“It’s all right,” Cook said, her gray eyes flashing. “Nothing to upset yourselves about. Child, stop your blubbering, and let Leo tend your finger. I’ll make tea. Take a seat.” With that said, she bustled over to a range heated by a stone quarried on Smoking Isle. She lifted the lid to the range and huffed out a small but steady flame. The stone ignited, and with a satisfied cluck, Cook resettled the cover.
With her usual efficiency, Cook soon had a kettle of water heating.
Leo dealt with the first-aid, glad to have a task to perform. He fastened a special healing plaster around the female’s finger. “It’s not a deep cut,” he said. “If you leave the plaster on overnight, the cut should heal by the morning.”
“Thank you,” the young dragon said.
Cook turned to her junior.“I hope you’ve learned your lesson, child. If you drop a knife, don’t attempt to catch it. Away with you. I’ll finish preparing the fruit.”
“Thank you, Cook,” she said with a curtsy.
Once she had gone, Cook turned to him. “Why are you skulking around the disused rooms? I almost leaped out of my skin when you jumped through the doorway.”
Leo grinned at the older woman. She’d looked the same way for as long as he remembered with her vibrant red hair smoothed back in a chignon. He knew the name of the hairstyle because he’d asked as a youngster. She wore her baggie white trews and white coverall with a green apron tied around her waist. The apron color was the sole part of her uniform that ever changed.
Today’s apron was the same green as the grass in the valley below his house.
“My mate is in the dungeon,” Leo stated, anger pulsing through him afresh.“Her one crime is that she married me, and they’re treating her like a dangerous prisoner.”
Cook gasped and patted her chest. A smile bloomed across her lips until she was beaming. “My Leo has a wife.”
“Gwenyth is not simply my wife, she is my mate,” he said.
“A true mate?” Cook asked, astonishment replacing her excitement at Leo’s news. Then she frowned. “I heard your parents arranged a match for you to Nandag, The Strongminded. I thought to myself that this dragon was not the right one for you.”
“My parents made the match without my approval. Gwenyth and I came to tell them, and they tossed my mate into the dungeon.” Leo told Cook everything.
“Gossip tells me your brothers are friends with this Nan. They visited Smoking Isle last month, I think it was.”
“Do you know how long they stayed or if they traveled elsewhere?” Jakab asked.
“No,” Cook replied with a toss of her head.
“All right,” Leo said. “If you think of anything useful, please let me know. How many staff are still working at present?”
“I was about to send the last two workers to their beds.”
“Excellent. Once they’ve gone, do you mind if we knock a hole in your wall?”
Cook’s brows rose. “Whatever for?”
“I never realized until I studied the original castle plans, but the kitchen is close to the old dungeon where they’ve imprisoned Gwenyth. An alley runs between the two, but I’ve never noticed an exterior entrance. I presume builders blocked it some time ago. Jakab and I think if we find our way into the alley, we can break into the dungeon with no one noticing.”
“The guards aren’t stupid,” Cook said. “The dragon in charge is efficient. They might notice a hole in their wall.”
“By the time they realize, I’ll have Gwenyth safe,” Leo said.
“Where do you intend to stash her?” Cook asked.
“I had thought to stay in an old, unused room until I determine a way to leave the castle unseen. But seeing Telus and one of my brothers loitering in the area has put me off that idea.”
Cook’s brows lifted, her surprise evident. “What were they doing there?”
“We don’t know,” Jakab said.
“You’re best to free your mate and leave town. Or better yet, fly to a neighboring isle and make it difficult for anyone to follow you.” Cook stood and brushed her hands over her apron. “You have little darkness available tonight. The castle walls are thick. It will take time and strength to break through them.”
“She’s right,” Jakab said. “We didn’t think to bring any tools with us either.”
