Margosha cleared her throat, then smiled at Silas. “As you can see, we’re preparing the verna leaves. What is that you’re carrying?”
He set a small clay crock on the table. “I had planned to give this to Lady Gwennore last night, but she left before I was finished with our conversation.”
The pestle made a grinding noise as Gwennore pressed it down and twisted it.
Annika lifted the lid on the crock and peered inside. “Holy Light, this stuff is strong.” Her eyes watered as she closed the lid.
“It’s a spice made from a hot pepper that grows in southern Eberon,” Silas explained. “It’s what the Eberoni royal physician recommended. This was all that Luciana had on hand at their camp, but she said she would have more delivered from Ebton Palace. I’ll go back to Vorushka tomorrow to pick it up.”
“Thank you.” Margosha slid the crock across the table to Gwennore. “What do you think?”
She opened the lid and took a sniff. Holy goddesses. “It certainly seems powerful enough to wipe out a disease.”
Annika nodded. “I’m thinking a little bit will go a long way.”
Gwennore glanced at the ground-up verna leaves in her mortar. “We could make a tonic of verna leaves and this spice, but it might be too hot for people to swallow.”
“We could dilute it,” Annika suggested. “Or mix it with honey to sweeten the taste. I’ve always found honey to be beneficial.”
Gwennore tilted her head as she considered. Honey. She turned to Silas. “Wasn’t the drink the trolls made based on honey?”
“You’re talking to me again?”
She gave him a wry look.
His eyebrows lifted, but he held his gaze steady on her. “Yes, their mead is made with honey.”
“You’re thinking about using it?” Margosha asked Gwennore.
She nodded. “If we dilute it with water, I think it would make an excellent base for a medicinal tonic. It would have enough sweetness to offset the heat of the pepper spice.”
Annika grinned. “And if it makes people drunk, it will be very popular!”
“Could you buy some mead from the trolls?” Gwennore asked Silas.
“They won’t accept gold or jewels in payment, but I could barter with some chickens and maybe a goat.”
Her heart raced at the way he was watching her so intently. She cleared her throat. “I’m sure they’ll cooperate once they know we’ll be using it to cure the plague.”
He nodded. “I’ll bring you a barrel by tonight.”
She gave him a hesitant smile. “Thank you.”
“Then we can have dinner together.”
Her heart squeezed. Memories of their passionate moment in the cabin flashed through her mind. Rule number five had been: Beware of kissing a dragon. He won’t burn you, but he might make you melt. Holy goddesses, she felt like she was melting now just from the sound of his voice and the hungry way he was looking at her.
But she was afraid to give in. Afraid she would jeopardize his future. Afraid she would never be accepted. And still peeved that he and Dimitri thought they could decide a woman’s future without consulting her.
She motioned to the pile of shredded verna leaves on the table. “I have to grind all this up. And it’s only the first batch.” She pointed at the stacks of leaves piled up on other tables. “As you can see, I’m going to be busy all day.”
“We need to talk,” he said quietly.
“I’m listening.” She went back to work, adding more shredded leaves to the mortar.
“In private,” he added.
Annika nudged Gwennore with her elbow.
She heaved a sigh and shot Silas an annoyed look. “What is it?”
“You want to hear it now?” he asked drily, and she nodded. “Fine. Last night, I tried to sneak into your bedchamber so we could have hours of wild and passionate lovemaking, hot enough to burn the sheets off your bed. But I couldn’t because Dimitri had bunked down in front of my dressing room door with a sword. The idiot thinks he has to protect your honor.”
Annika covered her mouth as she choked on a laugh.
Margosha sat back with a scandalized look.
Gwennore’s face grew hot. The rascal. She didn’t know whether to be mortified or excited. Excited. “Please convey my gratitude to my cousin.”
A flash of gold shot through Silas’s eyes. “I understand.” He turned and left the room.
Her heart clenched as she fought an urge to run after him and fling her arms around him.
“What’s going on with you two?” Annika asked.
