Chapter 21
Matilda
~
The chatter in the dining room completely stopped when I entered through the hallway under the grand, lobby stairs. Every pair of eyes targeted me. I’m the hussy humiliating the good doctor, who’s giving up everything to move to the valley.
I figured everyone in the enormous chamber could recite, in a chorus, the words Adam and I shouted at each other two nights ago on the pier. There are no secrets in the little Hamlet and obviously the Inn’s patrons pick up the culture along with their room key when they check-in. But then, half the diners this morning are locals anyway, considering the number of ogres and trolls in the dining room, and every one of them were reading me like a newspaper right then.
I also imagine they all know Lucas is taking me up to see Ike’s nearly completed loft, too. Ike’s sister caught my eye, who was making a beeline for me, as though my thoughts invited the ogre hen to come over and further embarrass me.
“I hear ya’re goin’ up to Ike’s,” Ren said as she met me. Leanin’ down, she pulled me into a hug. The embrace felt—creepy. Because she’s an ogre? Or because I barely know her? Isn’t an air kiss good enough for these folks? One of the ogre hen’s tusks grazed my cheek. Ew. “He and Coedwig and their team of troll masons have spent more hours up there than ya would believe.”
Conversations that had been in-progress in the room before, renewed. Praise be small wonders.
“Of course the place is a little masculine for my taste,” Ren continued. “Way too much granite. But considerin’ two males are gonna be livin’ there, maybe three one day, the decor is fittin’. Did Lucas tell ya Coedwig is gonna live up there with Ike?”
My mind spun, trying to remember who Coedwig is. And who might be the third to live with him and Ike?
“The dwarf is givin’ up his second home to newcomers,” Ren said.
Ah, the dwarf woodcrafter.
“He’s leaving his loft to Aedwin and Tae,” Ren continued.
Yep, think I’d been told that a dozen times. These mountain folks do like to talk about who is doing what in the Valley. So they aren’t meanly focused on just me and Adam. And Lucas. Aedwin. Aedwin—I couldn’t place a face with the name. Oh, of course. She’s the ogre hen who keeps her head stuck in the garden. Tae’s her dragon. Too many to remember in this tight-knit community. It seems small, but the personalities are as big as giants. I smiled at my joke.
The front entrance opened across the lobby and the yellow bush of hair belonging to Lucas flashed in the early sun. It quieted in the dining room again. Ren reached down and grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“It’s wonderful to have someone new to talk about,” Ren whispered. “The females were awfully tired of hearin’ about Angus and me, orc and daemon antics on the South Shore, the occasional scandal among the Inn patrons. I’m so glad ya’re here.” She guffawed in a way that would have shocked a proper lady back home, and walked away, shaking her head, dreadlocks swinging.
Lucas made his way to me, every eye in the place following his every step, and we found an open table. A server pounced on us, delivering coffees, steaming bowls of scrambled eggs, and a platter of sizzling meats. Never get used to food being delivered that I never ordered.
“I’m excited about seeing your friend’s place,” I told Lucas. “But it sounds more like a dragon lair, than the kind of home I’ll be building.”
“Well—” His cheeks turned red. They do that a lot. “True. But it’s a special place. Thought ya’d enjoy. It’s about time I left Lydia and Roger to their own place. I’m— I’m— It’s a logical style for me and Iza. I thought ya might give me some ideas on—hoped ya could tell me how to fix it so a lady like yarself would be comfortable sharin’ it.”
I think he’d embarrassed himself more. Lucas jammed a mound of eggs in his mouth. His brows rose.
“A little hot?”
He nodded, sucking in air through parted lips.
I lowered my head a little, leaning forward. “I understand everyone expects Iza and Taiz’lin to eventually mate. What happens then, with your fancy, separate lairs?”
I thought he was going to turn purple.
“Breathe, Lucas. Breathe.” I grinned as his ears turned crimson. They looked frost bit.
“Fi— first. The—the bulls would be very angry to hear any of us talkin’ about Iza’s matin’. Her siblings are responsible for buildin’ a slate for her to select from. But they won’t fly south for several more years, to seek proper blood. It’s far from her time.”
“After she’s been around Taiz’lin all these years, do you suppose she would select anyone other than him?”
Lucas flashed red again. “Iza’s gettin’ irritated we’re talkin’ about this.”
“Well, then don’t tell her.”
He snorted, covering his mouth with his hand quickly. “Oh. Ya’re so naive. What I know—let’s say I can’t keep anythin’ from her, and leave it at that.”
“Okay, new topic then,” I offered, lowering my voice more. “The rumors about us are out of control.”
He nodded slowly.
“I like you, Lucas. But everyone in the valley is marrying us off. I hope you aren’t—you know, buying into the gossip. After all, Adam and I just had a stupid fight—”
That freckled face turned scarlet again. Poor man. I waited for the blood to make it back to his brain before I continued.
“Adam’s been wooing me for a year, and just because he thinks he’s lost me, doesn’t mean—well—I— I’m taken by your dragon. I’ll be the first to admit that. But—”
I had no clue how to finish what I started. I certainly didn’t want to embarrass this man. But, oh, the rumors. My cheeks flashed hot. Hopefully not as glowingly as Lucas. How did I even manage to be so blunt? Didn’t wish to encourage him, but, honestly, crushed on by the soft-spoken, good looking, highland dragon rider is very romantic. But even if Adam continues with his absolute stupidity, partnering with Lucas would scandalize my mother to no end. Parents would disown me, or worse, come to the Hamlet, throw me in irons, and drag me back North in disgrace. Adam and I had a fight, and in the grand scheme of things, not that serious a one. So the goof is jealous. It isn’t my fault. But the gossip isn’t helping.
