Hearing those words, my startled heart began to calm. If he would fight for us Fin and I were safe. It was a foolish and irrational thought, but it was an inner certainty that I felt at my core.
“Thank you, sir.”
He lingered close and for once I wasn’t uncomfortable with the proximity.
“Bear this in mind though. You will need to be careful on future transfer requests.” He shifted, standing straighter. I continued to see his personal support, but the man before me was again my superior officer. “Or better yet, stop making the requests and stay.”
Was that what he wanted? For me to stay? Only I couldn’t. I wanted something better for Fin. Which definitely did not include getting him sent to the Reverend Fathers. I would have to do more than wait another year before my next request, I would have to rethink my strategy for the request.
* * *
“Can I? Can I, Dad? Please? Please?”
Fin, now seven, was desperate to be allowed to ride a dragon on his own.
“Flight Sergeant Segast.”
I turned to see Shi at the human entrance to the dragon nests. Unlike most Rider garrisons, we did not have a separate stable from the nests. Mostly because the Fortress was on an island, and the dragon entrances to these caves were on the leeward side. Anything built on the top of the island would require a lot of stone and work to build. If we had a sick dragon, there were ways to get the animal in here without it flying, so there was little point in separating the stables from the nests. On the positive side, that meant I only had one place to go looking when Fin disappeared, as he had that morning. He was almost always down with the dragons.
“Yes, Flight Captain?”
Shi jerked his head to call me over. In the three years I had been here, I had learned that while Shi was a regimented being, he wasn’t without compassion. He had been respectful and considerate with Fin. I wouldn’t say the two of them got on, I think Fin was a little afraid of Shi, but they learned to accept being in one another’s company.
“Stay with Dora,” I told Fin. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
My blue was lying down, curled around and trying to sleep after a long night shift with me. Neither of us was in the mood to be pestered. Though Salvadora did wrap her tail around Fin and drag him in to cuddle up.
I marched over to Shi and offered him a salute as we met.
“I hear that Mister Segast—” He kept his voice low, not to carry. “—spent yet another night in the nests last night.”
It was surprisingly difficult not to gulp at that. The actions of Stable Master Eustace were not forgotten. They never would be. Thankfully, the new stable master was more understanding. “My apologies, sir. I have repeatedly told him not to do so.”
“Your tellings don’t seem to be working,” Shi said.
Which was itself an indictment of my command. Somehow, even despite the dreadful experience of Eustace’s actions, Fin would not be dissuaded from seeking out dragons or spending time in the stables.
“However, I understand that this is normal behaviour in childhood. I would also say that Stable Master Fenwick has reported that the dragons seem more docile while Fin is down here. A thing he noted, and reported to me, since the presence of the other young people here tends to have the opposite effect. Having spoken to the Stable Master, we felt it might be a good time to introduce Mister Segast to the world of working as a stable hand. If you find that agreeable?”
I would have found it more agreeable if Shi would call Fin Fin rather than Mister Segast, but had not had the courage to ask that favour, not even after three years. Shi wasn’t unapproachable, but I was uncertain of how appropriate he would find that request and I did not want to cause upset with something that would lead to his discomfort. “If he’s going to be underfoot, he might as well become useful.”
Shi nodded. “Then you will bring the matter up with your son as your own idea.”
I blinked. “Sir?”
“You are his father. You must be seen as bringing him good news. If you are still against the boy flying solo, I will command him to drop the subject. I will tell him that I will not have my dragons used for such frivolous activities as a joyride.”His features tightened for an instant before he could regain his composure.
“Lord Aurexian has an opinion?” I asked.
“On every matter.” Shi rolled his eyes. And I realised that that was the first time I had ever really seen him even approach anything which might be considered relaxation.
“And your opinion on me allowing Fin to fly?”
He took a moment to consider. Glancing over to where my son was leaning against Dora. Face set and glum, he was stroking the feathered end of her tail. Unlike the other dragons, blues had mostly scales but feathers over their shoulders, wing bones, paws, and tail ends. Those feathers helped them stay warm in the polar regions where they hailed from. The end wing feathers also assisted in stabilising the dragon in flight. Personally I found the particularly fluffy feathers between their toe pads quite the cutest thing. “My opinions are irrelevant,” Shi said.
“Opinions?” I asked.
He searched my face. “Such as my opinion on your beard.”
