Keeper of the Flame (33 page)

Hugh cursed inwardly, his anger rising swiftly. Then a thought occurred to him.

“Are the children secure? Is Miss safe?”

“The emissary is watching over her and the other children. She’ll stay with them. And she said to tell you she has magical means of defending them. Nothing will get through her guard.”

“Thank the Lady for that.”

Hugh was at the door, shrugging into his shirt as he opened it. Lera was still asleep and for now he’d let her rest. He’d figure out exactly what had happened, then wake her when he had all the facts. She’d been through a lot in recent days and was fragile emotionally as well as physically. He wanted her to sleep as much as possible before having to face this new problem.

He closed the door softly behind him and faced the beehive. Everyone was awake and buzzing back and forth, gathering information to have ready to pass on to him. Hugh had a strange thought for a fleeting moment. This is what his older brother, Roland, must go through whenever there was an attack on Draconia. Hugh had never envied Roland his position of power. It was Roland who needed all the facts before he could make a wise decision.

Usually, Hugh was one of many who supplied those facts to his older brother. This time, Hugh was the one in search of information in order to decide their course of action. The decision wasn’t his alone, of course, but he wanted to know everything before he burdened Lera. If what he suspected was true, their partnership would be a joint effort, but one that left military matters more in his bailiwick and political situations in hers.

It made sense. He was the warrior. She was the stateswoman. They each had their talents and it would be sensible to utilize each other’s best abilities.

“Tell me what happened,” Hugh asked as soon as the door was completely shut. He spoke in low, urgent tones, hoping they could make good progress on this thorny problem before he woke Lera.

What followed was a report from each of the people present—the two knights and their mate, the twins, Brother Hubert and the dragons. Hugh took it all in, learning the sequence of events that had led to the gryphons’ escape. His thoughts were grim as he listened to the treachery that had taken place that night under their very noses.

The night watch had been caught in the act of releasing the gryphons. Unfortunately, the magical collars that kept the beasts under control had already been removed by the time the loyal guards had discovered their fellows doing the deed. A battle ensued where the loyal guards had just barely managed to win, but in the process the gryphons had been able to fight their way free.

In the present situation, it seemed obvious that whoever paid the night watch to turn traitor was deeply involved in the larger intrigue. If they knew who had done that, they would have a solid clue that might lead them to Sendra, the bad gryphons, and whoever else was plotting against Lera.

“Who paid off the guards?” Hugh asked after the last report was made.

“A nobleman named Portu,” Brother Hubert supplied. Hugh had at first been surprised to see the old priest here, then remembered he’d been supposed to arrive earlier in the evening but hadn’t shown up. “I was able to find out that much before the last of the night watch died of his wounds. He wanted to confess his sins. I do not doubt his word. Portu came himself to bribe the guards and deliver payment. Each of the traitors had a hefty purse on his person when he died.”

“Portu was found trying to flee the city. He is under arrest but is not talking,” Trey supplied. Both twins looked angry.

“We wanted to follow the gryphons, but we’d already lost the trail,” Collin added.

Ah, so that was why they were mad. The twins were good trackers, but even they couldn’t track a pair of dark-feathered gryphons at night, with no moon.

“All right. It’s time to wake Lera,” Hugh declared. “This is her land. She will know more about her noblemen and their holdings than we do. She must also be made aware of the situation, much as it pains me to bring her more grief.”

“It’s all right.” Lera’s voice came to him from the opening doorway to the bedroom. “I’ve been eavesdropping.” She blushed as she stepped into the room.

He’d left her naked and she’d taken time to dress in a gown of soft blue. She was beautiful as she glided to his side, taking a seat at the table around which they were all gathered. Only a slight frown marred her lovely face and Hugh knew he would do all in his power to remove that expression from her for all time. If he had his say, she’d never worry again, foolish as that sounded. He knew he couldn’t protect her from everything in life, but he certainly wanted to try.

“Portu has family lands on the sea, bordering the sand flats. It is sparsely populated except for his people and would be an excellent place to hide for both the gryphons and Sendra,” she stated in a calm voice, when Hugh knew she was feeling anything but calm on the inside.

They had put a map of the city and its environs on the table and Lera pointed to a place just north of where he had flown her when they’d fled the second batch of assassins. They’d been close to her enemy and he hadn’t even known it.

“Perhaps you two will get your wish,” Hugh said to his brothers. “There’s no moon tonight. Nobody could possibly see you unless you do something rash.” He eyed Trey when he said the last bit. Of the two, Trey was the more likely to act first and think later.

“We’ll fly out and scout the area. If the gryphons are there, we’ll find them.” The twins stood and were about to head for the door when Lera stopped them.

She went to the mantle on the opposite wall and retrieved a small frame, then walked back to where the twins stood. “This is a recent likeness of my cousin, Sendra. She will most likely be wherever the gryphons had fled.”

The twins studied the portrait for a moment before handing it back to Lera.

“We’ll find her, milady,” Trey said.

“We’ll find them all,” Collin added with conviction in his tone.

They left and Hugh had only one further word of advice for his brothers as they walked down the hallway toward the balcony where they could shift and fly.

“Be careful.”

“We have about two hours until dawn,” Hugh said. “The twins should get where they’re going in a less than a half hour, if I gauge the map accurately. I suggest we all prepare for action. We should be hearing back from them very soon. What forces do you have in the area?” he asked Lera.

“Not much. The responsibility for securing the area around a noble’s lands is up to each noble. Portu isn’t a high-ranking man and I doubt he has a large force, but whatever soldiers he does have won’t be loyal to me if he’s thrown his lot in with Sendra.”

