by Larissa Ione
“Although,” Bram admitted after a moment, “it was quite lovely, wasn’t it?”
“Aye,” she replied, her voice soft. “It was.”
“Thank you for that.”
“And thank you. That’s the best I’ve slept in—”
The door swung open again, cutting off Ghleanna’s words. “Oy!” Cai yelled into the hallway. “Addolgar did see ’em in bed together! Who knew the little bastard had it in him?”
Hew stuck his head in. “They still have their clothes on. What’s the point of being human if you’re going to do it with your clothes on? Playing with the flesh is the best part.”
“Maybe they got dressed quick.”
“Nah. I bet they just slept.” Hew shook his head. “Boring.”
“Not everyone’s like you, Hew. Running around, fucking anything that moves.”
“Let’s go!” Adain yelled from out in the hallway. “I want to eat!”
The door slammed shut and Bram closed his eyes, trying to remember that this would all be over soon enough.
“That was a bit awkward,” Ghleanna sighed.
“Of course it wasn’t. We’re dragons. We don’t have all those weak sensibilities like humans.” He waved toward the door. “That was nothing.”
“Come on, you two whores!” Addolgar bellowed from the hallway, most likely waking up the entire building, and if not, the brothers’ laughter probably did the trick. “It’s time to eat! Let’s move, move, move!”
“Okay,” Bram told her. “Now that was awkward.”
After a quick morning meal in the pub, they’d gotten on the road as the two suns rose, heading toward the ocean and the port where they’d meet the boat that would take them into the Desert Lands. As they walked, Ghleanna kept thinking about what had happened that morning. Waking up in Bram’s arms—even fully clothed—had been . . . strange. Mostly because she’d been so comfortable. She’d never been that comfortable in a male’s arms before.
Maybe it was because the royal seemed so non-threatening. He was Bram the Merciful, after all. He never ate humans and was always running around trying to create alliances and truces with their kingdom’s enemies. He’d never been in a battle in his life and hadn’t even noticed the one right outside his own castle gates.
He was definitely not the kind of dragon she ever saw herself with. As a warrior from a warrior clan, she’d always been with other warriors. Then again, she’d rarely stayed the night and when she did, she never slept in those warriors’ arms. And Ghleanna was even less comfortable with human males.
But Bram . . .
She shook her head, confused. Annoyed. But surprisingly refreshed, as if she’d had a full twelve hours of sleep.
“You all right, sister?” Addolgar asked her after a few hours on the road. “You’ve been very quiet today.”
“Aye. I’m fine, brother.”
“Is it the royal?” he asked, his voice low so only she could hear. “Should I break him in half for you?”
Ghleanna smiled. She’d always been very close to Addolgar. They’d spent a lot of time together killing things in battle and weren’t very far apart in age. And it always warmed her heart how protective he was of her, although she was often the last one who needed that protection.
“No. That’s not necessary.”
“If it becomes necessary, you simply say the word.” They walked on for a bit and Addolgar added, “He’s not terribly weak, though.”
“What?”
“The royal. He’s not too weak, I don’t think. And he doesn’t look weak. His human body’s not very large but it probably helps him blend in more with the humans. And as dragon he’s a tolerable, average size.”
“Your point?”
Her brother shrugged. “Maybe you should see all that’s in front of you rather than just a small piece. I wanted a She-dragon tiny and soft, like a kitten. And yet my mate is everything but. And I adore that about her.”
Ghleanna sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Mum, but it is a very sweet thought, brother. Still, I think I may be too much She-dragon for our peacemaker. What kind of do-gooder like him would tolerate how many times a year I go out and kill things for sport and profit? I’m rarely home and when I am home, I’m usually recovering from battle wounds and working with one of our blacksmiths on new weapons I want to try out.”
“You give him too little credit, I think. Besides”—Addolgar leaned down and whispered in her ear—“when he doesn’t think you’re looking, he stares at your scars.”
