by Donna Grant
“The Celts.”
There was no heat in Brandr’s words, but Eurwen wasn’t fooled. It was something else he got from their father. “I watched two warring Celt clans fight one day. It was brutal and vicious. A woman led one, the clan I had been studying for some time. They won, and without any interference from me. That night, they celebrated.”
Brandr shrugged. “And?”
“Someone new arrived. Someone who wasn’t part of the clan.”
“You wouldna be telling me this if it was just a human you took to your bed. Which means, it was a King.”
Eurwen drew in a deep breath and then released it. “The minute I saw him across the fire, I was drawn to him. Like invisible strings connected us, and some unknown force was pulling us together. I couldn’t have turned away had I tried. But…I didn’t want to go. That night was…everything. I knew that he would realize who I was or start asking questions I couldn’t answer once the morning came. So, I left. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. Fight the urge to go to Dreagan and find him.”
“Why did you no’ tell me this before?”
“We promised each other that we’d never be around the Kings.”
Brandr swallowed and looked out over the view. “Yes, well, that was a one-time thing.”
Astonishment jolted through Eurwen as she looked in disbelief at her brother. “Did you not hear what I said?”
“I heard that you’ve no’ gone to him.” Brandr glanced at her. “That’s all I need to know.”
“No.”
He swiveled his head to her, his brows drawn together. “What?”
“I said, no.”
“To what, exactly?”
She got to her feet. “I told you that story to lead into another, but you’ve made your stance perfectly clear.”
“We doona need the Kings. We never have. We never will,” he stated calmly.
Which only enraged her more. Eurwen fisted her hands as she glared at her twin. “We don’t need them, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be in our lives.”
“That’s exactly what it means.” Brandr slowly got to his feet and dusted off his hands before facing her. “Plenty of dragons would do anything to be your mate. Pick one.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What the bloody hell are you on about? You know we can’t just pick a mate. That isn’t how it works.”
“This is our realm. The Kings had their chance on theirs, and they buggered it all. I’m no’ stepping aside for them to come and take over. Ruin what we’ve done. Perhaps you need to think about whose side you’re on.”
“I’m on my side,” she retorted.
His nostrils flared, a sign that he was fighting his anger. “Are you telling me that Dragon King is your mate?”
“I don’t know what he is. What I want is your support, no matter what happens.”
“I love you, Eurwen. We’ve been through a lot together, but you know my stance. If your mate is a King, then you willna be ruling Zora any longer.”
Her eyes widened in incredulity. “You can’t be serious.”
“I willna give them a foothold here. And if you’re mated to one, that’s exactly what will happen. If that means I banish you, then so be it.”
“You forget we rule together. You can’t banish me anymore than I can banish you.”
“Figure out what is more important.” A muscle ticked in his jaw before he walked away.
“Why is everyone walking away from me today?” she asked herself.
Eurwen faced the view and took a deep breath, but that didn’t alleviate her emotions that had been in upheaval since the start of the day. It felt as if everything were falling apart when she had believed this first step in a new direction was what she was meant to do. How could she have been so wrong?
It wouldn’t have mattered if she and her parents had shared an amazing conversation and bonded because nothing would change Brandr’s mind. He’d laid it out for her. She could choose Zora and him, or she could have their parents and Earth.
And possibly Vaughn.
Very few times in her life had she not known what to do. Where she felt as if she were adrift in a sea of uncertainty and doubt. But today, she was drowning in that ocean with no way out.
Zora was her home. She hadn’t had a conventional birth or upbringing. Nothing about her and Brandr had been normal. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore, and she was beginning to wonder if she had ever known anything.
She did know one thing. And that was how Vaughn made her feel. But could she decide about the rest of her life based on one night that’d happened lifetimes ago? She didn’t know Vaughn, and he didn’t know her. They had physical chemistry, but that didn’t equal compatibility. Maybe she was overthinking things. Perhaps she thought there was something between her and Vaughn that really wasn’t.
