Dragon Actually (Dragon Kin #1)(99)

“But? But what?” And Rhiannon could hear the desperation in her mother’s voice.

“Would you shift for me? Would you show me your human form once again? I did always love looking at you as human.”

Rhiannon didn’t turn around, but she felt the flames heralding her mother’s shift. Now she was as human as Rhiannon, shocking her daughter. It may have been centuries since last the bitch shifted to human.

The guards, clearly also concerned by this sudden event, moved closer to their queen.

“I thought you’d come to see me much sooner than this, Ailean.”

“I know. But with fifteen offspring to raise, I lacked time. My mate needed me.”

Addiena snarled and suddenly her mother moved in Rhiannon’s line of sight. Gods, the old bitch was beautiful as human. Perhaps even more beautiful than Shalin . . . and how that must have nettled her mother no end.

“Ah, yes. Your mate,” she sneered. “How is dear Shalin?”

“She is well. And very happy.”

Addiena’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Rhiannon knew they were quickly running out of time. “Is she?”

“Aye.” Ailean stepped in front of the queen. His big hands reached out and gently caressed her face, her neck, and although her mother did her best to keep her growing anger hot, apparently she couldn’t ignore how those hands stroking her made her feel.

Rhiannon watched silently as Ailean kissed her mother’s forehead, her cheeks, her nose while he slowly stepped forward. Lost to the feel of him, Addiena didn’t even pay attention to where he led her.

“You know, Addiena, Shalin always regretted how the two of you ended your friendship.”

Friendship? What bloody friendship? Damn! And things were just getting interesting!

“That was her choice, Ailean. How was I to know she wanted you for herself?”

“That no longer matters, my dearest. But she did send you a gift.”

Leaning her head back so that Ailean could kiss her throat, “Gift? What gift?” she moaned.

Leaning forward now that Ailean had maneuvered the female directly in front of her, Rhiannon whispered, “Why, my Queen”—the chain held tightly in both hands, Rhiannon wrapped the heavy silver around her mother’s throat and yanked her close—“this gift!”

The guards attacked immediately but Ailean shifted and he and Bercelak faced them together.

Flames rose up from her mother, but immediately sputtered out.

Using nearly the same spell Addiena used on Rhiannon, Shalin imbued the chain so that the bitch couldn’t shift.

Her mother knew it, too, based on the sudden and brutal fight she put up, clawing at her daughter’s arms and face.

Growling, Rhiannon pulled her away from the fighting dragons and over to a corner. “Come, mother, let us discuss this in private.”

Bercelak had to hand it to his father. The man could seduce the dragon gods out of their gold if he set his mind to it. He’d thought it was a long shot that Ailean would still be able to affect the queen as he once did. But he did all he’d promised. He’d gotten Addiena to shift to human and had maneuvered her close enough to Rhiannon so that she could use the chain his mother had given them just that morning.

When his mother had woken them up yesterday morning with words of “a plan,” Bercelak had felt a little wary. Left to their own devices, who knew what crazy nonsense his kin would come up with. And when he heard the plan, he thought, “See . . . crazy kin means crazy plan.” Yet it had worked. His father’s seductive ways still held true. Thank the gods.

While the guards stayed focused on the three of them and the queen, they never saw his siblings slip into the Queen’s Hall, using the shadows to their advantage. Prepared for battle, they moved as soon as Rhiannon wrapped that chain around the queen’s throat.

The queen’s guards, some of them his own comrades, really thought they could beat the low-born family with their well-trained ways. Bercelak snorted at the idea as he twisted one dragon’s head around until the bones cracked, breaking into pieces, while his tail impaled another dragon, attempting to sneak up behind him, under the chin. Growing up with Ailean the Wicked as a father prepared all of his offspring for any kind of battle. He’d trained each of them at hatching to fight any and all in their way. And even though his sisters were definitely a little more gently treated than the males of his kin, they were much more brutal and Bercelak winced when two of his sisters ripped a dragon to pieces between the two of them.

He turned and searched for Rhiannon. He trusted his mother’s Magicks, but he didn’t know how strong or weak her skills in comparison to the queen’s.

Quickly, he located his mate and her mother over in a corner. Rhiannon still had the bitch by the throat with that chain, which meant she still couldn’t shift. But five of the queen’s guards were advancing quickly and Rhiannon couldn’t fight them off or run with her mother in her arms. Besides, he knew his Rhiannon . . . she’d never run.

Storming across the hall, Bercelak batted bigger dragons out of his way like they were toys. Nothing would keep him from reaching Rhiannon.

He grabbed two guards around the neck, yanking them back and throwing them at his brothers who’d followed him over. He went for two others, but suddenly a small troop of battle-dragons attacked him, swarming over him en masse.