“That’s right,” Luc thought aloud, remembering Lilly’s burgeoning skills that they had been trying to tame on their way from his land to Alric’s. They’d let those lessons slack off the past few days, but they’d had a lot on their agendas. “I probably need to get her started on those exercises again, now that things have settled down a bit.”
“I believe that would be wise,” Shilayla agreed. “She is still mostly untrained and in danger of overextending her power should it rise to aid someone in need. It would be criminal to lose her to something that could be avoided with just a bit more training.”
“You’re right. I’ll talk to her about it first thing tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Why not tonight?” Shilayla asked, her head craning around to look at him.
“She went off with Jimnel to file reports. I get the feeling she’s behind on her work for the Guard and I don’t want to interfere with that. We didn’t get a chance to make plans to meet up later, and I’m not sure if she’ll come to me after what Det was saying so very loudly. I think he ran her off.”
Shilayla shook her head slowly. “Your brother needs to learn to mind his own business. I know he means well, but he’s wrong in this case, and Gren will be mentioning that to him shortly.”
“Gren agrees with you?” Luc was surprised.
“Not all of us dislike humans,” she answered primly and then fell silent on the subject.
Luc didn’t see Lilly again that night, but early the next morning, he found her deep in preparations for the celebration Alric had called for that afternoon. In fact, Det and Lilly were in conference with Jimnel, working together to plan a display of dragons over the city. They had gathered in the side garden, where the dragons could more easily be part of the conversation. In fact, it was Shilayla who had alerted Luc to Lilly’s whereabouts.
He joined them and spent the next hour helping plan a spectacle with the dragons for the city to enjoy. Their aerial display was to be part of a hastily-planned celebration. Alric had declared a holiday to celebrate their near-bloodless victory at the border, the annexation of the wasteland to the north, the new relationship with the Jinn, the declaration of peace with the Alchemists, and especially Alric’s recovery and engagement to Lady Zallra. Indeed, there was much to celebrate, and he wanted to mark this momentous time with a party in which the whole city could participate.
Several units of the Guard were making their way back to the capital from the border and would arrive within a few hours. Messengers had been sent to give them warning that their final march through the streets of the capital would likely become a victory parade. Those same messengers had returned to the castle with the news that a delegation of Jinn mercenary captains, along with some of their men, were accompanying the troopers. They, apparently, wanted to confer with their new King.
Alric had sent back the message that he would be happy to speak with them, but it would have to wait until after the celebration. He invited the commanders to the feast in the great hall that would follow the afternoon festivities and offered them lodging for their men in the Guard barracks, while their leaders were given the honor of guest rooms within the castle itself. Jimnel reported that, when he’d raised questions about the safety of that plan with Alric, he’d been assured by Lady Zallra that the Jinn fighters were under her authority as a black dragon of the Clan that leads all Jinn. They would not break faith with her by double-crossing Alric. He was going to be part of the family, so to speak, and Jinn did not make war with their own.
The dragons planned a demonstration of skilled flying with their heartmates aboard, and without, for after the parade. Already, word was spreading throughout the city about the plans for the afternoon and evening, and people were staking out good viewing spots to watch everything.
There was a parade field that had only been used for training since Alric’s blindness, at the back of the castle, near where the garrison was quartered. Now that the King could participate in visual spectacles, it would be put to use once more, as it had been in the old days. In fact, Alric and Zallra would receive the returning troopers there, watching from the viewing stand as they made the final steps on their journey home. The King would speak words of welcome and praise before dismissing the troops to their rest.
Then, the dragons would assemble in the field and use it as their base for the display. They would launch from there to fly circuits around the city so everyone could see them at some point. The best viewing spot for that would be from rooftops, and the castle’s towers and walls would be crammed with those who lived and worked in the castle who wanted to see the dragons in action. All around the city, people would be looking up from rooftops and any open spaces, to watch.
Then, later that night, Alric had authorized a feast. The main party would be in the castle, of course, but he had also authorized deliveries of food and wine from the castle cellars to parks throughout the city where the citizens of Valdis would gather to have their own parties. Alric had sent people to hire mistrels for the night, making sure that every park had music. He’d also paid several reputable tavern-owners to cater what couldn’t be sent from the castle at such short notice so that everyone would be sure to have food and drink to join in the celebration.
The planning went on until just before lunch, which was going to be a hurried affair for most people today as they prepared for the party to come. Luc caught Lilly’s hand as the meeting broke up and tugged her off to a side path into the kitchen garden where they could talk privately for a few minutes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“I missed you last night,” Luc said, keeping his voice low and intimate.
He was gratified when he heard her breath catch at his candor. He was through being subtle and cautious. He was fed up with tiptoeing around the potential problems between them. He’d decided last night that he was going to bring things to a head and see what happened. If they could not get beyond their differences, then so be it. However, if they brought it all out into the open and were still able to be together, then so much the better. Either way, he wanted to know. He was through waiting.
“I missed you, too,” Lilly admitted, moving closer so that their thighs brushed against each other.
“I want to be with you, Lilly, and I don’t care what Det or anybody else thinks,” he told her, laying some of his thoughts out for her to gauge her reaction. He put his arms around her and brought her closer into his embrace.
“I want to be with you, too. However long this can last. I want it. I want you.” She reached up and kissed him, and further discussion was delayed indefinitely.
Heart soaring in his chest with the success of his declaration, Luc felt sure he could take things even further, given half a chance. Plans were already forming in the back of his mind for how to advance his suit. Because one thing was clear in his mind—he wanted Lilly with him, beside him, in his life, for as long as he could possibly manage.
Their kissing in the garden was interrupted by a shining white-scaled head looking over the top of the tall bushes at them. Shilayla spoke quietly in their minds, amusement filling her tone.
“Nice as this is for you, there will soon be a squadron of children running through here, seeking herbs for the cooks. You didn’t plan this out very well, my heartmate. The kitchen garden is no place for a tryst on a feast day.”