Lady Vi turned out to be the healer who’d sat on the Council. She greeted Lilly with a broad smile and a welcoming attitude. Luc stalked off shortly after, leaving Lilly in the ornate healing hall. Vi took Lilly on a short tour of the hall and the surrounding greenhouses where all kinds of plants were cultivated for medicinal uses. Lilly had never seen the like and was fascinated by the intricacies of the healer’s vocation she’d never before contemplated.
“Lady Vi, may I ask you something?” Lilly asked when they were back inside, sitting in the Lady’s private bower sipping a tisane Vi assured Lilly would restore her energy after being nearly frozen the day before.
“Anything I can answer for you, I will.”
“Then—your pardon if this is a sensitive matter—but what exactly is wrong with Petr? My healing gift sparked to life when I first met him, but I can’t figure out why.”
The healer’s face clouded with concern. “How did your gift first manifest?”
Lilly grimaced. “In my father’s hall. I went home for a visit, and one of his students was badly injured by an accident during sword practice. One minute, he was bleeding on the floor, the next, I was beside him, my hands covered in his blood, and his wound was gone. It took me over, and I have no memory of actually healing him, though there were plenty of witnesses to the act.”
“A powerful gift, then,” Vi mused as she looked hard at Lilly. “And of sudden appearance. How old are you?”
“Twenty-seven summers.”
Vi made a tsking sound with her tongue. “The road will not be easy for you, coming into your power so late and so strong, but the Mother of All works in mysterious ways. I have to think there is some reason you were granted this gift.”
“Lady, it is a curse more than a gift. I’m a warrior. I’ve trained to hurt and kill my enemies all my life. Now, I can’t go two feet past an injured person—friend or foe.”
“And, I suspect, if you actually had to kill someone, the backlash on you would be near fatal itself. Take my advice, do not dispense any killing blows if you can help it, Lilly.”
“Dear goddess! I hadn’t really considered…”
“The healing gift has its costs, but also great benefits. Now, please describe to me, as closely as you can, what you felt when you first encountered Petr.”
Lilly recounted the feelings and the urge to heal that came over her when she met the boy, answering the healer’s questions in as much detail as she could. At length, Vi sat back and regarded her with narrowed eyes.
“Petr has long been weak and small for his age, though none of us could find any reason for his condition. But what you describe is a true healer’s reaction to an ill person, so my only conclusion can be that Petr harbors some illness inside him that is most likely affecting his human side. My people can’t sense it, but you, being human, apparently can. I will seek the input of the healer’s circle on this and may ask you to sit with Petr and a few of my specialists to see if we can discover more.”
Lilly wondered what she’d done. Most likely Detlif would have her head for drawing attention to his boy, but she couldn’t leave it if there was something she could do to help Petr.
“Anything I can do to help, Lady Vi.”
“Good.” The healer smiled as she stood, indicating Lilly should, as well. “But we’ll wait until tomorrow. We must go now for the midday meal at the great hall, then, I suspect House Adain will have plans for you, since you are their guest.”
When they entered the great hall, the place was nearly full with more fair folk than Lilly would have believed lived in the enclave. There were warriors, bards, tradesmen and servants of every kind, all sitting at a multitude of tables that had been set up since she’d left the large building.
The Council tables had been rearranged as well, though the Councilors all sat around one large table at the head of the hall. Lilly noticed that two spaces had been left open. Luc and his brother were already there, as were the Lady who led the Council, and the others Lilly’d seen earlier in the day. Vi led her right to the open spaces and indicated she should take the seat next to Luc, while Vi sat on the other side.
Lilly was a little uncomfortable after the way they’d parted, but Luc was the perfect gentleman, offering to fill her cup from the pitcher on the table. She accepted with good grace and enjoyed the light conversation that went on around her as a sumptuous meal was served.
“What news have you of the world beyond our borders, Mistress Lilly?” Tolmir asked in his hearty voice.
Lilly racked her brain for the tidbits she’d picked up at court, though to be honest, her main interest was her kingdom and the mission she’d been given. Most of her recent efforts had been directed toward learning about the fair folk and the Veil. She hadn’t been paying much attention to news of other countries of late. But there was something she remembered.
“Merchants from across the great sea say there are gryphons flying in the skies of Draconia. And I’ve heard strange tales of a mad King in Skithdron who practices dark magics on himself and his people. There were also some stories about a new Queen in Draconia who is followed everywhere by a baby ice dragon. It’s said she raised him from the shell.”
Murmurs sounded around the table, though surely, baby dragons were commonplace under the Veil.
“Ice dragons are the wildest of all our brethren and the most rare. This Queen must be special, indeed, if she has bonded with such a one.”
The dragon whose voice rumbled through her mind was one she’d seen earlier that day but hadn’t heard “speak” before. This one sat behind the mage, Elira, though few other dragons were present in the hall. Shilayla was curled up behind Luc’s chair, but Lilly could see only one or two others lounging around the large room.
“They say the new Queen is a dragon healer. As is her sister, who is now married to the King of Draconia’s brother, Prince Nico.”
“The royal line of Draconia is one we respect, though our duty is to the snowlands, while our more colorful brethren partner human knights in those parts. Still, this news is intriguing. Gryphons have not flown outside a special few of our enclaves in many generations.”
“Perhaps, we need to send an emissary to Draconia to find out what goes on beyond our borders,” Elira mused. “After this morning, I think we’ve become too isolated here under the Veil. It may be time we sought beyond our boundaries to discover those that might threaten us.”
“It never hurts to know your enemy before they strike,” Detlif agreed, raising a finely wrought glass in salute to the mage. Lilly thought she caught something there, in the way they looked at each other, but decided it wasn’t any of her business.
“If you have no other plans for this afternoon,” the seer spoke from across the table, “I’d like to invite you to visit my hall. My colleagues and students feel you could be of value in their interpretation of a few upsetting visions some have received since the blockage was removed this morning.”
“I’d be glad to help in whatever way I can,” Lilly replied. She was used to King Alric’s ways and didn’t find the idea of spending time with a group of seers as frightening as many other folk would. In most human settlements, seers were either respected or feared—usually a little of both—but Lilly had no such qualms. She’d seen the good they could do when a well-placed warning could literally save lives.