About a Dragon (Dragon Kin #2)(89)

She didn’t understand it. She hadn’t walked that far from the castle.

“Mind some company?”

She looked up to see Brastias standing over her. Anyone else she’d tell them to leave her be, but this was Brastias. She never seemed to get any time alone with him. She moved over a bit and patted the ground near her.

“Please.”

He sat beside her, his chainmail shirt brushing against her arm. She caught his scent and closed her eyes to enjoy it fully. He smelled wonderful.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No. I was going to do a few things, but I’m suddenly so tired.”

“Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Aye. It’s been an extremely tense few months. I’m sure my body is simply exhausted from it all. I think I need to sleep a few days to make up for it.”

Brastias smiled, his arms resting on his raised knees. “More like a few weeks.”

“You’re probably right.” She looked at his face. “You look tired, too.”

He leaned his body back against the tree. “All of a sudden, I am.” He shrugged. “And I came all the way out here just to get a chance to talk to you alone.”

Morfyd barely stifled a yawn. “About what?”

Closing his eyes and resting his back against the tree, he muttered, “It can wait.”

“Good.” Morfyd relaxed against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “You don’t mind do you?”

But he was already snoring and she soon followed him to sleep.

* * *

Éibhear silently watched Talaith’s daughter almost slice her face open with the sword she’d been playing with for the last half hour. He’d been flying when he caught her scent far from the castle. Worried someone had taken her, he tracked her to this rather open glen where the light from the full moon gave her enough illumination to play warrior.

His only plan had been to sit back and watch her, then make sure she got back to the castle safely. But at this rate, she’d cut her own throat. Who gave her that thing anyway? Then it suddenly occurred to him it was the sword he’d been looking for. “Dirty, thieving, little cow,” he snarled.

When she got the blade stuck in a tree trunk, he moved forward silently. He waited until his snout was barely inches from her neck, before he shouted, “And what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Screeching, the young girl spun around and punched Éibhear dead in the snout. It didn’t hurt as much as it startled him, but he still moved back from her. But as soon as she saw who he was, she immediately calmed down.

“Oh,” she said with obvious lack of interest, “it’s you.”

“Yes. Me.”

“I thought it was someone scary.” And with that, she went back to trying to get the sword out of the tree trunk.

Spoiled little heifer.

“Are you going to stand there and stare at me or are you going to help me?” At this point, she had both her feet planted on the tree while desperately pulling on the sword’s hilt.

Éibhear had to admit, she must have some strength if she got it stuck in that far.

“I’d prefer you tell me what you’re doing out here…alone?”

“Have we lost track of my mother, that you feel the need to fill in for her?”

Why you little…

“Look, I care about Talaith. And for some unknown reason she’d actually care if something happened to you. So I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”

“Care about her do you? Well I hate to dash any of your hopes, but Briec got to her first. And I like him. He’s perfect for her. You, however, are not.”

Éibhear took a deep breath to calm his growing rage, when the blade suddenly dislodged, flew from her hands and skittered past him. Another inch it would have embedded itself in his forehead.

“That is it!” he roared, uncaring if he woke up all of Dark Plains. “I’m taking you back right now!”

When the blade dislodged from the tree, she’d lost her footing and landed flat on her back. Now she stared up at him with wide light-brown eyes.

“By the gods, are you all right?” She scrambled to her feet. “Did that cut you?”

He heard the concern in her voice, but chose to ignore it. “Move.”

“All right. No need to yell at me. I didn’t throw that at you on purpose.”

She easily picked up the sword he’d seen grown men struggle with and headed back toward the castle.

“And when we get back, you’ll put my sword right back where you got it.”

“Oh, don’t get all moral on me. I was only borrowing it.”

“Don’t even try to explain it. There is no ‘borrowing’ where dragons are concerned.”

“Fine. You know, dragon, this would go much faster if you flew me there.”

True, the trek back to the castle was not a short one, but there was no way he was placing this spoiled brat on his back.

“Forget it and keep walking.”

“Fine.”

She picked up her step and Éibhear glanced up to judge how far the castle actually was from them and how much longer he’d have to endure her presence. And that’s when he saw it. The moon hovered over the castle, orange and yellow light bathing the white stone so that appeared as if flame surrounded the building. He didn’t need anyone to tell him something was very wrong with what he was seeing. Magick of some kind, yet he didn’t feel any sense of pain or suffering. Actually, when he allowed his senses to expand out, he felt something else all together. Something that made his loins tighten.