What Bram had muttered in his sleep the previous evening came back to her, but she brushed it away and said, “All that proves is he’s odd.”
“Not at all. I know that look. Me mate has it for me when I get home fresh from a battle. He likes those scars, Ghleanna. He likes them a lot.”
Aye. Crazy. Every one of her kin was absolutely stark raving mad.
Bram was digging through his travel bag and walking, trying not to trip on anything, when he realized that he was surrounded by Ghleanna’s younger brothers.
He slowed to a stop. “Is there something you lot—”
“No, no. Keep moving.” Adain shoved Bram forward while Cai and Hew nervously looked back at Ghleanna and Addolgar. “You, uh . . . you like our sister, yeah?”
What in holy hells was going on with everyone?
“Sorry?”
“You,” Adain pushed, “like our sister. That’s what Addolgar says.”
“Well, I don’t see—”
“All we want to say is that if you want to, you know, take a run at her—we won’t rip your arms and legs off.”
“Take a run—”
“Our sisters call it the Gauntlet. Most blokes aren’t good enough for ’em, you see.”
“Human or dragon,” Hew added. “Don’t matter. They’re mostly idiots.”
“But you’re not bad,” Adain confided. “And the females like the pretty ones.”
“I don’t—”
“Look, all we’re saying is that if you want a shot at her, we won’t stop you. The last bastard she was with—he hurt her.”
Cai whispered, “She don’t like to admit it, though.”
“Right, but you, you’re supposed to be real nice. Feeble maybe, but nice.”
“I am not—”
“So maybe you can take her out sometime. Or buy her something a female would like. Flowers or whatever.”
“And,” Hew insisted, “tell her she’s beautiful.”
“She is beautiful.”
“Yeah. Tell her just like that. Like you mean it.”
Bram stopped walking. “I do mean—”
“Good, good.” Adain patted his shoulder. “We’ll leave you to it then.”
The brothers walked off and Bram, confused and becoming more and more terrified by Ghleanna’s kin, went back to digging through his bag. And that’s when he finally heard it. A bird. A crow specifically. Cawing.
Bram looked over at the trees on the other side of the beach they walked on. The crow cawed again, his wings spread out wide from his body.
“What is it?” Ghleanna asked him.
“Someone’s following us.”
“Aye. We know.”
Surprised, Bram again looked at the brothers. Although they were still talking, they all had their hands on the closest weapon.
“You’re not going to panic on me and run, are you, royal?”
“My, you do have a high opinion of me, Ghleanna. It’s very heartwarming.”
She laughed and shook her head. “No insult meant. Simply wanted to be sure I didn’t need to chain you to me.”
“To stop me from running away? Not necessary.” Bram gave her a small smile. “However, if you find other reasons to chain me to you, feel free.”
Ghleanna stumbled a bit. “Wait. What?”
But before Bram could elaborate on his request—in detail—Hew yelled out, “The trees!”
The Cadwaladrs moved in unison and with pur
pose, all of them surrounding Bram, their shields up and locked together, their weapons ready to strike.
“Watch your right, Hew!” Addolgar yelled out. “Look to the trees, Cai. Adain, send a call out. See if any of our kin are nearby. Tell them where we are.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“All you need to know,” Ghleanna reminded Cai, “is that Addolgar and Hew did. Now shut the fuck up and hold formation!”
Then there was silence. A painful, bloated silence that had Bram panting lightly so that when he needed his flame, he could unleash it as he’d been trained to do since hatching.
They waited, the moment growing more and more tense, but not once did any of the Cadwaladrs move. Not once did they even flinch. Even the younger ones who, according to Cadwaladr Code were still too young and untrained to be on their own.
And, just when he thought perhaps Cai had been right and there was nothing for Addolgar or Hew to see, a dragon in full armor dropped right in front of them, the beach and trees around them shaking.
