Dragon Prince 01 - Dragon Prince (23 page)

“Lesson learned, I think,” Rohan said. “Come on, let’s go back down.”

They slid down the loose rocks much faster than they’d climbed up, and by the time they reached bottom Chaynal was there to meet them. He grabbed one son in each arm, hugged the breath out of them, told them they were ungovernable little terrors who ought to be horsewhipped—then clasped them to his chest again, eyes closed, lips moving in a soundless prayer of thanks.

Rohan watched for a moment, then glanced around for Sioned. She had started back up the path and he ran to catch up with her. “What are you doing?”

“You dropped your sword. I was going back up to get it for you.”

He put a hand to his empty scabbard. “I’ll be damned. I didn’t even notice. But I’ll go, Sioned. You’re
not
numbered among my servants,” he added, a tiny smile touching his mouth.

Her eyes regained their sparkle. “You promised me some time alone with you—but I didn’t know it would take so much effort!”

Rohan chuckled. “All right, but let me go first. There may be a hatchling or two left up there.”

He led the way, muscles protesting this second slippery climb, and when they reached the ledge he poked his head cautiously over, watching for telltale signs of dragons. There were none. He pulled himself up and turned to help Sioned. But she was already beside him, brushing dirt from her hands as she looked around.

“It’s a miracle none of us fell off,” she commented, shaking her head. “Do you want some light?”

Without waiting for his answer, she conjured a small flame just inside the mouth of the cave. Rohan smiled, knowing she had guessed his real motive in wanting to come back up here. Maybe she even shared the desire to investigate. He peered into the dimness, but other than shell shards, there was no further evidence of dragons.

“Was there only the one?” she asked. “What about all these other eggs?”

“Come inside and I’ll show you.” The little flame lit their way inside, and soon they were standing in the center of the cave. Walls rose in ragged curves to meet high overhead. “There must’ve been about twelve eggs. But only one of this group was strong enough to survive.”

“But—
oh!
” She swallowed hard as the light picked out several withered wings and blots of dried blood. “You mean the one we saw lived because he—”

“Exactly. It’s unusual for only one of a clutch to survive, but I suppose this one was pretty ruthless.” He shrugged and poked at a shard with the toe of his boot. “They’re not so different from us, you know,” he mused. “We just wait until we’re grown to kill each other off. And it might be said that we consume each other, too, if you think about it.”

“I’d rather not, thank you. Will we need more light?”

“Please.”

The flame brightened and now they could see the jagged stones of the walls and the high ceiling, a cave large enough for a she-dragon and her mate. Rohan ran his fingers over the stone. “A river flowed through here once, ages ago. It carved out the soft stone. But the dragons hollowed out a lot of it, too. See where they’ve been at work with their claws?” He pointed out the marks that had deepened the cave. “They use the debris to make the hatching walls.”

“And then the little ones break them down. Those that hatch first do the bulk of the work and exhaust themselves, so they’re fairly easy prey for the later ones.”

“Very good. We’ll make a Desert dragon out of you yet.” He crouched down in the sand, scooping up a handful to sift through his fingers. It glistened in the light of Sunrunner’s Fire.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sioned murmured.

“Give me your waterskin,” he said abruptly. She did so, and he pulled the cork out with his teeth. Pouring the contents over his hand, he rubbed the fine sand with his fingers. Shining grains remained in his palm. With a soft exclamation, he emptied his waterskin and poured sand into its narrow neck.

“What are you doing?” Sioned asked, mystified.

“It’s not obvious?”

“Rohan, more sand is the very last thing you need!”

“Look at it, Sioned. And at the shells.”

With a lift of her finger she conjured the Fire higher. By its light the whole cave sparkled. She picked up a stray shard and examined it. “It’s ragged where the dragon poked through it with his claws,” she said slowly. “But on this side it’s smoother, almost as if it had been—melted?”

“To dry and toughen their wings after they’re born, they breathe fire. They also breathe it at each other. Roast dragon meat is their first dinner.”

She gulped. “Go on.”

