Chapter 3
Noah woke with the dawn, as was his habit, and so was packed and ready to board the ship to Starling Island early.
He had helped himself to pastries from the breakfast buffet and a steaming coffee, both of which were excellent.
The inn didn’t stint on the food, that was for sure, or the accommodations.
His room above the stable had been far more cosy than he had expected, but then he was more used to camping out on research trips or catching what sleep he could in the backroom of the clinic in Alincourt.
He only hoped Starling Island itself would be as comfortable. It was just a temporary posting, and then he would have all the money he needed to fund his research and keep the clinic ticking over. Lee had been adamant that he should accept the offer. This was far too good an opportunity to pass up.
‘Think of all you can learn there. You can’t refuse.
’ His brother had always seen the bigger picture.
While Noah had been fixated on dragons, especially the great dragons of the north, Lee kept everything running, tending to the business side of things with unparalleled ease.
He was a damn fine vet as well. The clinic would be safe in his hands, especially with Sarah by his side.
Besides, Noah needed funding, and a patron, in order to make the journey to Elanholm to study the remains of the great draconic civilisation that had thrived there for so long.
Elanholm and Shinael were hardly on the best of terms and travelling so deeply into the other realm’s territory was forbidden without the appropriate papers.
The only patron willing to help him get them, a mere vet without Academy backing, had some demands of her own and would pay handsomely to have her way.
And that included this job on Starling Island.
It was only temporary, just until he had his funding. He could do this.
They set sail. He didn’t see the woman from last night but that was hardly his problem.
The teacup dragon had been a beauty, though a far cry from the wild creatures he dreamed of studying.
Like most of the nobility who fancied themselves dragon keepers, the woman hadn’t a clue.
He only hoped she accepted his advice in the spirit in which he’d offered it and took better care of her pet from here on.
The island appeared out of the morning mist like a crown on the sea and the other passengers oohed and ahhed like a chorus.
It was only a few hours away by sea but it looked like another world.
A fairytale island where dreams came true.
Or so the old tales and the most lurid popular pamphlets said.
From the little harbour, he could soon make out the streets that wound their way up the central hill, through the village, and the cluster of little houses and shops, that single ribbon of a main thoroughfare twisting up to the castle at the summit.
The sunlight made the many windows shine like jewels.
Starling Island was home to many legends.
The stories said that it could vanish into the mist, taking everyone who lived there with it.
Or that magic had been born there. Not the stale thaumaturgical studies that the Academy constantly harped on about.
Real, raw magic. The very thing that made the great dragons, that allowed them to exist in the wild.
The very thing that now hid them and vast portions of their realm from mere humans like him.
And speaking of legends, it was here that Lady Iris Starling had chosen to found her dragon sanctuary, not that there were any great dragons here, so far south.
No, she rescued teacup dragons, those little inbred creatures which were a mockery of wild dragons, made to be pets and pretty accessories for society ladies who didn’t know any better.
Like that woman last night.
A flash of guilt took him almost by surprise, not for the first time since she’d left the dining room and never returned.
Perhaps he had not exactly been a gentleman about it.
But when he saw an animal, any animal, mistreated, especially a dragon, he found his temper impossible to keep in check.
The poor little thing was starving. No doubt some idiot had informed her to keep it on bread and water to enhance its colour and keep it docile, and other such rot.
He knew he ought to seek her out before they made land and apologise. Perhaps even offer some helpful advice. He had not meant to scold her. If she hadn’t run away last night, that was what he would have done over dinner. Surely that would have been all right?
He knew he’d messed up there. The captain had been distracted and decidedly formal with him following her departure. Perhaps he had his eye on her as a future wife.
Well, good luck to him. Noah had no aspirations in that direction. Relationships were not on the cards for him. He had too much work to do. And who would want to be dragged off into the wild in search of a race that had absented themselves from human contact twenty years ago?
But the woman had been beautiful. Not pretty, not really.
Her features were too sharp and her golden-brown eyes too angry.
They had sparkled with her rage at him, he thought with a smile, and with her dark hair windswept, she’d looked half wild herself.
The dragon had responded to her beautifully once they got it back under control.
Dragons always knew a good soul, they said.
It had clearly already bonded with her so that was a promising start.
Perhaps she had magical ability as well. That always helped.
He leaned on the rail and watched the harbour get closer.
In the sunshine, the island was idyllic.
He could see the forest on the southern coast, right down to the shore, and the red tiles of the roofs of the town rising like a wave up the hill.
The castle was a generous name for the building that crowned it.
No doubt it had been a fortress once, but it was more like a rambling stately home with sections bolted onto the sides of the hilltop as needed, almost as if it had been built on top of itself.
There were little balconies and terraces, a riot of colourful gardens clinging on for dear life.
The light glinted off the glass of a great orangery which jutted out to the south, while in the centre a narrow tower rose to a pinnacle, crowning the whole thing.
As the ship sailed into the harbour, he watched the fishing boats coming in as well.
There were people on the quay waiting for the ferry’s arrival, not many, but then the ship had few passengers on board at this time of year.
During the summer, when the weather was generally more settled, Captain Palmer had assured him there was a stream of tourists from all over the Kingdom of Shinael and beyond.
All across the twelve realms. Some stayed at the inn by the harbour – The Starling’s Rest – for a night or two at most.
