“I see.” Vander rubbed his neck. “It was a strange thing to come here and find no slaves.”
“There were plenty here before I was born,” said Arren. “Lady Riona sold them all after the famine.”
Vander nodded. “Yes, I had heard that story.” He smiled slightly. “I am glad to have met you, Arren Cardockson. I have heard a great deal about you.”
“You have?” said Arren, surprised.
“Oh yes. The only Northern griffiner in the country, or so they say. And something of a rising star, it would seem. Master of Trade at—how old are you, may I ask?”
“I’ll be twenty in a few months, my lord.”
“Nineteen years old,” said Vander, shaking his head. “Astonishing. I was nineteen when I first met Ymazu here. Tell me, how did you come to be a griffiner?”
“My parents were visiting the hatchery,” Arren explained, “to talk with Roland—that’s the man who runs it. They took me with them; I was only three. I wandered off while they were busy.”
“A small child alone in a building full of griffins,” said Vander. “Not a desirable thing.”
“No. My parents say they were terrified; they thought they’d find me dead. But they found me in the nursery with the hatchlings. I’d opened up most of the pens and let all the chicks out. And one of them was Eluna. Some of the chicks were trying to bite me—actually, I’ve still got a scar on my little finger. But Eluna was fighting them off.”
“Xanathus!” Vander exclaimed. “She attached herself to you when you were a child?”
“Yes, my lord. In the end they had to separate us by force.”
“They didn’t let her go with you?”
“Of course not. But Lord Roland let me keep on visiting her in secret. The Eyrie didn’t find out about us until we were both ten, and by then it was too late to separate us.”
Vander blinked. “So, after that you were allowed to keep her?”
Arren grinned. “The elders didn’t have much choice but to let me become a griffiner. Eluna wouldn’t leave me.” He put his hand on her head. “And we’ve been together ever since.”
“An astonishing story,” said Vander in griffish. “And a remarkable griffin,” he added, to Eluna. “I have never seen a white griffin before, nor one as beautiful.”
Eluna looked up at him and chirped, pleased. “And I have never seen a griffin like you, Ymazu,” she said to the brown griffin. “The red feathers on your neck are not like any I have ever seen.”
Ymazu raised her head and half-spread her wings, revealing that their undersides were as red as her neck, edged with dark green. Eluna shivered her own wings, evidently much impressed.
“Tell me,” said Ymazu, speaking for the first time, “what is your power, snow griffin?”
Eluna bowed her head. “I do not know.”
Ymazu seemed to understand. “There will be time to discover it,” she said.
“Thank you,” said Eluna.
“And her human impresses me just as much,” Vander said graciously. “I have no doubt that you will go on to great things, Arren Cardockson.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Vander looked up. “And now I’m afraid our conversation must end.”
Arren turned, and his heart thudded hard when he saw Riona herself come into the chamber.
The old woman walked stiffly, leaning on a staff. Beside her was her griffin, Shree, moving with a steady, rolling grace, his grey shoulders humped.
Arren caught his breath and knelt, while beside him Eluna folded her forelegs and touched her beak to the ground. “My lady,” he whispered.
Riona looked down at him. “Hello, Arren. Please, get up.”
Arren stood. “I’m sorry, my lady, I didn’t mean to intrude. I was—”
“He was talking to me, my lady,” Vander interrupted, bowing to her.
Riona wore a fine white gown, and her long hair was shot through with silver. Her face was wrinkled and weather-beaten. She was old—nearly seventy—but she was not weak or feeble. An Eyrie Master or Mistress had to be strong. She smiled at Vander. “Greetings, Lord Vander. I am sorry to have kept you waiting. And you, Arren, please leave us. We have matters to discuss.”
“Yes, my lady,” said Arren. “I hope your talk goes well,” he added politely and left.
He passed out of the chamber via a door in the opposite wall and closed it behind him. Once in the corridor outside, he leant against the wall and slumped. “Phew! Good gods, that gave me a fright.”
Eluna was looking pleased. “I liked that griffin. Her human, too.”
“They were interesting, weren’t they?” said Arren. “I’ve never met an Easterner before. I