herself hold the baby closer, guide him to her breast to suckle. She caught her breath in wonder. A child, a son—but then she saw her own face lift, and recoiled from the sight of the fierce, angry green eyes. There were welts across her brow and one bared shoulder, burned into her skin by her own Fire.
The vision faded, and the fountain was only water again. The spray struck her face with a sudden wind through the garden. She shivered, drew her hands from the water and dried them absently on her skirt. Closing her eyes, she rewove the water circle and its vision in her mind. A son, held jealously to her breast; Sunrunner’s Fire scarring her face and her body. A sudden trembling shook her, but whether of joy or fear she did not want to know.
Chapter Twenty-one
Five days later, riding up the steep path to Skybowl, Rohan still huckled over Lord Hadaan’s send-off. “Make sure that boy retains full use of his limbs and wits,” the old man had ordered gruffly. “He’ll need them if he’s to make something out of this old wreck.” Nothing else had been said of the matter, but a slap on the shoulder and the growled caution indicated Hadaan’s approval of Rohan’s choice for the next athri of Remagev. It was most gratifying, even if his shoulder had twinged all day afterward with the enthusiasm of his kinsman’s farewell salute.
As the riders reached the lip of the ancient crater, Rohan drew rein to appreciate the vast blue lake. Skybowl Keep crouched on the shore like a bad-tempered gray dragon, wings folded at odd angles and claws dug deep into the stony soil. A road wide enough for three horses circled the lake, and a narrower path wound upward on the far side to disappear over the cliff. This led to the dragon caves.
“It’s beautiful!” Tilal said at Rohan’s side. “All that water!”
“You’re starting to sound Desert-bred. Perhaps while we’re here the dragons will come for a drink.”
“Do you think so, my lord? I’ve never seen one up close, only flying over River Run. Are they really as big as people say?”
“Bigger.” Rohan’s attention was caught by a small group of riders leaving the keep, and he squinted into the afternoon sunlight. Lord Farid was easily distinguished by his loose white robes and heavy beard, but the other four were unknown to Rohan. He touched his heels to Pashta’s ribs and rode forward.
“My lord prince!” Farid hailed him. “If it’s dragons you’re seeking, we’ve just had word they’re on the high cliffs!”
“Then let’s go watch!” He beckoned Walvis forward and said, “Take the others in and see to the horses. Tilal, how would you like to come with me?”
“May I, my lord?” The boy bounced in his saddle and his horse gave an irritated snort. “I won’t get in the way, I promise.” This with a sidelong glance at Walvis, who smiled and held out a hand to take the prince’s standard.
Rohan and Farid exchanged news as they headed for the cliff path. After a time the old man called one of his escort forward for an introduction that made Rohan forget his manners and simply stare as Feylin of Skybowl was presented to him. It seemed that his counter of dragons was a woman—and a young and pretty one at that.
She acknowledged his surprise with a wry smile that lit up her deeply tanned face. “It’s an honor to meet you at last, my lord,” she said. “And to be chasing dragons with you!”
“The honor is mine,” he said, recovering himself. “Forgive me for staring, but you’re very young to know so much and be so good at what you do for me.”
“Nineteen last autumn,” she replied cheerfully. “Full young, I’ll admit, but sharp-eyed and able to count—and to make sense of what I’ve counted.”
“So I’ve discovered.” He smiled, liking her easy manners. “Have you always watched dragons?”
“Ever since I was a little girl. Where we lived up by the Cunaxan border, the grounds were so near that we felt the wind of their wings and made knives of their teeth.” She pulled a dagger from her belt and passed it to him, haft-first.
The knife was suitable for stabbing, not slicing, but the point was needle fine and would go through a man’s belly all the way to his backbone. “Did you have to argue much with the dragon who used to own this?” Rohan asked as he handed it back.