“Multi . . .”
Braith looked over her shoulder and snarled at the additional versions of herself. “Don’t you lot have something else to do?”
“Come on,” one of the copies said to the others. “She’s got her claws into this one.”
“You need to learn to share, Braith of the Darkness,” said another.
“You need to piss off, cousin.”
One copy grabbed another copy’s arm. “Come on, sister. She’s attached to this one. You might as well give it up.”
With some grumbling, the copies departed, leaving Addolgar alone with the original. The perfect, delicious original.
“How do you feel?” Braith asked him.
“Not bad. But I think that’s because the Older You had me drink some ale that’s completely wiped any and all pain from my system. I want to bring some of that home.”
Braith dropped her head, but he could tell from the way her shoulders shook that she was laughing.
“Well,” she finally said, “I’m glad you’re all right. I was worried.”
“So was I. But Older You took very good care of me.”
“You should know, Addolgar, that Older Me is Owena. And I wouldn’t call her Older anything, if I were you.”
“Good idea. The lasses hate that.”
“Yes. We lasses do.”
Braith tucked the fur covering around Addolgar’s body, but he pushed the covers off again.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Get in.”
Braith’s eyebrows went up. “Get in? Are you mad?”
“No. I need you to help me heal.”
“Addolgar the Cheerful, you need no such thing!”
“Owena!” Addolgar yelled out as Braith desperately tried to cover his mouth. “Braith won’t help me heal!”
“Gods, child!” Owena called from the other chamber. “Just get into bed with the big idiot. It’s not like he can do anything with as much of your aunt’s ale as I made him drink.”
Addolgar grinned. “See? She agrees with me.”
“Oh . . . fine!” Braith went around the other side of the bed they’d moved Addolgar to once Owena had used Magicks to force his body to shift to human, and got in next to him.
“Aren’t you going to get nak*d?”
“No, I am not going to get nak*d!”
“Owena!” he called out. “Braith won’t get nak*d!”
“Why are you making the poor lad work for it?” her aunt called back.
“I am not getting nak*d!” Braith yelled so everyone would hear it. “So just leave off!”
“Someone’s no fun,” one cousin announced.
“Poor Cadwaladr!” said another.
“Heard his father never had to work so hard,” another piped in.
“There’s truth to that!” admitted an aunt.
“I’ll get nak*d!” offered another.
Pulling the covers up to cover both her and Addolgar, Braith settled into his side while yelling, “I swear by all the gods, if I have to come out there, there will be all hells to pay!”
There was finally silence from her kin after that announcement, and that’s when Addolgar knew he’d been right. “Just like I said, Braith of the Darkness . . . you’re finally home.”
“And how do you know that, Addolgar the Cheerful?”
“Because your beautiful smile tells me so. Now cuddle me close so I can hold you while I sleep.”
Braith did just that, placing her head against his chest and her arm around his waist. Addolgar wrapped his arms around Braith, sighed happily, and kissed the top of her head.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Braith,” he told her.
“So am I. Because clearly my kin can’t be trusted around handsome dragons weak from blood loss.”
And he adored the fact that she sounded a bit jealous when she said that.
Chapter 15
“Time to eat!” a voice bellowed, and Addolgar’s eyes snapped open to see one of Braith’s aunts standing over him. “You hungry, Cadwaladr?”
“Always,” he admitted.
“Good.” She motioned to a platter of meat she’d rested on a side table by the bed. “Owena wants you to eat. So eat.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The She-dragon grunted and walked out of the chamber.
“Is she gone?” Braith whispered.
“Aye.”
“Am I that loud?” she asked.
“Not at all. Braith, you barely speak.”
“Why speak when you have little to say?”
“You have tons to say, you just think it instead. But what you’re thinking shows on your face. And it’s usually scathing!”
Braith giggled at that because they both knew he was right.
Braith sat up, the smell of fresh meat rousing her stomach. She hadn’t had anything to eat or drink but Bercelak’s jerky and lake water since they’d left the pub. Even nicer, someone had cooked the meat for them. Much easier for their human forms to digest, and she always enjoyed the smell of freshly cooked meat.
But before she dove headfirst into the platter of food, she studied Addolgar’s face. His color was back, and he seemed stronger than he had the night before.
He returned her gaze before suddenly announcing, “You’re so beautiful.”
Braith let out a sigh. “Damn. I thought you were getting better.”
“Sorry?”
“I thought you were getting better. But it seems you’re still off from the loss of blood or my aunt’s ale.”
“Because I told you that you’re beautiful?”