There was only one way to know for sure.
Chapter Seven
“Want to talk about it?”
Vaughn blinked and looked at Varek, who stood beside him. “What? No.”
Varek raised a brow. “I’m no’ sure keeping whatever is wrong to yourself is a good idea.”
As if on cue, Rhi and Con came out of the shadows, heading toward the fire. Vaughn was thankful because the last thing he wanted to do right now was talk about Eurwen. Especially when he wasn’t sure what to think.
He’d spent most of the day wandering the forest, and the other half flying around Zora. He’d seen many dragons, but he hadn’t approached them, and they hadn’t come near him. He also hadn’t seen Eurwen again. It had been nearing dusk when Varek used the mental link and told him where he and Jeyra were living.
Vaughn sat back while Varek introduced Jeyra to Con and Rhi. Though the two wore smiles, they didn’t come as easily as usual. Something had happened with Eurwen. Or had Brandr been involved? Vaughn felt for his friends. He knew the couple had endured a great deal since learning about their twins and seeing how their children hadn’t wanted to see them. There had been such hope in Con’s and Rhi’s eyes this morning. That was gone. Replaced by pain and distress.
“Shite,” Varek said as he looked between Vaughn, Rhi, and Con. “What happened to you three today?”
Rhi accepted a mug of wine from Jeyra. “Let’s just say that it’s going to take longer than I realized before we can have a cordial discussion with Eurwen.”
“Did you get to meet Brandr?” Jeyra asked.
Con shook his head as he accepted his wine. “Apparently, our son doesna want any Dragon Kings here.”
Varek and Jeyra exchanged a look before Varek said, “He wasna too pleased with my being here, but he didna tell me to leave.”
“I think that was before Eurwen created the doorway,” Vaughn said.
Rhi swallowed the wine and nodded. “Precisely.”
“Does that mean we have to leave?” Jeyra asked Varek.
Con sat on one of the six cut tree stumps around the fire. “None of us wants a war, and I think that’s exactly what Brandr expects. If we’re asked to leave, then we’ll go. Peacefully.”
Vaughn turned his wine mug in his hand. “I agree. For the moment, we’re allowed to stay. Let’s learn what we can in case we’re no’ allowed to return.”
“That bloody well can no’happen,” Varek stated. “The other Kings need to experience this.”
Rhi put her hand on Con’s shoulder as she stood beside him. “You have to understand where Brandr and Eurwen are coming from. This is their home. They rule this place.”
“And they’re worried we’re coming to take it,” Vaughn said.
Jeyra snorted as she grabbed the wine jug and refilled her mug. “That’s what I’d think if I were them.”
“That’s no’ what we’re doing. Is it?” Varek asked with a frown.
Con turned his head and kissed Rhi’s hand, looking up at her before saying. “No. That isna what we’re about. Eurwen was right this morning. We had our chance, and I bungled it.”
&
nbsp; “That isna only on you, Con. We all did,” Vaughn said.
Con’s black gaze met his over the dancing fire. “The responsibility lies with me. I ordered—”
“That’s bollocks,” Vaughn interrupted. “You lead us. We follow your orders, but you know as well as we do that if we hadna believed in you and agreed with you, we would have made our thoughts known.”
Varek said, “Hear, hear.”
“Besides,” Jeyra added. “The past is the past. Nothing can change it.”
Rhi leaned down to kiss Con’s forehead before sitting beside him on a stump. “I agree. Unfortunately, it’s the past that has turned our children against us.”
“How long are you staying?” Vaughn asked.
Con shrugged as he stared into the fire. “Until we’re told to leave.”
“What about you?” Varek asked Vaughn.
Vaughn blew out a breath. “I’m no’ sure.”
“I thought you found what you were looking for,” Rhi said.
When Vaughn looked up, both Con and Rhi were staring at him, knowing looks in their eyes. “I might’ve been wrong.”
