Ratha slid down the crux of the dragon’s wing and foreleg. Her wings, black as my own and hinting at her relation to my mother, fluttered to control her speed. She winced only slightly as her feet hit the ground. The rebels helped her up and motioned for the next to follow.
“Prince,” Ratha said, her voice hoarse from disuse. “How’s the Jewel of the Southlands? As idyllic as they all say?”
She wasn’t asking about the city, I knew, but about how Bac and Aleksander, the only rebels who had journeyed here, were being treated.
“We have safety and space.” I wasn’t about to report anything negative with Lord Balik behind me.
“How diplomatic.” Ratha muttered, and Filip, ever the gentlefae, went to her and offered his arm.
“Might I show you to the gate office? They have chairs waiting for those who need them.”
Ratha’s eyebrows arched. “Hmm, perhaps my worries were for naught. Show me to a comfortable chair, lad.”
The pair made their way to the small pass-through office city gate guards used.
Brynhild was next, looking weary and happy to be on land. One by one, twelve fae dismounted the dragon. Those who had been the most grievously injured and two very ill rebels looked far better than when I’d last seen them at Valrun. Rynni had been working tirelessly to care for her patients.
The dragon-fae shifted, her blackish-purple scales disappearing as her form shrank into the red-haired, pale female with faint scales framing her ears.
“Are you ready for a long rest?”
“That I am,” she agreed. “The others set out just before we did.”
“Good timing.” Had the rebels remained at Valrun for much longer, the chances of the King of Winter finding them would have increased. I smiled and gestured toward the rulers of the south. “Rynni, I’d like to introduce you to the Lord of Myrr and two of his sons.”
She joined me, and I performed the proper introductions. Each Balik treated the healer with a degree of deference that seemed to surprise her, but not me. Outside the White Tower, healers were the most revered in the rugged southlands where monsters roamed the nearby mountains and often inflicted grave injuries.
“My sons and Prince Vale, along with my guard,” Lord Balik gestured back to the armed fae around us, “will show you to where you’re staying. I, however, must return to the castle. I have a meeting with the Falk princesses.”
The dragon-fae’s eyebrows pinched together. Because we’d used Arla and prewritten notes to let them know they shouldcome south, the rebels had not been told that they’d be staying outside the walls of Ramshold.
“We thank you for your hospitality, my lord,” Rynni replied, though the look she shot at me screamed that she had questions.
Lord Balik slipped through the passage, into Myrr’s bustling streets. Sian and Filip went to the rebels, gathering them and doing what they could to ease any nerves.
“Isolde asked after the new babies?” I started when I was alone with the healer. “Are they well?”
Rynni’s face softened. “Perfect in every way. Their mothers are healthy too. Healing still, but healthy.”
My heart lifted. It was still too soon to tell, but my mate’s theory of the blight might prove true.
“So,” Rynni said. “Where are we staying, then?”
“In a building with many family units, large enough to house all of the rebels. There are three such buildings we’ve been given, all next to each other, so it’s convenient.” I did my best to hide my disdain for the choice. As much as I didn’t like the arrangement it was still fair. “There will be soldiers in the area. For the rebels’ safety.”
“And the peace of mind of those in Myrr,” Rynni muttered. I wasn’t fooling her. “I assume we aren’t close to the castle either?”
“Correct, but it was the best we could do. These apartments are new, and no one else is inhabiting them, which is how Lord Balik secured the buildings so easily. There are exceptions, of course, for those who need the castle healers. Are there any you’d say need more care right now?”
“Not unless they hurt themselves on the journey here.”
“Brynhild and you may stay at the castle. As part of our court.”
Rynni wrinkled her nose. “We’ll see.”
I shrugged a shoulder and waved her towards the wall. “Let’s show everyone to their new home”
I led the rebels into Myrr, and in the direction of the building they’d live in. When we arrived, the owner of the first building waited outside, as Lord Balik had requested.