“She probably promised him an elevation in rank if he helped her,” Drake suggested.

Lera nodded. “He’s definitely the type of man to be swayed by the promise of power or wealth.”

“Or both,” Drake added. “I remember your cousin well, milady. I entertained at her home once, and once was more than enough for me.”

“I saw it from the outside and it was pretty bad. Gaudy and overblown,” Hugh commented. “Is it as bad on the inside?”

“Worse.” Drake and Lera spoke in unison and both laughed, breaking a bit of the tension.

Mace was quietly lacing up his armor and even Krysta was checking her weapons. Drake was more leisurely about it, but he stood and went to his pack, which was resting against the wall, and began removing bits of leather armor from within.

It was clear the knights were bracing for battle. Hugh didn’t have to, it seemed, because he would be flying and Lera had noticed that when he changed from dragon to man, he could be wearing armor, or not. He always seemed to have the same pants and boots, a shirt of soft black fabric and either a jerkin of black leather or boiled leather armor. There was definitely a lot of leather involved in his clothing choices and that probably had to do with the fact that he was a warrior and when he shifted form, he was a midnight-black dragon.

She’d ask him about it someday when they had less to deal with. For now, she was glad he’d be able to have the protection of both his nearly impervious scales and his armor should he need to shift shape from dragon to man.

“If you have no further need of me, I will return to the temple,” Brother Hubert said, rising from the table. “It’s just possible that we can be of some assistance. The gryphon volunteers were more eager to help than I had imagined they would be. If nothing else, they could ferry their chosen partners out to Portu’s estate, even if Sendra is not there.”

Lera was surprised by the offer. “Do you think Father Gregor will allow it?”

“With all that has happened in these few short days, everyone in our Order knows it is the Lady’s will that you remain in your current position. The elders decided to support you in whatever way necessary until the threat against you has been eradicated.”

Lera was shocked by the lengths to which the religious order was willing to go on her behalf. It was unprecedented. It was downright amazing.

“Thank you, Brother Hubert. And please pass on my thanks to Father Gregor and the elders. Their support is all that I could have hoped for and much more than a secular leader deserves.”

“You are also the Keeper of the Flame, milady,” Brother Hubert reminded her. “In that role, you will always have our support.” He bowed his head and took his leave on that reassuring thought.

Hugh took her hand and tugged her toward her bedroom. “Come on, let’s see if there’s something in your wardrobe that will offer the slightest bit of protection.”

She was surprised he wasn’t going to argue that she should stay here, safe in the castle while he went out and dealt with Sendra. Other men would have. But then, other men wouldn’t have been the perfect man for her. Hugh was. And he probably understood how important it was for her to face her problems head on.

Oh, it would have been nice to let big, strong Hugh and his knights and dragons go out there and fight her battles for her. They’d return victorious with her enemy’s head on a platter. But that wasn’t her style. Not at all.

Lera believed in self-reliance for her people as well as for herself. She couldn’t ask Hugh to fight all her battles. Certainly he’d take care of the physical side of the actual fighting—that wasn’t something she was capable of doing herself. She wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t go out there and fling a sword around to make herself feel better. That was a good way to get killed.

No, what she had to do was quite different. She had to be there. To pass judgment. To carry out sentencing, if necessary. To be the ruler—and Keeper—she was born to be.

She had to be there. Whether she wanted to or not.

In this case, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to face Sendra and her cronies, but she knew, deep down, she had to. If she didn’t, Lera feared she’d always carry a secret terror of assassins in the night. No, she had to see Sendra and know once and for all that she’d faced her demons and they could no longer hurt her.

The Eyes would do what Sendra wished. If Sendra called them off, Lera might be lenient. If not, the only way to stop the Eyes would be with Sendra’s death. There was nobody after Sendra to carry on the vendetta. She had no children, and her other relatives might be snakes, but they had never acted openly against Lera before. Now that Sendra’s treachery was known, they would be even more careful to hold on to what power they still had.

Lera followed Hugh into her bedroom and watched him close the door. Before he could do more than that, she walked into his arms and gave him a full-body hug.

“Not that I mind, but what is this for?” Hugh asked as he snuggled her into his arms.

“For realizing that I need to be there. For being the perfect man for me. For being you, Hugh. Because I love you.” She looked up at him with all the love she felt in her heart shining out through her eyes and in the magic that twined and swirled whenever they touched.

“I love you too, Lera. You are my heart.” He dipped his head to kiss her, but it was all too short. Both of them knew they had a mission to carry out soon. They had to prepare.

“We’ll finish this later, my love,” Hugh promised as he let her go with something that felt like regret and moved toward the small room where her clothing was stored. “Now let’s see what you’ve got in here that might work. First thing, we’re going to order you some warm leathers and furs for when we go out flying together. And maybe a little light armor, for added safety.” He opened the large wooden door.

“You’d turn me into a warrior queen?”

He smiled at her as he turned, surrounded by silks and satins in a myriad of colors. His black leather stood out against the rainbow, incongruously masculine against the frippery.

“Personally, I think you’d look stunning in leather.” His humorous leer made her laugh.

“Then stand back, my prince. I think I’ve got something in the back that you might approve of.”

Lera went into the large walk-in closet and selected a set of dark brown riding leathers. She enjoyed horses and had participated in hunting parties on country estates from time to time. She’d never worn them in the city and never in public—other than among the small groups at the estates. They were a bit daring. Very form-fitting, and the skirt was split right up the middle so she could ride astride.