Chapter 30
Lance
“I returned to the keep,” I told my father. “Was given an officer’s commission.”
“I can see that,” he said, eyeing the too bright insignias on my shoulder.
“And while I’ll freely admit the Royal Riders piss me off each time I cross their path.
” With a wince, he went to settle on a stool.
Part of me wanted to help him with it, the movement tentative, pain filled, but Brand Axton accepted help from no one, not unless he had to.
“That isn’t what’s got you crying into your beer. ”
“Not crying…” I muttered, but his low chuckle made clear I wasn’t fooling anyone. For a moment, I just watched the man move behind the bar, polishing glasses, setting them on the shelves.
“Talk to me, son.”
That softer tone had me looking sideways and sure enough, Dad was nodding in encouragement.
“It’s stupid–”
“The things young men do often are.” His elbows landed on the bar. “Anyone can see its important to you. She’s… important to you.”
My eyes narrowed. Was I that transparent? For a second, my childhood belief that my father was all seeing rose, but I shoved that back down again.
“Your little birds been chirping at you again, Father?” I asked. The man was a legend in Wyrmpeak, which meant a lot of people shared information with him.
“Not about you, lad.” A long sigh escaped him. “Anyway, I don’t need street gossip to tell me what ails you, not when I’ve still got eyes in my head. Who is she and what’s gone wrong?”
“Today?” My hand gripped the ceramic tankard way too hard. “She nearly died falling from her dragon’s back while we flew over the bay.”
“That’s your girl?” Dad straightened up, spinning around to stare openly. “The whole city is talking about what happened.”
“I suppose they would be.” My focus shifted to the beer, the foam looking all the world like clouds right now, making it easy to see it all play out again. “Male dragons fighting for a queen’s attention. A noblewoman thrown from the saddle.”
“It’s not her dragon that matters to you.”
A glance sideways revealed my father staring intently. That slight smile, it had the words spilling out, just as they had when I was a kid.
“No.” My hands raked through my hair as my eyes fell closed, because there was no way I could get this out, not while the sights of the tavern intruded.
With one breath, then another, it all rose up.
“I’m obsessed, Dad, and I’ve got no right to be.
Don’t know much more about her other than her name, that of her dragon–”
“But you could describe her smile in more detail than the hilt of your own sword, and when you close your eyes at night, all you see is all the times she did, right before you think of new ways to please her.” My eyes widened as Dad went on.
“Any time a fellow looks sideways at her, your hand goes to your weapon. You feel a violent urge to blind every man who dares to gaze upon her, even though you know why they do. Because there’s something about her that makes your heart twist in your chest. A feeling that would be bloody painful if you didn’t crave more.
So, tell me more about this terrible dragon rider who can’t keep her seat. ”
“Dad–!”
“She had your heart the first moment you saw her and you’ve been chasing your tail ever since, trying to make sense of it.” Dad took another sip of his beer. “So what is this paragon of feminine beauty’s name?”
“Fern.” I shook my head. “Lady Fern.”
“A highborn lass?” Dad’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Am I going to have to duel her father? Lords like sellswords plenty when they want personal protection. Not so much as sons-in-law though.”
“They tend to look more kindly on Royal Riders,” I replied with a smile, but it quickly faded. “But how did you know?”
I didn’t bother explaining what and he didn’t need me to. No one accused Brand Axton of being slow on the uptake.
“What you’re feeling about this girl?” he asked, lifting his mug in salute.
Mine did the same. “What you’ve felt since the moment you met her?
It was the exact same thing for me when I first laid eyes on your mother, boy.
” His spare arm went around my shoulders and when he drew me into a rough hug, it all came back.
Every time he stopped what he was doing and showed me, explained whatever was plaguing me at the time.
My own arm went around his back, trying not to notice how thin he was now.
“Axton men, they live the high life, using our natural charm to flirt with the pretty girls.” When he leered at a passing barmaid, her cheeks pinked, even if my father was three times her age.
“But none of that helps when you find the one.”
His tankard landed on the bar with a thud.
“I miss your mother every day. Wake up in the morning, convinced I can’t make another twenty four hours without her smile, only to make it to evening, then have her haunt my dreams.”
I stared at my father, seeing the lines, the grey hair as if for the first time.
“You never said.”
“When she died, you were just a young lad, carrying the burden of your own grief. I couldn’t add to that.