Braith frowned. Addolgar did sound . . . better. Stronger. More like himself.
“Well . . . I guess,” she admitted. “I’m just not used to it.”
“Get used to it. I hate having to constantly argue my point with you.”
“I didn’t think we were arguing.”
“We would be if you kept not believing me when I tell you how beautiful you are.”
Gods, she wished he’d stop saying it. It made her feel uncomfortable. Mostly because no one had ever said it to her before. Definitely not her father or brothers. And no other male dragon she’d spent time with before had said the things to her that Addolgar had said and continued to say.
Things that she had to admit—at least to herself—she loved to hear even while they made her uncomfortable.
“We still have to retrieve my father,” Braith said, trying to change the subject.
“Trying to change the subject, I see,” Addolgar announced.
Bastard.
“Well, we do need to retrieve him.”
“I know. And we will.”
“You seem awfully confident about that.”
“Your father has not decided to spend his life in the Northlands. I’ve been to the Northlands, Braith. It’s nothing but snow and ice and miserable dragons and humans. Your father may be a miserable bastard, but he wants the Southlands. The Northlands is not what he wants, and he has to know he’s not strong enough to ever get them. He couldn’t even manage his own daughter much less a bloody Lightning Horde. So I have no doubts we’ll find him. Now kiss me,” he ordered.
“You are awfully surly this morning.”
“The pain in my leg is brutal. My head hurts because I think I’m hungover from your aunt’s blasted ale. And you haven’t kissed me yet. So, aye, I am surly. I’m allowed to be surly!”
A sentiment bellowed at Braith. And one that made her giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he grumbled.
“You’re much more terrifying when you’re cheerful. When you’re surly, you just sound like a cranky hatchling.” She thought a moment before adding, “Like Bercelak.”
“There’s no need to be so bloody rude, Braith of the Darkness!”
Her smile lit up the chamber and it brought Addolgar joy to see it. But he was feeling very cranky because he was in pain, so he refused to tell her any of that. Instead, he snapped, “You should have gone after your father yesterday while he was still on Outer Plains territory. Like I told you to.”
“And left you to die?”
“If necessary.”
“That would have been bloody stupid.”
“The fact is that now we’ll have to travel deep into Northland territory to retrieve your father.”
“You said he wouldn’t go there.”
“I said he wouldn’t stay there. I didn’t say he wouldn’t go there. But we can’t wait for him to return here with a bloody Lightning Horde at his back.”
“I don’t know why you’re getting angry at me. When we discussed this last night—”
“Last night I was drunk on that demon wine your aunts make! This morning I see everything quite clearly!”
“Well, you know what else you can see clearly?” she snarled. “My ass! As I walk away!”
Then she was off the bed and gone from the chamber, leaving him alone, in pain, and still cranky.
Surprisingly, yelling at her had not made him feel any better.
Braith walked until she’d found her way outside. Once she stood under the early morning suns, she took in a deep breath of the cool Outer Plains air and tried to stop herself from going back inside and pummeling Addolgar the Brainless. Because he deserved a right good pummeling!
“Good morn, cousin.”
Braith turned and saw three of her cousins sunning themselves on boulders. Like lizards. Lizards in human form.
“What are you doing?” Braith asked.
“Enjoying the suns,” replied one.
“It gives our scales a lovely bright hue,” said another.
Braith blinked. “Except you’re all in your human form. So how does that help your scales?”
They stared at her for several seconds before one stated, “You’re a bit of a know-it-all, aren’t you?”
“How is that . . .” Braith shook her head. She wouldn’t go from arguing with one idiot to arguing with three.
When Braith didn’t say anything, one of her cousins asked, “Do you think your father would have really killed you if our mums tried to contact you?”
“Yes,” Braith said plainly. She’d accepted the truth of that late in the evening as Addolgar had slept beside her.
“That’s so sad.”
Braith shrugged. “Eh.” She could no longer dig up the energy to care about what her father did, would do, or would like to do. If he’d had his chance, he probably would have strangled her as soon as she’d hatched, but he’d always been a bit terrified of her mum. With good reason. Her mother would have twisted his head around until it popped off his shoulders if he’d ever touched Braith.
“Well, uh . . .”
“Braith,” Braith filled in for them.
“We remember. I think I remember playing with you when we were hatchlings. You’re Braith, and I’m Caron, Crystin’s eldest. This is Ffraid, Owena’s middle daughter. And this is Delyth, Aledwen’s eldest.”
“We’re glad you’re here, cousin,” Ffraid told Braith. “Our mums worried over you constantly. So now maybe they’ll shut up about you.”