A Tale of Two Dragons

“It’s more my fight than yours. It was me they’d planned to kill. That alone will bring every Cadwaladr within a thousand leagues to exact revenge. Trust me when I say you don’t want to be in the middle of that shit storm.”

“What does it matter? Your family already hates me.”

Addolgar gazed at her for several moments before asking, “Why would you say that?”

“Because they attacked me in your father’s courtyard?”

“Only because you battered Ghleanna. And she only tried to stop you because of me. Actually . . . my kin was quite impressed. Once we wrapped up their wounds and snapped bones back into place. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“My mother. And she learned from her mother. The females on my mother’s side are, what my father has always called when he was feeling nice, hearty.”

“Hearty’s good. The Cadwaladrs respect hearty.”

Braith couldn’t help but snort a little laugh at that while she tried to figure out where to put her damn hands with these damn manacles and chains on them.

“What’s so funny?” Addolgar asked.

“Lady Katarina wasn’t exactly what I’d call hearty . . . and you didn’t seem to have any problems with her.”

“Well . . . no. She wasn’t hearty. Not like you.” And Braith briefly entertained using the chains to choke the life from the big idiot. “But she’s a nice lass.”

“Addolgar, she poisoned you.”

“But she didn’t kill me. That’s what’s important.”

Her mother had been right, all those years ago, when she’d told Braith, “Males will always make excuses for the pretty.” It was too bad, really. Braith had always hoped Addolgar wasn’t like most males. But in the end, they were all the same, weren’t they?

“You’re sneering at me,” Addolgar noted.

“Am I?”

“Your lip is curled, so it does look like you’re sneering.”

“I don’t mean to.” She really didn’t. “I just don’t know how we’re going to fix this. My father . . . he’s destroyed my life, the honor of my bloodline. He’s destroyed everything. And for what?” she asked. “To take the throne of Addiena?”

“That seems like a foolish goal. He’d have to get rid of Addiena, which is near impossible with her Royal Guard protecting her. And then there’s her offspring, two of which are witches.” He shrugged massive shoulders. “In other words, the House of Gwalchmai fab Gwyar is not to be f**ked with, I’m afraid.”

“Perhaps my father’s raised an army.”

“Wouldn’t you know if he had? Wouldn’t he discuss it with you first?”

“My father and I aren’t . . . close. We never have been. He wanted two things when he chose my mother as his mate: sons and her royal title. I was never part of his plan and I mean nothing to him.”

“Then why did he involve you in this at all?”

Braith admitted the sad truth. “Because he hates me. Always has. He knew I’d never go along with this. I’m a Daughter of the House of Penarddun, and our oath is our bond. He’s never had the guts to outright kill me, so he was hoping I’d go along, put up a fight, and one of the soldiers would do the nasty job for him. This way he keeps his talons clean and he still has his precious sons.”

She saw a very dark frown on Addolgar’s face, and he said, “Or you could have just gone along with his plan.”

“The honor of my mother’s bloodline means everything to me,” she snapped, “just as it meant everything to her and to all our female ancestors who came before us. You may be from the Cadwaladr Clan, Addolgar the Cheerful, but I’m a direct bloodline from the House of Penarddun. A Daughter. That means something to us. So, I’d rather be executed knowing I’d kept our honor than live a millennium in shame.”

Addolgar said nothing as he gazed into her face. She didn’t know what he was looking for or what he expected to find. Instead, she held his gaze until a voice at the doorway said, “Then we’d best figure out how to get your granite fists out of this, Braith of the Darkness.”

It was Ghleanna. She leaned against the door frame, a wet cloth held to her swollen cheek. Her nose had already been put back into place by kinder hands than the one that had knocked it out of joint.

“I don’t understand,” Braith admitted. “Why are you all trying to help me?”

The She-dragon shrugged, smirked. “Maybe because it’s nice to finally know a female with shoulders wider than mine.” She motioned toward the stairs with a tilt of her head. “Come on then, you two. We’d better start figuring out what we’re going to do before the rest of these idiots begin drinking again. They’ll be useless once the ale comes out.”

Ghleanna walked away, and Braith simply couldn’t help herself. She lowered her chin to her chest and tried to see how wide her shoulders truly were.

“Don’t worry,” Addolgar cheered as he grabbed her hands and pulled her up from the bed, the chains obscenely rattling. “Ghleanna actually meant that as a compliment. She loves her giant shoulders.”

Once on her feet, Braith looked up at the big, good-natured idiot. He grinned at her and all Braith could do was sigh, shake her head, and walk out of the room . . . her chains rattling along as she did.

“What?” Addolgar asked from behind her. “What did I say?”