Gwennore blinked back tears and held her head high. The king and queen were still regarding her with suspicious glares, and a flurry of whispers floated all around her as the courtiers devoured this latest morsel of juicy gossip.
Silas extended a hand to her.
She placed her hand in his, and he led her over to Dimitri’s table. As she sat next to Annika, her friend squeezed her hand.
“I’m glad you came,” Annika whispered.
Silas took the seat across from her, next to Dimitri, and motioned for a servant to bring them food.
Annika leaned close to whisper in her ear, “You just rescued your cousin. I was about to jump his bones.”
Gwennore whispered back, “If you jump his bones, I’ll jump Silas’s.”
“Deal.”
Silas narrowed his eyes. “Are you two making plans without us?”
Gwennore gave him a sweet smile. “Now you know how it feels.”
* * *
The next day was Rubeday, and when Gwennore saw the ladies all dressed in shades of red and burgundy, she was reminded of her first day at Draven Castle. A full week had passed, and she’d gone from being an outsider to being a Norveshki noblewoman.
That afternoon, Gwennore and Annika were in the workroom, grinding up the last of the verna leaves, when Silas came in, loaded down with two large canvas sacks.
Gwennore rose to her feet. “I didn’t expect you back this soon.”
“What did you bring us?” Annika asked.
He set the sacks on a worktable and loosened the drawstring on the first bag to reveal the reddish-orange powder inside. “This is the hot pepper that Luciana promised you. It came from Ebton Palace.”
Gwennore peered inside. As powerful as the spice was, they planned to use only a few spoonfuls for each batch of tonic. “This will last us a long time. Thank you.”
Silas opened the second bag. “I was surprised to see this.” He pulled out a bulbous brown root. “According to King Ulfrid, this is from the ginka plant.”
“You saw Rupert?” Gwennore used the name her sister Brigitta always used for her husband.
“Yes. Brody made it to Tourin last night and told the king and royal physician what you were doing here. The physician recommended this root, so Rupert gathered up all he could find. This morning, he took this sack to a barge on the Norva River, then he used his wind power to whoosh upstream really fast. On the way, he stopped and picked up the spice coming from Ebton Palace. So thanks to his wind power, these sacks arrived in Vorushka before noon.”
Annika’s eyes widened. “That sounds amazing. I wish I could have seen him wielding his power.”
“We could have used him on the barge that took us upriver,” Silas muttered. “It would have been faster for me to fly, but I didn’t want to try carrying two sacks.”
“No, you might have dropped one,” Annika said.
Gwennore stiffened. “What?” She glanced at Annika and then Silas. “She knows you’re a dragon?”
He shrugged. “Everyone in the Three Cursed Clans is allowed to know.”
Annika nodded. “And that includes you.”
Gwennore snorted. “I never thought I would be happy to belong to a cursed clan.”
Annika laughed.
Gwennore smiled at Silas. “Thank you for bringing this stuff to us.”
He smiled back. “Anytime.”
“And it was very sweet of Rupert to get these sacks to Vorushka so quickly,” Gwennore added.
Silas nodded. “I think he was happy to have a reason to see his wife and son again. They were still at the camp.”
“Brigitta stayed there?” Gwennore asked.
“All your sisters are there. They’re worried about you. I don’t think it’s safe for you make the trip to see them, so I invited them all here. They’re considering it.”
Gwennore’s heart filled with warmth. “I would love to show them how beautiful this country is.”
Annika picked up a ginka root and studied it. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before.”
“I have,” Gwennore replied. “Sister Colleen used it for multiple illnesses at the convent, but mainly for curing stomachaches.” She pulled one out of the bag. “I’ve been concerned that the hot pepper might upset some people’s stomachs, but if we include this in the tonic, I think it will offset any ill effects from the spice.”
“Excellent!” Annika emptied the sack, making a pile of ginka roots.
“We’ll have to slice them, then grind them into a mash,” Gwennore said as she reached for a knife.
“Need some help?” Silas pulled a dagger from his boot.
After an hour they had sliced and chopped the entire pile of ginka root. As the sun moved toward the horizon, it shone brightly through the westward-facing windows. The room became hot, so Gwennore opened the windows wider.
A large bird flew past. An eagle.
“Brody?” She stepped aside as the bird shot through the window and flopped onto the floor.
“Brody!” Gwennore dashed over to look at him. The eagle lay on its side, breathing heavily. “He must be exhausted.”
“I’ll bring some food!” Annika rushed out the door.
Silas picked up the folded stack of clothes Brody had left beside his pallet where he’d slept in dog form. “Here. You need these?” He set the clothes beside the eagle.
“I’ll step outside.” Gwennore waited in the hallway till she heard Silas call her back inside.
Brody was now in human form, sitting on the floor wearing a pair of breeches. He winced as he slipped on the shirt. “My arms are sore.”
Silas sat on the floor beside him. “You flew all the way from Tourin?”
Brody collapsed back on the floor, his shirt unbuttoned. “All the way from the Isle of Mist.”
“The Isle of Mist?” Gwennore sat next to him. “Why on Aerthlan did you go there?”
“The Seer has some medical knowledge. And he’s—”
“You saw the Seer?” Silas asked.
Brody nodded his head. “He’s lived for a—”
“How do you know the Seer?” Gwennore asked. “I didn’t think anyone ever saw him.”
“Of course people see him,” Brody muttered. “He gets supplies every now and then from the Isle of Moon. That’s how his prophecies get spread.”
Gwennore’s