Gwennore blinked back tears. There was no point in denying it. She was hopelessly in love. Silas was everything she’d ever wanted. He believed in her. Trusted her. Loved her. He was the right man for her.
But she couldn’t get over this niggling fear that she wasn’t the right woman for him.
* * *
That evening, some soldiers arrived at the workroom with a barrel of mead. Gwennore told herself she wasn’t disappointed when Silas didn’t deliver it himself. But then Annika excused herself so she could have dinner with Dimitri. And Margosha left so she could attend the queen in the Great Hall and taste all of Her Majesty’s food.
Gwennore was left alone in the workroom with her hands sore from grinding leaves all day. Fool, she chided herself. She could be having dinner with Silas.
She rushed back to her bedchamber and Nissa helped her into a lavender gown that matched her eyes. Her heart pounding, she dashed off to the Great Hall. When she entered, she noticed that dinner had already begun. Courtiers were eating and drinking at the different tables, busily chatting and laughing.
On the far side of the room, on the dais, the royal family was having dinner. King Petras sat on a jewel-encrusted chair in the middle with his queen to his left and his younger brother to his right. Silas looked glumly at the plate of food in front of him.
Would he be happy to see her? Gwennore started to cross the room. As courtiers noticed her, they stopped talking. Stopped eating.
She swallowed hard. Where on Aerthlan could she sit? The table where she’d sat before was close to the dais, but Dimitri was there with Annika. She didn’t want to interfere with their date.
She slowed at a stop, suddenly afraid she’d made an enormous mistake. A hush fell over the room, as all the courtiers stared at her.
Silas glanced up and grinned when he spotted her. His chair made a scratching noise as he pushed it back. He jumped off the dais and strode toward her.
The whispers began.
She’s bewitched him.
She must have slipped him a love potion.
We can’t have an elfin witch for our next queen!
It was happening again. Gwennore fought the urge to run away like she’d always done at Ebton Palace whenever she’d overheard the ugly remarks. She clenched her fists. Don’t let them know how much they hurt you.
Silas stopped in front of her and bowed. “As heir to the Norveshki throne, I would like to welcome Lady Gwennore back to her homeland.”
Gasps sounded around the room.
Homeland?
This isn’t her home.
“Twenty-two years ago, Lord Tolenko traveled to Woodwyn as our official envoy. There he met an elfin princess and fathered a child with her, Lady Gwennore.” Silas motioned to her. “This lovely lady is both an elfin princess and a Norveshki noblewoman. And she is working tirelessly to cure the plague that has caused us so much suffering. She deserves our respect and admiration.”
Gwennore blinked back tears and held her head high. The king and queen were still regarding her with suspicious glares, and a flurry of whispers floated all around her as the courtiers devoured this latest morsel of juicy gossip.
Silas extended a hand to her.
She placed her hand in his, and he led her over to Dimitri’s table. As she sat next to Annika, her friend squeezed her hand.
“I’m glad you came,” Annika whispered.
Silas took t
he seat across from her, next to Dimitri, and motioned for a servant to bring them food.
Annika leaned close to whisper in her ear, “You just rescued your cousin. I was about to jump his bones.”
Gwennore whispered back, “If you jump his bones, I’ll jump Silas’s.”
“Deal.”
Silas narrowed his eyes. “Are you two making plans without us?”
Gwennore gave him a sweet smile. “Now you know how it feels.”
* * *
The next day was Rubeday, and when Gwennore saw the ladies all dressed in shades of red and burgundy, she was reminded of her first day at Draven Castle. A full week had passed, and she’d gone from being an outsider to being a Norveshki noblewoman.
That afternoon, Gwennore and Annika were in the workroom, grinding up the last of the verna leaves, when Silas came in, loaded down with two large canvas sacks.
Gwennore rose to her feet. “I didn’t expect you back this soon.”
“What did you bring us?” Annika asked.
