“Oh, is that all?” Gowan laughed, and Seth joined him. Seth liked the other man’s wry sense of humor.
Gowan drained his mug and poured a bit more for both of them. He sat across from Seth, regarding him steadily.
“Speaking of fighting…” Gowan began.
“Oh, no.” Seth held his hands up, palms outward. He thought he knew what was coming next, and though one part of him wanted to jump at the chance to learn from this seasoned warrior, another part was adamant that he stick to the path he’d chosen to help Bronwyn.
Was it fear that held him back? That one thought made Seth pause. He hadn’t thought he was afraid of anything. He’d thought he was being noble. But what if his refusal to train with the fighters was more due to fear than respect for Bronwyn and the choice he’d made so long ago?
What if he feared being chosen by a dragon? Or
not
chosen?
Fear of either outcome was unacceptable to a man who had always prided himself on honesty—with others, but especially with himself. Was he being honest with himself? Or willfully blind?
“Hear me out, Seth,” Gowan went on, quietly overcoming Seth’s objections. Though Seth wasn’t really objecting anymore. His own thoughts troubled him enough to make him listen to Gowan’s proposal.
“I’m listening.” It wasn’t exactly a gracious response, but it wasn’t an outright refusal.
“I need to learn dragon and knight things, and from what I see, you could use some tutoring in the art of war. I propose an equal exchange of information. You teach me, and I teach you in return.” Gowan seemed to warm to his subject when Seth didn’t interrupt. “Neither of us want to be seen as needing remedial help. I don’t think it would help either of our reputations for every busybody in this Lair to know what we were doing, right? So I think we should meet here of an evening—say, every third or fourth day—to train. What say you?”
Seth sat back in his chair, really thinking about it. He wanted to help Gowan learn the things he would have known had he grown up in a Lair. He and Genlitha had been dumped into a position of authority that would put strain on them both until they became a more streamlined team. Seth knew he could help them become better acquainted with each other. He really wanted to help them.
By the same token, Seth had regretted giving up weapons training all those years ago, but he’d been made so uncomfortable by the other boys when he’d apprenticed himself to Bronwyn that it hadn’t been worth the hassle. The knights who taught the classes were especially tough on Seth—especially after he’d gone to work with Bronwyn—and there was no real incentive to continue to train.
Still, he missed it. He’d been pretty good for his age and one or two of the knights had unbent enough to give him praise now and again. His hand missed the feel of a sword.
“I’m willing to give it a try,” Seth said with surprisingly little hesitation, once he’d made up his mind.
Gowan smiled and raised his mug. “Excellent. Now, you’ve already given me my lesson on how to care for Genlitha, so how about we work for an hour or so later tonight, after we’ve had a chance to digest some of this meal? It isn’t ideal to fight on a full stomach, though when the alarm goes up, you don’t always have the choice.”
“I have a few things I need to do,” Seth said, already rising to place his empty plate in the sink. “I need to check on Hrardorr and make sure he has everything he needs for the night, but I can return in an hour, if that’s suitable.”
“Perfect,” Gowan said, his eyes shuttered as if he was considering something. Seth could see the moment he decided to speak his mind. “You know, I saw Hrardorr out there on the water today. He was fishing for shark, and he caught a huge one. It was very impressive.”
“I don’t think he’d be comfortable knowing a knight was watching him,” Seth said, worried about how Hrardorr would react. The dragon was touchy about certain things.
“Yeah, I figured as much. Which is why I didn’t say anything to him. I only mention it to you because it seems like you have a special relationship with him. He is a magnificent dragon, and from what I saw, his blindness doesn’t hold him back in the water. If I hadn’t known of his injury, I would never have guessed.”
“That’s good to hear.” Seth paused in scrubbing his plate. “I look in on him each night. He is much better than he was, but Bronwyn doesn’t believe his sight will ever return. He is not happy about it and unwilling to mingle with the rest of the dragons in the Lair. He thinks they’ll pity him, and he doesn’t want that above all.”
