Page 54 of Dragon Fire

After dinner in the keep, at which the wizard did not put in an appearance, Seth was summoned to Gryffid’s tower. Apparently, the wizard wanted to quiz Seth about life, and politics, in the Southern Lair. Seth had seemed loath to betray anything that might injure the Lair in the wizard’s eyes, but Livia knew he would tell Gryffid the truth when asked. She parted with him in the great hall, promising silently that they would meet again in her bedroom once the wizard was done with Seth.

With Hrardorr sleeping by the fire and the few gryphons she knew off doing whatever it was gryphons did, that left Livia with a bit of time on her hands. Knowing she would probably never get such an opportunity again, she went exploring in the massive keep, enjoying the carved stonework and delighting in each new surprise as she discovered it.

One room was devoted entirely to stringed instruments. It had tightly sealed doors and a water barometer inside, along with strategically placed braziers to keep the temperature and humidity just right. Livia crossed paths with a wizened old fey man in that room, who was checking the readings and lighting just every other brazier. He explained the workings of the room to her and how sensitive some of the instruments were to changes in environment.

That room, he told her, housed some of the greatest stringed instruments ever made. Each was a treasure, and Gryffid kept them safe and available for the master bards to play when they wished. They were also there for artisans to study and try to replicate the skills of the great masters of old. It was a treat, the old man had told her, to handle and play such finely crafted instruments, and his honor to be one of those who cared for them, making sure they would live on in perfect tune for the next generations.

She’d spent a good half hour with the friendly old man, and he suggested further rooms for her to explore. There were similar rooms devoted to woodwind instruments and one for metal horns. Another for drums. And each instrument held in these special rooms, he assured her, were the finest of their kind.

Livia spent an hour or more going from room to room in the musical section of the great house. She was enchanted with all she saw, but especially when she happened upon a room devoted to crystals and gems, uncut and cut. The walls sparkled with specimens in display cases.

That the wizard could leave such valuable things lying around, free for all to view and touch spoke volumes about the trust he had with his people. Again, she thought about the possibility that someone could have betrayed his trust, and the feeling just didn’t sit right. Why would anyone turn traitor on a man who, from everything she’d seen, truly cared for and trusted his people?

She’d spoken to many of the fey in her days here, and from all accounts, there was no poverty on this island. Nobody was going without the basic needs of life. If someone had something bad happen in their family, the community came together to help—as happened in the best of the human towns in Draconia and elsewhere in the world.

Fair folk were even allowed to come and go from the island as they wished, though until recently, they’d had to disguise their origins. When Gryffid had reversed the spell that had hidden the island for so very long, the world again became aware of its existence, and the need for secrecy had diminished.

Until now, though, no human ships had been allowed to dock, and very few humans had been welcomed ashore. There was no trade between the island and the mainland, but Livia hoped to change all that. Once things settled down, she would broach the subject of opening a line of commerce between Gryphon Isle and Dragonscove, using her father’s shipping company. Now was not the time to ask about it, of course, but when the time was right, she would propose the idea. She’d been planning how it would all work in her idle minutes, though there were precious few of those.

These stolen hours touring the magnificent house were a rarity in her life of late, and Livia enjoyed them for all they were worth. She went from room to room, working her way toward one end of the massive keep. She meandered more or less in a line heading due East, starting from the central great hall and working her way through the Eastern half of the house. Her guest room was on the Western side and up one floor, so she’d have to return to the great hall, and the many stairways that led into other parts of the structure.

On her way back toward the great hall, Livia stumbled upon a small gathering of fair folk in one of the drawing rooms. They were sitting around the fire, drinking dark wine when she unwittingly barged in on them.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Livia exclaimed when all eyes turned to her. “Please excuse me. I was trying to get back to the great hall.”

A beautiful young woman stood and smiled as she came over to Livia. “You’re the sea captain’s daughter, aren’t you? Mistress Livia O’Dare?”

“Yes,” Livia replied, wondering where this might be leading, but the woman seemed friendly enough.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you, but I’ve had to lay low, lest I run into any of the human males now on the island. I’m Gwen. Gryffid’s granddaughter.” She held out her hand and pulled Livia into the room.

“Oh. I didn’t know he had any family. I’m sorry. I should have realized. You are the lady of the keep.” Livia’s mind raced to keep up with this unexpected turn of events.

Gwen laughed, and it was the tinkling sound of magical bells, pleasant and musical. She really was the most attractive fey Livia had yet seen. That was really saying something, because they were all incredibly beautiful. They hadn’t earned the name fair folk for nothing.

“Perhaps you’ve already met Lilith, co-Captain of the Guard,” Gwen gestured toward the woman seated by the fire. Livia had seen her before, in the great hall, but never at her ease. “And this is her brother Liam.” The younger of the two men nodded as he stood politely, both of them having gotten to their feet when Livia approached. “He’s a diplomat, if you can believe it. And their brother, Lothar, who is one of our most skilled healers.” The second man nodded this time, and Livia returned the courtesy. “They’ve been keeping me company on and off, since I can’t really go outside with all the humans here now.”

“Not without causing a riot, at least,” Lothar joked. Livia didn’t understand what they were talking about but hesitated to ask any questions. She had interrupted them, and they were being nice about it so far.

“Perhaps our guest does not realize what you are, Gwen,” Lilith said, almost chidingly.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry,” Gwen said, turning to Livia again. “I…have an odd effect on men due to my heritage. One of my ancestors was what you might call a siren. Her magical allure bred true in me, and as a result, I have to be careful around human males. That’s why I live here with Grandfather. The fey aren’t quite as susceptible.”

Livia felt compassion for the beautiful girl who couldn’t venture out in the world. “That must be…difficult.”

“At times,” she agreed. “But, come, I’ve wanted so much to meet you. I watched your father sail away and thought you must be quite something to have stood up to such a formidable man.”

Gwen’s friendly manner invited confidences, but Livia wasn’t sure. She didn’t know much about the fey, but then again, she’d come here with the idea of learning more about them and forging alliances that might help in the future. Who better to start with than a member of the wizard’s family?

“My father has been away for much of my life. I run the trading business when he is not in port, which means I run it most of the time.” That was common enough knowledge to anyone in Dragonscove.

“So she is smart as well as lovely,” Lothar said, raising his glass to Livia with a charming smile. Liam, not to be outdone, poured a small glass of the aperitif they were all enjoying and brought it to Livia.

“Our family distills this vintage from a secret combinations of fruits and flowers that grow in our vineyard. It is called Essence of Starlight, and you may well be the first human to sample it,” Liam said as she accepted the small glass of pale amber liquid. It seemed to have a slight effervescence, but perhaps that was a trick of the light. She couldn’t be sure.

She wasn’t sure if she should trust these beings, but she also didn’t have all that much to lose. She doubted very much that any of these folk would be the traitor they thought might be in the keep. Livia calculated the odds and decided to take the risk and try the drink.

Sipping cautiously, she discovered that there were, indeed, the tiniest of bubbles bursting against her tongue as the most delicious flavor she had ever sampled in a liquor enveloped her mouth and her senses. She smiled, unable to contain her reaction, and the others smiled back at her.

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