Wings of Change (11 page)

“Babies?” Lucy was floored by the idea. She hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but obviously the dragon had.

“In time,”
the dragon nodded. “
If the Mother of All so decides to bless us.”

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Something wondrous blossomed within Lucia at the thought, but there was also trepidation. The knights—and dragons—would have to be told about her heritage before this went any further. Fear filled her. What if they rejected what she was? What if it conflicted with their allegiance to Draconia?

She hid her thoughts carefully as Marcus settled in to sleep beside her. Kaden dozed as well and Linea remained silent. Watching.

Lucy had to talk to someone about this. But who?

“The queens are very good at solving problems, if you have one, Lucia de
Alagarithia.”
Linea’s jeweled eye winked at her once before shutting. The dragon, too, dozed as Lucy’s mind spun.

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Chapter Eleven

Later that day, Lucia woke to the smell of roasted meat and herbs. Her stomach growled and she realized she was famished. The bed was empty except for her and she wasted no time bathing and dressing, eager to get some food into her deprived body. When she reached the small kitchen, she was surprised to find two women there before her. Marcus and Kaden were nowhere in sight, and neither were Linea or Reynor. It seemed the two queens had come to cook dinner for her and Lucy realized her moment of truth had arrived. Whether Linea had arranged this or if it was the queens’ idea, she didn’t know, but the time to reveal the truth—and seek advice—was finally at hand.

“Good evening, Lucy,” Queen Lana said. “We thought you’d be hungry after sleeping so long. I hope you don’t mind our taking over your kitchen.”

“Not at all, Your Majesties. Thank you.”

“Oh, please call me Lana, and this is my sister, Riki. We aren’t very formal and we’d like to get to know you a bit better, if that’s all right.”

Lucia knew darn well the two women hadn’t been raised in privilege as she had. Everyone in Castleton knew the story of how they’d been stolen from their home and sold as child slaves, only gaining their freedom and birthright as members of one of the royal houses of Draconia in recent months. Both had married into the ruling line. Lana was married to Roland, King of Draconia, and Riki was married to his brother, Prince Nico, king-consort of the Jinn. Riki herself had been crowned Queen of the Jinn just weeks before, in a surprise move that still astounded many of her Jinn brethren. It seemed Riki and Nico had fulfilled some mysterious and ancient prophecy, revealing themselves as the ceremonial head of the wandering Brotherhood. The two queens dished up three plates of roasted meat and vegetables, setting them on the table. They sat and Lucia followed suit. She was a bit uncomfortable in the presence of such gifted women. Both were healers of great renown with magical abilities far beyond most people.

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“Please be at ease, Lucy,” Queen Lana said with a kind smile. They began eating and her hunger reared its head again. She devoured half her plate before coming up for air. When she did, she met understanding smiles on the faces of the two women. They were watching her closely and Lucia flushed with embarrassment at her poor manners.

“I’m sorry.” She wiped her mouth with the napkin. “I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve been in your shoes, Lucy. Healing takes a lot out of you and when you finally wake up and get over the lethargy, you’re ravenous. Not to worry. We understand.” Riki’s green eyes were kind as she continued to eat. “In time you’ll learn to channel the energy so you don’t wipe yourself out. We can help you learn, if you like.”

“Um.” She didn’t quite know what to say. “I’m not a healer. Not like you are.”

“Well, you did what we couldn’t and that’s saying a lot. You healed Rey completely. All our combined power could do was make him more comfortable, not heal such dreadful damage.” Lana’s eyes glinted a friendly challenge.

“But that was the plume. Not me.”

“Yeah,” Riki set down her fork, “do you want to tell us about that feather? That thing packs a punch.”

“I’m sorry it zapped you.” Lucia blushed again. “It was a gift to my family from a…”

“A gryphon,” Queen Lana supplied, surprising Lucia with her knowledge. The queen shrugged. “Well what else could it be, with such power? Besides, the dragons have been gossiping and that’s what they’ve come up with. Were they wrong?”