“Genlitha knew him when they were young and has been trying to see him, but it’s like he’s been hiding,” Gowan admitted, scratching his head.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he has,” Seth admitted. “He knows she’s here, and he remembers her. He’s asked me about her, and about you. He’s curious, but I think he’s afraid of what she will think of him now.”
“Between you and me, I think there was some attraction there, between them, when they were younger,” Gowan mused. “I wonder if that’s not part of the reason he’s hiding from her?”
“Possibly, but he’s been hiding from just about everyone since he got here. It could be just that he doesn’t want to be around other dragons at the moment.” Seth sighed. “He lost his knight. It was a fairly new pairing, so I’m not sure how badly he’s taken the loss, though he’s definitely in some state of mourning. If he hadn’t been so badly injured, I think he would have sought refuge in a mountain cave, away from everyone and everything for a while. As it is, he’s trying to be alone in a Lair full of dragons and knights. I’m actually impressed that he’s mostly succeeding.”
“Except with you,” Gowan said quietly. “I know the depth of the bond with Genlitha now, and I wouldn’t discount how hurt he must have been when his knight was killed, even with a new bonding. I know if something happened to Gen right now—new as we are as a team—I would never be the same.” Gowan looked out into the wallow where his dragon partner was sleeping. She had really stretched her wings today. “I think she’d probably say the same thing.”
It hit Seth, then, how much Hrardorr must be hurting. He’d thought he’d understood, having grown up around dragons and knights, but just seeing the look in Gowan’s eyes as he gazed at his dragon… It drove it home how quickly the bond was forged in some cases, and how deeply.
“What can I do to help him?” Seth whispered. He felt so badly for Hrardorr. He was a good dragon at heart and had been a hero of his Lair. He’d been one of the best they had in all the land, and now, he was a mere shadow of himself. Seth wished he could fix it. Fix him.
“Just be his friend. Do what you have been doing. It’s not good for a dragon to be so alone. I know they like to get all dramatic and live in mountain caves like hermits at times, but everything I’ve learned from Gen tells me they are really social creatures, like us. They need friends. Hrardorr needs you, Seth. Be his friend.”
“I am,” Seth said without thinking. He firmed his resolve to make Hrardorr talk to him more. “I will be his best friend.”
“Good man,” Gowan said softly, praising Seth’s determination.
They were united in purpose at that moment, and for the first time in his life, Seth got a glimpse of what it might have been like to be among knights like Gowan. It would have felt a little like this, he imagined, to be one of their number.
They finished their meal, and Seth went to check on Hrardorr. He didn’t rush his tasks. In fact, he took extra time with the male dragon, trying to draw him into conversation, but Hrardorr was taciturn, as always. Still, Seth took heart. He would work on Hrardorr. It would take time, but he was resolved to do as Gowan had suggested.
And then, he was back to Gowan’s chamber to keep up the other end of the bargain they had struck. In the couple of hours between the end of their shared evening meal and Seth’s return to the suite of rooms Gowan shared with Genlitha, the knight had been busy. He’d cleared one of the many side chambers of all obstacles and had added a few things Seth remembered from his early years, training in fighting with the younger boys in the Lair.
Soft mats covered one section of the large room. A couple of practice swords made out of wood with blunted edges were lined up along the wall, along with wooden fighting sticks of various lengths. Lances and pikes—all with blunted tips—were also in the space, as were bits of light armor used for sparring.
“Did you raid the armory while I was gone?” Seth asked with a laugh, looking around the room and taking it all in.
“Something like that,” Gowan admitted. “I was discreet about it. I don’t think anyone saw me take these things. They were in a dark corner, so I don’t think they’ll be missed. It looked like the smaller stuff was all in use, but the man-sized bits were covered in dust. From that, I surmise they don’t get a lot of full-grown knight trainees here, eh?”
“Not the ones who don’t already know how to fight,” Seth agreed. “Like you. You were already a warrior, so you don’t need this stuff to learn with. What you need is what we have in plenty—tricky wind currents for you to learn to fly with your partner as if born to it. Those are the kind of human trainees we get here, for the most part. And young dragons with excellent wings but a need to learn how to use them.”
“Gen was sent here as a youngster for just that reason,” Gowan observed as he hefted a practice sword and tested it for balance.