Then when you got old enough to discuss these things, you bonded with that Viridian.
Didn’t need a father, not with the keep to look after you.
” His lips pursed, then thinned. “Thought about it when you were rescued from that bitch’s dungeons.
” His growl was an echo of mine. “But then you were off to run your own town. I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would.”
“I’ll always want to talk about Mum, old man.
” Waving the barman over, I tossed some coins on the bar, ordering another couple of beers.
“Why don’t you tell me some of your stories and I’ll…
” When I exhaled, it felt like a whole lot more came with it.
Tension, shame, guilt, they were all blown away, right as I took another sip of beer. “And I’ll tell you more about Fern.”
“Want some tips for romancing her from your old man, eh?” Dad shot me a rakish grin before tapping his tankard against mine. “I’ve got plenty. Did I tell you your mother nearly married Uncle Ray, not me?”
“No!”
That came out in a splutter of foam.
“He set his cap for my Rosie too, didn’t he?” Dad nodded. “Might be because she was his girl first.”
“What? You always told me the quickest way to end a friendship was by fighting over a girl.”
His eyes rolled my way.
“Speaking from experience, wasn’t I. Ate my heart out about it. How the hell did I live with myself? I could either stay true to my oldest friend, and leave Rosie be, or I could walk away from the other half of my soul.”
I blinked, seeing Fern standing there, looking back over her shoulder at me, but it was the silver riders next to her that had my teeth grinding together.
“Your mother solved my dilemma neatly. Asked me if I was ever going to stop staring at her and make a move, because she was finished with Ray. Apparently this ‘nice bloke’ in the bookshop was making eyes at her and she wasn’t sure if she should encourage him or not.
” Dad grinned. “I made clear what would happen if she did.” He looked up at me.
“We were together every day after that, even when Ray stopped talking to me. He came around when he found his Joanie. Even stood by my side when I married your mother. Best day of my life, it was. Well, except when you were born.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“You were always the best of both of us, lad.” When Dad’s hand landed on my shoulder, I found myself craving that weight.
It kept me grounded, in the room, rather than my head up in the clouds, watching Fern fall yet again.
“And your girl, she’ll see that. Teaching her how to ride properly might be a good way to ensure she survives.
A big, strong lieutenant that helps her develop the skills she needs.
” He nodded in my direction. “Might be just the ticket. Did I tell you the time I tried to teach your mother the sword?”
“No,” I spluttered.
“Well…” He settled against the bar and told me the story.
“So what the hell do I do about the silver riders?” I asked.
The remains of our evening meals sat on the bar, ready to be cleared away.
Dad said a beer and a full belly were the best medicine and it turned out he was right.
I’d managed to stop thinking about all the ways I’d screwed up, but that made way for the problems I still needed to solve.
“Their beasts could eat Viridian in one gulp, and they seem to think Fern belongs to them, when I’m obviously the best choice. ”
“Obviously.” Dad smiled wryly over the rim of his mug. “I think there’s a way forward that you’re not seeing.”
“What?” I said that too loud, other patrons turning to stare. Maybe it was the beer in my blood, but I couldn’t seem to care. “What, Dad? No amount of fast footwork, proficiency with the blade, is going to help me against some of the biggest bloody dragons I’ve ever seen.”
“You know what I would’ve done if your mother gave me the slightest of encouragement while she was still with Uncle Ray?
” Dad paused for effect, forcing me to lean in.
“I’d have pretended she was a queen of old and offered to be one of her consorts.
” His eyes dropped to the floor. “She was queen of my heart, so why not?” With a shrug, he scanned the room.
“Would I like waking up next to Rosie and seeing Ray’s hairy bollocks out?
No, but…” Dad’s focus shifted back to me.
“I loved her so damn much, I’d have made it work one way or the other. ”
I sucked in a breath, ready to describe all the ways the silver riders were not suitable mates for Fern, when the front door of the tavern slammed open.
Drunken rambling, then cackles of laughter, they weren’t an unfamiliar thing in a pub at this time of night.
Something about it though, it had me looking up and so did Dad.
To see the three riders standing there.
“Those the riders you were talking about?” Dad grinned, slipping from his seat and slapping my chest. “Well, best of luck, son.”
And with that, he made for the other exit, leaving me standing there, staring as my competitors walked into the pub.