Feel the Burn (Dragon Kin #8)(44)

Talwyn began to use Kyvich hand-to-hand techniques on their mother, but, again, the queen blocked them easily until she had both of Talwyn’s arms gripped in her hands. Then, by shifting her weight, she sent Talan’s twin flying into the far wall of the barracks adjoining the training ring.

Annwyl dusted off her hands and leggings, and said, “I expected you to be more advanced, Talwyn. We’ve got a war coming up. And you’re not ready.”

Talwyn lifted her hands and drew runes of fire in the air, chanting words that allowed her to craft a spell against her own mother.

“Talwyn, no!” Rhi cried out.

Talan leaped over the fence and ran until he stood in front of his mother. He raised his hands and created a shield, but the power of Talwyn’s unleashed spell rammed into it, pushing Talan back into Annwyl. Her hands braced against his spine, keeping him upright and trapped in one space.

That alone shocked him beyond words. His mother shouldn’t be strong enough to keep him in place. No one should be strong enough to do that, considering the rage behind Talwyn’s rune spell.

Talan and Talwyn, of equal power, pushed against each other, their spells fighting for dominance.

“Stop it! Both of you!” Talan heard Rhi screaming. She didn’t want to unleash her power. Not with her cousins’ powers in combat. The combination of the three together . . .

But just when Talan was afraid nothing would control his sister’s wrath, the wind around them whipped up, sending dirt and stones from the ground into his eyes. Talan turned his head but kept his shield up.

“That is enough!” a voice bellowed before a line of flame lashed out, splitting at the end to tear into the spells of both Talan and Talwyn, until they were both forced to stop. Talan, because he was sent flipping back several feet. Talwyn because she simply didn’t have the strength to fight the onslaught.

When everything had stopped and Talan could see again, his eyes watering from the dirt still irritating him, it was his mother who held her position. Standing tall.

But it was the Dragon Queen who had stopped the whole thing.

“Have you all lost your minds?” Rhiannon the White demanded of her grand-offspring, standing regal in the clearing on the opposite side of the training ring. Her white scales fairly glowed under the sunslight and her wings flickered angrily as she glowered down at them.

Their grandfather, Bercelak, had landed on top of one of the barracks, overseeing all, but saying nothing. As a Cadwaladr, he’d never stop a fight. His main concern was the safety of Rhiannon.

The queen’s head turned toward Talan’s mother. “Are you all right, Annwyl?”

“Is she all right?” Talwyn exploded.

“Silence!”

Annwyl didn’t answer Rhiannon; instead, she walked over to Talwyn, who was still trapped on the ground because of her damaged leg.

With cold indifference, she gazed down at her daughter.

“Come after me, little girl,” their mother warned, “and you’d best be ready.”

“Annwyl,” Fearghus said, softly. But Annwyl raised her hand, keeping him quiet.

“Understand me, Talwyn?”

Breathing hard, her rage a palpable thing surrounding her, Talwyn spat out between gritted teeth, “Oh, I understand.”

“Good.”

Annwyl turned and walked across the training ring. As she passed Talan, she stopped to get him back to his feet and patted his shoulder. Then she went over the fence and headed toward the stables.

No one stopped her. No one tried to speak to her. They all just watched her until she disappeared.

Rhi was the first to move, rushing over to Talwyn’s side along with her mother and Morfyd. Together, they examined the damage to his sister’s leg.

His grandmother shifted to human and accepted a robe from her mate while Bercelak quickly put on human clothes and followed her into the house so that she could, most likely, meet with King Gaius.

Talan went to his sister’s side. He crouched beside her, putting his arms under her, careful of her damaged leg, and lifted her.

“Let’s get her in a room so we can fix this leg,” Morfyd suggested.

Talan had started to follow his aunts and cousin, when Talwyn grabbed the scruff of his shirt.

“Why did you stop me?” she demanded, the pain of her leg making her voice deeper, sweat rolling down her face from the recent battle.

“Because,” Talan replied, gazing deeply into his sister’s dark eyes, “she’s our mother.”

Talwyn blinked, as if she’d forgotten that very important fact. “Oh . . . yeah. Right.”

Gods in the heavens, she had forgotten!

Chapter Fifteen

“King Gaius!” a voice trilled.

Gaius cringed. He hadn’t bothered to go outside to watch the battle between mother and daughter, mostly because he hadn’t cared. Plus, he’d thought he’d have some time alone to eat.

Sadly . . . that was not to be.

Gaius stood and faced the Dragon Queen of the Southlands.

“Queen Rhiannon.”

She held out her hand, apparently a new bit of etiquette she’d borrowed from the humans.

Gaius grasped that hand and kissed the back of it, which got him a lovely growl from Rhiannon’s mate.

Exasperated, Gaius snapped, “She offered it to me!”

“Oh, stop it, Bercelak!” She crinkled up her nose in an adorable manner that Gaius found annoying, and said, “He gets so testy around other males. But nothing to worry about.”