He sat in his accustomed seat and listened as the rest of the group came in. Lilly took her usual spot nearby. Luc, it must be, sat beside her as Alric motioned for everyone to be at ease and sit down. The dragons made the slightest sounds of scales sliding against each other as they lowered themselves to the floor to sit. Jimnel had come with them and was seated next to the new man, Luc’s brother, Detlif. The guardsmen remained, standing around the room, but with two—make that three—dragons present, they were really superfluous.

  “Now, what more news do you bring, Sir Detlif?” Alric asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

  “It is something Lady Dela has charged me with. I must first tell you that she is one of our most gifted seers. She oversees them all, and this vision has been confirmed by multiple sources. It is a vision that starts in the past, when you were but a child. It confirms that an Alchemist was responsible for the loss of your sight,” Detlif said, each word hitting Alric with painful memories of his own past.

  “It has long been believed that was the case, but the Alchemist in question was punished. Or so the Grand High Alchemist Osmian would have us believe,” Alric replied after a moment’s thought.

  He’d never quite bought the convenient answer they’d been given when he was a child, but his father and mother had still been alive, then, and they’d accepted what they’d been told. It wasn’t long after that they had been killed, and Alric had ascended to the throne at much too young an age. He’d had his hands full in those early years, just keeping his kingdom together. He hadn’t had a lot of time to pursue the very personal question of who had deprived him of his sight.

  “You are right to be skeptical, Your Majesty. For a very long time, the Alchemist’s face has been clouded in the seers’ visions, but when you sent the gift that blew away the interfering magic, it also allowed our seers to identify the one responsible. It was Osmian himself. Further, he holds an antidote that, even now, so many years later, might possibly restore your eyesight.”

  Alric felt all the blood drain from his face then begin pounding through his veins. Shock warred with anger and a deep-seated need for vengeance on the man who had taken so much from him.

  “And there is more, Your Majesty, if you can bear to hear it. I know this must be incredibly upsetting, but you need to know. They never found those responsible for the deaths of your parents. It is clear to our seers now that it was Osmian who arranged for it all. He has been plotting the fall of your kingdom since his early days. Nobody knows why he seems to have such a hatred for you and your family, but it is clear, now, that he does. I am only sorry to have to be the bearer of such grave news.” Detlif ceased speaking, his deep voice filled with what sounded like genuine sorrow, which touched Alric deeply and steadied him.

  Sorrow, he could take, but never pity. “Sir Detlif,” Alric began, then cleared his throat and started again. “Sir Detlif, I am grateful for the message, and I have little doubt about the genuine truth of the seers of your enclave. As you know, I see things, as well, and I have long known that the truth would come to me from the North. That was why it was so important to me that your people be able to see clearly and why I sent Lilly—my most trusted operative—to make contact with your people. You have now brought full circle a vision which I first had when I was a child, and your words ring true to my inner sight.” Alric stood, anger filling him. “I would go after Osmian myself, given half a chance.”

  Alric felt Zallra’s hand on his shoulder, calming him. “We do this together, Alric,” she said quietly, near his ear, so that only he could hear.

  Wonder filled him as he turned to face her. How he wished he could see her in this moment. Yet, he could feel the support and love—yes, love—emanating from her being.

  “Just you and me, Zal?” he asked, needing to know she was with him.

  “Absolutely,” she answered at once. “Always. But…perhaps, on something this important, it would be wise to have allies along. I think nothing would bring fear to the heart of an enemy who lives in a tower more than a flock of circling dragons.”

  An image began to form in Alric’s mind, and he felt his lips lift in a grin, even as his brows drew together. “Friends, can I prevail upon our new alliance to seek the cure from Osmian, and perhaps, a bit of justice?”

  “King Alric, I was sent here with this knowledge, expressly to do as you suggest,” Detlif intoned formally, and Alric felt his heart lift. This could work. This could really work!

  Lilly was amazed at how quickly things happened once the real planning began. Alric was energized in a way she had seldom seen, and the only thing that brought fear to her heart was the idea that Alric would not be left behind this time, safely ensconced in his castle. No, he was going to be flying with Zallra, in the thick of the mission.

  Lilly’s only comfort was that she believed Zallra truly loved Alric and would look out for him. Zallra was, after all, a dragon. Alric couldn’t really be in safer company, even though they would be flying into danger.

  Alric had always had to take a back seat and allow others to do for him since being stricken with blindness at a young age. He’d never been able to fight his own battles—except for the mental ones that had allowed him to keep going after so much adversity.

  He didn’t see it, of course. He didn’t think his contribution had been as great as those who had put their lives and safety on the line for him. He didn’t understand how much his people loved and admired him, but Lilly had hope that after this—if they all lived through it—he would begin to realize that he was as brave as, if not braver than, most of his people. He was the leader they’d needed all this time. The wise man who considered everything before making decisions that would affect all the souls in his domain.

  Maybe going into this battle would help him finally realize that the measure of a man wasn’t how he fought physical enemies, but how he triumphed over the mental and emotional obstacles put in his path. By that measure, Alric stood head and shoulders above almost everyone, and his subjects knew the truth of it and loved him for his courage and wisdom.