We finished our breakfast in a mostly uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, Lucas didn’t push the him-me topic. Through his absence of argument, certainly didn’t imply he has any intentions, other than being a good neighbor. Maybe I’m just letting the insane rumoring in the Hamlet make me stupid. How much of our conversation is already being repeated in the kitchen? I swear the majie gnomes have to be involved in the gossiping here. Then I thought about how a rider can’t keep anything from his dragon. Did it work both ways, and are all the Lake dragons connected in a similar way as they are with their riders? I decided to ask. By the way Lucas’ freckles disappeared in the flush, I clearly had my answer.
~
Iza seemed to skim the top of the enormous northern peak, unnecessarily—she could have more easily flown around it—before diving at a forty-five degree angle for several minutes, leaving my heart and a decade of my life miles behind. I may have screamed. The dragon had to be punishing me for embarrassing her rider, or asking about her mating. We passed less majestic peaks until the horizon opened before us, reaching east and west as far as the eye could see. The dragon dipped her wings again and fell even faster, maneuvering into a tornado-like plunge. My heart somehow kept pumping without exploding, but my shoulders and fists cramped from my grip on Lucas’ vest.
Iza pushed at the sky to reduce the speed of our descent before I saw what had to be two-legged engineering. Looked as though God had lopped off the top of a peak. A smooth, slate-colored slab replaced it.
Iza whipped her wings to bring us to a landing on the perfect dragon ledge, which was hundreds of feet square, with an unobstructed view, three-hundred and sixty degrees. It was hard to decide whether the peaks around us, or the plains beyond, were a grander view. A hot wind flowed up the base of the mountain. Felt good after the cold nearly in the clouds. But I wasn’t removing my scarf or gloves, way up here.
Stone-set stairs led down to another level, which extended out another hundred feet, perfect for a full sedge of dragons to sun. Under the landing perch was the dragon lair. The narrow entry seemed too small even for one of the bulls, but as I watched, Iza squeezed through. A moment later, Taiz’lin stuck a sleepy-eyed face out.
After a quick greeting with Ike’s dragon, Lucas disappeared further down the stairs and I hurried to catch up, as the stairway plunged into the mountain. The landing below turned into the living area for the two-legged residents. We crossed a broad entry I couldn’t guess the purpose of, before entering the main chamber. Fourteen foot ceilings ensured no troll or daemon would have to stoop. The entire northern face was glass, from ceiling to three-foot above the floor.
“How did you get all that glass up here,” I asked.
I had been so riveted by the view and uniqueness of the lair I hadn’t noticed that half a dozen trolls, Coedwig the dwarf, and the young ogre, Ike, all studied me and Lucas. We exchanged nothing more than friendly nods. I looked down to ensure the wind hadn’t compromised what a lady preferred to keep covered.
Lucas smiled. “Transport isn’t somethin’ we struggle with. The tough part was convincin’ the craftmasons the means was agreeable.”
The trolls all growled as one. I shuddered from the sound, more a vibration that flowed through my bones. I strode closer to the bank of glass and Lucas joined me. The folds of gold, the plain grass, flowed ocean-like north, east, and west, miles below. Billows of cottony clouds ringed the horizon above it.
“He’s built something special here, hasn’t he?” Lucas mostly whispered.
The gold, brown, and gray granite that lined the other walls would have been too dark without all the sun flooding in the broad glass. Outside and in was equally beautiful. Approaching the lair, the location seemed desolate, but I quickly realized the Hamlet is less than an hour away by dragon. It probably took that long to walk from the North to the South Shore in the winter snow.
“I imagined a cabin up the gully from his parents,” I said. “Nothing like this. This must have cost—”
“Not a matter of cost. Well—” Lucas murmured. “He did have to pay Northerners for the glass. But it’s amazin’ what Ike gets for the ash bows he makes. He has a long list of collectors waitin’ for ’em, so he can charge whatever he likes.”
My chest expanded. Oddly felt like sobbing, considering the resourcefulness of the folk I had always assumed to be simple, backward. I looked down at the plain below again, but my vision blurred with tears. I blinked them away as I sensed the enormous presence of one of the trolls beside me. The giant spoke, but I had no idea what he was saying. The dwarf stepped up to translate.
“He says yar intended cared for his elder aunt. Was very kind.” He paused, waiting for the deliberate Trollish. “The doctor convinced her she must change her ways. Is feeling better than she has in decades.”
The troll held out an enormous hand-polished gem. The light danced off its uncut facets. The stone nearly covered my palm.
“He apologizes that he’s no jeweler, but hopes you can find someone to fashion a pendant appropriate for such a fine lady as yarself.”
The troll also handed me a leather pouch, closed by a red-dyed string. By its weight and feel, I know it had to hold several enormous gold nuggets.
“For a proper chain,” Coedwig interpreted.
“Oh my, I cannot accept this,” I said.
The dwarf grimaced. “I can’t tell him that. Ya must take it, or ya’ll embarrass him. It’s very little compared to what Adam has done for his community in the last month.”
My eyes teared again. I reached up and grasped the lapels of the troll’s vest and pulled him toward me, wrapping him in a hug—mind reeling with how unimaginable that would have seemed, the past spring. I squeezed him tight, and said, “Thank you.” I figured he’d understand.
When I released him, unshed tears glinted in the troll’s copper-hued eyes, but he didn’t seem embarrassed. A broad grin brightened his face, and he turned and walked back to join the others who had never stopped their work.
No one is ever going to take me from this place.
~
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