“This might be your only chance. Be sure before you do anything hasty,” Con advised.
Varek leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees. “I feel like I’ve missed something.”
“You have,” Jeyra said with a teasing laugh.
Con caught Jeyra’s gaze. “I admit, I wasna sure what to think of a woman who went out of her way to have a Dragon King captured on Earth and brought here. Now that I see you and Varek together, I understand. Whatever might have driven you before, you did it so the two of you could be together.”
Jeyra smiled as she looked at Varek. “That’s right. Otherwise, we never would’ve met, and I wouldn’t know what it means to love a Dragon King.”
“I think it’s time we hear your story,” Rhi said to Jeyra.
Con nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Over dinner. With more wine,” Varek added with a wink.
Vaughn watched the two couples with a smile. The Dragon Kings might live like billionaires because they were thanks to Dreagan Industries, but they didn’t need such luxury. Varek and Jeyra lived in nothing more than an elaborate tent, much like the Bédouins used. And they were happy.
Their meal of venison might have been prepared with magic, but sitting around the fire out in the open was something that each of them not only enjoyed but craved. Vaughn missed the simple life.
When each of them had their plates and were eating, Varek began his story about waking up chained and being carried into a cell.
“When I was alone, I tried to use my magic, but I couldna,” he explained.
Jeyra shrugged. “I thought it was because of the manacles I put on him. Supposedly, they stop anyone with magic from using their abilities.”
“It took some convincing, but I got her to trust me,” Varek said with a smile directed at his mate.
Jeyra leaned forward and kissed him before looking at the rest of them. “Things just weren’t adding up. I knew he wasn’t the dragon who killed my family, but I wanted justice. I needed it. Unfortunately, in my search for it, I uncovered things that I wasn’t meant to find.”
“Like?” Rhi pressed.
“The man who raised me said that we created the barrier that kept the dragons out. Yet, when I asked when that’d happened and who had done it—since none of us have magic—he couldn’t answer.”
Varek nodded. “Then she was told I wouldna be executed as she had thought. They wanted to use me. Planned to marry me off so they could get more land.”
“You must be joking,” Con said in disbelief. “They actually believed that would get more land?”
Varek snorted. “Just like with Earth, the humans will do anything for more land.”
“The thing is, they don’t need it,” Jeyra told them. “There’s plenty. As long as the rich stop hoarding it.”
Vaughn could only shake his head.
“Eventually, Jeyra and I came up with a plan for my escape. It was tricky, and we nearly didna make it. The only reason we did was thanks to one of the councilwomen. It wasna until we exited the gates of the city that I heard the screams.”
Vaughn watched as Varek closed his eyes, as if the mere memory had brought him pain. “What screams?” he pressed.
“Dragons.” Varek opened his eyes and looked between Vaughn and Con. “There were dragons in the city, and they were being tortured.”
Con jumped to his feet, fury emanating from him. “Still?”
“We released them,” Jeyra told him.
“With Erith’s and Cael’s help,” Varek added.
Rhi reached up and tugged on Con’s hand to get him to sit back down. Then Rhi said, “It seems Erith leaves out quite a lot about what she does for dragons.”
“I told her to let you know everything,” Varek said.
Con rolled his eyes. “This is Erith we’re talking about.”
“Get back to the dragons,” Vaughn said.
Varek issued a single nod. “Right. As we were setting up a plan to rescue them, Jeyra’s people started chasing both Jeyra and I. We crossed onto dragon land, and I thought they might want to help me free the dragons.”
“They didn’t?” Rhi asked with a concerned frown.
Jeyra shook her head sadly. “It was left up to Varek, Erith, Cael, and me.”
“The three of them got into the city. I couldna use my magic within its borders, but Erith—as a goddess—and Cael—as a god—had no problems.”