He set the sacks on a worktable and loosened the drawstring on the first bag to reveal the reddish-orange powder inside. “This is the hot pepper that Luciana promised you. It came from Ebton Palace.”
Gwennore peered inside. As powerful as the spice was, they planned to use only a few spoonfuls for each batch of tonic. “This will last us a long time. Thank you.”
Silas opened the second bag. “I was surprised to see this.” He pulled out a bulbous brown root. “According to King Ulfrid, this is from the ginka plant.”
“You saw Rupert?” Gwennore used the name her sister Brigitta always used for her husband.
“Yes. Brody made it to Tourin last night and told the king and royal physician what you were doing here. The physician recommended this root, so Rupert gathered up all he could find. This morning, he took this sack to a barge on the Norva River, then he used his wind power to whoosh upstream really fast. On the way, he stopped and picked up the spice coming from Ebton Palace. So thanks to his wind power, these sacks arrived in Vorushka before noon.”
Annika’s eyes widened. “That sounds amazing. I wish I could have seen him wielding his power.”
“We could have used him on the barge that took us upriver,” Silas muttered. “It would have been faster for me to fly, but I didn’t want to try carrying two sacks.”
“No, you might have dropped one,” Annika said.
Gwennore stiffened. “What?” She glanced at Annika and then Silas. “She knows you’re a dragon?”
He shrugged. “Everyone in the Three Cursed Clans is allowed to know.”
Annika nodded. “And that includes you.”
Gwennore snorted. “I never thought I would be happy to belong to a cursed clan.”
Annika laughed.
Gwennore smiled at Silas. “Thank you for bringing this stuff to us.”
He smiled back. “Anytime.”
“And it was very sweet of Rupert to get these sacks to Vorushka so quickly,” Gwennore added.
Silas nodded. “I think he was happy to have a reason to see his wife and son again. They were still at the camp.”
“Brigitta stayed there?” Gwennore asked.
“All your sisters are there. They’re worried about you. I don’t think it’s safe for you make the trip to see them, so I invited them all here. They’re considering it.”
Gwennore’s heart filled with warmth. “I would love to show them how beautiful this country is.”
Annika picked up a ginka root and studied it. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before.”
“I have,” Gwennore replied. “Sister Colleen used it for multiple illnesses at the convent, but mainly for curing stomachaches.” She pulled one out of the bag. “I’ve been concerned that the hot pepper might upset some people’s stomachs, but if we include this in the tonic, I think it will offset any ill effects from the spice.”
“Excellent!” Annika emptied the sack, making a pile of ginka roots.
“We’ll have to slice them, then grind them into a mash,” Gwennore said as she reached for a knife.
“Need some help?” Silas pulled a dagger from his boot.
After an hour they had sliced and chopped the entire pile of ginka root. As the sun moved toward the horizon, it shone brightly through the westward-facing windows. The room became hot, so Gwennore opened the windows wider.
A large bird flew past. An eagle.
“Brody?” She stepped aside as the bird shot through the window and flopped onto the floor.
“Brody!” Gwennore dashed over to look at him. The eagle lay on its side, breathing heavily. “He must be exhausted.”
“I’ll bring some food!” Annika rushed out the door.
Silas picked up the folded stack of clothes Brody had left beside his pallet where he’d slept in dog form. “Here. You need these?” He set the clothes beside the eagle.
“I’ll step outside.” Gwennore waited in the hallway till she heard Silas call her back inside.
Brody was now in human form, sitting on the floor wearing a pair of breeches. He winced as he slipped on the shirt. “My arms are sore.”
Silas sat on the floor beside him. “You flew all the way from Tourin?”
Brody collapsed back on the floor, his shirt unbuttoned. “All the way from the Isle of Mist.”
“The Isle of Mist?” Gwennore sat next to him. “Why on Aerthlan did you go there?”
“The Seer has some medical knowledge. And he’s—”
“You saw the Seer?” Silas asked.
Brody nodded his head. “He’s lived for a—”
“How do you know the Seer?” Gwennore asked. “I didn’t think anyone ever saw him.”
