Selden drew breath but before he could reply, Chassim spoke for herself. ‘My name is Chassim. And if this glorious queen and her dragons are able to fulfil their mission today, by nightfall I shall be the rightful Duchess of Chalced. And in your debt.’
Day the 10th of the Greening Moon
Year the 7th of the Independent Alliance of Traders
From Selden Vestrit, Singer to Tintaglia, Kelsingra
To Keffria and Ronica Vestrit of the Bingtown Traders, Bingtown
Dear Mother and Grandmother,
I write this tiny scroll to be carried by Tarman to Trehaug and from there dispatched by Dunwarrow to Bingtown. A much lengthier account of my misadventures will follow, in a scroll far too heavy for any pigeon to bear. I will ask Alise to pass it to Althea to bring home to you.
For now, the essentials. I was betrayed by my companions. I was held captive, and eventually treated as a slave in Chalced. But I am alive, and once more in the incomparable company of the magnificent queen Tintaglia, to whom I owe my life and the restoration of my health. I do not wish to go into great detail about the trials I have endured, especially not on this tiny slip of paper. I will say only this now: I assure you, I am recovering and among good people.
You will doubtless hear many strange rumours about my role in the fall of Chalced and my friendship with Duchess Chassim. I will say only that the truth is undoubtedly stranger than any gossip you may hear, and the truth is what you shall have from me when the scroll arrives.
Mother, you ask me when I will come home to stay. Please do not take these words amiss. I am home. In Kelsingra, among the other Elderlings and near the dragons, I feel more at peace and more safe than I have felt in many months. My sister Malta is here, and Reyn, like a brother to me for so many years, and so many other Elderlings! The beauty of the country here is healing by itself, and I have access to thousands of records of Elderling dragon-poets who have gone before me. I am almost shamed to think I considered myself a singer, now that I have heard for myself the poets of old! And there are traditional songs that I must learn, songs for welcoming dragons, for celebrating the first flight of a hatchling, songs to thank dragons for sharing their presence with us. I think it will take me a score of years before I shall again claim I am a competent singer!
This does not mean I do not wish to see you. When my health permits, I will come for a visit. And I hope that in time you and Grandmother will be willing to undertake the journey to see me here. I would show you my city and introduce you to the keepers and the other dragons. Especially Tintaglia’s mate, Kalo. Such a handsome fellow, and so strong! I am as pleased to see her with him as I am sure you were delighted to see Malta settle with Reyn.
For now I must let this missive be enough, for I am already weary with writing this. Please be patient. A more detailed account will soon be in your hands.
As ever,
Your Selden
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Summer
It had begun rather formally as afternoon tea in the captain’s stateroom on the Paragon. But by the end of the first hour, it had become mugs of coffee on the foredeck of the liveship, with the figurehead fully involved in the conversation. Tarman was moored alongside Paragon at the docks of Trehaug. Alise wondered if the two ships communicated on a level that excluded humans but decided it would be rude to ask. It seemed decades since she had last been aboard Paragon. She looked back at her memory of the journey to the Rain Wilds and recalled her awkward conversation with the ship and with Althea and Brashen Trell. She laughed to herself, but no one remarked on it, for Paragon was in the middle of a lively tirade against the indignity of transporting chickens and sheep.
‘And I wish Tarman well with the nasty creatures. Worse than seagulls for squawking and mess on the decks.’
‘Perhaps so, but our boy is going to miss them,’ Brashen observed.
‘I think he’ll miss the fresh eggs more than he’ll miss the messes he’s had to clean up,’ Althea countered, laughing. She stood up and leaned to see past the deckhouse. ‘He and Clef have just about finished transferring the stock to Tarman’s deck. So we have perhaps ten more minutes of adult conversation before you are inundated with questions about the dragons and the One Day War.’
‘We’ll be happy to answer them as best as we can. Not that we were there for any of it. And if we are to believe what every dragon told us of it, then each one was personally responsible for the fall of the city and the death of the Duke.’
‘And the rise of a duchess,’ Althea added. ‘We’ve had bird messages from Selden, but they are not very satisfactory. We have only the bones of his tale, and each time he writes we learn a bit more, but he also tells us that still he cannot come home just yet. That there are still things he must “settle” there in Kelsingra.’ Her emphasis on the word ‘settle’ made it clear that she thought there was more going on than her nephew had confided. She looked from Alise to Leftrin, perhaps seeking confirmation or gossip.