Jeyra set her mug on the ground. “Turned out it was the lead councilman was torturing the dragons and using their magic so no one could use magic within the city. The dragon that killed my family had escaped somehow. That’s when I learned that my family had been hunting and capturing dragons. That’s why it’d killed my family and not me. I was raised to fear and hate dragons and any being with magic. But…when I saw the state of the red and pink dragons—”
“Pink?” Vaughn and Con said in unison.
Varek’s smile was wide. “Aye. They’re no’ extinct like we thought. We rescued one.”
“Just one?” Con asked. “Are there more?”
Varek’s smile lost some of its luster. “I’ve no’ seen more. I hoped to, or at least to learn how there was another Pink.”
“That’s amazing news,” Vaughn said.
Varek made a face. “It was. Is. I’ll admit that. But knowing what had been done to those dragons for decades left a sour taste in my mouth. I doona want to think about how many dragons the humans have killed.”
“What about the head councilman?” Rhi asked, fire in her eyes.
Jeyra grinned. “You don’t need to worry about him. Erith killed him.”
“While Jeyra rescued the Pink,” Varek said.
“I knew I liked you,” Rhi told Jeyra.
“Erith and Cael teleported the dragons here because they were weak,” Varek continued. “That’s when I met Brandr. He wasna exactly welcoming, but he didna force me to leave. He thanked us for rescuing the dragons.”
Con scratched his eyebrow. “What of your people, Jeyra? How did they come to be here?”
“That’s something I was hoping one of you could help decipher,” she answered.
Varek exchanged a look with Jeyra. “Every human here was brought as an infant. No one knows who brings them or why.”
“Did you ask Erith?” Rhi questioned.
Jeyra nodded. “We did. She didn’t have an answer.”
“How is the population?” Con asked.
Varek linked his hand with Jeyra’s. “No one can bear children here. We know that isna affecting the dragons. It could be because of the barrier the twins erected to keep the humans on their land, or it could have something to do with how and why they’re brought here.”
Con was silent for several moments. Then he said, “I know you wanted some time alone, but I’d like for you to return to Earth. Varek, let Sophie check Jeyra out t
o see if something in her blood can explain what’s going on.”
“I get to see Dreagan?” Jeyra asked happily.
Vaughn laughed. “You’ll be inundated with the other mates wanting to talk to you.”
“Oh. I’m not really great with other women,” Jeyra said with a frown.
Rhi laughed and shook her head. “Everyone there is wonderful. It might be overwhelming at first, but you’ll soon learn that each of them has a special gift. There are other warriors, too, like you, so you needn’t worry about that.”
“Looks like we’re headed to Earth,” Varek said to Jeyra.
She glowed with happiness as she leaned forward to kiss him again. “I told you. Anywhere you are is home. I don’t care where we are.”
Vaughn felt more than ever that he was missing the other half of himself. The part he believed he’d found with Eurwen. He looked at the empty seat on the other side of him and wished that she was there.
He thought about their earlier conversation as the others talked. Maybe he’d been too hard on Eurwen. After all, she was taking a big chance allowing a doorway to connect Zora and Earth. Of course, she would be guarded. Of course, she would be defensive.
She might have opinions about his past, but she hadn’t been there. It wasn’t right that she judged something she hadn’t been involved in. But had he not done the same to her? Had he not judged her and lashed out, simply because he hadn’t liked what she’d said?
Vaughn set aside his uneaten plate and now-empty mug and tried to slip away unseen. He got two steps before he heard someone behind him. He turned and found Con.
“You going to her?” he asked.
Vaughn nodded. “Is that a problem?”
“She’s in a difficult position.”
“I realize that. It’s one of the reasons I’d like to talk to her again.”
Con crossed his arms over his chest. “I can no’ say I particularly like knowing what transpired between you and my daughter, but I only learned of her existence a few months ago. I have no right to get in your business.”
“She is your daughter, no matter the circumstances. But I need to know if she’s my mate, or if I’m hanging onto one night that happened eons ago for no reason.”