“No,” Lucia smiled, shaking her head, “they’re not wrong. My childhood home was near the nesting grounds for several mated pairs of gryphons. My family had a pact with them. For as long as my family was in power, the gryphons would be protected and left in peace. The pact lasted for seven hundred years.”

“Until your family was overthrown,” Riki guessed.

“Murdered in their beds.” Lucia nodded sadly. “I only escaped because I’d stayed the night in the rookery. Nrathrella had just hatched a few days before and her sire allowed me to play with her. For the first few weeks, gryphlets are somewhat nocturnal, so her parents were glad to have me there to help keep an eye on her. Or so they claimed. 72

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Looking back,” she smiled fondly, “I think they were just humoring me. Ella and I bonded from almost the moment she hatched. She was special.”

Queen Lana’s hand covered hers on the table. “I know how you feel. Tor and I bonded like that. We’ve never been apart.”

“You’re lucky to have him with you.” Lucia withdrew, steeling herself to tell the rest of the story. “I had to leave. My father’s enemies were looking for me. Syrruss, Ella’s sire, flew me away that very night. He left me with a Jinn family he knew and they took me in, hiding me in their caravan. I was passed from Jinn to Jinn, eventually becoming part of the Feather Wing Clan. I’ve traveled with them for years and when the call to gather went out, I came with them here, to Draconia.”

“So whose feather is that and how have you managed to keep it safe all these years?”

Riki brought them back to the subject of the plume.

“On the night I left, Syrruss gifted me with one of his plumes as a reminder of my birthright. I’ve kept it with me, on my person, for all these years and never even tried to use it…until Rey.”

“What exactly is your birthright? Are you a princess? A queen?”

Lucia considered. “Perhaps, but my family ruled Alagarithia not by force of arms or political means. We were chosen to rule the human population by the gryphons themselves. It was more of a religious calling than anything else. My ancestors were priests and priestesses of the Lady. You call her the Mother of All. The gryphons serve Her and we serve both the gryphons and the Lady. The gryphon magic was gifted to certain members of my line, down through the generations, to benefit both our races in peace. My mother was the last chosen priestess and she had hopes I would be the next, but I was never consecrated. I don’t even know if I would have gained the gryphons’

approval once I reached my age of majority. By that time, I’d been away from them and my homeland for more than a decade.”

“I feel sure that if you’d been with them at that time, you would have been the next priestess in your line, Lucy. Their magic flowed freely through you and didn’t harm you. That’s the mark of a truly gifted priestess of any sect.” Queen Lana spoke quietly as their meal lay forgotten before them.

Lucia nodded solemnly. “I just don’t know if what I did was right. I mean,” she was quick to clarify, “nothing could be more important than restoring Rey’s ability to fly, but I might have been selfish in my motivations. If Rey can fly, my own future is somewhat assured, after all. I was always taught the power should never be used lightly or purely

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for personal gain. I’m afraid I may have overstepped, though I didn’t see it at the time. And just this morning Linea mentioned children…” Terror filled her heart. “If I am cursed for having misused the gift, then I fear it will pass down my line. I didn’t think of that when I wanted to heal Rey.”

Riki came to her defense. “No, I’ll wager you only thought of Reynor. And Kaden and Marcus. If I were to judge, I’d say your motives were pure, Lucy. Any gift you have may well pass to your children, and if so, it will be a joyous thing.”

“Even here?” she challenged the Queen of Draconia. “In the land of dragons? Will gryphon magic be welcome here?”

“Any magic used for good,” a deep male voice spoke from the wide archway across the room, “is welcome in our land.” Lucy was surprised to see not only King Roland, but Kaden and Marcus standing in the wide opening. They’d heard everything, from the look of them.

The king strolled into the kitchen and kissed his wife on the cheek, motioning for Lucy to stay seated. “I’m sorry to intrude, but what I just heard makes recent occurrences much clearer. Lucia de Alagarithia,” his green gaze pinned her where she sat, “guests have arrived to see you.”

“Guests?” Lucia was confused.

“Gryphons,” Marcus clarified with a teasing grin. “A pair of them just flew in and landed on the battlements. They asked the nearest knight, very politely, for an audience with the king.”