“Shift!” Ghleanna yelled and Bram shifted to his natural form at the same time the Cadwaladrs did. It was all that kept him from being crushed to death, too.
“Shields!” Addolgar yelled and with a slam against the ground, their shields changed from human-sized to a size fit for enormous warrior dragons. “Weapons!” Another slam, this time to the base of their weapons, which had the deadly implements expanding in size. He knew that the Cadwaladrs had some special blacksmith among them, but gods, what a creation.
“Ghleanna!” Addolgar ordered, “Protect the royal!”
And as soon as Addolgar’s words left his snout, the first strike came.
With the open sea to their backs, Ghleanna felt relatively sure the traitors—because that’s how she thought of them—would be coming from one direction. They could try to come at them from the sea but they’d be quickly seen and dealt with by the Fins.
No. Approaching by land was safer and quicker. Besides . . . there were many of them. She counted at least twenty. And all of them trained soldiers of Rhiannon’s army. Soldiers Ghleanna had fought with, drunk with, raided small towns with. And yet, without a word, they were striking at the Cadwaladrs and the peacemaker.
For that betrayal alone, Ghleanna would make sure this beach would soon be called Red Sands.
The traitors advanced and Addolgar raised his lance. “Steady on, Cadwaladrs. Steady.”
The first traitor, a youngster who only recently got his Corporal armor, struck first, his impatience being his undoing as so often happened with those young warriors not trained by other Cadwaladrs.
Addolgar saw the opening and struck, his lance piercing right under the forearm—a major artery. The young warrior’s screams echoed out and the rest of the traitors attacked.
Ghleanna moved back, pushing the royal with her rear. He didn’t speak but she didn’t feel him shaking or trying to fly away in a panic. Good. She didn’t have time to track the fool down if he fled.
Her brothers fought bravely but, when more traitors came, they were forced to break formation. They did their best to keep their enemies away from Ghleanna and Bram, yet it was impossible to do it without risking their own lives. She wouldn’t have that.
When several went for Cai, Ghleanna used her battle axe to strike them down. Cutting one from shoulder to hip and the other from one leg to the other. Once she’d finished them off, she stepped back again to shield the royal.
“There are more, Ghleanna,” Bram told her, not once raising his voice. Never showing fear. “Coming from the north.”
She nodded. “Cai! Hew! North!”
When her two younger brothers turned, shields and weapons raised, Ghleanna sensed another dragon landing to the right of her and the royal.
She spun, pulling back her axe to strike, but she froze at the last second, her shock making her foolish and causing her to stop in mid-swing.
“Feoras?” she asked, unable to hide the emotion she felt at the sight of him.
The green dragon grinned wide—and slammed his sword into her chest. The last thing that went through her mind was that the only reason he’d missed her heart was because the royal behind her had pulled her to the side at the last second.
The peacemaker is much faster than I thought . . .
Bram released a blast of flame that sent Feoras the Fighter—now Feoras the Traitor when Bram was done telling this tale—and a group of soldiers several hundred feet away from them. Bram hadn’t merely been bragging when he said his flame was mighty. It was a family truth. As if their flame compensated for their lack of weapons skill. With no more than two fiery blasts, Bram could wipe out an entire village.
“Addolgar!” Bram called out. Ghleanna was in his arms, blood pouring from her wound.
Her brother cut another dragon down before looking over his shoulder.
“Gods!”
“It was Feoras!” Bram motioned to the dragon, who still hadn’t managed to get back on his claws, his head having struck the ground hard when he’d landed.
Addolgar snarled, ready to go after the one who’d cut down his beloved sister. But then more dragons landed around them.
“Take her!” he ordered Bram.
Bram looked around. All he saw were trees and ocean. The next port was several leagues away. And with him carrying Ghleanna—they’d never stand a chance. “Where?”
“Anywhere! Just go!”
“But—”
“She’s dying, royal!”
