Page 61 of Dragon Fire

“That’s incredibly devious,” Livia said as they all shared a glass of wine after dinner, still seated around their table in the great hall.

“Incredibly clever, as well,” Lilith said, surprising him. “She was able to gain access to places and people that Fisk never would have been able to compromise otherwise. He had her whore for him, when there was no other way to get the information he wanted.” Lilith sighed and cursed under her breath. “It’s going to be hard for her to recover from this, if she even can.”

“I hope for her sake, she does,” Livia said quietly.

That was his Livia, with her heart as big as the world.

“Once Fisk has magicked her into loving him, she would do anything he asked. Thankfully, Gryffid has released her from the compulsion, and she is filled with remorse.”

“What about the way she was able to impersonate you?” Livia asked. “And those other faces we saw when Gryffid did that spell reversal thing on her in the upstairs hallway? That had to be some other kind of magic, right?”

“Oh, to be sure,” Lilith agreed. “Gryffid isn’t saying too much about it, which worries me in some respects. He’s often very straightforward with us, since he’s always told us he believes we need to know as much about what we’re dealing with as we can, in order to protect the island and its inhabitants to the best of our ability. This time, though, he’s playing his cards very close to his vest. To me, that indicates something deeper—something more than a simple love spell turned ugly. That kind of chameleon magic hasn’t been seen in these lands for centuries. I’ve only heard stories about such things, from the oldest legends. Frankly, I didn’t really believe it was true that someone could take on the appearance of another person entirely, but now, we have seen it for ourselves.”

The silence that followed Lilith’s troubling words was tinged with weary worry. They’d all been through a lot the past few days, and things still hadn’t settled down. Every time Seth thought they were due for some peace and quiet, something else popped up.

Speaking of which, Seth had to blink a few times upon seeing a light blue dragon and a weary looking warrior enter the great hall.

Seth shot to his feet. Genlitha and Gowan had returned.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Seth’s greeting on Gowan’s return was everything he could have hoped for. Seth pulled him into a back-pounding hug that made Gowan feel as if he’d genuinely been missed. This was the kind of caring relationship he should’ve had with his older brother, but had never developed.

Gowan had come to realize over the past few days that Seth was the kind of brother Gowan had never had and always wanted. Gowan was touched by his reception, and when Seth let him go and Livia flew into his arms, he knew he was truly home.

Genlitha was over with Hrardorr by the fire, their necks twining in dragonish welcome. It seemed Genlitha had been missed too.

“Where is Gryffid?” Gowan asked when he finally could pry himself away from Livia’s embrace. He didn’t want to, but he knew he had to deliver his messages post-haste. Things on the mainland were happening fast, and Gryffid needed to know what had happened.

Captain Gerrow, Lilith’s co-captain and mate, appeared at Gowan’s side. Gowan met the other warrior’s gaze and saw the grim determination on his face. Things must’ve been happening here while Gowan had been on the mainland. But Livia, Seth and Hrardorr appeared in good health, so Gowan was at ease. Still, he was intrigued to learn what had happened here while he’d been away.

“Come this way. The wizard awaits,” Gerrow said formally. When Gowan made to follow the captain alone, Gerrow looked back and motioned for Livia and Seth to come along, as well. He glanced at the dragons, then shrugged. “I assume your scaled friends can listen in through you?”

Gowan nodded. “What I hear, Gen hears. If she wants to.”

“Good. That’ll work. We’ve had to make our conferences private since the unmasking of our traitor. No more open talk in the great hall.” Gerrow grimaced, clearly unhappy with the need for such restrictions. “Not until we’re sure she was the only one.”

“You caught a traitor?” Gowan asked as they walked briskly along the hallways and up staircases.

“Your Lady Livia, Goddess bless her, noticed the woman—posing as my mate, no less!” Gerrow seemed truly angry by that, but he nodded thanks at Livia, who tagged along with the group, just behind him. Gowan couldn’t wait to get the whole story out of her later. “There was a confrontation, and the master was able to counteract the spells that had been put on the woman, both to betray her people and to take on the guise of others. If there is one good aspect to this, it is that, after questioning her thoroughly, I now believe she did not willingly betray us. She was trapped by Captain Fisk, months ago, and put under magical compulsion to do all she did. Still, such a troubling event has shaken us all to our core. We believed ourselves impervious to such magical attacks and have been proven totally wrong, if not shamefully prideful and believing ourselves superior to the enemy. A lesson hard learned—and hopefully, not too late.”

They kept climbing upward in the keep until they arrived at the foot of one of the many towers, if Gowan was any judge of architecture. Gerrow didn’t stop there, but led them up a winding spiral staircase to one of many doors dotted along the wall of the stairwell.

Knocking just once, Gerrow opened the door to reveal an office of sorts, in the shape of a crescent moon. The tips of the moon-shape held storage racks with everything from office supplies to potion bottles on them. At the largest width of the oddly-shaped room sat Gryffid, behind an ornately carved wooden desk made to fit the shape of the room.

There were several others already there, including two fey men who greeted Livia with smiles and familiar nods. They were introduced to Gowan as Captain Lilith’s brothers, the healer Lothar and a diplomat named Liam. Livia seemed to know them already, and Gowan was curious as to how she’d met the handsome fair folk.

He wasn’t jealous—or so he tried to convince himself. Surely, Livia was too level-headed to be swayed by a pretty face. He hoped.

“Glad I am that you have returned to us, Sir Gowan,” Gryffid greeted him, taking Gowan’s thoughts away from Livia’s possible attraction to the strange fey. “What news do you bring?”

Gowan heard his cue and began to pull the scrolls from his satchel, placing them in order of importance in front of the wizard. “A great deal of news, as it turns out, milord. Prince Nico and Princess Arikia are now in residence at the Southern Lair. The former leadership has been removed and are recovering from dark magic worked upon them—knights and dragons alike. They almost lost the dragons before they realized what was happening.”

Gryffid held up a hand to halt Gowan’s words. “Who, exactly? Who broke the spells?”

“Sorry, milord. The firedrakes. Sir Drake and Sir Mace, along with their dragon partners, Lady Jenet and Sir Nellin. They are also at the Southern Lair helping to sort things out. It wasn’t just the leadership that was affected. Many of the senior knights and dragons were ensorcelled. Princess Riki claims she felt the taint of someone named Loralie.”

Gryffid frowned deeply. “Grave news, indeed. I knew Loralie’s people of old. She is the hereditary caretaker of the Citadel, but she is rumored to have done…terrible things. If she had a hand in this, then the level and complexity of the magic involved is somewhat understandable. I just never thought…” Gryffid broke off, his face showing his age for a moment.

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