  When they finally retired that night, after ironing out all the details of the mission that would begin at first light, Lilly went with Luc, despite Det’s raised eyebrows. Det was shown to a guest chamber after making sure the rest of his Guard contingent was taken care of. The dragons mostly bedded down in the gardens around the castle while their heartmates were given beds for the night within the castle.

  Lilly suspected Detlif’s opinion of her was going to be a problem, but she was too weary to worry about it. She joined Luc in the wide bed, falling into his arms with a lightness in her heart. Nobody could take this stolen time away from her. For this night, she was with the man who kept taking little pieces of her heart until she was near certain that he had it all. Wholly and completely.

  They made love gently, a new awareness between them that neither spoke of openly. The loving was tender and slow, intense in a dreamy way that stole Lilly’s breath. And, when it was over, Luc held her against him, sharing his warmth and his caring. They slept spooned together until the first vestiges of morning began lighting the far corners of the room.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The Alchemists had gathered a city around them. Each of the major schools of alchemy, which was led by a specific Alchemist, had claimed its own little sector in which the Alchemist’s tower was the dominant structure. As a result, the city had sprawled outward over the years, from the main tower belonging to the Grand High Alchemist, to be surrounded by smaller buildings, shops and houses punctuated here and there along the skyline by other towers.

  None was as tall or broad as the Grand High Alchemist’s tower, of course. That central symbol of power was the largest of them all, though some were notable for their color or design, they were all kept shorter by order of the Grand High Alchemist. Osmian had built and lived in a black tower at the eastern end of the city before his rise to power. He’d moved into the central tower when he became Grand High Alchemist, and one of his senior students had been given leave to run the black tower while Osmian remained in power.

  Zallra had brought this information to the group before departure this morning, having learned all she could from the Jinn spymaster in the hours before their mission began. Even knowing a bit of what to expect, Luc was still baffled by the structure of the city, when it came into view. Stark towers stuck up high into the air in no sensible arrangement that he could divine, surrounded by all sorts of lower one- and two-story structures. Around each tower, banners flew from many of the smaller structures. Each sector seemed to fly the colors of their tower so that from above, the city was like a hive with each irregular cell holding a different tint of color.

  The dragons had decided on this part of the mission. They’d planned how best to approach and create the right atmosphere for the two-legged members of the group to do the rest. Zallra flew between Shilayla and Grennulf, the small black dragon flanked by two enormous white snow dragons. Lilly and Luc rode on Shilayla’s back, Detlif had Jimnel up behind him on Gren’s back, and Alric hugged Zallra’s neck, riding as if he’d been born to do so. He could not be convinced to stay home, and Luc had to admire the man’s courage. Blind, he may be, but Alric was braver than any warrior Luc had ever known.

  Most of the contingent of dragons and riders that had gone to Alric’s capital with Det were flying in a chevron pattern behind and around the main trio. They were an honor Guard and a layer of protection, each snow dragon ridden by a honed warrior. Fighting pairs who had lived and trained together for many years. They were the best of the best of those who defended the enclave that lived under the Veil and they would do all they could to make certain no harm came to Alric on this mission.

  The central tower of the Grand High Alchemist was built of dark gray weathered stone. It had crenelated walls on top and slightly irregular shapes protruding here, and there with large openings at uneven intervals. Some of those openings had pipes that led upwards. Chimneys for smoke, Luc thought. Other openings had things hanging in them that looked like large bundles of herbs, drying in the breeze. Still others had pipes leading downward over the side of the tower, carrying something away from the rooms to which they were attached. Water? Other effluents of the Alchemist’s occupation? Luc wasn’t sure.

  But what mattered most was that there were plenty of places all along the tower that would allow the dragons to perch. The plan called for an initial show of force, which was easy the way the city was laid out. There was plenty of room between the towers for the dragons to fly. A whirlwind of white wings circled the Grand High Alchemists’ tower as people below and within the tower paused to watch with awe and fear on their faces.

  Once they had everyone’s attention, some of the dragons picked out places to land. Some perched on the large pipes that ran up and down the outside of the tower. Some went for the more stable surfaces of the roof crenels and the roof itself. Some pushed in the wide openings, dislodging drying herbs or other things. It was one of these that discovered the Grand High Alchemist’s location.

  The dragons kept in touch, reporting all they saw in the search for Osmian. It was a seasoned pair—the snow dragon, Zentailleron, and his heartmate, Ulrick—who first pushed into that particular opening at the top of the tower, startling the men gathered within the workroom. Ulrick leapt from Zen’s back, brandishing his weapons, while Zen used his momentum to slide across the polished stone floor and block the room’s only door. The only way in or out with the dragon’s bulk in front of the door was the wide-open window.

  “Osmian!” Ulrick shouted.

  “How dare you?” the Grand High Alchemist himself replied with affront, stepping out from behind an old man who wore a green velvet robe. Osmian was wearing the black that he was said to favor, richly embroidered in gold with alchemical symbols running down the front and along the hem and sleeves of his robe. He had black hair and dark eyes set in a handsome face that seemed somehow familiar. Yes, that was the man they’d come for. Ulrick smiled and reported his find to the others.