Seth wanted to do the same, but he didn’t know what to look for in a blade. Not anymore. Maybe once, when he’d been a lad, he had been learning such skills, but he’d given it all up…
But maybe this was a second chance for him. Maybe he’d learn the things he should have known—if he hadn’t made the decision to support Bronwyn instead. He would never hurt her by leaving her side, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to learn how to fight. He went down into the Dragonscove often enough that knowing how to defend himself wouldn’t be such a bad thing. And, if he was honest, he wanted to know. He
thirsted
to know. It was as if it was a need, deep inside him, that had never been satisfied.
“There’s a lot of talk about her already,” Seth said, putting aside his thoughts of fighting glory in favor of talking about Gowan’s dragon partner. “The older dragons were watching her fly and teach. They say she has a gift for teaching, and all who saw her today approved of her approach with the youngsters. If you’re not careful, they may just station you both here permanently.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?” Gowan asked, surprising Seth.
He’d thought Gowan was more a man of action. He’d thought Gowan would want to be in the thick of the fighting up north, not stuck down here where nothing ever happened, teaching. Worse—he wasn’t really needed for teaching, only his dragon. He’d be rusticating. Fishing. Or whatever else he liked to do in his free time.
Then Seth saw the teasing light in Gowan’s eyes.
“You almost had me there,” Seth said good-naturedly, laughing along with the knight.
“Not that I mind the sojourn here,” Gowan was quick to add. “I know as well as anyone that I have a lot to learn as a knight. I need to be a better partner to Genlitha before we go taking on the enemy for real. If she can do some good with the young dragons while I learn how to be a knight, so much the better, but ultimately, we’re going to be fighting, and I need to make sure we’re both as ready as possible when our time comes.”
Seth caught Gowan’s eye, the mood having turned serious. “Then I vow to teach you all I know of dragon craft so that someday in the far future, when you have grown old, you can come back to this Lair and retire to go fishing and watch the waves roll onto the shore.”
They both knew he meant that as a good fate—where neither Gowan nor Genlitha was killed in battle.
Gowan nodded with respect. “And I vow to teach you all I can in the time we have together, starting with what to look for in a blade…even a wooden one.”
Gowan threw one of the practice swords to Seth and then commenced the lesson. He showed Seth how to check for balance and the trueness of the blade, what weight would be right for his size and ability and so forth. It was an eye-opening hour of verbal instruction that Seth hadn’t expected before they ever started swinging the wooden swords.
Even then, Gowan had him go through his paces alone. They weren’t fighting against each other at all. Gowan taught Seth a dance of sorts. It was a series of movements with the blade, taking it through a variety of slashes, strikes and even blocks. He made Seth repeat the movements in a specific order, over and over, until he knew it by heart. Then he tasked Seth with practicing that series of movements whenever he could over the next days, until they met again.
They set up a schedule of sorts, working around both of their schedules, so they could trade knowledge on a more or less steady basis. Seth’s head was full of the lesson he’d just received as he left, and he was already looking forward to two days hence, when they would do it again.
CHAPTER SIX
Livia was fishing again, scanning the skies for Hrardorr. She’d been fishing more and more of late, keeping the dragon company. Her heart went out to him. He seemed so lonely.
But he was better when he was in the water. She just knew it. She may not have access to him on land, but he was always melancholy until he had swum a bit and caught something tasty to nibble on. Usually a shark, but occasionally another sort of predator, or even an entire school of fish.
He only hunted the smaller fish on days when the town’s fishing fleet was elsewhere. He was wise enough not to anger the fishermen by eating their catch right in front of them.
Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the water off the port side of her boat. A second later, Hrardorr’s head broke the surface, followed by the rest of him. He’d snuck up on her.
“Good morning, Sir Hrardorr,” she said with a grin. She couldn’t help but be charmed by his expression. “You just took ten years off my life with your stealthy ways,” she declared, laughing out loud so he would know that she was teasing him.
Little curls of smoke wafted upward from his nostrils. Dragonish amusement. He couldn’t quite smile—not with all those teeth—but his expression came as close as it could to joy, and it made her heart feel lighter.