“And then,” Roland picked up the thread of the story, “they demanded to see you. Seems they only asked for me out of courtesy. Polite brutes they are.”

Lucy dashed to her feet. “Do you know who? Who’s come?”

“Let’s go and see, Lucy,” said the king. “I’ve left them in the throne room, for the time being, with Nico. If they haven’t torn him limb from limb yet, perhaps we can find out.”

Lucia ran from the room, taking time only to retrieve the golden gryphon plume. Kaden and Marcus flanked her and the royal party came up behind. As they exited the suite, Linea and Reynor joined the group. Lucy walked fast and all scrambled to keep up with her. She didn’t even take time to tell Rey how good it was to see him whole and happy once more.

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Gryphons had come! She was either in big trouble, or…well, she wasn’t quite sure what the alternative could be. Would they want to take her home? Would she dare consider leaving her new family?

Questions raced through her mind, but she knew immediately that no matter what, she would never allow herself to be parted from Kaden, Marcus, Reynor and Linea. They were her family now and she loved them more than anything. But still…gryphons! She couldn’t wait to see who had come or what they had to say. Her entire future hinged on the next moments and she was eager to greet them.

Marcus and Kaden guided her through the maze of hallways and into the more public parts of the castle. The throne room was immense and Lucy scolded herself to walk with dignity toward the magnificent beasts that stood facing the Prince of Spies. Nico had a devilish grin on his face and it was clear he was studying the new guests as much as they studied him.

Lucy wanted to run to the gryphons, but she couldn’t. She’d been trained since childhood how to approach a gryphon from a position of power. These were strong and magical beings who had strict protocols when it came to dealing with humans. She couldn’t show weakness now, though inside her heart cried out at the sight of the male and female gryphons, both showing signs of only recently growing out of their juvenile plumage. She could still see a few stray tufts of downy white where the new, golden, adult feathers had pushed through.

The gryphons must have heard her approach across the massive room. The female’s head turned and Lucia was struck by an amazing sense of familiarity. It couldn’t be!

She motioned the group behind her to stop as she walked right up to the female. She stood firm, her eyes never leaving the enormous creature who looked down on her with narrowed eyes. Gryphons were about the same size as dragons, but sleeker, with feathers and fur rather than scales. And their beaks were formed in such a way that they could speak, with practice, though some people found them hard to understand.

“I am Lucia de Alagarithia, lately of the Jinn. I greet you, and ask your forgiveness.”

One talon rose to push against her shoulder. Lucia knew the gryphon used only a fraction of her immense strength to push against her. Still, Lucia had to brace herself not to stumble back. This was a good sign. The gryphon was tempering her strength. It meant she was willing to parlay.

“Do you not remember me, my friend?”

Lucy searched the gryphon’s mobile features. They were so familiar…

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“Ella? Nrathrella? Is that you?”

The female gryphon clacked her beak in their version of laughter. “I am grown up. Asss are you, if you are indeed, the Lucccy I remember.”

“It’s me, Ella. I still have your sire’s feather.”

“Ah, yess. That iss what bringss uss here. We felt the magic of it dayss ago and have flown long to find you.”

“I’m sorry. I had to use the magic. Reynor was injured too badly. He would never have flown again if I hadn’t intervened.” She was frantic, unable to understand what was happening. These gryphons were acting so differently than she remembered. “Please forgive me.”

Lucia felt a warm presence at her back. A quick glance over her shoulder showed Reynor moving up behind her. That he would stand with her against two such powerful beings touched her deeply.

“There iss nothing to forgive.” The male gryphon spoke for the first time. “To losse the ssky you were born to navigate iss a ssad thing. We do not begrudge your usse of our magic to resstore a dragon to the air.”

“We are pleassed that you have found your birthright and that by sso doing, we have found you, Lucccy. I have ssearched for you mosst of my life. Do you not sstill feel the bond?”

“Oh, sweet Mother, Ella. I do. Bless my soul, I do.” Lucia moved forward once more, reaching out to stroke the soft feathers of Ella’s face as she had when they were little. “I’ve missed you so much, my sister.”