Heath’s eyes brightened with interest as he looked down at the item in his hand. It looked like…well, like a block from his own stone home might look, if it had been underwater for a very long time. He peered down into the waves again. He would have to come back, on a day when the water was clearer.
“It’s strange…” Reka mused, his attention on the depths below them.
“What?” Heath prompted when Reka trailed off. The dragon had a maddening tendency to start a thought out loud, and finish it in his mind.
“I almost thought I could sense something,” Reka said. “Some lingering trace.”
Heath frowned. “Lingering trace of what?” He raised an eyebrow. “Power, you mean? Magic?”
A ripple passed down Rekavidur’s form, from his shoulders to the tip of his tail, in a gesture Heath recognized as a shrug.
“Maybe.”
Heath stared down into the ocean, his thoughts swirling like the little eddies of water that formed around his rock. There was definitely something to discover here.
“The visitor has left,” Reka said suddenly. “And your brother is definitely angry.”
Heath pulled his thoughts away from the water with an effort, frowning slightly at the dragon. “You shouldn’t use your farsight to spy on Percival,” he chided.
Reka smiled, clearly unrepentant. “It barely counts as farsight from here,” he said soothingly. “If it wasn’t for the building in the way, I could probably see him with my natural eyes.”
Heath sighed, perfectly aware that there was no point arguing with the dragon. “I’d better go back,” he said instead. He cast one last longing glance into the water. “This can wait.”
“If you like,” Reka agreed placidly, pulling his tail from the water and stretching his neck upward one more time. “Ready?”
Reka was already crouching before Heath’s nod, and without another word, the dragon launched himself into the air. For a moment Heath’s vision was filled with the glint of yellow and purple scales, then he felt the dragon’s talons close around his shoulders. The two of them shot upward with dizzying speed, Heath’s legs dangling beneath him as they sped toward the shore. He was well used to the sensation, and didn’t even spare a thought for the distance between himself and the water below. His eyes were fixed on the shore, and the home that was rapidly growing from a toy house to a full sized manor.
In less than a minute Heath felt his feet touch the grassy surface at the top of the cliff. Reka released his shoulders, landing beside him in a fluid motion.
“Until next time,” the dragon said, and Heath nodded absently. In another moment Reka was gone, wheeling northeast over the farmland that formed part of Heath’s father’s estate.
Heath strode toward his home, reaching the broad stone steps in minutes. He was pleased to see that as Reka had indicated, there was no longer any sign of the unwelcome visitor who had disrupted an otherwise peaceful morning.
“Lord Heath.”
Heath smiled vaguely at the servant who greeted him as he passed through the manor’s entrance. He had no need to ask the man where the family could be found. Percival’s voice was audible even from the entranceway. Heath turned his steps toward the manor’s informal dining room. If luncheon was being served he had been gone longer than he realized.
He restrained a grimace as he approached his destination, and the sound of his brother’s voice grew in volume. Reka hadn’t exaggerated when he’d said Percival was angry. The visiting lord must have been more than usually obnoxious in his criticisms.
“He’s just afraid!”
Heath paused outside the door, through which his brother’s rant could clearly be heard. He took a breath, trying to put his own emotions to one side and project the calm Percival undoubtedly needed to see right now. If only Laura was there.
“How could King Matlock ever have appointed him as Chief Counselor? He’s a small, unimpressive man, who’s afraid of—there you are, Heath!”
Percival paused mid-stride at the sight of his brother. He had clearly been pacing the room rather than partaking in the elaborate spread on the table before him.
“Hello Percival, Mother, Father,” Heath greeted his family, slipping into a seat. “Sorry I’m late.”
His parents greeted him with a calm in strong contrast to the storm on their oldest son’s face. But to Heath’s eye, they both looked troubled, and it surprised him. The strength of Percival’s emotions didn’t usually throw either the duke or his wife.
“Where did you disappear to?” Percival demanded impatiently, cutting across Heath’s surreptitious observation of his parents.
“I was down at the water,” said Heath, trying to speak cheerfully. “Just needed to clear my head.”
Percival frowned at his brother. “Needed to get away from Lord Niel, you mean.”
“Yes,” Heath admitted unashamedly as he spread butter liberally on a slice of bread. “That’s exactly what I mean.”