Page 37 of Dragon Fire

“My fathers are knights. Everyone expected I would be, too, but I gave up the training and apprenticed myself to Bronwyn, our healer. She is very old, and her joints ache almost constantly. She needed help, and nobody else was offering. I could not let her suffer alone, so I started to help her instead of going to fighting practice. My family was not happy, but I insisted. Bronwyn meant more to me than doing sword drills.”

Seth kept talking as he bathed the wound in a liquid that would both clean it and numb the area. The pungent scent of the herbs it was made from almost made him sneeze, but he kept on working. Lizbet was at his side, helping once she saw the way of it.

Seth opened the small metal case in which he kept his most precious tools. Diamond needles in various shapes and sizes. Diamond was the only thing that would easily get through dragon hide, and each Lair had one set of the precious instruments.

This new set gleamed and was Seth’s newest and most prized possession next to the sword Gowan had given him. Livia had ordered these tools crafted by her artisans—probably without her father’s knowledge—from the diamond blades Hrardorr had recovered from the bottom of the harbor after the battle of Dragonscove.

Most of those diamond blades had been slated to be cut up into ornaments and jewelry, then sold on to pay for the damages to the town and to re-equip the harbor defense cannons with newer models and supplies. But Livia had set aside a few of the longer blades, earmarking them to be made into tools that could help heal dragons instead of kill them. Several sets had been made and sent to the capital for dispersal to various Lairs around the country, but one had come by special messenger with a handwritten note from Livia, delivered into Seth’s hands with the grateful appreciation, or so the note said, of the entire town.

He hadn’t had a chance to use them yet, but now was as good a time as any, and he knew the diamond cutters who worked for Livia’s father were among the best in the business. Seth had checked and rechecked these wondrous tools, and they were sound. He was sure of it.

And now, they would be put to very good use indeed.

He lifted out the slightly curved needle that was about the length of his hand. This would be perfect for the job ahead.

“You have done this before,” Lizbet commented at his side. “I’ve never seen such tools. Gryphon hide is not nearly as tough as dragon scale.”

“Each Lair has a set of these diamond-tipped tools for exactly this purpose, but this set is mine. It was a gift from a friend. The diamond slides easily through the patient, allowing the sutures to cause as little additional damage as possible, and when numbed with the potion I just used, the dragon shouldn’t feel anything in the area of the wound for a few hours. The potion also cleans the wound and removes any contaminants.”

“We have something similar, but I’d love to compare recipes,” Lizbet said softly as she watched Seth thread the extra large needle.

“I would be happy to,” Seth agreed. “But for now, would you hold the cut together while I stitch it up?”

“You said this won’t hurt, right?”a worried Shara asked them in a small voice.

Sea dragons were definitely more timid than their land brethren. It was a shock to Seth, but he’d better get used to it.

“Do you feel anything near the cut now, milady?” Seth asked calmly, leaning back to look her in the eye.

“No,”she answered tentatively.“The fire went out when you doused it with that smelly water.”

Seth tried not to laugh though he couldn’t hold back a small grin. “That was a numbing potion. It will relieve the pain in the area for a few hours,” Seth said again, trying to sound reassuring and confident. “But if you feel anything at any point, just tell me, and I’ll stop, all right? You’re in control here, milady. I want to help you. I don’t want to cause you any further pain. You have my word.”

She held his gaze for a long moment and then sighed and set her head back down on the sand.“All right. Proceed.”

She didn’t sound happy about it, but Seth was confidant she would be reasonable. She was probably still scared, though.

“Xanderanth,”Seth sent his message privately to the big blue dragon.“Can you help her feel less scared?”

“I’ll try,”Xander immediately replied.

He adjusted his position so that he held her wing aloft with his hind feet, stretching and twisting his neck to lay his head next to hers. Her eyes blinked open in surprise, but then warmed, if Seth was any judge of dragonish expressions.

And then, the dragons began talking among themselves. Though Seth didn’t hear any of their conversation, he could tell by the attitudes of their heads and the look in their eyes that they were communing silently. His dragon parents got just such a look on their faces when they were talking together.

“Leo?” Seth said quietly, calling to the young knight who was watching his dragon partner with a concerned gaze. “Would you help with the supplies while Lady Lizbet holds the wound together for me?”

“Happy to help,” Leo replied at once, coming closer and positioning himself next to the supplies and close enough to hand things to Seth when needed.

All knights received training in how to help care for dragons both when they were well and when they became injured, so Leo knew what to do. Seth set to work, sewing up the long cut with precise stitches. He realized at one point that Leo was staring rather pointedly at the fair Lizbet, but she didn’t seem to notice. Or if she did, she was too polite to say anything.

“Lady Lizbet, this is Sir Leo, Sir Xanderanth’s partner,” Seth made the introductions quietly.

“Oh, yes, Flurrthith told me about you all. Thank you for accompanying him home. He is part of my family unit. His parents are partners to my parents, and we were raised together,” she explained.

“He’s your gryphon-brother.” Seth nodded as he continued working. “I understand completely. I come from a family like that, only with dragons instead of gryphons. And two human fathers, of course.” Seth spared a second to look up at Lizbet and wink.

“Trios are not unheard of among my people, but it is not the norm, I will admit,” she said, surprising him with her frankness.

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