“Well met, Scout Captain Luc and Mistress Lilly. I have been impressed by King Alric’s folk and would not see those on the border come to harm if we can help prevent it.” The ice dragon’s voice came into his mind like a breath of icy cold air, the timbre slightly harder than Shilayla’s normal tones. The ice dragon’s voice held the tinkle and chime of her namesake, which was not an unpleasant sensation.
“Thank you for offering to help, milady,” Lilly replied softly, having seldom used her newly discovered skill of speaking silently with dragons. She’d been practicing with Shilayla on their journey, and her abilities were growing steadily. “King Alric will be glad of your assistance, I am sure, and in the coming days, if we can repel the invaders, I suspect my King would opt to open a dialog with you and your companions.”
“I would welcome talks with the Blind King, but for today, we will see the mercenary rabble run from these lands.” The ice dragon’s words were full of intent, and as Shilayla wheeled around in an arc in the sky, all the dragons trumpeted their greetings. Shilayla had positioned them perfectly to fly in the line formation of the ice dragons. She was just a small white spot among the glittering mirror-scaled ice dragons, but she was at the center of their line, flying next to their leader, the Lady Essalynn.
“We make for the boulders that rise above the riverbank,” Essalynn told them after the trumpeting of the dragons had ended. “We will hold the river border and not allow any to cross.”
“An excellent plan,” Lilly said, not sounding too smug for having come up with it already.
They flew over the empty Jinn camps, and then over the galloping Jinn companies that were rapidly moving to cut off the retreat of the other mercs. Then, they were flying over the tops of the marching mercenaries and wheeling around to land on the huge boulders that formed the riverbank in this area. The marchers would be caught between the dragons now in front of them and the Jinn mercs behind.
That left their flanks open, but if Det and his Guards arrived in time, they could go around to the eastern flank and herd the mercs toward the west, where a pass existed through the mountains that would funnel the mercs away from Alric’s land, the wasteland he had just annexed, and the mountain caves where the ice dragons lived. The mercs would find themselves in the mostly empty upper reaches of Elderland and could find their way back to whatever rocks they’d crawled out from under, from there.
Shilayla landed on top of the wide, flat boulder near the bridge that was the border’s largest crossing. Luc could see a force from Alric’s army waiting on the bridge, ready to defend it. He and Lilly slid off Shilayla’s back. They both bowed formally to the ice dragon matriarch, who had landed beside them and dwarfed Shilayla with her massive size, then Lilly took her leave and ran over to talk to the men at arms and their commander on the bridge, leaving Luc under the studious gaze of the ice dragon.
Those sparkly silver eyes bore into him, and it felt like Lady Essalynn was seeing into his soul. Luc tried not to fidget, and eventually, she turned her gaze from him to look out at the approaching mercenaries.
“Ice dragons have not partnered with humans in centuries,” Essalynn said a few moments later, out of the blue. Luc looked up at her, but she was watching the mercs, not him. “Nor do I know of any who have ever partnered with fair folk. This is something I will have to ponder. Perhaps, our retreat into isolation was not the wisest move we have ever made.”
Luc wanted to know more, but one didn’t just pry into the notions of such powerful beings lightly. He needed to tread carefully.
“For my part, you would be welcome to visit my home and be welcome among my people. I believe my brother will say the same once he gets here,” Luc offered.
“Your brother comes?” The silvery head swiveled to look at him, and he did his best not to stare.
“Did Shilayla not mention it?” Luc reached out to stroke Shi’s neck. He wasn’t sure who he was reassuring—her or himself. “My brother, Detlif, is the Captain of the Guard. He and his heartmate, Grennulf, are on their way, or so Shilayla assures me. Her ability to communicate at distance is much greater than mine.”
“We ice dragons set great store in family connections. I will be interested to meet this brother of yours, young Luc.” The dragoness’s gaze finally left him, and Luc felt a moment of relief. “I believe our presence is being requested on the bridge.”
Luc looked at the wide bridge to see Lilly waving them over. She was standing with an older man in leather and chain armor and a farm girl, several yards from the rest of the defenders. Luc narrowed his gaze at the incongruous sight of the girl in homespun and work boots and trotted over to the bridge, aware of the dragons walking behind him.
“Scout Captain Lucassian, this is Colonel Weathers and Mistress Joleyn,” Lilly began, but as the girl looked up and saw the dragons, she did an unexpected thing. She bypassed Luc completely and went to stand before the ice dragon.
“Essie, I’m so glad you’re here.” Luc could hear both the relief and familiarity in the girl’s voice. “Will you help us stop them?”
“Of course, child. It’s why we came.” The dragoness’s tone had gentled as she spoke to the farm girl, allowing the others to hear her words, as well.
“We don’t have much time,” the colonel reminded them all, stepping closer.
“Colonel, the dragons will hold the river border. We hope to force the mercs toward the pass to Elderland, but it will depend on a few other factors…” Luc stepped forward to discuss the plan with the other man while Lilly watched the interplay between the sparkly dragoness and the simple farm girl. Lilly moved to stand beside the girl.
“Thank you, Essie,” the girl said softly, having never taken her gaze from the ice dragon. “You’re a treasure beyond measure. A friend beyond compare.”
The dragoness actually seemed to flush as she lowered her head in what looked like embarrassment. Lilly was amazed and intrigued by this incredibly powerful dragon.
“Get up on my back, Jolee,” Essalynn told the girl. “It won’t be safe for you on the ground once the action starts. Lilly can show you how to hold on.” The dragoness turned her attention to Lilly. “Won’t you, dear?”
Lilly found herself readily agreeing and spent the next few minutes explaining how to best mount the dragon’s back and the places where Joleyn could hold on. With a few more cautions about sudden movements, Lilly left the two to get used to each other and went back to Luc and the colonel. They were busy deploying the colonel’s troops, and it had been decided that Shilayla would stay just in front of the bridge with Essalynn, preventing the mercs from crossing. The dragons were prepared to use their flame, if necessary.
The colonel surprised Lilly by wanting to stand with her, in front of the bridge, as representative of the crown. She stood by his side while the dragons waited for the forerunners of the mercenary legion to arrive. Perhaps, there would be time to parlay and prevent what would be a catastrophic confrontation…for the mercs.
A flaming arrow shot past Lilly’s shoulder as she and the colonel ducked out of the way.
Or perhaps not.
“I think, Colonel, that you should see to your troops,” Luc shouted even as Lilly ran to mount Shilayla’s back behind him. The colonel, she noted, was taking his advice.