Free Orlind by Charlotte E. English

this Krays have for wanting to harm the
Seven?’
    ‘ Possibly none at all,’ Eva said. ‘But considering the extent
of the collateral damage so far, I’d say he has no reason to care
if our world is broken either.’
    Ynara nodded
slowly, obviously disappointed.
    ‘ I
shan’t abandon the Seven to the draykoni, Ynara,’ Eva said gently.
‘But nor can I make them my priority.’
    ‘ I’ll
help Glinnery,’ Llandry said. Orillin said almost the same thing at
almost the same time. He threw her a swift smile, but Eva shook her
head.
    ‘ We
can’t simply set the two of you loose in Glinnery,’ she said.
‘Limbane would kill me, and rightfully so. As far as we know, Krays
is still looking for you both.’
    ‘ We
can handle him, if we stick together,’ Llandry said quickly.
‘Orillin and me, and Pensould and Avane. Especially after we teach
them to Change.’
    Orillin’s eyes
brightened at that and he looked about to say something, but Eva
cut him off. ‘We’ll take that up with Limbane,’ she said. ‘But
provisionally, I agree: Orillin and Avane must be taught. May I
give you that task, Llan?’
    Llandry agreed,
and was rewarded with a beaming smile from Orillin.
    ‘ So,
to recap...’ Ynara cut in. ‘Nyra, Eyas, Devary and I will return to
Waeverleyne and the problem of the draykoni. Llandry, Orillin and
Tren will go with Eva back to the Library. And Rheas will teach us
to soothe those poor maddened creatures - or at least, to keep them
away from our towns.’
    A clamour of
protests rose at that, the loudest from Orillin and Llandry. To be
confined in the Library while the rest of their friends and family
fought Krays and the draykoni alone! Intolerable thought. Not that
the prospect of being taken didn’t chill her to the bone; Krays had
terrified her, and that fear hadn’t dissipated. But she couldn’t
hide away like... like a coward. Couldn’t they train Orillin and
Avane in Waeverleyne?
    Ynara closed her
eyes and put her hands to her temples. Llandry wondered again how
her mother had withstood leadership for so many years, if this was
the sort of mess she had to deal with. What did you do when nobody
wanted to perform the role laid out for them?
    ‘ One
at a time,’ Ynara said, raising her voice. ‘Eva?’
    ‘ We
need Devary,’ she replied.
    ‘ Oh?’
    ‘ He
has contacts in the University of Draetre. We may wish to recruit
them.’
    Ynara nodded.
‘Fine. Eyas?’
    ‘ I’ll
probably be more useful helping with the beast problem.’ Llan
remembered he was a summoner; unlike herself and her father, he was
a well-trained one. ‘If you can get Rheas to share, I can take over
the task of relaying those teachings to the summoner
guilds.’
    ‘ Excellent,’ said Ynara crisply, without looking at Rheas. ‘Any
more objections?’
    Orillin and
Llandry began to speak at once. Ynara waved them silent, then
looked at Llandry. She was as composed and business-like as ever,
but Llan could see the shadow of anxiety in her eyes.
    ‘ Don’t
shut us away, Ma,’ Llandry said quietly. ‘Please.’
    Ynara was silent
for a long moment. Llandry had no trouble reading the internal war
she was fighting with herself. She wanted to protect her daughter,
as she always had, but she now knew how it felt to be prevented
from fighting the battles that were naturally hers.
    She also knew
that Llandry wouldn’t necessarily accept her orders
anymore.
    ‘ Eva’s
right,’ she said at last. ‘But I understand how you feel, too. A
compromise?’
    Llandry nodded,
hoping in silence.
    ‘ Go
with Eva to the Library. Teach Orillin and the other hereditary
draykon - Avane? - to Change. Then we’ll see. I’ve a feeling
Glinnery may need its own draykon defence.’
    Fear and
anticipation shivered over Llandry’s skin at those words. Defending
her city in her draykon shape? If she’d wanted a purpose, here it
was: not shrinking from danger but at the forefront of it.
Exchanging a look with Orillin, she found his