Chapter Thirteen

Loralie almost didn't believe he'd come back, but there he was. Detlif, in the flesh. His muscles rippling as he brought load after load of supplies into the interior of the cave while she ate breakfast. He paused a few times to ask her where she wanted particular items, and she'd pointed to the various spots she'd set up yesterday when she'd been turning this cave into her temporary home.

She'd been camping out in many different caves around the lands far too often in recent years. Her home was in the Citadel, but she didn't dare go there because that was the one place where Skir had direct influence and where Gebel could always find her magically.

Loralie missed it though. She wished she could go back to visit the place where her mother lay, encased in ice, aging slowly through her long sleep. Her mother, Constance, wasn't dead, per se. But she was trapped in the ice that had been designed to hold the immortal wizards in perpetual sleep. She was likely totally unaware of where she was or of time passing. As a powerful mage of Guardian lineage, she aged much more slowly than regular humans, but she did age, and the magical ice did nothing to stop that. Eventually, she would die in the ice having never wakened.

Her mother had known that going in. She'd sacrificed herself to prevent the wizards from escaping their prison. Just as Loralie would do if she survived the confrontation with Gebel. She was resigned to dying, either way.

She had nothing left to lose.

But Det's involvement changed things a little. Her chances of surviving her battle with Gebel had increased a bit with Det and Gren's help. Which meant she might be around to set off one of the failsafe spells in the Citadel, just as her mother had done, and save the lands from Skir's awakening. And she would be trapped, oblivious, in the ice…until she died of old age a few centuries from now. Maybe Penny would visit her, like Loralie wanted to visit her own mother. Or not.

Penny didn't remember their home in the Citadel. The place reserved for the hereditary Guardian, that was at the heart of the Citadel, but not really part of it. It was sort of adjacent. Close enough to keep both a physical and magical eye on the place and its inmates.

Part of her childhood home had been iced over when her mother had done what she'd done. The library and workroom where her mother had done her spell work was now part of the ice block extending from the Citadel into their home.

Something had gone wrong there, Loralie had always thought. Her mother had been a better mage than to set off the failsafe and have it invade their home. Loralie had always suspected her mother had just run out of time and had to set off the powerful magic from wherever she'd been at the time to prevent a critical breach. But it was all conjecture. Loralie would never really know for certain the real sequence of events.

One thing was clear though. The protections of the Citadel had been worn away over the many eons since the evil wizards had been trapped there by their brethren. Loralie had been working to find a way to renew the enchantments but wasn't sure if anything she could do would make the Citadel safe for longer than a few more centuries.

Something Gren had said made her wonder if the dragons might know. Loralie finished her breakfast and began cleaning up. She would find time to ask Gren about that later, if she could. Whatever she chose to do, she wanted it to be the very best she could manage to leave the lands in safety for as long as she could.

Det came over and sat by the fire after finishing with all the supplies he had brought. She gave him his mug, which he'd left behind the day before, filled with hot tea, and he thanked her before taking a sip.

"Thank you again for the supplies," she said, feeling shy now that they were alone together. The pacas were in one corner of the large cave, nibbling cut clumps of sweet grass Det had brought, and Gren had gone off on his own. At least, Loralie couldn't sense his presence nearby.

"If there's anything else you need, just let me know. I can arrange for things to be delivered nearby and pick them up." He sipped his tea, watching her in a way that made her uncomfortable.

"That sounds as if you intend to stay," she said finally.

"That's because I do." He put down his mug and faced her squarely. "Gren and I are pledged to support this mission. We've talked to both Councils, and while the fey Council is more troubled about the threat Gebel poses on our doorstep, the Dragon Council seems to be more concerned about Skir, though Gren tells me they do consider Gebel a threat as well. We are tasked with assisting you in your mission by both Councils. We're here to help."

Loralie's spirits leapt without her permission. Det was going to stay? Then, she realized the full implications of his words. He was going to stay here. With her. He was going to help.

She wasn't sure that was going to work. If he intended to take over, she was going to have to politely decline his assistance. But if they could work together—truly together—then this might be a really great turn of events.

It all came back to the crux of the matter. They really didn't know each other well enough for her to trust that they could work together as equals. Giving it a moment's consideration, she decided she needed to take the chance to find out. She'd long wished for the time and safety to get to know Det better. She didn't have either much time or any safety, but the opportunity was here. She needed to take it and see it through to wherever it led. For her own sake, and for their children's.

She took a deep breath for courage. Then, she turned to face him, meeting his gaze.

"I accept your offer of assistance," she replied formally. "I've been thinking about how Sir Grennulf, in particular, could really be of help with reconnaissance. What I need to know first and foremost is the schedule of things in the manor. When they take meals. What sort of patrols they post. That kind of thing. Then, I hoped to go closer once I know where and how to exploit their sentry positions so I might get inside."

Det nodded. "Gren can help with that, but you should know, I've got both Scout and Guard patrols flying reconnaissance as well. They'll all be reporting to Gren, and he to me, so we should have a good idea of the manor's routine in a day or two."

"But what if they're seen?" Loralie objected, worried too many dragons and their heartmates might ruin her plan.

"First of all, they won't be seen. Second, if one of them is spotted, it shouldn't really raise any alarm since it would be natural for us to send a Scout to check out the new neighbors. I would think Gebel should expect we won't just ignore someone amassing a small army a short distance from our home."

Loralie considered his words carefully. "I suppose you're right," she allowed finally. "I just don't want to tip my hand too early. Catching Gebel off guard is key to my plan, because if I give him warning, he'll gather his magics and use his forbidden knowledge to prevent me from killing him. If I get to him before he has time to prepare, I should be able to get the drop on him, magically speaking."