Bram looked down at the She-dragon in his arms and realized that Addolgar spoke truly. Blood pumped from her chest in big gouts.
“Take her! Help her!” Addolgar killed two dragons in front of him by running them through with one thrust of his spear. “We’ll do what we can to hold them off.” He glanced back at Bram one more time. “Help my sister. Please.”
Bram nodded and took another quick look around, his gaze finally settling on the ocean. It was the last place he wanted to go. The place he swore he’d never return to.
Yet he had no choice but to risk it. So Bram grabbed firm hold of Ghleanna and took to the skies, moving over the ocean. He heard the shouts of those trying to capture him. They were coming after him but Bram kept going until he was far enough out and high enough.
“Ghleanna? Can you hear me?”
“Aye.” But she sounded weak.
“Take in a deep breath. The deepest breath you can. Then hold it.”
He felt her take in several breaths, but it was not easy with her losing so much blood. When he knew she’d done what she could and that she now held her breath, Bram tightened his hold on her—and flipped them both over.
A few of the soldiers were near now. Only a few feet away, but they never expected Bram to suddenly flip over—nor to suddenly race toward the ocean beneath them.
“Stop him!” someone yelled from the shore. “Stop him before he reaches the water. Stop him!”
Unwilling to stop until he was made to, Bram kept going, glad for his lighter weight, knowing it allowed him to move faster than the bigger dragons.
He neared the blue water, was right there when he heard Addolgar bellow, “What the hells is he doing?”
It was the last thing Bram heard before he hit the water, dragging Ghleanna down with him. Down and down, deep into the ocean.
A few dragons followed him in. Foolish dragons. Or they didn’t know what the older, more experienced ones did.
For as he kept going, the others behind him, those who ruled these waters, shot past him, their weapons out, their shark-like fangs bared. They ripped past Bram, the webs between their talons and the bright colored fin that cut down their back giving them unholy speed, while their gills allowed them to breathe.
Bram kept going until more dragons surrounded him. Older soldier Fins who’d patrolled these waters for quite some time. They looked at the wounded She-dragon in Bram’s arms and then at Bram.
It was Bram they recognized.
Un
derstanding that their visitors were quickly running out of oxygen, the Sea Dragons separated the pair. A Fin wrapped his forearms around Bram while another did the same to Ghleanna. Then they used their underwater speed to whisk the visitors deeper in the ocean—and the caves beneath. To the Empress of the Sea Dragon Empire.
And the gods knew . . . that conniving bitch was ten times worse than Rhiannon could even dream of being.
Chapter 7
Bram used his forearms to brace his body, his talons pressing into the packed earth of the cave floor, and he spewed seawater from his burning lungs. He sensed much activity around him but he paid it little mind. He was too busy trying to get his bearings.
Confused, he lifted his head to try to see where he was but his eyes stung and his hair was in his face.
“Breathe, my Lord,” someone gently told him, patting his back. “You’re safe now.”
He recognized that voice, but from where? “Kleitos?”
“Good memory, old friend.”
“Where . . . ?” Feeling his lungs had cleared, Bram sat back and pushed the wet hair from his eyes. That’s when he saw Ghleanna. She lay on her back, with several dragons surrounding her. “No.”
He tried to get up, to go to her, but Kleitos quickly pulled him back. “Let them do their work, Bram. You can’t help her now.”
Shaking his head, Bram tried desperately to remember what had happened. “We were set upon,” he said out loud. “Betrayed.” He frowned, pressing his talons to his forehead. “They were trying to stop me.”
“Who, old friend? Who was trying to stop you?”
The thought was just out of reach, so Bram did what he always did—he reached for his travel bag. It was a Magickal item designed to survive all flames, including the ones from his shifting. But the bag was no longer on him. His gaze, suddenly clear, shot across the cavern and he saw several dragons going through it.
He stood but Kleitos grabbed his forearm, held him back.
That’s when everything became terribly, ridiculously clear.