Lady Warhawk Read Free

Meghianna hadn't taken her part when she was punished for her treachery.
    Meghianna regretted severing the link, because it gave her no ability to reach through
her sister's protective walls. She had no way of knowing how strong Megassa's imbrose was, how much control she had over it, and if her sister had come to this small, obscure inn to
cause harm.
    "I hear there is a talented healer woman here," Megassa said, tugging back her hood.
She wore her red hair bound back on her head, with jewels woven into it, and a gauzy scarf
covering the intricate mass. Streaks of silver added to the elegance of the look, and there were
lines around her eyes and mouth.
    Meghianna shivered at the strangeness of realizing Megassa looked at least ten years
older than she. She congratulated herself on keeping her voice and steps assured, no wavering,
no hesitation when she spoke. "I am Ianni, a healer in this quarter of the city."
    "Please, two of my sons have some springtime malady. Will you come to my inn to tend
them?"
    "Can I come with you, Mother?" Lycen stayed by Meghianna's side as she crossed the
room to stand in front of Megassa.
    "It's my turn," Thrarin said, leaping up from the table where Ector just barely managed
to keep his mouth from dropping open at the sight of the elegant noblewoman in the inn.
    "Now now, you two." Bethian stopped in the middle of the floor, her blacksmith-strong
arms full of trays of dirty dishes. "I thought you planned on helping me with my baking. Who's
going to test the berry tarts to make sure they're good enough for our customers?"
    Megassa laughed, the merry sound of innocent childhood mischief. "A dilemma, indeed.
I assure you, young man, your mother will be perfectly safe with me. We are only perhaps
twenty minutes of walking away. Sir, you are a soldier assigned to the garrison here?" She
nodded to Ector, who leaped to his feet and bowed, somehow managing not to knock over his
stool or any of the other chairs around him.
    "Captain Ector, commander of the garrison, at your service, milady."
    "Wonderful. Captain, would you stand as escort for our healer Ianni, so her son doesn't
worry for her safety?"
    "Sons," Thrarin said, crossing over to stand next to Lycen. "Why do you look so much
like our mother?"
    "Don't be silly," Bethian said, chuckling, as she continued across the room with her load
of plates. "They look nothing look alike." She met Meghianna's gaze, grinning, before she
ducked into the kitchen. "I need someone to wash dishes before I can start baking," she
called.
    "Go," Meghianna said, fighting not to laugh at the indecision in the boys' faces. They
adored helping Bethian when she was baking. Their sweet tooth was almost as strong as their
hunger for adventure. "I'll be perfectly all right."
    "Most likely it will take longer for you to come to our inn and return, than it will to
determine what ails my sons." Megassa smiled sweetly. Her gaze flicked sideways to watch the
boys dash into the kitchen. "Two sons? They both must look like their father. Where is he?"
    "I am a widow, milady."
    "My condolences. Captain, if we could be on our way?" She gestured at the door.
    Why had Megassa come for her? Meghianna mulled the question as she gathered up her
healing supplies, which she doubted she would actually need, and let Ector escort her and her
sister out the front door of the inn.
    More important, how had Megassa found her? Meghianna couldn't imagine her sister
visiting every healer in every city in Lygroes, wagering that the Queen of Snows hid there. If
Megassa had come just to make mischief, Meghianna vowed she would find a punishment that
would make her sister's banishment seem like a spring frolic.
    "Is your husband with you, Lady?" Meghianna asked, when the three of them had turned
two streets and moved away from the harbor, heading into the more affluent quarter of the
city.
    "No. He has important work. Leading our enemies on a mad chase." Megassa cast a
sideways glance at Ector, who walked