Light My Fire

“Yes, because we definitely want the Mì-runach in our home,” Briec said on a bored sigh.

Éibhear’s lip curled a bit. He was aware of how his brothers felt about the Mì-runach. They were considered vile, vicious bastards who took orders from no one but their queen and killed only those no one else would go near. They had also been the only group of Dragonwarriors willing to take Éibhear on as one of their own. His time with them had made him a better dragon and definitely a more worthy soldier. But the reputation of the Mì-runach seemed to mean more to his brothers than what they’d done for the youngest of their siblings.

Typical!

“Now, now, you lot,” Gwenvael unhelpfully cut in. “Let’s not blame the boy for being worthless and irritating. Let’s blame our father. It’s his fault poor little Éibhear is like this. Sad. Pathetic. With bones tied in his strangely colored hair as if he were still on the cold, barbarian mountains of the Northlands.”

“Strangely colored hair? Our grandfather was a Blue,” Éibhear reminded them.

“His was more of a hearty navy blue that sparkled in the moonlight. Yours is a flat, boring blue. Kind of like yourself.”

Suddenly Fearghus focused on them all as if he’d never seen them before and snapped, “Who are we talking about?”

That was when Éibhear threw the first punch. . . .

“In here,” Annwyl said as she led Rhiannon, Dagmar, and Talaith, into the library, the sounds of the brothers’ fighting fading as she closed the door behind them. “They never come in here.”

“Nicely handled, dear Celyn,” Rhiannon told her nephew who, along with his younger sister, had followed them here. Celyn had always been one of her best guards, knowing exactly what she needed without Rhiannon ever having to say a word.

“You’re welcome. But I think you should let Izzy go now. She might be passing out.”

“Hmmm?” Rhiannon glanced down at her adopted granddaughter and saw that the warrior had slumped in her arms. “Oh, dear!”

She dropped the girl and Izzy fell into her mother’s arms.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Talaith chastised while she and Morfyd worked to awaken the girl.

“She was about to open that large mouth she inherited from you and I was trying to stop her.” Rhiannon pointed at her nephew. “Celyn, be a dear and you and Brannie there block the door.”

“Really?” he asked with an annoyed sound in his voice. “You want me watching the door. Like one of Dagmar’s dogs?” He pointed at the large beast that always shadowed the Northlander. Her name was Adda and she was the size of a miniature horse. “Look. She’s already standing there. Can’t she do it?”

“For the love of . . . you two just guard the bloody door!”

By the time the siblings locked the door and stood in front of it, Izzy was awake and slowly getting to her feet.

Rhiannon started to order Ghleanna’s offspring to the other side of the door to keep out her sons, but she realized she didn’t have much time. At some point, her sons would realize that the rest of them had snuck away. So she had to make this quick.

Izzy, again, pointed a damning finger. “Gran, you tried to kill me!”

“Now, dear,” Rhiannon said with a smile, “we both know that if I’d actually tried to kill you, you’d be nothing but ash and a lovely memory by now.”

Like one of the lesser Queen’s Guard, Celyn and his sister were forced to stand in front of the library door to keep out Rhiannon’s spoiled sons.

It hadn’t been hard to start that fight among the lot of them. They used to get into fights almost all the time until Éibhear came along and calmed everyone down. Then the big bastard had hit puberty and he’d gone from ending fights to starting them. But deep down, he was still that sensitive blue dragon everyone adored—and Celyn was not ashamed to say that he used that weakness to manipulate all the queen’s sons whenever necessary.

Of course, helping Rhiannon with her sons didn’t usually end in this kind of indignity. He hoped it was worth all this and not just some ridiculous issue that could as easily have been worked out with everyone involved.

“This must be old hat for you,” his sister mocked in a whisper. “Standing around, guarding the queen’s doors.”

“Would you shut up? I’m trying to be nosy.”

“What the hells is going on?” Talaith demanded of Rhiannon and Izzy.

With light brown eyes still glaring at Rhiannon, Izzy said, “That bitch Haldane lost Rhianwen.”

“What the battle-fuck do you mean, she lost Rhi? How do you lose a grown woman? How do you lose my daughter?” Talaith exploded, most likely ready to run all the way back to the Desert Lands just to choke her own mother to death. Talaith had never been close to the witch Haldane from what Celyn had heard. Then again there was “not close” and “I will kill you as soon as see you.” Celyn was pretty sure the way Talaith felt about her mother was the latter.

“Haldane lost no one,” Rhiannon said.

“I was there, Gran,” Izzy shot back, getting stronger by the second now that she could breathe again. “Something opened some magickal door and pulled Rhianwen from this world into another.”

Without a word, Talaith headed for the exit. Gods, Celyn didn’t look forward to this. Talaith was a scrappy fighter, and she could do a lot of damage before Celyn got control of her.