“They lose the capability by winter. But look what happens when they breathe fire on their own shells.” He plugged the waterskin and stirred the shining sand with his fingers.

“Rohan,” she whispered. “This can’t be real gold.”

He hefted the waterskin full of sand. “I’ll take this home and do a few experiments, find out for sure. But do you know what it means if I’m right?”

“You can’t let the dragons be killed off—and you certainly can’t tell anyone else about this! Every other prince would be marching across your borders within days!”

“Do I look that stupid?” He rose to his feet, grinning.

Sioned laughed. “You look like someone who’s just found his heart’s desire. I had no idea you were so greedy!”

“Oh, but I am!” Light-headed with his discovery and its possibilities, he laughed back. “And I found my heart’s desire at the beginning of summer, as filthy and sweaty as she is right now.”

“The things you’ll say to seduce me,” she chided playfully.

All the effervescent excitement died. “And you know all about seductions, don’t you? Who was it for you, Sioned?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Who was it?” he demanded. “The man who taught you—”

“I don’t know. I never wanted to know. What difference does it make?”

“What did he do, wear a robe and a mask to bed? Never say a word so you wouldn’t recognize his voice? Did you expect me to welcome the idea that you’ve been with other men?”

Her green eyes lit with fury and her conjured Fire leaped in response. “Do you expect me to be ashamed? It’s something that happened and doesn’t have anything to do with us!”

“How many, Sioned?”

She gasped. “How dare you! You have no right to ask me that, as if every man at Goddess Keep had been through my bed! I never asked you about your women, did I?”

He was so startled he almost forgot to be angry. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you think I’ve wondered ‘how many’ of the women at Stronghold have been in your bed?” she spat. “Neither your hands nor your mouth are exactly virginal! It was one night, part of my training as a Sunrunner that happened before I’d ever seen you in the Fire!” She took a step closer, glaring at him. “Did you think I’d try to father another man’s child on you? Is that the real reason you’re waiting so long before marrying me? How dare you ask ‘how many?’ How many has it been for you? But I promise you now, my lord prince—there’ll be no other women once you become mine! I may have no right to question you about the past—but your future is
mine
.”

She stalked out of the cave and the Fire vanished with her, leaving Rohan alone and speechless in the dark. He stayed there for some minutes, his adult brain telling him he’d made a fool of himself. But something wiser chuckled softly with satisfaction. The inner laughter continued as he picked his way carefully out into the sunlight. He found his sword, the thing he’d ostensibly come for, and sheathed it before pausing at the ledge to watch Sioned’s swift descent. A little of the laughter escaped. His smile did not fade all during the long ride back to Stronghold.

Sioned flung herself across the blue-green bedcover, having just slammed her door in Camigwen’s startled face. She had no desire to attempt an explanation of her refusal to attend the evening’s banquet, nor to hear reasons why she should change her mind. Punching an inoffensive pillow into lumps, she spent a great deal of creative energy cursing men in general and Rohan in particular. Stupid, arrogant, thick-skulled, jealous, possessive—

A knock on the door interrupted the muttered invectives. “Go away!” she shouted, and punched the pillows again.

The door opened and a soft voice that was not Cami’s said, “Perhaps I can help, my dear.”

Sioned leaped to her feet, crimson as she made her bow to Princess Milar. She had spoken only once to Rohan’s mother, formal words in company with the other recently arrived
faradh’im
, and there could be no reason for this visit that Sioned could think of—unless Andrade had been talking. She gulped as the princess smiled and seated herself in a chair.

“I’m glad we’re going to have this little talk,” the princess said with a disarming smile. “I’ve been waiting for the right moment, but we’ve all been so busy.” She gestured to the other chair. “Please. Unless you’d prefer I came back another time.”

Sioned sat down, unable to say a word.

“Now we can be comfortable while we discuss things. I was about your age when I came here to marry Rohan’s father, you know. What a difficult man he was! Nearly as bad as his son, if you want the truth. It’s a strange place, the Desert, and its rulers take as much adjusting to as its climate. When I arrived here, Stronghold was in a terrible state, without a comfort to be had. Can you imagine, the only table in the Great Hall was Zehava’s and everyone else had to stand while they ate! But I changed all that, and I changed Zehava, as well.”

