The Gold Falcon - Katharine Kerr [203]
“And a good evening to you,” Arzosah said. “Is all well here?”
“It is, truly,” Branna said. “I see you’ve brought us more messages.”
“I have, and some good news. Your cousin and her daughter are safe and on their way here. They should arrive soon, in fact, well before sunset. I overflew them not long ago at all.”
“Thank every true goddess for that!” Branna felt like howling in sheer joy. “I can’t even say how much it gladdens my heart.”
“I thought it might.” Arzosah raised her head to reveal the dangling sack of messages. “If you could relieve me of this unseemly pouch, I’ll be off to hunt.”
“Gladly. Did you hear that Oth found Alshandra worshippers in the dun? We don’t know, though, if there are any down in town.”
“I did hear that. While I hunt and suchlike, I’ve been keeping an eye out for anyone who might have left town and ridden west.” The dragon curled one paw and contemplated her claws. “The prince personally asked me to do so.”
“Which one?”
“Voran. For a human being he’s unusually clever. We don’t want anyone trying to warn Zakh Gral.”
Once she had the pouch, Branna tossed it through the trapdoor, then climbed down after it as fast as she could. From above, she could hear Arzosah take flight with the slap and drumming of her enormous wings. Branna scooped up the messages and ran downstairs. On the landing she hesitated, then decided that Oth could wait a moment or ten. With a fling of the heavy door, she burst into the women’s hall.
“Aunt Galla!” Branna called out. “He’s let her go. Honelg, I mean. Adranna and Trenni are nearly here.”
Galla looked at her, smiled, hesitated, then wept in the flooding relief of tears, though she kept smiling the entire time. Solla hurried to her side and put an arm around her shoulders.
“I’ll just take these messages to Lord Oth,” Branna said. “I’ll come back as soon as he gives me leave.”
“Better yet,” Drwmigga said, “we’ll all go down to the great hall as soon as Galla’s composed herself. We’ll all want to go out to the ward to greet Lady Adranna.”
Just as the dragon predicted, Adranna, Trenni, and their escort reached Cengarn well before sunset. A fort guard on duty above the north gate saw their tiny procession straggling down the road and shouted the news to one of his fellows, who ran up to the dun with it. With Drwmigga at their head, as befitted her rank as the lady of the dun, the women left the great hall and waited by the open gates. Thanks to the steepness of the hill and the twists in Cengarn’s streets, they had something of a wait before they finally saw Adranna. She and little Treniffa were still on horseback, but the servant lasses and the men of the escort had dismounted to spare their horses during the steep climb up. Those pages left behind in the dun hurried forward to help the ladies, and the two remaining grooms came for the horses.
Once they’d dismounted, Adranna and Treniffa made no move to come forward. They stood together, Adranna’s arm around her daughter’s shoulders, as if they expected to be arrested rather than welcomed. The servant lasses huddled behind them. It was Drwmigga’s place to say a few words, but she seemed to have forgotten this particular courtesy. Branna felt like kicking her, but instead she strode over to her cousins.
“It gladdens my heart to see you safe,” Branna said. “Addi, you can’t imagine how worried we’ve been.”
At that Adranna managed a smile, but she was looking over Branna’s shoulder at her mother. Lady Galla wiped a few tears away with the back of her hand.
“You’ve been very naughty, Addi,” Galla said, “but I never wanted you to marry that awful man in the first place, and so it’s no wonder, I suppose.”
“Oh, Mama!” Adranna’s reserve broke at last. She ran to Galla and threw her arms around her. “It gladdens my heart to see you.” Her voice cracked, but she managed to choke