"I suspect you're interested only in confronting and fighting Gebel. Have you given thought to his men? He's got a large number of soldiers down there," Det pointed out.

Loralie hadn't really considered the soldiers. She was only interested in Gebel and figured she could blast any soldier who dared stand in her way as she stormed the manor to confront their master. Perhaps she'd been short-sighted.

"I hadn't really thought about them. I'm only interested in the mage," she replied honestly. "None of them can really stand in my way."

"Perhaps not," Det allowed, though his eyebrows were raised as if in surprise. "However, I think it would be wise to consider that Gebel might have armed them against you, in particular. He has to realize that with Penny now beyond his control, you are no longer on a leash, so to speak. He has to be worried that you'll seek revenge, which is, in fact, what you are doing."

"It's not just revenge," she replied so quickly that even she realized it was a knee-jerk reaction to his accusation. She took a deep breath and tried again. "I do want revenge. I admit it. But I also need to keep him from even attempting to breach the Gate guarded by your people. My sacred duty is to safeguard the Citadel. He threatens it. He must be stopped."

Det nodded. "I agree with, and support, that goal," he made clear. "And to that end, I think my men and I could be of help in distracting the soldiers while you deal with the mage."

That offer stunned her, though she supposed it shouldn't have. It was just that having any help at all—especially from Det and his people—seemed like a dream. She'd thought for so long that she would have to do this all on her own and had despaired of accomplishing even a small portion of her goals.

"You would do that?" she whispered, unable to hide her reaction.

"Of course I would," Det replied gently. "Every Guard and Scout is sworn to guard the Gate, and guard it we will. If that means facing the enemy on our doorstep, we will do so. We need not wait for them to actually be battering at the Gate. By then, it would be far too late. We have always been proactive in protecting what is under our dominion."

"Which, I suppose, is why your mages constructed that impenetrable Veil over your enclave," she reasoned, thinking aloud. Then, she nodded. "Very well. I see your point. Perhaps I need to reevaluate. Though, I suppose it will depend on what we discover about the manor's schedule. Only then can I decide on the finer points of the plan. I know just blast Gebel to kingdom come isn't actually a well-thought-out plan."

She smiled for the first time in a long time. It wasn't a full-blown smile, but she could feel it, nonetheless. Her facial muscles weren't used to forming a smile, and she felt rusty, which made her sad to think that her life had come to this. She tried to remember the last time she had actually smiled and realized it was the last time she had seen Penny. Loralie had put a brave face on for her daughter and given her a smile full of the love of a mother for her child. It was the only thing she could give her baby on the last day she might ever see her.

Then, Det smiled at her admission, and she felt warm inside. It was amazing how he could still affect her after all this time. Especially when they'd really had so little time together. Still, she felt a little tingle when he looked at her that way, and her breath caught at how handsome he was.

He hadn't changed a bit. He was fey, so that meant he was as long-lived as she was. They both aged much slower than regular people. He was in the prime of life, as was she. It seemed a shame they hadn't had more time to spend together before disaster had struck.

"I can help you there as well. If we coordinate our attacks, we both stand a better chance of winning the day," he said finally.

"You propose to fight the soldiers while I go after Gebel?" She wanted to be certain she'd heard him correctly.

"Exactly. If we occupy the soldiers, then you should have a clear run at the mage, and vice versa," he explained.

"It wasn't what I envisioned when I thought about hunting Gebel down, but I have to admit, your idea has merit. Let's see what we can discover about their routine before we go any further, though," she said, not wanting to get her hopes up too high. Her life had been filled with one disappointment after another. She'd learned not to expect too much.

He agreed, and she readied herself for a day of observation. She led the pacas outside for a bit of air and sunshine. She kept them nearby when she set up her watch post because they acted like an early warning system if anything dangerous—be it animal or man—was in the area. Det thoughtfully brought some hay out for them and set a small pile of it in a recess where they wouldn't be seen from below. Tethering her furry friends to a scraggly tree that somehow clung to the side of the mountain, she then turned to making her own little nest for the day.

There were trees below her vantage point. Det had managed to find a cave right at the tree line so there were a few hardy pines in the area, unlike where she'd camped before. All in all, this was a much more convenient campsite, and it gave her a better look at the manor house. She was far enough above the steeply descending trees to be able to see the manor clearly, while still far enough away that they wouldn't easily spot her.

Gren and Det took to the air as soon as she was situated, and she didn't see them again until lunch time. She was surprised when Det crept up to her watch post. He had a satchel with him that turned out to contain warm sandwiches he had gotten from somewhere. She didn't think he'd brought roast beef with him in the supplies, so he must have either gone back to the enclave or met someone from there who gave him the bag of food.

"I brought lunch so you wouldn't have to interrupt your watch," he explained as he set out the sandwiches between them.

She was sitting on a fur he had brought that morning, and it kept her as warm as possible on the bare rock and snow. The fur was spread on the ground behind a pile of boulders that formed a sort of wall over which she could see the manor house. The boulders provided her cover if she felt someone was looking in her direction and gave her a bit of a break from the constant bite of the wind up here. She could also use the boulder as a backrest while seated on the fur and enjoy the lunch Det had brought, which was very handy.

"That was very thoughtful. Did you fly all the way back home to get it?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity. She hadn't seen any other dragons no matter how hard she'd looked, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

"No. My brother, Luc, brought the food. He's keeping watch on the northwest quadrant. A few of his Scout friends are on the others. They are making notes and will give them all to me tonight before we end our day's work. They will switch off at sunset with the night watch who will keep an eye on things until just before dawn. In all, there will be three shifts watching for the next few days until we have all the information we need to get started."