  A few moments later, after Ulrick had searched the room as best as he could and found little danger to the others, two more snow dragons entered through the giant window, followed by a smaller, but no less mighty, black dragon. All the riders immediately jumped down off the dragons, heavily armed and ready for action. Only the rider of the black dragon stayed on the creature’s back. That was the plan, and Alric adhered to it, everyone was relieved to see. Ulrick moved to his heartmate’s side, standing ready to defend the door to the rest of the tower while the others moved into positions around the circular room.

  Lilly was one of the first in behind the fey scouting pair that had discovered Osmian’s location. She hit the ground, sliding off of Shilayla’s back as if she’d trained in doing so all her life. It was still amazing to her, when she stopped to think about it, how easily she’d gotten used to the dragon’s presence, not to mention her heartmate’s. Luc was next to Lilly in the blink of an eye, stalking the large tower room with her, weapons drawn, each guarding the other’s back.

  There weren’t that many people in the room. But one man stood out, in his fancy black robes. He had to be Osmian, himself. Aside from their target, there was an older man in green robes and a few younger men wearing gray. Acolytes, Lilly assumed. Students of Osmian’s alchemical order. They were off to the right, under the watchful eye of the first dragon to have entered the room and signaled to the rest of them.

  Detlif and Gren angled around to help watch the three younger men, leaving the man in green to Luc and Shilayla. That way, Lilly and Jimnel were positioned on either side of Zallra and the King. So far, so good. Now, if they could just make the rest of this work as planned, Lilly would breathe easier.

  “I understand I have you to thank for my blindness.” Alric’s voice rang through the room, commanding the attention of everyone present. “I have been told that you also have the antidote. I want it.”

  Osmian’s face held surprise for one startled moment, then his expression turned ugly. “You can want it all you like, but I’ll never give it to you. I like it that you know what it’s like to want something you can’t have. Hurts, doesn’t it?”

  Alric’s brows drew together. “Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?”

  “You exist,” Osmian spit back angrily, sneering. “That’s enough. That’s more than enough.”

  “What do you gain from my suffering?” Alric asked, his voice as low and cold as Lilly had ever heard it. She repressed the shiver that wanted to run down her spine.

  “Pleasure,” Osmian replied immediately. “The pleasure of denying the King something most everybody takes for granted. Just as you and others have denied me the position I should have had as first-born.”

  “First-born? I don’t understand.” Alric sounded concerned.

  “It’s simple, really. My mother used her powers to seduce your father and get pregnant with me. She was hoping for some of the fabled magic of your line to breed true in her offspring, but I wasn’t born with even the slightest magical gift. I was a disappointment to her. Non-magical in every way. But I showed her. I left her tender mercies when I was still a lad and apprenticed myself to an Alchemist. I have achieved more through science than anything she ever did with her magic, and I made sure she knew it before she died.”

  “You’re saying you’re my half-brother?” Alric shook his head in denial. “My father would never have done such a thing. If he’d known he had another child, he would have claimed you.”

  “Ah. But he didn’t know, did he?” Osmian raved, sounding less in control with every word. “My mother was a witch. She brewed a potion that made him insensible and unable to remember their encounter. She was so proud of that. Selfish woman wanted a magical child to carry on her art but didn’t want to involve the father beyond conception. If there’d been any way to prove to your father who I was, I would have tried, but there was not one scrap of evidence that my mother’s story was true, and she vowed to deny it if she was ever asked. She would have destroyed my chances of being taken seriously. All for her own selfish reasons.” He shook his head, spitting mad by the look of him.

  He must have really hated his mother, Lilly realized. That hatred for his origins had spilled over to Alric. She could see it now. Despised by his own mother for not inheriting any magic and unable to claim his birthright as the son of a King, he’d been consumed by his anger and hatred, lashing out at the innocent half-brother he’d never be able to claim as family. It was sad, really. Of course, Osmian had done terrible harm to Alric, which Lilly could never forgive, even if she began to understand the reasoning.

  “But I got my revenge on our dear father,” Osmian went on, raving now. “Him and his wife.” He made that last word sound like a curse. “I killed them both with my alchemical skills and blinded you.”

  Lilly wanted to gasp, but she didn’t dare break the silence that followed Osmian’s criminal admission. She edged closer to Zallra, positioning herself to take down Osmian, if necessary. She wouldn’t let the bastard hurt Alric any further, if she could help it.

  “You admit to killing my parents?” Alric seemed to want to clarify that point, his voice cold and almost aloof. Lilly had heard that tone when Alric was truly enraged, and his anger burned like cold, white fire.

  “Happily,” Osmian replied. “And I’ll do the same to you, once I’ve finished having my fun with you.”

  “Your agents have already tried and failed,” Alric said quietly. “And, as you can see, my situation has changed. I have allies you can’t subvert, now. What have you got?”

  Osmian laughed, but the sound was brittle to Lilly’s ears. “I’ve got the cure for your blindness,” he taunted.