She went on in this vein for some time while Sioned wondered wildly what she was leading up to. But during the princess’ seemingly aimless chatter, the tension gradually seeped from her. Milar was as crafty as Andrade in her own way. Sioned smiled.

The princess noticed at once and interrupted herself in the middle of a sentence about the gardens. “That’s better. You see, you needn’t be frightened of anything here, especially not of me. Certainly not of tonight’s banquet.”

“I’m not frightened, your highness,” Sioned told her. “Only a fool.”

“That makes you a perfect match for my son,” Milar said dryly. “But we’re all a little foolish at times, aren’t we? My sister seems to think I’ve made a career of it. You mustn’t worry about any little misunderstandings between you and Rohan. I had plenty with his father! Oh, the names we used to call each other! You really must appear tonight, you know. We want to thank you in public for saving Jahni and Maarken. Don’t worry about what to wear, I’ve taken care of that. You’ll come and enjoy yourself, won’t you? Please say you will!”

The blue eyes were so artlessly appealing that it was impossible to refuse. If Rohan ever looked at her this way, she’d be helpless. And she told herself with a twinge of annoyance that she already was, like it or not. At the moment she liked it not at all. She nodded slowly, and Princess Milar clapped her hands together in delight.

“Oh, splendid! I’ll send the dress to you at once, and one of my maids will do your hair. I think you’ll approve of the gown,” she finished with a happy smile, rising with a rustle of gray skirts and a wash of rose scent. “I’m positive my son will!”

“Your highness, it’s very kind of you to go to so much trouble for me, but I think I should tell you something about myself and your son and—”

“Oh, my dear!” Princess Milar laughed. “There isn’t anything important you can tell me that I don’t already know! And it’s no trouble at all to arrange suitable clothes for you. When you return from Waes, I’ll have filled a whole wardrobe. Women in our position have certain obligations, you know. Your friend Camigwen understands them quite well. I do like her very much, Sioned. But as I was saying about obligations—I hope you won’t find them too tedious. There are compensations, even when our men are being difficult.”

Sioned watched the door close behind the princess, dazedly wondering if there was anyone left at Stronghold who did not believe Rohan would marry her. Was the “secret” such common knowledge that they would never be able to pull off his plan?

The maid arrived some time later, bowed low enough to indicate that she considered Sioned a princess already, and said, “Good evening, my lady. I’ll just spread the gown on the bed and we’ll take care of your bath before we start on your hair. Her highness says not to worry if you’re a little late, because it’s the perfect night for making an entrance. If you’re ready, my lady, then we can begin.”

Sioned began to suspect that Andrade—and Camigwen—had a hand in influencing the prevailing attitude here. They probably felt that if everyone behaved as if Sioned was Rohan’s acknowledged bride, he would be pushed into an admission of it in public. She doubted they fully understood his stubbornness.

Sioned herself was of two—perhaps three—minds about the future. She wanted Rohan. She wanted his schemes to succeed, for she knew that their life together in peace might depend on concessions he could gain from the High Prince at the
Rialla
; the charade was necessary. But she also resented Andrade’s meddling in her fate, and her encounter with Rohan had given her some angry second thoughts about him.

The maid gossiped away, and Sioned learned something interesting: mindless chatter was a very good thing when one wanted to avoid listening to one’s own thoughts.

“Where is he?” Milar pleated her napkin atop her plate and glanced yet again down the length of the Great Hall.

“If I knew, I’d find him and drag him here by his nose,” Andrade snapped. She was tired after the long ride in the heat, and wanted nothing so much as her dinner. But the vassals and guests would touch neither a morsel of food nor a drop of wine until their prince finally decided to grace the high table with his presence. He was not fool enough to be hiding, although from the expression in Sioned’s eyes during the ride back from Rivenrock, hiding would seem the wisest course until her temper cooled. Andrade could make a shrewd guess about the words that had passed between them.