“Of course people see him,” Brody muttered. “He gets supplies every now and then from the Isle of Moon. That’s how his prophecies get spread.”
Gwennore’s mouth fell open. She’d lived on the Isle of Moon most of her life, and she’d never known this. “How come I never heard about that?”
“The sailors are sworn to secrecy.” Brody sat up. “Can I finish my story now? The Seer has lived a really long time, almost a hundred years, so I thought I would ask him what his secret is for living such a long and healthy life.”
Gwennore leaned forward. “What did he say?”
“Garlic.” Brody buttoned his shirt. “Lots of garlic. He recommends you include some in your tonic.”
“I see.” Gwennore glanced at Silas. “Do you know where we can get a big supply of garlic?”
“I’ll check into it,” Silas said, then glanced at Brody. “What do you know of the Seer? What is he like?”
With an exhausted sigh, Brody fell back onto the floor. “He has bad breath.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Over the next two days, Silas helped Gwen as much as he could. He was worried about her safety, but with all the errands he had to do, he wasn’t able to stay by her side. He took some relief in the knowledge that Brody was spending most of his time as her guard dog.
On the first day, Sapphirday, Silas located a supply of garlic and brought it to Draven Castle. He enlisted a few servants to help peel and chop all the garlic. Unfortunately, the kitchen staff was already swamped with work, preparing for the grand feast that would signal the opening of the Summoning.
His next mission was to collect bottles and clay jars so they could store and distribute the tonic Gwen was making. So that afternoon, he flew to the army camp, shifted and dressed, then rode into Vorushka with Aleksi and a troop of soldiers. There, they bought all the small containers they could find. Then they transported them by barge and wagon back to Draven Castle, arriving late that night.
He was glad to have the troop of soldiers with him. The Summoning would begin soon, and that meant a great deal of visitors would be arriving. Gwen’s would-be captor or even the Chameleon might use the event to sneak into the castle.
As busy as Silas was, he was only able to see Gwen a few minutes at a time. She was equally bus
y, and he worried that she was working herself too hard. But she was determined to have the first batch of tonic ready to hand out at the Summoning, when so many of the Norveshki people would be gathered together.
Gwen convinced them that they should promote the medicine as a fertility tonic. That way, more people would be willing to take it.
By the second day, Ametheday, Gwen and her friends were bottling the tonic. Silas was busy seeing to the security of the castle as the crowds of people started to arrive. Nobles were given rooms in the castle, while commoners either found rooms in the inns in Dreshka or pitched tents along the river.
Preparations for the Summoning began in earnest. At dawn, the kitchen began roasting huge slabs of meat for the opening feast. Servants constructed a dais at the northern side of the courtyard and set two jewel-encrusted thrones on top. Benches were placed in rows to fill the rest of the courtyard with a wide aisle down the middle, leading from the dais to the southern gate.
More servants set up a long line of tables in the Great Hall. These were covered with red velvet tablecloths. The feast would take up every inch of the tables. Nobles would be allowed to go down the buffet table first, then they would eat at the other tables in the Great Hall. After the commoners had their turn, they would eat while sitting on the benches in the courtyard.
As more and more people waited for the feast to begin, the nobles gathered in the courtyard, while the commoners waited outside the southern gate. Silas preferred to watch everyone from the roof of the castle. He was able to walk along all four wings of the castle, observing everything that was happening both outside the castle and in the courtyard.
As the sun set, horns blared to signal the beginning of the opening feast. The commoners gave a cheer and eagerly waited for the southern gate to open and allow them inside. Meanwhile, the nobles hurried into the Great Hall so they could have their pick of the buffet table. The king and queen would already be there with their own table filled with dishes just for them.
Silas was supposed to eat at the royal table, but he remained on the roof, carefully watching the crowd for anyone who appeared suspicious. He spotted Brody in dog form, weaving through the crowd to make sure the Chameleon wasn’t sneaking in.