‘A wonderful place,’ Palmer said. ‘No one cooks like August. The food is to die for, better than anywhere in Tesh. You really ought to try it while you’re here.’
Noah had read up about the island. There were several helpful reviews in various gazettes and travelogues.
It was home to a number of skilled artisans who plied their crafts in the town.
Their work was much sought after. Apart from the dragon sanctuary, the island was known for a magical emporium which drew collectors and practitioners from all over the twelve realms. But few people actually stayed on Starling Island.
Most arrived in the morning, hiked through the forest, visited the town, shopped, ate and left by evening. Palmer’s ship sailed accordingly.
Of course, when the weather was not kindly, no one visited the island at all.
And no one left. The waters around here were treacherous, the captain said.
Only the locals really knew them, and he’d winked at Noah, which Noah wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret at all.
It was almost flirtatious, and Noah never knew how to deal with that from anyone, regardless of who they were, where they came from or who they might be interested in. The whole thing was bewildering.
Dragons were so much easier to understand than human beings. Lee had always made fun of him for that.
The woman from the inn, with her dark eyes, came to mind again, along with another twinge of guilt.
He had perhaps jumped the gun there. If she had only just taken ownership of the delicate little dragon as she had implied, the creature’s behaviour was hardly her fault.
Someone else had been the one to keep it starved and confined, and the response anyone would have to an ounce of freedom after so long abused might be to seize as much as possible, as fast as they could no matter the danger to themselves. He knew all about that.
Lee would laugh at that little moment of revelation.
The ship finally docked and Noah hoisted his pack on his back, making his way down the gangplank.
The little luggage he had would be unloaded for him and he had been assured that someone would meet him from the ferry.
He watched the tourists pour off the ship, those who weren’t going to stay here skipping on ahead, making for the shops and the taverns, chattering excitedly.
‘Dr Turner?’ A deep, pleasant voice came from off to his left, a man his own height, with soft black hair and light brown skin, eyes like burnished gold in the sunlight.
‘I’m August Starling. Great-Aunt Iris asked me to meet you here and show you the way up.
She’s waiting for you. Are you good to walk? ’
The intonation wasn’t judgemental, not exactly, but Noah got the impression that declaring he couldn’t possibly walk all the way up to the summit of the island was going to be met with a very polite disdain.
Noah hadn’t expected to be greeted by a member of Iris Starling’s own family, but it was a nice touch.
Her letters had been warm and welcoming, full of details about her work and the sanctuary itself, but not about family or anything personal like that.
The woman was legendary in the world of dragons, so of course her great-nephew would be a force of nature as well.
August Starling didn’t give the impression of suffering fools gladly either.
Luckily Noah had no problem with the hike the island presented him with.
‘Of course. Thank you. Pleased to meet you.’
He held out his hand and August shook it, a slight twist to his mouth which made Noah feel like he had passed some kind of test. That felt surprisingly good.
Which was strange because people didn’t normally make him second guess himself or put him on edge.
First the woman last night and now this. What was up with him?
He felt like he was being examined somehow, as if he had something to feel guilty about…
‘And you,’ said Starling. ‘I’ll just check in with David about your belongings and then—’
His gaze shifted to the deck of the ship, as if looking for the captain and his face froze for a moment before transforming with obvious surprise.
‘Portia?’ Without another word he strode off, intent only on the young woman currently coming down the gangplank, Noah completely forgotten. ‘Portia, what the devil are you doing here? What happened?’
The young woman – that young woman – looked for a moment as if she was about to bolt back up the gangplank and hide behind the captain who was following her down to dry land.
But even as Noah looked on, he saw her steel herself, fix her face into something resembling a stern glare and step onto the dock where August Starling swept her up into his arms and held her close.
It wasn’t anger, that outburst, Noah realised. It was very real concern.
Just looking at the two of them he could see the resemblance. They had to be family. Which also accounted for the somewhat frantic argument which was unfolding before his eyes.
Captain Palmer rolled his eyes at the pair of them and then wandered down to join Noah.
‘They could be some time. They haven’t seen each other in months and that was only for a few days.
Portia’s arrival is unexpected, and the Starlings have always been…
what’s the right word? Volatile? Yes, let’s go with that.
Siblings often are. He always tries to boss her around and she never listens. They’re too alike, the pair of them.’
Siblings, they were siblings. Iris Starling’s great-nephew and great-niece.
His new employer’s family.
Which meant that last night he had mortally insulted one of the Starlings, so much so she had fled the dining room and hidden from him for the rest of the evening and the entire voyage this morning.
He had told her that she didn’t know how to care for her own teacup dragon.
Iris Starling’s great-niece! A Starling!
She could have got Jade under control if he had just given her a moment, now he thought about it.
She knew the calls, clearly, and she had been intent on protecting the dragon as much as he had.
But he’d been too busy taking over, just like Lee always said.
His brother had warned him it would land him in trouble.
Noah’s stomach dropped like a stone to somewhere around his ankles.
‘Are you all right?’ Captain Palmer asked, obviously amused at whatever he saw in Noah’s face. ‘You look like you’re about to throw up. People normally go that colour at sea rather than on land.’
The wretched man huffed out a laugh as Noah turned his shocked expression on him, gave a somewhat mocking salute, and then went to see to the unloading of their luggage and the items of cargo he’d been carrying.
Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that the captain had been looking forward to this moment. Or that maybe he deserved it.