on tap. Whatever else these dragon folk would prove to be, they lived in comparative luxury, and so far, seemed very welcoming.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Luc kept in contact with Shilayla, even as he allowed the leaders of this Lair to separate him and Lilly from his heartmate. So far, he had seen nothing to indicate that these dragons or knights meant them harm, but they were definitely strange to his eyes. Such colorful dragons seemed almost unreal, and he’d never been around so many human warriors.
As they resumed walking down the wide hallway, Hal was at Luc’s side. Jures walked next to Lilly, unspeaking.
“This is the great hall,” Hal announced as they crossed under an archway that led to a massive room that had multiple long tables and space for both dragons and knights to gather together.
Food was laid out along the nearest wall in a buffet that was filled from the kitchen Luc could just see through another archway behind that wall. A huge fireplace lay at one end of the room along with a high table. Hal and Jures stopped just inside the giant room and greeted a woman who rushed over to them. The lady was wearing a gown of great quality and kissed both men familiarly before turning to Luc and Lilly. Hal made the introductions.